Tuesday, may 24, 2016 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

NEITI uncovers unremitted N2.23trn funds by NNPC Adeola Yusuf and Johnchuks Onuanyim

he Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) yesterday said the Nige-

rian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit a whooping N2.23 trillion to the federation account in 2013.

The revelation came as NEITI unveiled its 2013 Audit Report which showed that total revenue flows into the Federation Account

from the oil and gas sector in 2013 was about $58.07 billion. The NNPC and its subsidiaries, the report said, ei-

ther lost or refused to remit a total sum of N2.23 trillion to the federation account as earnings from various aspects of its operations dur-

Foreign carriers’ trapped funds hit $575m in Nigeria }2

ing the year under review. The figures consist of $9.75 billion and N378.67 billion in 2013. Minister of Solid Minerals who doubles as CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Attacks on oil facilities:

Military declares war …vows to go after Niger Delta Avengers

lFG: No fresh amnesty for militants lBoroh: We won’t reward criminals with medals

L-R: Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Dr. Oluranti Adebule; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister for Power, Works & Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, during the inauguration of the state's emergency agency response unit at Oshodi, Lagos...yesterday.

Boko Haram's top commander goes blind lShekau’s aide kills terrorist leader

L-R: President and Chairman, Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah and Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc., Mr. Yemi Adeola, after a meeting with Oramah by the management of Sterling Bank in Cairo, Egypt…at the weekend.

Green tea could cure acne –Researchers }6

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TUESday, May 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Attacks on oil facilities: Military declares war Onwuka Nzeshi and Emmanuel Masha

ollowing sustained attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta, the military has declared war on the militants operating under the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which have claimed responsibility for the destruction of oil pipelines. Also, the Federal Government yesterday ruled out fresh amnesty for the militants. It said that it would not reward criminals with medals under the guise of seeking peace. The Federal Government warned that it would not succumb to the blackmail of the militants who have been vandalising pipelines and other strategic oil facilities in the oilrich region. Chief of Defence Staff,

Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, vowed that the military would go after the militants if they fail to stop the attacks on national assets. “If they continue to choose the path of bombing pipelines, then we will go after them and deal with the situation appropriately,” he said. Olonishakin spoke at the inauguration of 12 refurbished gunboats and 40-bed space accommodation for troops in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers. He said that the military was currently assessing the situation in the Niger Delta with a view to engaging stakeholders to maintain law and order in the region. According to him, engagement with militants will involve governors of various states and political leaders in the Niger Delta.

“Government and military is using multi-faceted approach rather than force alone to ensure that resurgent attacks on oil and gas installations are stopped. “We have told them (militants) to stop the destruction of oil and gas facilities and other critical national assets, as it negatively affects the economy with impact on livelihood of the people. “If they (militants) have grievances, they should take it up with government rather than their current approach which is not in the best interest of the nation,” he said. Olonishakin said that efforts were on to provide more gunboats and other military hardware for troops to maintain 24hour patrol of about 5,000 creeks and waterways in the region. The military chief said that the provision of mili-

tary hardware would boost the capacity of Operation Pulo Shield “to confront oil theft and illegal bunkering of petroleum products in the region.” “Repair of these gunboats will, no doubt, improve the capacity of the brigade to meet its responsibility in curtailing criminal acts in our inland waterways,” he added. Olonishakin commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Commander of Army 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt, Brig.-Gen. Stevenson Olabanji, for the repair of the boats. Also, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said that the armed forces were currently faced with logistics challenges in its operations in the Niger Delta. He said, however, that the challenges would not deter troops from continu-

ing to fight the menace of sea piracy, militancy, oil theft and general insecurity in the region. According to him, the 40-bed space accommodation, will serve as an operating base for troops to patrol and respond to crisis situations in the area. Other service chiefs at the event included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar and the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Enugu, Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, among others. Meanhile, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), who addressed journalists yesterday on the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta, said it was wrong for criminals to embark on wanton destruction of facilities strategic to the economy of the nation after the Federal Government had already given general amnesty to militants and was actively training those who signed up to the programme. The Federal Government, Boroh said, had consistently kept faith with the implementation of the

N16.98bn

The total revenue of 2015 Government Quarterly Target from Consolidated Account for the 2015 Q3. Source: Firs.gov.ng

Chief Femi FaniKayode (middle), with officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Lagos Magistrate's Court…yesterday

N12.92bn

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

Foreign carriers’ trapped funds hit $575m in Nigeria

lIATA ranks Africa highest in airport taxes lFAAN rakes $34m yearly from levies Wole Shadare Abuja

oreign airlines’ funds trapped in Nigeria as at March 2016 stood at $575 million, while those in Venezuela had climbed to $3.5 billion, making the duo the highest in terms of carriers’ stuck funds. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the clearinghouse for global airlines, which disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, said it was engaging the Federal Government at all levels to ensure that issues with trapped funds are resolved. Speaking at a press briefing at a two-day Africa Aviation Day christened, “Driving Through The Power of Aviation,” IATA’s Area Manager, South West Africa, Dr. Samson Fatokun, ranked Venezuela as the nation with the highest ($3.6 billion) in air-

lines’ trapped funds. He stated that Venezuela's pending dollar disbursements to airlines have fallen to around $3.6 billion after the government released some of the funds held up by the country's currency controls. Airlines have, for months, struggled to repatriate revenue from ticket sales due to delays in both Nigeria and the South American nation's 12-year-old exchange controls, with trapped cash peaking at around $4.1 billion over the summer. As a result of the problem, international airlines in Nigeria resorted to selling their tickets in dollars because of their inability to access their monies trapped in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). International airlines normally sell their tickets in naira and then approach the CBN for the dollar equivalent to take back to

their respective countries. However, the banking watchdog has, in recent times, been reluctant to give the airlines the dollar equivalent of their naira ticket sales at the official rate, as it seeks to conserve its fast dwindling external reserves for only what it considers essential imports or payments by Nigerians. As at May 19, Nigeria’s external reserves had been drawn down to $26,587,601,426. Given this scenario, many international airlines have built mountains of naira cash, which they cannot take back to their countries. Fatokun equally disclosed that IATA had visited the Nigerian government to express concern over the trapped funds and what the government is doing to get them released. In a related development, Vice-President,

IATA, Raphael Kuuchi bemoaned the high taxes imposed on air travel in Africa, saying the taxes are above global standard. He noted that if not tackled, the phenomenon militates against the growth of the industry. He faulted the $60 charged per international passengers; aside the $20 security and taxes on jet fuel, which, he noted, increase the cost burden of airlines, which are already operating in a challenging environment and hinder the domestic growth of an industry that brings extensive socio-economic benefits. Statistics shows that six million traffic was recorded by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), bringing revenue from taxes to $36 million annually. Kuuchi said: “Africa must not treat its aviation industry as an easy target

for taxation if it is to be taken seriously. The negative impact on the economy of taxing air transport outweighs the revenue raised.” Equally worrisome is a report by International Accountancy Network that Nigeria’s air passenger taxes are among the highest in the world. According to the study, Nigeria imposes a levy of $20 on short haul flights and $60 on long haul flights leaving the country through airport tax. The report noted that these additional costs damage tourism, penalise Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) trying to expand overseas, hamper remote regional cities and chip away at labour mobility. Although taxes on flying are often billed as ‘green taxes’, it noted that globally, it is exceptionally rare for the revenue they raise to be ring-fenced for environmental protection projects.

Amnesty Programme it declared on June 25, 2009 and which it was winding down with an exit strategy already put in place. He asked all those involved in the renewed acts of economic sabotage against the nation, to retrace their steps or be prepared to face the consequences of such criminality. According to him, the Federal Government will not reward criminals with medals under the guise of seeking peace. “There is no plan to go back on the Amnesty Programme of the Federal Government and all men of goodwill in the Niger Delta should do all they can to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s peace and development effort in the region. “Let it be made known that no amnesty programme lasts forever and that the one in the Niger Delta cannot be elastic. The programme had a set deadline and had since expired, but the president graciously extended it and put an exit strategy in place to cater for the interest of all. Any individual or group that engages in criminal destruction of economic facilities in the Niger Delta under the guise of militancy should understand that there are dire consequences for such acts and that the law enforcements agents will not fold their hands and watch them do so,” Boroh said. He explained that all those who were captured under the Presidential Amnesty Programme launched during the regime of former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua were being paid their wages monthly while those undergoing training were also being catered for by the government. Boroh implored the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the group that has claimed responsibility for the recent bombing of oil facilities, to sheathe their sword and allow multinational oil companies go about their normal businesses without fear or hindrance. In the last couple of weeks, Nigeria has lost huge revenues owing to the sustained attacks on oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta. The ruptured pipelines are those conveying crude oil to the export terminals and refineries while the others supplied gas to the thermal power stations for the generation of electricity in the country. The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) first came under the spotlight in February, when it claimed CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

TUESday, May 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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TUESday, May 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Jonathan approved N400m for Metuh to launder image –Witness Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

he Defence Witness 4 at the ongoing trial of the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, yesterday told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that former President Goodluck Jonathan approved N400 million for Metuh to launder his image. The Federal Government is prosecuting Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, on charges including fraudulent collection of N400 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in November 2014 and using same for PDP’s presidential campaign. The defendants are also being tried on charges of money laundering involving alleged cash transaction of $2 million. The witness, Anthony

Okeke, further told the court that Jonathan’s image was battered by the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) smear campaign.

Okeke, a former Acting National Publicity Secretary of the PDP who handed over to Metuh in September 2013, while testifying before the court, add-

ed that the opposition party’s campaign dealt a great blow to Jonathan’s image so much that a number of consultants was needed to change public perception

Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Tony Ojobo (left), receiving the Africa Telecom Regulator of the Year Award on behalf of the NCC from the DirectorGeneral, National Communications Authority, Mr. William Tevie, at the West African Telecom Summit 2016, in Accra, Ghana…recently.

NEITI uncovers unremitted N2.23trn funds by NNPC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Chairman of the NEITI Board, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said that the audit, which focused on all aspects of the extractive industries, showed that total revenue flows into the Federation Account from the oil and gas sector in 2013 was about $58.07 billion. The figure, he said, represented about eight per cent decline when compared to the $62.9 billion realised in 2012. The decline, Fayemi said, was attributed to the drop in oil and gas sales following divestment of federation equity in some oil mining leases, OMLs, crude oil losses as a result of destruction of production facilities. Others are pipelines vandalism and crude oil theft. "Details of the report revealed that the NNPC and its sub-units during the year either lost or refused to remit a total of N2.23 trillion, consisting $9.75 billion and N378.67 billion, to the federation account as earnings from various aspects of its operations in 2013," Fayemi said. Another report had earlier stated that the NNPC continues to withhold billions of dollars in oil sale revenues from the treasury under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The report entitled “NNPC Still Holds Blank Check,” by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) noted that in the second half of 2015, NNPC’s sales of export crude, domestic crude and oil from its subsidiary, the

Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), totalled $6.3 billion. "Of this amount, only $2.1 billion entered the Federation Account while $4.2 billion (N827.4 billion), representing 66 per cent of proceeds from crude oil sales for the six months, was not remitted," the report released on March 31 read. “This was 14 per cent more than the corporation’s withholdings under Goodluck Jonathan in the first half of 2015, and 12 per cent higher than the share withheld in 2013 and 2014,” the report, authored by Aaron Sayne and Alexandra Gillies, said. The reports also showed that a total of N33.86 billion accrued to the Federal Government from the solid minerals sector in the year under review. According to it, revenue under solid minerals rose by seven per cent in 2013 as against 2012. The NRGI report, which was a follow up to a previous one by NRGI in 2015, themed “Inside NNPC Oil Sales: A Case for Reform,” however said some of NNPC’s withholdings cover known costs, notably its share of joint venture operating expenses. “The corporation has not fully explained others, especially revenues retained from domestic crude and NPDC sales,” it said. The report said that NNPC spending raises questions about fiscal responsibility–especially at a time when public finances are stretched and the Federal Government is looking to fund more of its budget

with debt. While acknowledging some of the ongoing reforms instituted by the Buhari administration in the oil sector, the report said the plans have not yet addressed how NNPC retains revenues. On how NNPC sells the country’s oil in two streams-export sales to foreign buyers and domestic crude allocation, the report said: “This simple two-part system has broken down, however. As NNPC’s financial debts and operational problems have deepened, it has introduced more types of ad hoc oil sale transactions to work around these challenges.” The NRGI report, which tried to unravel where the $4.2 billion of NNPC oil sales that didn’t enter the federation account went to, found that some of the money went to pay JV cash call liabilities, rather than entering the government budget while some others were spent in an unknown manner.” “In one especially questionable case, we found evidence that NNPC has retained all earnings from the offshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 119, a field owned wholly by NPDC that produces around 30,000 barrels per day of Okono grade crude,” the report said. The report recommended that the Buhari government should establish a clear, legally enforceable rule governing which revenues NNPC can keep and how they can be spent. It also advised the government to move to curb the corporation’s discretionary, unaccountable

use of much-needed public funds. Also, the report puts the total unremitted dividends, interest and loans repayment from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) paid to NNPC from 2005 to 2013 at $12.9 billion; $1.289 billion was the 2013 NLNG payment to NNPC that was not remitted and was captured in N1.115 trillion that was not remitted that year. The group, however, in the report recommended that the Federal Government should conduct a comprehensive investigation into divestment of federation assets by NNPC to NPDC. Other recommendations are: A scientific technology such as finger-printing should be in place to track Nigeria's crude oil trade check oil theft; NNPC and its sub-units should refund outstanding payments to the federation; and gas should be invoiced in dollars, not in Naira to avoid exchange losses. It also recommended that NNPC should discontinue alternative importation arrangements and limit itself to export of crude and import of refined products. Before now, the AuditorGeneral of Federation reported that the NNPC failed to remit N3.2 trillion ($16 billion) in oil revenues to the federation account in 2014. A week later, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) put the amount not remitted by the NNPC between 2011 and 2015 at N4.9 trillion ($25 billion).

about the former president ahead of the 2015 presidential election. He, however, stated that it was not surprising for him to learn that the sum of N400 million was authorised by the then president for the countering of the opposition’s campaign. Being led in evidence by Metuh's counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), Okeke said that Jonathan’s image had a lot of issues that needed to be clarified. “The opposition at the time had mounted a massive smear campaign against the president. They cleverly tagged him clueless and went to town giving the impression that he was an ineffective and unserious president. Those smear campaign needed to be countered. The party needed a lot of consultants and media outfits to counter it. “I will agree that there was an improvement on the image of the president. It will be difficult for me to estimate it, but some works were done," he stated. However, under crossexamination by counsel to Destra Investment, Tochukwu Nwugbufor (SAN), the witness said no fund was passed to him when he took the office of acting National Publicity Secretary of the party on June 20, 2013 and did not pass any to Metuh by the time he (Okeke) handed over to Metuh in September of the same year. “To the best of my knowledge, the first defendant is a principled person with very high integrity.

“I think his commitment to his job led to his present condition," he added. The defence counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, did not cross-examine the witness. After Okeke was discharged from the witness box, the defence called the fifth witness, Richard Ihediwa. Ihediwa, a journalist, was narrating how he was appointed by Metuh as his (Metuh’s) Special Assistant in January 2013, before the judge suspended his testimony to hear an application by the PDP spokesperson seeking the court’s order permitting him to travel to the United Kingdom on health grounds. Metuh's counsel, Ikpeazu, while moving the application, prayed the court to grant the application. He said the court had inherent powers to grant the application. The prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, who strongly opposed the application for the release of Metuh's passport, said even though the court had jurisdiction to grant the prayers of the defence, the prayers were not properly made. "There was no specific prayer asking the court to vary its earlier bail condition and, in the absent of that, there is a doubt as to whether the court should make a contrary order," he submitted. The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, after listening to both submissions adjourned to May 25 for ruling on whether or not to grant the application.

CJN to new judges: Shun corruption, be diligent Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

he Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday called on the newly appointed judges to shun corruption, be diligent in their new assignment and do justice without fear or favour. The CJN, who stated this while speaking at an induction course for the new judges organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja reminded them the need for diligence, consistency in the high standard of justice delivery, as required from them to perform optimally. The CJN, who was represented by Justice Walter Onnoghen, said impartiality is a fundamental quality of a judge. "Your appointment to the bench as judicial officers comes at a crucial time in the history of our beloved country, as we

pivot our fortune in a serious war against corruption which has been a huge impediment to the nation's growth. "I urge you to avoid any type of corrupt practices so as to maintain your integrity as a judge," he added. The Administrator of the Institute, Justice Roseline Bozimo, in her address told the new judges that their jobs as judicial officers demand that they must be courageous, fearless, candid, uncompromising and firm in upholding the rule of law as they strive to attain judicial excellence.

N3,639.1bn The annual target collection of taxes of Nigeria in 2011. Source: Firs.gov.ng

N128.18bn The total value of crude oil export to Brazil in 2014 fourth quarter. Source: National Bureau of Statistics

NEWS

TUESday, May 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Boko Haram's top commander goes blind Ahmed Miringa Maiduguri

he Nigerian Army yesterday said a top commander of the Boko Haram sect had gone blind, after assembling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The Army, in a state-

ment by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations (DAPR), said the top commander, one Julelebeeb, had his two eyes shattered by shrapnel, in the course of preparing an IED, ostensibly to consolidate his appointment. It said Julelebeeb assumed the responsibility

of making IEDs, after the sect's chief bomb maker was killed by Abubakar Shekau's bodyguard, as he tried to free himself from the sect's stranglehold. The statement attributed the development to ongoing clearance and rescue operations in the NorthEast, said to have broken

FG needs $166bn to fix transport infrastructure – Amaechi Philip Nyam Abuja

he Federal Government would require $166 billion over the next five years to meet the nation's energy and transport infrastructure needs. Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, made the disclosure yesterday at the public hearing on Nigerian Railway Authority Bill and National Transport Commission Bill. At the hearing, which was organised by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Land Transport, Amaechi also said that the Federal Government and General Electric have concluded arrangement for the commercialisation of Lagos-Kano railway project. He said: "Besides privatisation, government also realised a monumental infrastructure deficit which, as at 2015, stood at over $3.05 trillion in 30 years or $166 billion in five years with energy and transport infrastructure taking more than 50 per cent of that need. "Transport infrastructure alone needs $50.9 billion in five years to cover the current gap in the sector, an average of $10.2 billion per year. Currently, the ratio of funding in the sector between the public and

private is 9:1. This constituted a major disincentive to private sector participation in the industry. "In addition, it is considered imperative to intimate this committee that full government ownership and management of these agencies had inherent restrictions for third party funding, undue government interferences, burdensome bureaucratic structures and over-bloated workforce amongst others." Amaechi, who argued that privatisation of railway would conflict with public interest, stated that "governments all over the world have realised that it is not best suited in ownership and management of businesses and, as such, considered it imperative to shift from purely government to public private partnership (PPP).” "The policy, therefore, is intended to guarantee efficiency, sustainability, competitiveness and profitability. To actualise these objectives, the Federal Government had established a trajectory towards driving the model. “These led to the institutionalisation of agencies such as Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) with the statutory power to superintend the

FG: No fresh amnesty for militants CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

responsibility for an attack on an underwater pipeline owned by the Royal Dutch Shell. The NDA has since attacked similar facilities owned by Chevron and Agip while the group has threatened to continue the onslaught until the Federal Government meets its demands. The group had posted on its website a list of conditions which the Federal Government must meet for peace to reign. These include the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference; an apology to the people of the Niger Delta and family of late Chief DSP Alamieyesei-

gha for ‘killing’ him with intimidation and harassment because of his party affiliation and the re-allocation of oil blocks to ensure their ownership reflected 60 per cent for the oil-producing region and 40 per cent for the non-oil producing region. Other demands include the re-activation of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State; the clean-up of Ogoniland and all oil polluted lands in the Niger Delta; the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as well as the continuation of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.

transition of governmentowned concerns to the private sector under the various models of PPP," he said.

the command structure of the Boko Haram sect. This is coming days after troops rescued one of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted on April 14, 2014, by Boko Haram fighters. "In what will be described as a major breakthrough in the clearance and rescue operation by the Nigerian military and to also confirm that all is not well within the Boko Haram terrorists’ camp, as their chief bomb maker and a high ranking terrorist, was shot dead today. "The chief bomb maker, apart from his high status in the command structure

of the Boko Haram terrorists, was one of their capable hands involved in making IEDs, coming after their chief scientist, called Abu RPG (who has been killed long ago). "The chief bomb maker was killed by one of the bodyguard of the Boko Haram terrorists leader, Abubakar Shekau, as he was about to run away just like several others are doing because of the intensity of Operation CRACKDOWN," the Army said. It added that "one Julelebeeb who was appointed to take over is now completely blind because his

two eyes were shattered by shrapnel, in the process of preparing an IED to consolidate his appointment." According to the army, "There is no doubt, this development has dealt a devastating blow on the terrorists capacity on IED preparation, suicide bombing and their ability to sustain their criminal acts." It, however, reassured "the public that our troops are continuing with the clearance and rescue operations successfully in order to completely clear Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hiding."

L-R: Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mr. Waziri Adio and member, National Stakeholders' Working Group, Mr. Gbenga Onayiga, during the presentation of the 2013 Audit Reports on Oil, Gas and Solid Minerals Sectors in Abuja...yesterday PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN.

Police deny PDP workers access to national secretariat lFayose: We sacked Sheriff to save PDP from disintegration

Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he siege on the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) continued yesterday with workers of the party being denied access to the party's national secretariat in Abuja. Anti-riot policemen had, on Sunday, sealed off the secretariat of the party with two lorries and prevented officials of the party access to their offices. The embattled former National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who had planned to hold National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with some remnant members at the secretariat, was forced to use his personal house at Maitama, Abuja for the purpose. The workers, who arrived at their duty post as early 8a.m. yesterday were denied access to their offices. They were forced to take refuge at the staff car park beside Skye Bank to discuss the situation. The seal off of the party's national secretariat was on its second day and the workers said they were ready to make the sacrifice

if that will bring peace to the opposition party. It was reported yesterday that the workers would be allowed access once there is proper identification. But the police high command issued a statement stating of an impending attack by thugs from across the country to threaten public peace and security in Abuja. "This (seal off of the party’s national secretariat) is sequel to the on-going intra-party leadership crisis in the party and further fallout of the recent political engagements of the party," the statement signed by Olabisi Kolawole, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) said. It said the plan was to "infiltrate Abuja and attack the National Headquarters of the PDP with intent to forcefully occupy the facility." This is as Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, explained that he supported the sack of Sheriff to save the party from disintegration. Fayose, who was one of the governors rooting for Sheriff to continue in office, said his support for the sack of the former NWC was to forestall the disintegration of the party.

"We cannot sacrifice the party for any individual," he said. Also, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Abduallahi Jalo, said the National Convention, as the highest decision making organ of the party, has the right to sack the former NWC headed by Sheriff. PDP National Convention, on Saturday in Port Harcourt, River State, sacked the NWC members and set up a seven-member caretaker committee headed by former Kaduna State governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi. Fayose, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said he supported Sheriff in good conscience. "But when it became obvious that his continuous stay in office as the National Chairman will jeopardise the collective interest of the party, I had no option than to support his removal. “To me, the general interest of the party overrides that of any individual and there is no how I can stand in support of any plan to sacrifice the party for any individual. “Anyone whose ambi-

tion threatens the collective interest of the party should be removed to save the party and that’s exactly what we have done. “I, therefore, urge Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to accept the dissolution of the NWC and appointment of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee in good faith and cooperate with other wellmeaning members of the party to reposition it so as to achieve the much-needed electoral victory in 2019. “To Sheriff and other well-meaning members of the party, what should be important is the party and not the individual and no sacrifice should be too much for anyone to make for the party at this time," the governor said. Jalo, who was among the deputy national officers who obtained an injunction from court for extension of their tenure till 2017, said Sheriff and other NWC members should accept the decision of party elders in good faith. "The convention in Port Harcourt has, seeing the danger ahead, unanimously resolved that we should give way for peace to reign, and the party is more supreme than any individual in the NWC," he said.

NEWS | national

tuesday, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Court orders DSS to allow Dasuki meet his lawyers

Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

n Abuja High Court yesterday refused the application brought by the Federal Government seeking to make the premises of the Department of State Services (DSS) the venue where the detained former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasu-

ki (rtd) will be meeting and briefing his lawyers. The court, however, ordered that Dasuki should be allowed to access and briefs his lawyers at a neutral place instead of the premises of the DSS headquarters in Abuja so as to enable him to prepare adequately for his defense in the trial. The Federal Government is prosecuting Dasuki over alleged diversion of

funds meant for the procurement of arms. Dasuki had been in detention since December 2015. The trial judge, Justice Husain Baba Yusuf, in his ruling also directed that henceforth the detained ex-NSA should be allowed by the DSS operatives to access his lawyers within the premises of Abuja High Court between Monday to Friday.

Before the ruling, prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) had told the court that the case was slated for commencement of trial and that he was fully ready with his witnesses that will testify in the case. However, counsel to Dasuki, Adeola Adedipe informed the court that he was not ready for trial because the ruling of April 6 which ordered DSS to allow the legal team access the de-

fendant for briefing so as to prepare his defence has not been complied with by the security agency. The counsel submitted that following the April 6 ruling, a letter by Dasuki’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN) dated April 13 was dispatched to the DSS requesting for permission to access Dasuki outside the DSS office as contained in the ruling of the court. He, however, stated that

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N780bn fine: MTN slumps 2.9% over talks of suspension Kunle Azeez

TN Group is currently witnessing a decline in its trading activities, following the suspension of talks about a $3.9 billion (N780 billion) fine imposed on the South African mobilephone company by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The suspension of talks came about as the country’s House of Representatives completes an investigation into the nature of the penalty. Reports yesterday showed that the telecoms company’s stock declined as much as 2.9 per cent, the most since May 12, and traded 1.5 per cent lower at 126.50 rand as of 10:23 a.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 233 billion rand ($15 billion). The shares have plunged almost 35 per cent since the fine, originally set at $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion), was levied in October. “Any delays in finding a resolution for the MTN fine will play into trading and keep MTN’s share price suppressed,” Peter Takaendesa, an analyst at Mergence Investment Managers, told Bloomberg yesterday,

Takaendesa said: “The big event to watch this week will be MTN’s annual general meeting, where the market might also get additional clarity.” Analysts believe that Nigeria’s decision to put talks on hold will frustrate Johannesburg-based MTN, as it seeks to resolve a fine that was levied for missing a deadline to disconnect customers deemed unregistered in the country, which is battling an Islamist insurgency. The company’s stock decline has cost MTN the title of Africa’s biggest wireless company by market capitalisation, losing it to crosstown rival Vodacom Group Limited. Meanwhile, MTN has cautioned shareholders not to make any decisions based on media reports. Rather, “Investors will be informed of any update to the fine negotiations via the stock exchange news service,” said MTN’ Spokesman, Mr. Chris Maroleng, in e-mailed comment. The Nigerian lawmakers “have set up a committee to investigate the MTN saga and they are still on it,” Spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, confirmed in a telephone interview.

Badeh used N1.85bn NAF fund to acquire property –Witness Tunde Oyesina Abuja

rosecution Witness 4 in the ongoing trial former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd.), before the Federal High court sitting in Abuja yesterday gave a vivid account of how Badeh acquired a N650 million plot of land in Abuja and also built a shopping mall on the land with the sum of N1.2 billion. The Federal Government is prosecuting Badeh and his company, Iyalikim Nigeria over alleged diversion of N3.9 billion

belonging to the Nigerian Air force. The witness, Mustapha Yerima, who is a contractor, told Justice Okon Abang, how he helped the Air Force chief to build the shopping mall on the land located along Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja. Yerima, who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, (SAN) told the court that the land acquired by Badeh for the purpose of building the shopping mall was originally owned by one Ayodele Fayose. Though, the witness did not specify whether it is the same Fayose, who is the governor of Ekiti state.

to their surprise, the prosecution counsel replied on April 18 to the effect that the access to Dasuki will be granted at a convenient room and unhindered in a special room at the DSS headquarters. The counsel insisted that because of the confidentiality required in such a briefing between a client and his lawyer, the DSS letter could not be acted upon.

The total number of subscribers of Multilinks Telkom (fixed/fixed wireless) as at September 2015. Source: Ncc.gov.ng

Green tea could cure acne Appolonia Adeyemi

President Muhammadu Buhari, with governor of Ogun state Ibikunle Amosu, after a meeting, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

FG saves N680bn from procurement in 5 years

he Acting DirectorGeneral, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. Ahmed Audu, yesterday said the Federal Government had saved N680 billion in five years through the establishment of the Bureau. Audu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a Procurement Cadre Conversion training for officials of agencies, parastatals, commissions and institutions of the Federal Government.

The programme was held at the auditorium of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, in Lagos State. He revealed that before the establishment of the BPP, the Federal Government had been losing huge sums of revenue because procurement training was being carried out by non-professionals. “The essence of this training is to build capacity, enhance professionalism, accountability and career development

in all officials that are participating in the programme. “Before the BPP was established, the training of public servants in procurement was carried out by non-professionals and as a result of that, the government was losing huge sums of money. “The government has been able to arrest that problem due to the professionalism of the procurement officers and this has made the government to save N680 billion in five years."

N30trn suit: I was never served court processes, says Okonjo-Iweala Abdulwahab Isa Abuja

former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okojo-Iweala, has denied being served court papers in relation to alleged missing N30 trillion, which the Socio-Economic Rights Agenda (SERAP) has secured a court judgement against her. In a statement issued yesterday by her media aide, Paul Nwabiuku, the former minister described the purported court ruling, which ordered her to provide information on

the money, as misleading. The statement said the former finance minister was yet to read the judgement and would therefore defer comments on the matter. "From the media reports, the case was instituted in February 2015 but was not served until July 2015 after Dr. Okonjo-Iweala had already ceased to be the Minister of Finance. By the date the said papers were purportedly served, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was no longer a public officer and could therefore not be the subject of a request for production of any documents

or information under the Freedom of Information Act. "The court processes must have been served on others because the attention of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was never drawn to the matter in which she appears to have been sued personally. She therefore did not engage any lawyer to act for her in the matter." On SERAP's action, the statement noted that "the decision of SERAP to anchor its case on a baseless and unsubstantiated allegation by a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Professor Charles Soludo.

hose who suffer acne may find succour in drinking green tea. This is the findings in a study published in the mailonline. According to the researchers, green tea has been tested as a treatment for acne. Acne is caused by an over-production of oil, which blocks microscopic hair follicles and provides the ideal breeding ground for the bacteria that cause spots. In the month-long study, women given a green tea supplement, equivalent to a glass of the tea a day, had less acne than a placebo group. Researchers from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan, found that women who had green tea extract had less acne around the problematic nose, mouth and chin areas. It is thought that an antioxidant in green tea, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate or EGCG, has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. This unique flavonoid favourably alters pathways underlying pathological processes such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. All of this points to green tea as a broad-spectrum nutrient that may promote long life, according to researchers. Green tea is consumed routinely in Asian populations, who have greater longevity and lower mortality rates for diseases that are prevalent in Western society. Given the huge scientific literature supporting the positive role of green tea in preventing neurodegenerative diseases, not to mention its benefits in helping to prevent cancer and other diseases, as well as its lack of toxicity.

national | news

tuesday, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari to Nigerians: Petrol price will eventually go down Muritala Ayinla

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed optimism that the current price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol would eventually go down. He also assured Nigerians that the country was on the path of progress, in spite of the prevailing economic situation. Buhari gave the assurance at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, while com-

missioning N1.85 billion security equipment donated by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund to enhance security in the state. The president,who was represented by his Vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, also lamented that a lot of damage had been done to the nation. He explained that the difficulties currently faced by the citizens would soon be a thing of the past once all the teething problems confronting the nation are fully addressed. He said: "We are fully

aware of all the difficulties that Nigerians have to go through. But these difficulties are signs of the great future. This country is going high and is going to be a great nation indeed. "This country is going to be a nation where there will be abundant prosperity but there are teething problems. There is a lot of repair to be done. There is a lot of re-adjustment to be done. There is a lot that we have to do to ensure that our country becomes the kind of country that it really

should be. "A lot had happened in the past that have done a lot of damage and we must repair that damage. It is that damage that is being repaired that you see today. "Mr President has asked me to assure every single Lagosian and every Nigerian that we are on the path of progress. "Recently, we explained that the nation had no choice but to begin to look at the situation where we have to liberalise the fuel market. We have now been able to do so and we are

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Nestle Nigeria Plc Dharnesh Gordhon; Chairman, David Ifezulike, and Company Secretary, Bode Ayeku, at the company’s 47th Annual General Meeting in Lagos… yesterday.

Foluso Ogunmodede

former Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, yesterday protested angrily over an order of a court to remand him in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for three more weeks. Chief Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi of an Ikeja Chief Magistrate's Court yesterday granted a remand application initiated before her by the EFCC to remand him on an alleged N1.4 billion fraud. But in a statement by his Media adviser, Jude Ndukwe, yesterday, FaniKayode said the order was in spite of the fact that

53.7

The annual mortality rate (per 100,000) due to Alzheimer’s Disease in North Dakota State in 2010. Source: Alz.org

OWERRI

mo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has threatened to sack striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Imo State University, Owerri chapter, who have been on strike over the non-payment of salaries and other allowances due to them by the state government. Okorocha, who gave the indication while interract-

are experiencing today with fuel prices," he added. The President said that the Federal Government would support the state government, being the only state that had been in the opposition since the inception of democracy. On his part, the state Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, said the donation was another indication of his administration's commitment to security of lives and properties of Lagosians, saying that it was coming six months after he unveiled about N5 billion worth of security gadgets. Ambode said: "In addition to our earlier contributions, we are further demonstrating our resolve to strengthen the capacity of our security agencies with 140 brand new Ford Ranger pick-ups and 335 power bikes fitted with communication gadgets, helmets, bullet proof vests and other kits at a cost of N1.85 billion.

Obasanjo recommends legislation against genital mutilation

Fani-Kayode kicks as court orders him remanded in EFCC custody

his lawyers had served the EFCC the court notices from a Federal High Court in Abuja on May 20 where he went to enforce his fundamental human rights “This is a gross abuse of court processes and a denial of his fundamental human rights. It is even most shocking that EFCC attempted to take him to the magistrate court without notifying his lawyers or family members. His lawyers had to go from court to court in Lagos searching for venue of the court proceedings before they eventually traced it to Ikeja. This type of treatment

to any citizen of our nation especially in a democratic era is, to say the least, inhuman.” EFCC brought FaniKayode to court to seek a remand order against him over a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretences and the alleged theft of N1.5 billion, property of the Federal Ministry of External Affairs. According to the antigraft agency, the remand order was urgently needed to prevent Fani-Kayode from tampering with evidence. Osunsanmi granted the remand application having listened to lawyers

representing the anti-graft agency, Mr. A. N. Anana and Fani-Kayode's lawyer, Wale Balogun. The EFCC had argued that the remand application which was predicated on Section 261 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2011, of the Lagos State, was to remand the former Minister of Aviation pending his proper arraignment at the appropriate court. "We have an ex-parte application for an order of remand dated May 10, 2016 made pursuant to Section 261 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law."

ASUU Strike: Okorocha threatens Benin unfolds funeral rites to sack IMSU Iecturers for late Oba Erediauwa Steve Uzoechi

happy to see that labour has decided to work with us and see how this liberalisation of the fuel market can make fuel supply to our people more efficient and profitable for everyone." "He said, today any Nigerian could bring fuel into the country and supply so long he or she abides by the regulations of the Petroleum Product Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). "We expect that in future, petrol prices will go down because with competition prices will go down. We saw it in the telecommunications sector and we know that as time goes on we will not have to experience the same problem we

ing with journalists in Owerri on the activities of his administration over the last five years, disclosed that he would not hesitate to concession the University and engage new lecturers. He, therefore, appealed to ASUU members to return to classrooms, saying that ASUU was sabotaging the state and delaying the future of lmo children. According to him, some members of ASUU are bent on truncating the free education programme of the state government.

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

he Benin traditional council, yesterday, announced a 15 days funeral rites which begins tomorrow May 25 for the Late Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba Nedo Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Erediauwa. The event will start tomorrow, which is Ekioba market day with palace rites and end on Wednesday June 8th, an Agbado market for the late Oba of

the kingdom. The unfolding of funeral rites came just about 25 days after the Iyase (Prime Minister) of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe, announced the transition of the Oba of Benin. According to a statement, signed by the Secretary, Benin Traditional Council, Frank Irabor, other palace rites would be held on the 26th, 27th, 28th and then on Sunday May 29th there would be entertainment of guests.

Sola Adeyemo and Adeolu Adeyemo Ibadan

orried by the widespread negative effects of female genital mutilation in many zones of Nigeria and agitation for its abolition, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday stressed the need for enactment of a national legislation against the practice. Obasanjo made the call at the ancient Mapo Hall in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, in his keynote address at the Special international summit on Female Circumcision and Challenges of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM/C) in Nigeria organised by the Circumcision Descendants Association of Ni-

geria, otherwise called Oloola. The summit, hosted by Chief Abiola Ogundokun, in conjunction with experts from United Kingdom and some traditional rulers and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had the descendants of circumcisers from Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Ondo and Lagos in attendance. In attendance was also the wife of Osun State Governor, Alhaja Serifat Aregbesola, who was represented by the wife of Osun State Chief of Staff, Mrs Kafayat Oyeyola, as well as the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul Rasheed. The ex-president, who was represented by Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, said the consequences of female genital mutilation far outweighed the cultural value attached to it.

US to help Nigeria improve power supply Ebere Ameh

he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday, launched a new assistance program that aims to improve power distribution performance and increase connections in Nigeria. Through the two-year partnership agreement, which is under the President Obama’s landmark Power Africa Initiative, funds of $9 Million per year would be provided to improve performance of the DisCos through embedded advisors.

The launching of the partnership, which would also advance major infrastructure investments and strengthen systems in the distribution companies, took place yesterday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. In his keynote speech, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, stated that the government has great plans to generate power for Nigerians but cannot deliver on their plans without strengthening the DisCos (the distribution companies), who are the public face of the power chain.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

METRO

ABIODUN BELLO

...CRIME, CITY WATCH, COURTS

Protest as policewoman kills driver, detains brothers

Taiwo Jimoh

ngry residents of Igando area, Lagos State, yesterday marched on the Igando Police Station to protest the murder of a bus driver and detention of his two brothers. The deceased, Muyiwa Ijaduola, a commercial bus driver, was allegedly killed on Sunday by a policewoman identified as Corporal Daba Iyabo Abagun, attached to Igando Police Station. The incident occurred at NNPC bus stop. A witness picked the phone of the driver and called numbers in his phone contact, telling them that Muyiwa had been killed. Pictures of the deceased, taken by some witnesses, showed he was still clutching the money which he wanted to give the policewoman. Yesterday, family members of the driver said that two of his brothers, Tolulope and Ayodeji Ijaduola, as well as Tolulope’s wife, Zainab, were arrested and detained by the police. The brothers were arrested for allegedly leading a protest to the police station. Tolulope claimed that the policemen, while harassing him, stole his N7,000. He said police locked him and his brother in a cell for over three hours. He added that the police also threw a canister of tear gas in the cell. The police were also accused of seizing phones and laptops of witnesses. Some of the witnesses

lIt’s not true, says CP

The protesters barricading the road

were allegedly beaten and injured. The Sunday incident was said to have occurred after Ijaduola allegedly refused to part with N200, which Abagun demanded. The deceased said that he could only part with N100, but Abagun and another policewoman refused. A witness said: “The angry policewoman dragged the driver out of the bus and soon both of them were in a heated argument. The policewoman suddenly shouted; ‘go away with your money’. She pushed the driver. There was a

gutter behind him. As she pushed him, he slipped and fell into the gutter. He hit the back of his head on the concrete as he slipped. “The policewoman went to the passengers in the bus and told them that the driver had an epileptic attack and fell inside the gutter. She also told them that the driver would soon step out of the gutter. But he died inside the gutter.” Reacting to the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said Ijaduola had an epileptic attack and in the pro-

City Briefs

cess of helping him, he fell into the gutter. He said: “People alleged that the female officer killed him, it couldn’t have been possible since the officer wasn’t armed.” According to Owoseni, the matter was settled on Sunday, only for protesters to hit the road yesterday. But the family members yesterday said Ijaduola had no history of epileptic. They demanded that police should hand over Ijaduola’s body to them for burial. His elder sister, Mrs. Omolola

Vandals jump into lagoon Octogenarian commits suicide

Flora Onwudiwe

he Nigerian Navy has recovered over 2,000 kegs of 25 litres of stolen petroleum product, containing approximately 50,000 litres of fuel. The suspects were said to have jumped into the water and swam to safety after sighting naval men who were on midnight patrol at Tongeji Island, off the boundary between Benin Republic and Nigeria. The fleeing suspects allegedly specialised in smuggling stolen fuel and vandalising pipelines. They also used to buy stolen fuel from vandals and take same out of the country through the waters.

Speaking with journalists at the Naval Base, Apapa, NNS BEECROFT Commander, Commodore Abraham Adaji, said the arrest came after the Navy recovered 218 kegs of 25 litres each of stolen fuel. Adaji said the product was handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday. He said: “The products were recovered from Tongeji Island, around Badagry area, on the fringes of Nigeria’s Western border with Republic of Benin. No suspect was arrested because the occupants of the boat, who were moving towards Badagry, fled and abandoned the products with the wooden boats upon sighting our patrol boats.”

Babatope Okeowo Akure

he lifeless body of an octogenarian, Pa Oriola Adegoke, was found dangling on the ceiling of his house in Ondo, Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State after he was said to have committed suicide. The 82-year-old man was said to have committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope on a ceiling fan inside his bedroom at 45, Ayeyemi Street, Ondo town. The man’s death was brought to the notice of the people in the area by one of his daughters, Taye Adegoke, who lived with him. Taye was said to have discovered the dangling body of her

father when she could not hear from him in his room where he slept the previous night. At press time, what pushed Adegoke to commit suicide was not known, but a resident said the incident had continued to generate controversy in the area. The resident described the deceased as a gentle and easy going old man. According to a police source at the Enuowa Divisional Police Station, no suicide note was found in the room where the octogenarian was said to have hanged himself. The source said investigation had begun into the cause of the man’s death. Some spiritualists and traditional worshippers were at Ad-

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com 08023938212

Oluranti, said: “We are appealing to the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to order the release of our brother’s body. I was still in church when I received a phone call from a woman that my brother had been pushed into the gutter by a policewoman. “She said Muyiwa died in the process. I rushed to the scene. I was told what transpired by some traders in the area. I learnt the policewoman is called Daba Iyabo Abagun. She stopped Muyiwa and demanded her usual N200, but Muyiwa told her he could only afford N100. She dragged him out of his bus; he slipped and fell, hitting his head on the concrete.” According to her, some men in the bus came down and went to the gutter; they discovered that Ijaduola was dead. She added: “The policewoman escaped being lynched by an angry mob. When other family members and I got to the station on Sunday to ask for his remains, we were told the body had been deposited at Isolo General Hospital mortuary. When we got to the General Hospital, we were told that there was no corpse with such a description. “When we probed further, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Igando said the body was at Ikorodu mortuary. We are appealing to the police to release the corpse for burial. “Three of our family members were arrested and detained by the policemen. They claimed that our family members wanted to set their station on fire. Vehicles of Muyiwa’s colleagues, who followed us to the station, were vandalised by policemen.” Mr Ayoade Emmanuel, another family member, said: “All we want is for his body to be released to us. We want the police to produce the policewoman who killed Muyiwa. We gathered this was the third time such an incident was happening at Igando station.

egoke’s resident trying to remove the body for burial in line with the traditions and culture of the people. A source close to the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Adegoke might have taken his life because of protracted illness of one of his daughters on which the man had spent all the money. Policemen from Enuowa led by a senior police officer in company with members of the landlords’ association on the street were part of the efforts to remove the body. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Enuowa Division, Mr. Kunle Omisakin, a Chief Superintendent of Police, confirmed the story. He said that information concerning it had been forwarded to appropriate quarters at the police command headquarters, Akure.

METRO

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Muhammad Kabir Kano

olice in Kano have arrested two housewives, Zainab and Hafsatu Musa, for allegedly torturing and breaking the legs and arms of a two-year-old boy. The women are married to the same man but the child belongs to the third wife, who had packed out of the house. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Magaji Majiya, said the incident occurred on Friday. According to him, when the women’s husband, Murtala Musa, came back home about 8pm, he met his two-year-boy laying in critical condition. The PPRO said on seeing the condition of the boy, Musa rushed him to the hospital where it was confirmed that his legs were broken and that blood was oozing from his nose and ears, while doctors said he might have problems with his eyes. Musa, a resident of

Housewives torture, break two-year-old boy’s legs, arms Gulu town in Rimin Gado Local Government Area of the state, was said to have divorced his third wife, who left his two-year-old boy. But the man handed the boy over to his senior wife, Zainab, to take care of him. But unknown to him, the boy is usually sub-

jected to torture by the two wives, because he was not their child. After their arrest, the state Police Commissioner, Abbati Dikko, directed that they be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation. Already wife of the police commissioner, who is

also the Chairperson of the Police Wives’ Association against Child Abuse, Hajiya Aishatu Diko, has intervened in the case. She promised that her association would follow the matter to a logical conclusion. According to her, cruelty against children is not tolerable.

The boy

I don’t defraud with police uniform –Suspect Taiwo Jimoh

33-year-old man, Mr. Nathaniel Benjamin, is now in the custody of the police in Lagos for alleged impersonation. The suspect was arrested by X-squad team of the state Police Command at Alakija area of Ojo following tip-off from members of the public. The suspect, who hails from Kogi State, said he was once a driver but the uniform belonged to his late police brother. He said: “When I was working as a private driver at the Festac Town area of Lagos, my monthly salary was N30,000 but the money was not enough to cater for my needs. That was when I decided to wear my late brother’s uniform and dress as a police officer so that when I board a commercial vehicle, the driver will Benjamin not collect fare from me.

“All efforts to get a well-paying job have been futile. My desperation to save money to carter for my family needs prompted me to wear the police uniform. “I love police work but all my efforts to become a policeman met a brick wall. “I was neither using the police uniform to defraud people nor to escort heavy duty vehicles. I was using it to get free transportation. My late brother had not spent one year in the police when he died in an auto accident last year. After his burial, I decided to use his uniform in my custody. I have been wearing it for about three months.” “Because of my passion for the police job, I applied for the recent recruitment exercise and I have been praying to God to help me get enlisted into the force. I don’t know wearing the uniform is an offence. It was my love for the force that made me to wear it.”

Seven trapped as three-storey building collapses Pamela Eboh Awka

three-storey building under construction yesterday collapsed at Oko, Amaokpala in Orumba Local Government Area of Anambra State. At press time, seven labourers were still trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building. The building, located near the permanent site of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, belongs to a private developer at Nwagu village near the institution. Also, because students live near the affected build, the polytechnic was shut. A witness said that

though no life was lost, efforts were being made to rescue the trapped workers. However, two buildings adjacent the affected structure were affected by the impact of the collapse owing to the proximity. The residents of the buildings were evacuated by the authorities of the polytechnic. During his visit to the scene of the collapse, Governor Willie Obiano said the contractor and owner of the building would be prosecuted if found to have cut corners. He said that a panel of inquiry would be set up to determine the remote and immediate causes of

the collapse. Obiano sympathised with the students whose hostels had been shut because of the incident and assured them that their safety was of utmost importance to the government.

In his reaction, the Public Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Mr. Obini Onuchukwu, explained that the building was owned by a private estate developer and not the institution as was being speculated.

Rescuers at the scene of the incident… yesterday

16 die in Abia, Bauchi auto crashes Nankpah Bwakan and Igbeaku Orji

t least 16 people lost their lives on Sunday in auto crashes in Abia and Bauchi states. Three people, among them a student of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, lost their lives in an auto accident at Tashan Durumi on Bauchi-Jos Road. Seven others were injured in the accident which occurred on Sunday afternoon. On the same day, 13 passengers died in an auto crash at the Umuahia end of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) confirmed yesterday. The Abia Sector Commander of FRSC, Mrs. Stella Uchegbu, said that two persons, a man and woman, survived and were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia. She said that the driver of the truck absconded after the accident. Uchegbu appealed to motorists to always drive carefully, especially during the rainy season, when the roads were slippery. Meanwhile, an FRSC of-

ficial, who was part of the rescue team, said on the condition of anonymity, that the incident happened between 11a.m. and noon at the Ofeme Junction on the expressway. He said that the accident involved a MAN-Diesel Truck, with registration number Plateau JJN 782 XB, and an 18-seater Toyota Hiace passenger bus, marked Abakiliki AKL 895 YA. Those who lost their lives were nine men, three women and a little girl. The accident in Bauchi was said to have involved an Opel Vectra car which had a head-on collision with a Sharon car. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Haruna Mohammed, said in a statement that the victims were certified dead by a medical doctor at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH). He said: “On Sunday, about 2:30pm, there was a head-on collision between an Opel Vectra, ash in colour, with registration number TRR 744 BAU and a red Sharon vehicle with registration number ALK 238 XA at Tashan Durumi on BauchiJos highway, Bauchi.

IG teams arrest kidnappers, gang leaders

The suspects

Juliana Francis

olice have arrested eight notorious kidnappers, who have been terrorising residents of Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Delta and Kaduna states. According to a reliable source, the suspects were arrested by a special squad attached to the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Those arrested are identified as Sani Husseini (50), a gang leader; Musa Yahaya (27) aka Borgujo, also a gang leader; Idris Sani (28); Murtala Ishiaka (28); Ejima Ibrahim (19); Abdulrahman Sani (23) aka Soldier; Abubakar Ahmed (34) aka INTERPOL and Abdulmumini Onoima aka Gagambo. The police source said the arrest started after a series of intelligence gathering of the activi-

ties of kidnappers in Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Delta and Kaduna states. The source added that the kidnappers used to operate in Lokoja, Okene, Kabba, Obajana and other areas in the aforementioned states. The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who had been monitoring the activities of kidnappers in each of these states, was said to have drafted teams of police from Force Headquarters and ordered them to comb the states. It was gathered that the policemen started picking up the suspects after three weeks of tracking them. It was also gathered that during interrogation, the suspects confessed to have been operating within Kogi, Edo, Delta, Ondo and Kaduna states.

10 News|NATIONAL

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Legislative aides raise the alarm over plot to re-arrest chairman

NERC fines Abuja DISCO N18.1m

Chukwu David

Johnchuks Onuanyim

Abuja

he National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF) yesterday alleged a plot by the police to re-arrest its duly elected Chairman, Mr. Darlington Udeh. The forum in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Bamidele, also alleged that the plot, made by a serving senator (name withheld) alongside one C. J. Osman, secretary, Corporate Services, National Assembly, was intended to ensure Udeh’s indefinite detention by the police. The Divisional Police Officer in National Assembly, Nancy Ajaponna, had in a letter dated May 5, 2016, claimed a breach of peace and public disturbance within the premises of the apex legislative complex, involving Udeh, the newly elected chairman of NASSLAF. Ajaponna, who copied the Commissioner of Police and Area Commander of the Police FCT Command, had requested Udeh to report to the Divisional Crime Officer, National Assembly Division office on Monday, May 9, 2016 by 10am, but he honoured the invitation last week Monday. NASSLAF, however, raised the alarm yesterday over fresh plot to use the Criminal Investigative

...alleges plan to impose Melaye’s brother

Department of the FCT Command to re-arrest the forum’s chairman. According to the association, the move is aimed at paving the way for the inauguration of one Samuel Melaye, a younger brother to Senator Dino Melaye, chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, who is being imposed on the forum by C. J. Osman as its chairman. The statement warned that the continued use of the police to harass and intimidate elected leadership of NASSLAF, posed grave consequences which could result into a

he Federal Government yesterday said the pollution in Ogoniland via oil exploration is a tragedy that ‘should never have happened.’ Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, spoke when she featured on News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja. Mohammed, who was speaking on the expected clean-up of Ogoniland, said the exercise would begin in a couple weeks. She said: “I think that the expectations are very high. For many years, the people of Ogoniland have suffered and struggled to try to begin the implementation of the UNEP report. “If you are living there, you would understand that this is a tragedy and it is something that should have never happened. So, it is urgent that we do something about it. “However, if we want to begin a process of clean-up, what we are

contraption led by Samuel Melaye, a younger brother to Senator Dino Melaye, who chairs the Senate Committee on Federal Character Territory, notwithstanding the fact that the duly elected executive committee of NASSLAF has since petitioned the Inspector-General of Police alleging the harassment and intimidation vide a petition dated and duly acknowledged by the office of the InspectorGeneral of Police. “What this portends is gradual drive towards a total breakdown of law and order in the National

Assembly, should they go on with their threat,” the statement added. The legislative aides had on April 28, 2016, elected Darlington Udeh as chairman of NASSLAF, following an election which was held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja. However, after Udeh’s election, NASSLAF had severally lamented harassment and intimidation of its leadership by the police, a development which led the forum to petition the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase.

L-R: Founder, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Comrade Debo Adediran; Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Minister of information, Art and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during an interactive session with coalition of civil societies and professional bodies, in Lagos… yesterday. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Minister: Pollution in Ogoniland avoidable

breakdown of law and order in the National Assembly. The statement reads in part: “We are reliably informed that a serving senator has influenced the police to re-arrest the duly elected Chairman of the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, Darlington Udeh, with effect from Monday April 23, 2016, for the purpose of arraignment on spurious allegations yet to be investigated. “It is the plan to keep him indefinitely in detention to pave way for the inauguration of an illegal

putting in place to ensure that it is sustainable and that we are clean after the clean-up, requires a lot of buy-in. “It requires us to talk to communities, key stakeholders to make sure that they are all on board so that once we launch, it is a question of going along that road map, remembering that the clean-up in Ogoniland is going to take up 20 to 25 years. “The damage there is considerable. It is not something that can be fixed overnight. So, that launch will take place in the next couple of weeks.” Speaking on the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Minister said Nigeria was yet to ratify the document as there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed before the signing of the agreement. She said: “We believe in the climate change agreement, but we also know that we have a year to sign.

El-Rufai declares state of emergency on tomato pests Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

aduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared a state of emergency in the cultivation of tomatoes in the state, because 80 percent of tomato farms have been ravaged by an exotic pest called tomato blight, whose botanical name is Tuta Absoluta. The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Manzo Maigari, who made this known yesterday, said the pest has af-

fected over 200 farmers in three local government areas in the state, adding that they have lost N1 billion in the last one month. The commissioner further said that already some officials of the ministry have been sent to Kenya to liaise with experts in search for a solution. “In the past one month, 12 council areas of the state that produce tomatoes have lost 80 percent of its tomato harvests. In three council areas, about 200 famers have lost N1 billion worth of their tomatoes. So you can imag-

ine the magnitude of the loss,” he said. According to Maigari, the menace of the pests has been so severe that even Alhaji Aliko Dangote had to shut down production in his tomato processing company in Kano. “The problem with the disease, which is caused by moth, is that no amount of spraying will kill the adult. You spray it, after about three hours, it revives back to life. So, we have sent some of our officials to travel to Kenya and meet our partners.”

Abuja

igeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday said it has fined the Abuja Electricity Distribution Companies (AEDC) N18 million for negligence. According to a statement from NERC, the fine should be paid to the family of a seven-year-old, who was electrocuted in Kabusa area of Abuja. Also in the statement, the commission directed the distribution companies to renew their comprehensive insurance as provided under Part 5 Section 5.2 of the Health and Safety Code for the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The statement said: “This directive was sequel to an investigation into electrocution of a seven-year-old minor at Kabusa, Abuja, within the network of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).” The statement revealed that the commission’s Chairman, Dr. Anthony Akah, giving the directives for the renewal of comprehensive insurance, said it is a general application to electricity distribution companies whose insurance policies have expired.

Navy marks 50th anniversary with community service Clement James Calabar

he Nigerian Navy yesterday said it has a duty to relate with its host community by identifying with the problem of the people in its area of operation. Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral James Oluwole, stated this in Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State during a medical outreach by the navy to mark its 50th anniversary in the country. Oluwole, who was represented by Commodore Tanko Pani, said the navy appreciates the role played by the civilian population during its 50 years in existence and must identify with their problem.

Trial of Synagogue engineers stalled again Akeem Nafiu

he trial of two engineers indicted over the collapse of a six-story building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) before Justice Lateef LawalAkapo, of an Ikeja High Court was stalled again yesterday.

The trial of Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, could not start as expected owing to the objections raised by his defence lawyers over the appearance of the first prosecutor witness, Adebayo Olayinka, in court. On resumption of yesterday’s proceedings, the witness was called in to give his

testimonies. However, as soon as he stepped into the witness box, lawyer for the first defendant, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), stood up and observed that the statement of the witness was not part of the proof of evidence made available by the prosecution to the defence. Fagbemi argued that al-

lowing Olayinka to testify while the he had no idea of the evidence he intended to give would amount to ambushing the defence or catching them by surprise. “Eight people were listed as prosecution witnesses; out of these eight witnesses, only statements of numbers one, two and three were frontloaded.”

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Ebonyi

Politics

Priority on infrastructure, workers’ salaries

Benue

Buhari:

One year after

Ortom tackles herdsmen's menace

13 16

PDP: A year outside Aso Rock The scenario at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the past one year is a pitiable one as the Wadata Plaza has lost its glamour and attraction. ONYEKACHI EZE reports

he statement of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in August last year brought members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) back to the reality that they are no longer in control of the Federal Government. The former Akwa Ibom State governor, who spoke in support of the then impending sack of some staff at the party's secretariat by the National Working Committee (NWC) said: “We can no longer run to the Villa for cash, so we don’t have the wherewithal to maintain that large number of secretariat staff. The workers should understand that they are in a master-servant relationship in which you cannot force an unwilling master to keep a recalcitrant servant. We are definitely going to downsize.” The PDP had just three months after handing over power to the All Progressives Congress (APC), issued a circular to its secretariat staff, intimating them of the plan to reduce the workforce at the party's national secretariat by 50 per cent. In a memo of July 29, 2015 addressed to all directors and Ps/ DD/HOD/SAs/PAs and Establishment Staff, and signed by the former National Secretary, Prof. Adewale Oladipo, the party said the decision to cut down the workforce was reached at the 406 meeting of the NWC. Titled: "Re-organisation and restructuring of staff at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party," the former National Secretary said apart from staff reduction, the salaries and allow-

FELIX NWANERI

GROUP PoLITICAL EDITOR nwanerif@newtelegraphonline.com

PDP National Secretariat, Abuja. Inset: Ahmed Makarfi, Caretaker National Chairman

ances of those to be left behind would be slashed by 50 per cent. The decision according to him, include "reduction of the allowance of all NWC members by 50 per cent and reduction in the number of security personnel attached to the national officers by 50 per cent." The party also scrapped its Research Directorate and transferred its functions to the Peoples Democratic Institution (PDI) – its training arm. The above scenario summarised the state of affairs in PDP since it lost the presidential election last year. The party's national secretariat located at Plot 1970 Michael Okpara Street Wuse zone 5 Abuja, which witnessed a beehive of activities for 16 years has suddenly lost its attraction. Even the sale of nomination forms for elective positions that was a carnival of some sort with aspirants trying to outdo one another in order to impress it on the party leadership that they are the preferred candidates, equally lost its glamour. PDP had sold nomination forms for the Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship since it lost the presidential election. The party also declared its national offices vacant to be filled in last Saturday's botched National Convention. But only few aspirants indicated interest to run for the offices unlike during the 2014 Ekiti and Osun states gubernatorial primaries, where many aspirants "invaded" the party's national secretariat for nomination forms. In the case of Kogi and Bayelsa states, only three aspirants from

The party's national secretariat... has suddenly lost its attraction

each state, picked the nomination form for the governorship primary. And as for the national offices, only one nomination form was printed for each office, and no one knew when the forms were sold. Except for a handful of posters pasted at the national secretariat there was no indication that the party was preparing for an elective national convention. This affected the revenue accruing to the party. PDP made about N9 billion from the sale of nomination forms to aspirants in the 2015 elections. In some states like Ogun, Rivers, Benue and Akwa Ibom, the party generated between N150 million and N200 million each from the sale of governorship nomination forms alone. But a paltry sum of N66 million came to the party's coffers from Kogi and Bayelsa states. The party's governorship nomination form goes for N10 million while the expression of interest form is N1 million. The lull in activities at the PDP national secretariat have also affected reporters covering the party as they have been forced to engage in what is termed 'off shore' to be able to file reports to their respective organisations. Even hangers on and praise singers, who daily lay siege at the secretariat for possible few naira notes from visitors, have equally relocated to other places because the place is no more "viable" for such business. The state of affairs was worsened by the spate of arrests and detention of PDP members by the APC-led Federal Government.

Most party members, who would have had one or two businesses to do at the secretariat are being hounded by the anti-corruption agencies. The situation got worsened by the leadership tussle that engulfed the party. The insistence of the former Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to hold on as acting national chairman after the resignation of the former National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu further deepened the crisis in the party. The national chairmanship position was zoned to the NorthEast in 2012 but Secondus is from South-South. Agitation from members of the party from the NorthEast for one of their own to be appointed to serve out Mu'azu's tenure set the NWC against some stakeholders of the party. Even the choice of former Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as Mu'azu's replacement further divided the party. Sheriff was rejected by the various organs of the party except the NWC. For the three months he presided over the affairs of the party, PDP became factionalised, climaxing in two parallel conventions and emergence of three chairmen. And for the first time after its formation, the National Secretariat of the party was sealed off by policemen at the weekend. No doubt, the PDP has not been able to provide the much expected opposition voice and has not proved that it has learnt any lesson from its past mistakes that resulted in the loss of power after 16 years.

POLITICS

Alhaji Yerima Shettima is the President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF). In this interview with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE, he says the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government is gradually losing its goodwill Are you satisfied with the performance of the Muhammadu Buhariled government? I am not satisfied in the sense that the government is gradually loosing the goodwill that Nigerians have for it. The expectations from this government were very high but there is nothing that can be pointed to as a major achievement of government that came to power with the mantra of change. We expected that the government will take us to another level but it is now clear that some of those who run the affairs of the country are not truly sincere. What were your expectations? The expectations were much. Some of us felt that the moment we had a change mantra, the issue of power would be a thing of the past in the first six months or one year of the administration because we believe people in government today are not foreigners. They are those who know the problems of the country before coming to power. Since the people in power contested election in 2003, 2007 and 2011 before coming to power in 2015, it was expected that they should have know the problem of the country before coming to power. So, they don’t have to come to power and start thinking of what to do. It was expected that they should have know that infrastructure has collapsed and the system is also faulty. So

Buhari:

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

One year after

APC govt gradually losing goodwill – Shettima

Shettima

they should have thought of how to solve the problems. This government has not met people's expectation because there is nothing to write home about looking at issues of power supply, road construction and other meaningful programmes for the benefit of common man in the country. The issue of inflation is getting higher everyday and foreign exchange has also increased. Many things have also fallen out of place. It is wrong for us to assume that all is well in Nigeria. Are you saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is yet to implement any of its campaign promises? They have not done anything. The only thing we get is excuse; flimsy excuses that the Peoples

They have not done anything. The only thing we get is excuse

Democratic Party (PDP) destroyed the country during its 16-year rule. We agreed that the PDP destroyed the country but to an extent the suffering of the masses is not as bad as it is today since the inception of this country. If the present government feel that something is wrong with the country, they should allow stakeholders to put heads together to solve the problem. We should look at Nigeria beyond our political, ethnic and religious lines. Why should many people be regarded as second class citizens in the country today? Why should a battle line be drawn between the ruling class and poor masses? Why should government tell us there is no money and the salaries and allowances of members of the National Assembly are yet to be cut? Why should somebody tell me that the country is broke and yet the president and vice president keep travelling and their allowances have not been cut? Why will somebody tell me the country is broke when the Senate can afford a car of N36 million for each of the 109 senators? Why will somebody tell me that we are broke when the ruling class, political leaders, ministers and other public office holders spend public fund at the expense of a common man on the street? Government officials are telling us to fasten our belts but a lot of us don’t even have belt, so what are we going to fasken? What sacrifice can common people make when they are not comfortable?

Do you think the government has really kept to his promises of addressing insecurity problem in the country? There is no way you can address the issue of insecurity when there is abject poverty in the land and when there is mass un-

employment in the country. You cannot fight crime when there is total hunger in the land. The North-East insurgency problem is not yet over. From the statement we get from the girls that came out from Sambisa Forest, it means that other girls are still in Sambisa. This shows that government has not totally won the war against Boko Haram. Though I commend the courage and commitment of the Nigeria Army Forces in recent times, compared to past administration but we have not won the war yet. Presently, we also have the issue of kidnapping, which has become rampant everywhere. There is also an issue of another group, known as Niger Delta Avengers coming out from the Niger Delta region. The group is threatening our national unity and sabotaging the economy. We have a case where some group of people, the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) said they want to break out of the country; threatening the unity of the country. We also have a case, where there is no respect for rule of law and some of those actions demonstrated by the present administration where they don’t respect rule of law, even when government gave a ruling against a man who is accused to be a suspect, who has not been convicted by the court. You cannot sit down and convict somebody because you are dissatisfied with him. The crime we have today is higher than what we had in the past. I knew that there are criminally minded people, who are also working to ensure that even if the government have good intention to fight corruption, they will use their machineries and stolen wealth to sponsor criminals to continue to cause problem in the country.

Ahamba: Buhari means well for Nigeria Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He believes that President Muhammadu Buhari means well for Nigeria as he is trying to move the country on a different direction from what used to be. FELIX NWANERI reports

complish. So, I refused to condemn him yet until his budget begins to run.

What is your assessment of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government in the last one year? President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to move Nigeria on a different direction from what used to be and that and that task is not easy to ac-

If you are to set a template for the government as it enters into its second year, what should be its priorities? The President should look at the mistakes he has made in his first year in office and try to correct them. In fact, I appreciate him for being the first president in this country to ac-

Some Nigerians are of the view that they are yet to see the change, which President Buhari and his party promised during the campaigns for the 2015 elections. Do you also share such view? If he made promises, his tenure has not ended, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. With the way the government is going, do you see it meeting the peoples’ expectations? You cannot tell whether a market would be bad in the morning. We are still in the morning of the Buhari administration, so no one can tell how it would end.

knowledge that he made a mistake in something and apologized to the nation. That is a very important new dimension in this country. That is the issue of appointment of new vice chancellors for some federal universities. He acknowledged that his administration made a mistake in doing what it did. Other previous administrations would have insisted in the error as if it was a virtue. For that singular act, it shows that he means well. There are calls for the President to take a second look at his cabinet as there are some round pegs in square holes. Do you subscribe to the belief that some ministers should be shown the way out? It is just like when you are watching a football match on your television set and you pick your telephone and call the coach of one of the teams to change a particular player. It doesn’t work that way because a coach knows when to make changes. It is the responsibility of the President to reshuffle his cabinet and I believe that he knows when to do that.

Ahamba

POLITICS

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

It has been infrastructural development and regular payment of workers' salaries in the past one year of Governor Dave Umahi’s administration in Ebonyi State, UCHENNA INYA reports

Priority on infrastructure, workers’ salaries in Ebonyi

n assumption of office as governor of Ebonyi State on May 29, last year, Chief Dave Umahi immediately embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of all the roads in the capital city. They include the popular Meat Market road, Nkaliki road that linked the state House of Assembly, Gunning road, New Market road, Ogoja/ Rice Mill road, Agbaja/Izzi Nwofe road, Udemezue road, Uga/ New Layout road, Udensi road, among others. They have all been completed and commissioned for use. Also, the Hosanna Motor Park and its adjoining streets and roads have also been completed. Work on other roads in the state like the Amike Aba/Omege Avenue road, Oroke Onuoha/St. Patrick road, Urochukwu Street, and a 40 kilometer ring road from Ngbo to Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area and terminating in Izzi, Onuebonyi Echara-Nnoyo road, Ntezi-Agba-Isu-Onicha road, Ezzama-Oshiri-Onicha-Uburu road, among others have reached advanced stage. All these roads are state roads. The governor did not stop at state roads. He also embarked on the construction of some federal roads in the state including the 18km road leading to the Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 23.5km Amasisri-Okposi-Uburu road, 23. 8km Hilltop-AgbajaNweofe road, 15.7km NIGERCEM road, Obubura Junction-Offrekpe road and Amasiri-Owutu-Nguzu road. Umahi noted that even though some of the roads are federal roads, they are very important to the people of the state, hence his reason for constructing them. Bridges have also been constructed especially in Ozibo village of Ebonyi Local Government Area, St. Patrick/Oroke Onuoha road, Amike Aba/Omege Avenue, Urochukwu/Udensi street, Hilltop/ Nwofe road to link some of the newly constructed roads. To solve the problem of traffic in Abakaliki metropolis, the governor embarked on the construction of three overhead bridges (flyovers). Two of the overhead bridges which are almost at their completion stages are located at the popular Spera-in-Deo junction and Presco campus of the Ebonyi State University junction. The governor had few months after his inauguration, installed street lights on all the streets and roads in the capital city. While commissioning some of the streetlights, Umahi said: “We are going to commission more road, water and electricity projects, and also do stomach infrastructure.” He added: “Remember that when we came, Gunning road, Ogoja road, New Market road and

Umahi (mddile) commissioning equipment for infrastructural development acquired by his government

Nkaliki road were impassable but today we have made them passable and install streetlights on them. So, I want Ebonyi people to have hope. The most important thing is that when you hear the amount being used in doing all these, you will know that it is God who has brought us to power.” He said it is the priority of his administration to ensure electricity, water, road and clean environment in all the streets in the capital city, adding that the commissioning of the streetlights have paved way for improved security, which would in turn boost the Internally Generated Revenue of the state. The State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Fidelis Nweze, during a recent inspection of some of the roads constructed by the state government, said they will last for over 60 years. He also disclosed that some of the roads have been abandoned since the creation of the state in 1996. His words: “The Nkaliki/House of Assembly road and the New Market/ Gunning road as well as the Hosanna Park and streets have been in bad condition since 18 years ago. They are usually impassible whenever it rains and today we have seen what the governor has done and the people around here are very happy. “Human and vehicular movements here which used to be very difficult are now easy; no more traffic congestion, no more potholes, everywhere is now smooth and neat and it is not evil if Ebonyi becomes the first economy in Nigeria where people will be making reference to and I know God is determined to do that. “It is no longer business as usual when contract sums were inflated with the intention to defraud the state in project execution. We go to the market to buy materials by ourselves, if it is N1.00, we pay N1.00, if it is N2.00, we pay N2.00, so that Ebonyians will know that the people they voted for are the right persons.” And in his resolve to put smile on the faces of workers in the

We are going to commission more road, water and electricity projects

state, Umahi paid them a month salary as bonus last December to enable them celebrate Christmas and have money to pay their children school fees after the yuletide. Since then, workers in the state have been receiving their salaries between every 15 and 20th of the month. While teachers receive theirs every 15th, other categories of workers receive their own every 20th of the month. In the area of Agriculture, the government has taken delivery of a new set of D8 bulldozers for the tilling of farmlands for this year's planting season. The bulldozers which are 13 in number have been distributed to each of the 13 local government areas of the state where the government has already acquired acres of land for rice production. Already, the government has secured 40,000 hectares of land for the cultivation of rice during this year’s farming season. The land was donated by various communities through the assistance of local governments’ caretaker chairmen. The planned rice farms were part of measures adopted at a colloquium organised at the inception of Umahi’s administration to find ways of making Ebonyi the number one state in rice production in Nigeria. The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Uchenna Orji, explained that the Ministry of Agriculture would map out the secured hectares and distribute same to farmers whose activities would be supervised by extension workers. He stated that about 39,000 farmers and cooperative societies are expected to benefit from the programme designed to enhance the provision of technical assistance in rice cultivation and agro equipment. The health sector has not been left out. When Lassa fever hit the state, Umahi earmarked over N250 million to check the epidemic. He has embarked on the construction of a Lassa Fever Virology Centre

as part of measures to eradicate the virus. The centre has been completed and equipment meant for it already acquired. The Umahi administration has also procured four ambulances and four dialysis machines to be stationed at designated hospitals in the three senatorial zones of the state and at the teaching hospital, also in a bid to fight the Lassa fever endemic. “We have directed that an emergency building or caravan be constructed. It is not good to allow any suspected Lassa fever patient to go to our general hospital or primary health care centre because it could further spread and that is why we want to isolate any case identified through advocacy campaign. “We have also approved four sets of dialysis machines apart from the other equipment associated with Lassa fever approved for the centre. One of the dialysis machines will be in the hospital here and one in each zone in the hospital of your choice. Umahi said while inspecting the Lassa Fever Virology Centre. The governor lauded the management and staff of the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki and the special committee set up by his administration headed by the Secretary to State Government (SSG), Prof. Benard Odoh, for their sincerity and commitment to the fight against the virus. The governor’s performance in office in the last one year was captured by Secretary to the Government of the federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir Lawal, when he visited the state to inaugurate some projects constructed by the Umahi administration. He said Umahi has become a challenge to other governors, including those of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “Governor Umahi has performed more than what we see others do in the last six months. I will tell Mr. President that this state is a model of development for our country,” he said. The SGF added: “Sometimes, we get surprised that people like you (Umahi) are found in the PDP but there is a cliche that says good men are found everywhere. We like such people but we will not envy them if they remain in PDP because they also challenge APC governors to perform. That is the essence of opposition and competition in politics.” The SGF also applauded the prudence and integrity with which Umahi is managing the lean resources available to the state and appealed to all Ebonyians, members of the State House of Assembly and the executive to continue to cooperate with him to enable him do more. According to him, “with the governor’s performances so far, he will win his election for a second term if in the APC.” He also observed that the cost of the three flyovers being constructed by the state government is an indication that “the governor belongs to a cream of leaders in the country, who are not greedy and corrupt.”

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion From no subsidy to removal: All promises cancelled My Word CLEM AGUIYI totalpolitics@ymail.com 0803-474-7898 (sms only)

am gutted by the insensitivity and inhumanity of Nigerian leaders, their abuse of power and how they treat the Nigeria people as beasts with no rights. Not that I’m sucked in by the hypocrisy of the Labour Union or their ability to stand for long with the oppressed people but am gutted by the kangaroo injunction procured from a willing judge to stop the people’s right to protest against unjust policies, especially coming from a government notorious for its disobedience of court orders and judgments. I am irked that our leaders are behaving the way the Czar was behaving before the Russian revolution, the way of the Shah before the Iranian revolution and the French monarch before the French revolution. I am alarmed that they have cancelled all the promises they made before they were voted into office. The ones they couldn’t cancel, they denied and disowned without blinking, yet they want us to believe in yet another set of promise of a better future under their clueless watch. They have forgotten you can only fool some people for some time but cannot fool all the people all the time. God where are you? Why have you forsaken us? Why do you allow us to be visited with bad and fantastically incompetent leadership? Only a father made in Nigeria will give the children stone when they ask for bread and snake when they ask for fish. Is there something wrong in our stars? How do you stand directly opposite of your campaign promises and still assume the moral high ground? They told us theirs will be a serious government; that they will fix our electricity problem in 6 months only for our power generation under their watch to drop from 4000 megawatts to zero. They also increased the electricity tariff by 45 per cent in disregard to court order and resolutions of the National Assembly; they promised that fuel price will drop to N40 and that dollar will exchange for N1.00 to $1. But

they hiked pump price from N85 to N145 and the Naira sliding further down to 400 to $1. I know for certain that ‘there is God’ as proclaimed by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan. When she made those prophetic statements, she was mocked and scorned by her detractors. A certain preacher reportedly made jest of her, asking her to call on God to come down from heaven and vote for her and the husband. Well God didn’t come down from heaven. But just one year after we voted to go backwards, we the people are crying and asking, ‘God where are you?’ Jonathan and his band chastised us with whips but the new emperor we chose by our own hand and his men are chastising us with scorpions. God, they are drunk with power and feeding fat on our miseries and sufferings; they are playing cowboy, riding their anti-corruption horse against one part of the field, showing interest in roping and silencing members of opposition. Because our tax pays for not just their haircuts but for the services of their harems they have refused to understand our pains; they have refused to understand that this debate is not just about the price of petrol but about the general cost of living, an everyday reality that no amount of defrauded propaganda can obliterate. Subsidy removal is a familiar road to us because we have plied it over and over again. As recent as 2012 , then President Jonathan deregulated the downstream sector . He made all the right arguments for the removal of subsidy. He told us of the corruption in the system and how the devil cannot be reformed. He argued that our best bet is to eliminate the infrastructure of corruption. He warned that the subsidy regime cannot be sustained and how it is depleting our foreign reserve. He warned that a crash in crude oil price will further derail our economy and make the Greece meltdown a child’s play. To save ourselves from drowning he begged us to support his decision to remove subsidy. But we would hear none of his argument. We told him to remove the fraud from subsidy, to make our refineries work and bring subsidy thieves to book. We told him to save the masses, not the money. The extremists amongst us called him a liar because there is no subsidy in the first place. The same forces against the removal mobilized Nigerians to the street and threatened to cause an Arab spring except the government gave in to their demand. We never knew they were the real cheats and frauds. They deceived us to grab power. There boast of having the nerve to kill corruption was a fluke because face with the same Jonathan situation, they turned coat, advancing all of the Jonathan’s argument. Worse still, they don’t think we deserve an apology

Subsidy removal is a familiar road to us because we have plied it over and over again

for throwing us into our current mess. What a country? What a people? What a fantastic government? Nigeria is sick, vomiting and bleeding yet they fail to understand that this federation is not working for the common good of all, not because of the absence of messiahs but because of the faulty structure of our nationhood, a structure that sees citizens first from the prism of ethnicity and religion. Such a structure is no more viable because it does not allow us to solidify the unity in our diversity, just like it does not allow for good governance, growth and accountable leadership, yet the ones that are fortunate to lead cannot see beyond the bridge of their nose. I dare say that a sick Nigeria is negotiable just like a sick USSR, Sudan and Yugoslavia were negotiable. The unviability of our current structure makes the clamor for Biafra, Arewa and Oduduwa nation irresistible. The good news is that the agitation for Biafra does not mean that that Nigeria is irredeemable. We have a duty to make Nigeria great again by reinventing, restructuring and rediscovering it. We must be ready to dialogue about our future, hence the President should be encouraged to shelve his military mentality and seek political solution to some of our challenges. That you have an armada of fast attack aircrafts and other weapons of mass destructions does not mean you must shoot down every object that fly past your way. That you have a nail on your hand does not mean every problem requires a hammer. We can sit down and talk and find solutions. The last National Conference addressed some of the issues and is readily available. Nothing is lost if we apply the report or commence further talks on other issues as the case may be. In a federation like ours, there must be no limit or end to a national conversation. It’s heart breaking that the government which ought to be in the vanguard for peace, because of its singular determination for a hostile takeover is acting like a cowboy, harassing and detaining political opponents. Need I remind us that the alternative to not talking is fighting? Do we want another needless civil war? Why are we stoking fire on many fronts when we are still unable to crush Boko Haram and rescue the Chibok girls or arrest the menace of the Fulani herdsmen, nay, herdsmen from Libya who are raping , maiming , kidnapping and killing defenseless citizens in their hundreds. Why do we want war with IPOB, Shite Muslims and of late the Niger Delta Avengers when we can sit down and talk it out? Can we really afford war in all these fronts without losing? This isn’t the change we voted for, this is chain!

Unending fumbling with Nigeria’s Tourism Policies (1) Andy Osa Ehanire

here has always been a glaring need to fathom some deep seated syndromes that have for long stagnated the charting of a clear, viable and sustainable policy direction for Nigeria’s Tourism development. How else can one explain our long exposure to various tourism models and having the privilege of huge financial resources, with no shortage of those professing the knowhow, yet being consigned to perpetual lamentation of the dismal performance of such a critical sector of our economy over many decades. 2. The recent convening of a Summit of tourism stakeholders was necessitated by the combined circumstances of a new political regime inheriting a faltering oildriven economy and the urgent need for diversification through tourism development. However the circumstance, it is the embarrassing debacles or whatever have been done wrongly - possibly reaching a vicious circle, are what should first be identified, analysed and decoded, even as we seek fresh ideas and solutions on the way forward. 3. Curiously, there are issues with the

very methodology currently adopted in configuring such a highly technical agenda as charting a way forward for Nigeria’s tourism development. It should be realised that the process for distilling policies and plans for a complex sector as tourism is not what should start from what is akin to a public forum, as such would remain as clouded as the tourism stakeholders are nebulous. To draw analogy from Carl Jung, the famous psychoanalyst, the effectiveness of a “committee” is inversely proportional to its size; positing that “a committee of a hundred professors is akin to a mob, while a thousand would have the collective intelligence of an alligator”. 4. It could also be recalled that an FTAN President had once called for a Retreat of the Association’s General Assembly in Calabar. In opposing the idea, it was reasoned that a retreat usually has meaning when a select few are sequestered to think for the whole, not a convention type scenario that is only ideal for sensitization. With tourism stakeholders being so diverse in composition and numbers, to the extent of many being ignorant of the essence and connectedness of its many components, it takes the role of adept consultants to understand the real issues and to configure a roadmap that can coordinate and drive such a complex sector. Therefore, for such a forum of stakeholders as recently convened, it is after the technical issues have been distilled by a

core group of experts that the pre-digested policy options and plans, based on the synthesis of original ideas, are then proffered to such a broad based forum as this Summit, amongst whom are the usual hustlers and loafers. 5. The skills for in-depth policy issues as in a roadmap for tourism are not necessarily found amongst tourism administrators, whose roles have derogatively been described as file pushers. Like the contractors who are engaged for construction projects in other sectors through technical bidding - experts who can think out of the box should be engaged from stages of conceptualisation, design, engineering (even cultural) and production, while the administrators are there for communication, facilitation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation. 6. Beyond calling up stakeholders to share “free” ideas with tourism administrators, there seems to be the recourse to patronizing those who circumstances have positioned as “oracles” in a non-performing tourism sector - those who, incidentally too, have nothing serious to prove or show for their long involvement in the sector. With so many professions in the tourism sector, a point easily confused is that while the vast majority of its stakeholders are professionals in their respective fields, they hardly qualify to be termed tourism professionals or experts. Where there is need to engage tourism experts, the litmus test is in de-

signing a transformational template for our community tourism development - such a project that can sync with the intent of the NEPAD Tourism Action Plan for community based enterprises. 7. We must bear in mind the serious integrity deficits in our ecological and cultural heritage, along with the need for their regeneration and packaging by those with a flair for heritage design and socio-cultural engineering. Reminds one of an editorial in Conservation Biology Journal, wherein there was a radical departure from their usual choice of professionals in the physical sciences. It was a paradigm shift for them to discover the need for sociologists and allied disciplines in understanding conservation challenges amongst diverse communities, not to speak of a multidisciplinary sector as tourism. The relevance of practical sociology has been a huge oversight in such a highly creative and service oriented field as Tourism, in which culture plays a leading role. 8. To properly erect a national tourism architecture, there is also need to inaugurate the Local Government Tourism Committees through a staggered and sustained seminal process that syncs with community tourism development. There is much need to design and implement pilot schemes in tourism extension, such as would resonate at the grassroots level. • Ehanire wrote in from Benin City

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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Cameron: From Bullingdon to Downing

resident Muhammadu Buhari showed quite some wisdom at the International Anti–Corruption Summit which was hosted in London by British Prime Minister David Cameron. The President was in the air when his host shot down the country with the uncomplimentary remarks that “ Nigeria is fantastically corrupt.” Cameron, who will be 50 on October 9, had attended a meeting with the Queen and Archbishop of Canterbury ,Justin Welby, among other dignitaries. As he briefed the duo on preparations for the summit which attracted the World Bank, International Monetary Fund [IMF] and the United States his flippancy was obvious. The Prime Minister described Nigeria and Afghanistan as “ possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world”. It was below the dignity of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to commit such a diplomatic blunder and the Queen and Archbishop must have been totally embarrassed by their political leader. President Buhari knows his way with the British. As military Head of State in 1985, his government tried to abduct Second Republic minister Umaru Dikko from his London home. It was a plot by Nigerian Military Intelligence backed by Isreali elements. An eagle eyed British customs officer killed the plan just as the target had been successfully crated. That created a diplomatic row that led to severance of ties for about two years. In London, the Nigerian leader employed strong words in tackling Cameron but they appeared quite cute diplomatically. He urged his host to bring back all the loot

siphoned to the United Kingdom by those who had plundered our economy. Cameron drew the first blood. Buhari stole the show. What President Buhari told Cameron in simple language was that his country was worse than Nigeria in terms of corruption because like the Englishman will say it takes two to tango. In Nigeria Police parlance, both the thief and the receiver of stolen goods are guilty of stealing. In this case it is like the pot calling the kettle black. Buhari showed more civility. He did not want to open a can of worms. The British will always stand guilty of looting Nig eria ever before our politicians caught the bug. Cameron’s ancestors were more of tricksters. They came first with the

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At Oxford University, Cameron was a member of the Bullingdon club, reserved for hard drinkers and noise makers

Bible. Our forbears listened. Then they introduced business which was tilted to grow the colonial economy while the colonies were squeezed. When our ancestors realized they were being deceived and reacted accordingly, the colonial masters brought out bullets with which they stole our freedom. On a personal note, Cameron should be told the bitter truth. He should not beatify himself and condemn others when he has corruption charges hanging around his neck. His father left 300,000 pounds for him as part of inheritance. Today the world is talking about the Panama Papers. Most of the wealth the British Prime Minister and his siblings inherited from their stockbroker dad came through invest-

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ments in Panama and Jersey, safe places to dodge tax. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone did not spare Cameron, screaming that the man “ shouldn’t just resign, he should be sent to prison.” That was a fellow Briton passing judgement. Buhari could just have saved the British Prime Minister a deserved place in jail. Cameron did so well in History in his A levels. And we know his history even if Buhari decided to save that for another day. Cameron smoked Indian hemp at Eton College and bagged a fine for that, a little away from expulsion. Some suspected he could have been close to drugs. At Oxford U n i v e r s i t y,

Cameron was a member of the Bullingdon club, reserved for hard drinkers and noise makers. It is possible the cannabis and liquor he took in his salad days have a way of getting back at him which could have happened before the Queen and the Archbishop just before President Buhari touched down in London. Nigerians know so much about the name Cameron. Our colonial governor between 1931 and 1935 was Sir Donald Charles Cameron. The British Prime Minister is David William Donald Cameron. The Prime Minister and the governor share a lot in common. Their fathers were also Donald Cameron and their mothers were Mary [ Mary Emily Brassington for the

dead and Mary Fleur Mint for the living]. Both men lost their first sons. The fight against corruption is a global task, no nation should be blackmailed into guilt. What is needed at this time is international cooperation. It is criminal to label Nigeria corrupt when most of the loot is domiciled in the United Kingdom which earns so much from the looters in tax. There are cases of British companies operating outside the Isles under dubious circumstances. President Buhari did not table that before leaving Abuja. The Anti-Corruption Summit was not meant exclusively for Nigeria and Afghanistan. It also had a message for the hosts. Cameron should be told that he lives in a glass house. He ended up hurling stones at himself. There is a possibility that Mr. David Cameron cannot sequester the son of a stockbroker married to business woman from the business of governance. Number 10 Downing Street is not a place for clowns or swashbucklers. The job is more than baby sitting which for now seems to be the best call for this almost 50-year-old who has made babies as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) and its numerous far flung overseas territories. Above all, courtesy mixed with diplomacy is an available tool that oils international relations. If Cameron described his predecessor Gordon Brown as “ an analogue politician in a digital age “ and got away with it, Nigeria is too important a country to be rubbished by a leader who should behave like one. Apparently, Cameron is hard hit by the relegation of his favourite club Aston Villa and cannot get his acts together anymore.

POLITICS

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Benue: Ortom tackles herdsmen's menace CEPHAS IORHEMEN reports that Governor Samuel Ortom has conscientiously worked to fulfill the pledge he made during his inauguration on May 29 last year to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Benue State

onscious of the fact that no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of crisis, Governor Samuel Ortom did his best to restore peace in the intractable feud between Benue farmers ad Fulani herdsmen which took a chunk of the states’ human and material resources during the administration of his predecessor, Gabriel Suswam. One of the badly affected local government areas was Guma, Ortom’s homestead. At that time, Ortom was a minister, but he handled the situation with enormous caution. Even though he depended so much on the efforts of the then Peoples Democratic government at the state and federal levels, he assisted the displaced persons with relief materials. It was not surprising that as soon as he became governor of the state, he began to evolve strategies towards bringing about a permanent solution to the farmers/Fulani herdsmen crisis which has affected over seven local government areas. Ortom's predecessor, Suswam, equally made efforts at resolving the crisis at various levels, but not much was achieved until he sought the help of the Federal Government. Suswam had seen that the problem was beyond the capacity of the police just as the many attempts he made to convince his Nasarawa State counterpart at that time, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, did not pay off. Even as Suswam and Al-Makura set up committees to look into the possibility of ending the conflict in both Benue and Nasarawa states, the attacks continued. The deployment of the military to help in warding off the menace of the armed herdsmen in Makurdi, Agatu, Gwer-West, Guma, Logo, Kwande, Katsina-Ala and Gwer local government areas, reduced the crisis to the barest minimum but the herdsmen, who were allegedly backed by mercenaries from across the borders continued until Ortom assumed office. Ortom’s approach to the resolution of the conflict was different as he engaged in direct dialogue with both parties to convince them of the need for peaceful coexitence. After several meetings had been held with both parties including security agencies, Ortom warned farmers not to rustle

Ortom

Fulani cows and warned the Fulani herdsmen not to allow their cows destroy crops. He openly declared that even if he had the money, he would not buy arms and ammunition for the youth to engage the herdsmen in a fight. This policy perhaps showed the herdsmen that taking up arms against their host would not be reasonable. And in order to strengthen his administration’s resolve towards reducing crime in the state, Ortom evolved the amnesty programme for those in possession of illegal arms. The programme was aimed at giving little appreciation to those that would surrender arms. The programme which was to last for three months was extended to the end of September last year. In the spirit of the amnesty programme, Ortom said he would use the stick and carrot approach, insisting that at the end of the period, long arms of the law would catch up with those that may have refused to surrender illegally acquired arms. In order to make the return of arms a more meaningful exercise, Ortom constituted a committee to take charge of the surrendered weapons. Even as the surrendering of arms continued, the killings in the state continued unabated. One Terwase Akwaza, leader of a gang leader terrorising residents of Benue North East led many youths to surrender arms to the government. Before Ortom began to make efforts at discovering Akwaza, some unsuspecting leaders in the state had accused him of being behind the killings in the senatorial district. They accused some of his aides of being part of the bloodshed that was taking place in Kat-

Ortom’s approach to the resolution of the conflict was different as he engaged in direct dialogue with both parties

sina-Ala. The aim was to discourage the governor from making further moves towards making people to surrender arms as the problem of insecurity increased in the Katsina-Ala area. But the more he was criticized, the more intensive his efforts became. Gradually, Ortom’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Mr. Joe Ikyaagba, embarked on a trip to Tor-Donga area of Katsina-Ala local government area to convince Akwaza, to embrace the amnesty programme of the administration. Ikyaagba succeeded in getting to where Akwaza was with the help of the Catholic Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Rt. Rev. (Dr) Peter Adobo. The governor’s aide had told New Telegraph in an interview that the journey to Akwaza’s place was tortuous as at every stage, the people were apprehensive that their highly revered leader, who is believed to be invisible, may be harmed. He said the erroneous believe that Akwaza had the capacity to appear and disappear was laid bare as he got to his place to see the entire community behind him. He added that everything in Akwaza’s place showed that he was a trusted and reliable leader of his people. On how he felt when he met Akwaza for the first time, Ikyaagba said he was down with disbelief as the stories he heard about him did not apply. According to him, Akwaza’s influence was not only within Benue but also in Taraba where he also had his men. As regards how Akwaza would be protected if he embraced the amnesty programme, Ikyaagba said then that arrangement had been made for his security. His revelations became a testimony, but Akwaza’s appearance in the Benue People’s House, where he met with Ortom became a more serious testimony as he surrendered over 100 arms. With the confidence Akwaza demonstrated in the amnesty programme and the impact it was likely to make in the neighbouring state of Taraba, Ortom convinced his counterpart from that state, Darius Ishaku, to visit Benue for the purpose of discussing issues relating to security at the border towns and the possibility of extending the amnesty programme to Taraba. On the day the governors met in Makurdi, along with the Tor Tiv, the Och’ Idoma, the Aku Uka of Wukari and the Chief of TorDonga, the place Akwaza hails from, it was agreed that cattle ranches should be established in the two states in order to reduce incidences of clashes between the farmers and herdsmen. They also agreed that the amnesty programme covers everybody and groups holding illegal arms and that all should surrender illegal arms in their possession. They further resolved that a joint military/police patrol should be drafted from the two states to intensify security surveillance at the border areas. The two governors agreed that communities from both states should be sensitised on the need for peaceful co-existence between them on one hand and between them and herdsmen on the other

hand, and that communities that have found themselves in either of the states should submit themselves to the authorities in the state and respect the rules and tenets of such states. Equally, the governors also agreed to provide relief materials for internally displaced persons and urged traditional rulers in the two states to interact regularly so as to enhance peaceful coexistence. Both governors further resolved to establish a joint Benue/ Taraba Peace Committee to monitor potential threats to peace, establish agro allied industries to absorb the teeming youths and make efforts towards demarcating Benue-Taraba borders. To most people in the state, the success so far recorded by Ortom in the area of security does not mean that he should relax because there could be many Akwazas across the state, among the herdsmen and even political thugs. It is also argued that there could be many Akwazas in the other senatorial districts of the state, among retired military and police personnel and even among the several cult groups across the state. Another challenge is how many of the Ikyaagbas can Benue raise among political office holders and even traditional rulers? How many of the Adobos can Benue raise among clergy men? How many Benue youths have the humility to do what Akwaza has done? It is a sad commentary that despite the governor’s efforts, the killings have continue unabated, and Governor Ortom, while fielding questions from journalists on attacks on the people of Buruku by the herdsmen raised an alarm that his state is under siege and called on the herdsmen to vacate the state immediately before the people resort to help defence as they have been pushed to the wall. The governor noted that the herdsmen have virtually taken over the land in the state, stressing that enough was enough for the daily killings of his people. "This is an unfortunate situation that has been happening to us in Benue State. I have been crying all over the place and making appeals because we are under siege by the herdsmen, you push them away from one end, they go to another end of the state," he said. Most disturbing is the killing of farmers in Agatu communities and destruction of property worth billions of naira by the herdsmen. Although, relative peace has returned to the troubled area as most residents have started returning to their ancestral homes, there is still fear in the land of another round of attacks. Meanwhile, Ortom has not rested on his oars in ensuring that the Agatu crisis comes to an end. At the beginning of the crisis, he briefed the Presidency on the matter and earned a swift response that saw the massive deployment of soldiers to help maintain peace. But as Governor Ortom steps up measures to ensure peace in the state, it is pertinent to point out that he needs the support of the Federal Government in resolving the crisis.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Gishiri An settlement of squalor

Inside Abuja

National Assembly Plagued with power outages

18 20

A city without space for the poor A view of the completed estate in Kubwa, Abuja.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which was conceived as a home for all Nigerians and touted as the Centre of Unity is actually a place reserved for the nouveau riche only. The city is one of the most beautiful in Africa, but the cost of accommodation there is so prohibitive that many residents have been rendered homeless and forced to exist on the fringes, amidst the sprawling housing estates springing up on a daily basis. ONWUKA NZESHI reports

t is a well-known fact that shelter is one of the basic necessities of life. Everyone who is alive would naturally require air to keep the body system functioning, food and water to nourish the body and last but not the least, a home to retire to when the day is over. The quest for shelter began right from the stone age when men lived in caves and has continued till this modern day of

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bungalows, mansions and palatial edifices. In Nigeria, the government has been grappling with the challenge of providing shelter for its everincreasing population. According to the World Bank, Nigeria with an estimated population of 170 million people, has a housing deficit of about 17 million and would require about N59.5 trillion to bridge the gap. The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja accounts for about 10 per cent of the 17 million housing deficit in the country. In other words, the nation's capital city needs about 1.7 million housing units to adequately provide shelter for its residents. Hopelessly homeless Joseph Obuke is a civil servant in one of the government establishments in Abuja. He lives in a one-room apartment with two of his friends in Dedei, one of the sprawling ghettos on the outskirts of the FCT. He and his friends share the rent for the apartment

Nation's capital city needs about 1.7 million housing units to adequately provide shelter for its residents

which is barely enough to accommodate one person. The high cost of securing accommodation in Garki, Gwarinpa, Dawaki, Katampe Gudu and Lokogoma districts of Abuja, has driven many residents of the city to the desperate and dangerous edge of life. There are several civil servants, petty traders, construction workers and artisans, mainly unmarried young men, who are not so lucky on the issue of accommodation. They have no money to rent apartments of any kind but rather than return to their villages, they have chosen to remain in the city at all costs. Some of them have taken refuge in uncompleted buildings. These are buildings which have been substantially completed except that their owners have not fixed the doors and windows. In order to occupy such structure, these homeless city dwellers usually go through the security men guarding the property and probably pay a token to have a roof over their heads. In such cases, these desperate shelter seekers construct temporary doors and windows for the apartments they occupy. Most times these openings are covered with plywood or thick cartons just to ward off rodents and reptiles. However, Inside Abuja found out that there are extreme cases where some of these homeless people have created "homes" out of the concrete fences of yet to be

developed plots. Such makeshift structure are constructed with either old corrugated iron sheets (zinc) or tarpaulin and occupied by the Mai-Bola, the scavengers who go about the city picking used plastic bottles, pieces of iron and other materials which they later sell to waste recycling merchants. These scavengers often live side by side with the Mai-Guards who usually occupy the security posts in such property. Shylock landlords Ironically, a rapid development of housing estates is going on in the city on a daily basis. The truth is that decent accommodation of various sizes are lying fallow across the various districts of Abuja. The only obstacle between the homeless and the thousands of housing units being built by private estate developers is the exorbitant cost of rent. Investigations showed that the high cost of securing accommodation in Abuja has reached such an alarming rate that a one-bedroom apartment goes for as much as N1,000,000 per annum in the city and N400,000 per annum in the satellite towns. A two-bedroom in Lokogoma now goes for N800,000 per annum while a similar property could be rented for N1.1 million per annum in Wuse 2 area of the city. In Utako, a three-bedroom flat goes for as high as N2 million CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

Inside ABUJA | SLUMS

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Gishiri: A settlement of squalor

The entrance to Gishiri village

The ever-busy Nnamdi Azikiwe Road is a major entry point into the city of Abuja. It is along this road that you link up the popular NICON junction, a major arterial route leading to places such as the prestigious Transcorp Hilton Hotel, the Federal Secretariat Complex and Loius Edet House, the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force. One end of this road junction leads to Gishiri, a sprawling ghetto in the heart of the city. CALEB ONWE reports

he resilience and fighting spirit of Nigerians are not only reflected in the way they tackle adversities arising from natural circumstances, but also in the way they resist even government’s policies that tend to deprive them of their heart desires. The infamous warning which allegedly emanated from a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El-Rufai, that Abuja was not designed for everybody, especially the poor who cannot afford the luxury of a big city, is one of such ‘executive excesses’ or quasi-government policies that Nigerians have continued to loathe and resist with alarming temerity. Their resistance is so evident in the way and manner they have continued to hang around Abuja, against all odds. Not even the tsunami of demolition exercises that started shaking the city since 2003 has succeeded in whipping them to compliance with the directive that the poor should leave the city until they have the means to live in it. Gishiri Village A lot of Nigerians appeared

The village market

in spite of the condition of the houses in the village, they are not cheap. According to her, one room self-contained goes for between N150,000 and N200,000, while one-bedroom apartment goes for N350,000.

Side view of the LEA Primary School in the village

to have sworn an oath to live in Abuja even if it is in a ‘rabbit hole’ or in an environment that is more rural than their various native villages in the hinterlands of their respective states of origin. The existence of these settlements in the midst of many highbrow estates is not just considered very disgusting to the elites who live around there, but a torn in their flesh. The rich may have tried to use both wealth and political influence to remove such settlements without any success. Gishiri, one of the slums within the Abuja City Centre, is located at the heart of the newly developed Katampe District, behind the high profile estate, initially conceived as Ministers’ Quarters. The village of Gishiri is devoid of all the necessary infrastructures needed to enhance comfortable living, yet it plays host to thousands of people. Navigating through the only access road to the village from the popular NICON Junction in Maitama is not only laborious but a threatening nightmare. Any day there is a heavy down pour; commuters are forced to swim past a stream before getting to their destinations. Amedu Yahaya, a civil engineer in one of the estates around the village, told Inside Abuja that the only reason the Federal Capital

The village of Gishiri is devoid of all the necessary infrastructures needed to enhance comfortable living

Territory Development Authority (FCDA) is yet to demolish Gishiri is the high population of the original inhabitants of Abuja who are the dominant tribe living there. “As you can see, it is obvious that this place cannot be allowed to exist side by side with all these estates that are being developed in this Katampe district. This road that leads to the village cuts across plots of land already allocated to people by the government. I think the village is still here because of the issue of compensation to the indigenes,” he said. There is no gainsaying the fact that if life expectancy in Nigeria is low, that of Gishiri village will be lower. This assertion cannot be controverted by any rational thinking; considering the rate at which simple hygiene is compromised. The makeshift houses occupied by the residents are not only too clustered, they obviously violate safety standards. They lack adequate ventilation, and environmental sanitation appears to be a taboo to the residents. A visit to the place will leave one wondering about the survival strategy that has over the years helped the residents to escape epidemics and other health hazards in the village. A hair beauty salon operator, who simply identifies herself as Juliet, told our reporter that

Gbagyi house Our reporter pretentiously presented himself as a prospective tenant to one of the property agents there to confirm the earlier information about the cost of rent. The result of the survey was not different from what the lady said. Nevertheless, a prospective tenant who wants to get an accommodation there and is lucky to meet a God-fearing agent, the first advice that will be given without it being solicited for is “make sure you rent a house marked ‘this is Gbagyi house” Inside Abuja made efforts to get further clarifications about the inscription of “this is Gbaygi house” which many of the buildings bear. A resident told our reporter that such marks identify buildings belonging to indigenes should the demolitions squad of the FCDA comes. It was also revealed that the government’s demolition agents avoid destroying buildings with such marks to avoid the trouble of the indigenes who are insisting that their forbearers’ graves cannot be destroyed without adequate compensation. Ahmed, a tricycle operator, provided a hilarious dimension to the findings when asked why the influx of people to the village has not abated considering the deplorable conditions that residents are in. “Monkey no fine but e mama like am. Even as this place is people still like it more than going to live in those places where you will spend more money to come to town for work,” he said. Ahmed’s response goes a long way to explain what motivates most people who prefer to live in the slum that is close to the city centre to moving far away to satellite towns where they will have to spend almost their monthly salary on transportation. One feature that contributes to dent the image of the village is the alleged presence of many comCONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Inside ABUJA

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Chukwu David Abuja

requent power outage has become a worrisome trend in the National Assembly, Nigeria's foremost parliamentary institution, located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It has almost become a norm and a daily occurrence for power to go off in the middle of proceedings in the parliament. Although power supply in Nigeria has been very epileptic over the years, and no part of the country could boast of regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, the situation appears to have degenerated in recent times. In time past, certain critical and sensitive institutions of government used to comparatively enjoy some measure of privileges in terms of having more electricity supply than other component strata of the country. Some of the places usually given preferential treatment by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in the past include the Presidential Villa, National Assembly, Supreme Court, Federal Secretariat and a few other strategic government establishments. Unfortunately, with the progressive decadence in the economy and persistent collapse in the nation's power infrastructure, the revered legislative assembly appears to have lost this privilege, as it joined other highly neglected institutions to suffer from erratic and embarrassing power cuts. As power outages became more rampant than ever, the Senate and the House of Representatives had in recent times experienced power outages during plenary sessions. Also, power cuts have taken place during very important public hearings, where eminent personalities were in attendance to participate in proffering solutions on critical national issues. Inside Abuja recalls that a major power outage grounded legislative activities at the National Assembly during a public hearing on a bill seeking to review the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Act. The outage occurred about 2.30p.m. at the peak of the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Land Transport. Senators, staff, visitors and journalists at the event moved out of the venue at the new wing of the Senate as the heat became virtually unbearable. The power cut occurred an hour after the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, and Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Naâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Allah, left the venue of the hearing. Other parts of the assembly complex including the House of Representatives wing were affected by the cut in electricity supply that day. Source at the National Assembly said there was no diesel to power the generator of the complex, alleging that suppliers refused to bring the product because they were being owed N30 million. Also, on Friday April 22, the whole National Assembly complex was thrown into thick dark-

National Assembly complex

National Assembly: Plagued with power outages ness, as there was neither electricity supply from the AEDC nor from the gigantic power generating plant within the complex. It was learnt that some wings had light between the early hours of the morning and 11a.m. when most wings of the assembly complex was totally submerged in darkness. The unfortunate development consequently crippled business activities within the assembly complex, leaving dealers and customers with sad countenances, as they gathered in little groups murmuring and lamenting that it was not the kind of change they expected from President Muhammadu Buhari. On that particular day, as early as 1p.m., most banks had closed operations because the situation did not allow them to transact business, while customers who came to either make deposits or withdrawals were frustrated as they could not receive their desired services. A staff of one of the banks, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, lamented that frequent power

Saraki

Dogara

Some international guests have witnessed this national shame several times at the National Assembly

outage in the National Assembly had been affecting their operations negatively. He said that the banks were told early in the morning to conclude their transactions as quickly as possible because there would be no light later in the day. He further noted that the banks were informed that there was no diesel to power the National Assembly power plant and that there was not going to be power supply from the AEDC. The source said: "Since we came to open this office here, they have never allowed us to run our business without interruption. Every now and then they will take light and you know that bank business cannot be done without constant electricity supply. "They told us in the morning that we should carry out our transactions and close as early as possible because the light would soon go off, and it just happened as we were told. This is not fair; why can't they buy diesel to power the generator for us because we are paying them money, and we deserve to get service for our money". Another source told our re-

Fashola

porter that it was the cash crunch in the National Assembly that made it impossible for the management to fuel the generator and provide constant electricity in the complex. The source also alleged that the National Assembly might be owing the electricity distribution company huge amount of money that made the firm not to supply such important institution power to function at all times. Efforts to get the management of the National Assembly to speak on the matter failed, as the Director of Information, Mr. Ishaku Diba, could not be reached on his mobile phone. Other civil servants approached to speak on the matter refused, saying that they did not want to get into trouble by speaking to the press, contrary to civil service rules. Power outages in the National Assembly have equally occurred when security Chiefs came to brief the Senate on security situation in the country. Recently, when our correspondent decided to monitor the frequency of occurrences of power outage at the National Assembly, it was found that it occurred up to 10 times or more in a day. A civil servant in the National Assembly who declined to provide her name told Inside Abuja that going by the change philosophy of this government, it was embarrassing that the power situation in the country had not changed but rather grown worse. "Nigerians are actually expecting change in this respect because power is the bedrock of development in any society. This administration must do something urgently to reverse this ugly trend because it is rather bringing the country to a ridicule. Some international guests have witnessed this national shame several times at the National Assembly," she said.

INSIDE ABUJA

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

FG vows to rid schools of untrained teachers Amadi Nnamdi Abuja

he Federal Gover nment has announced its plans to rid the nation's schools of untrained teachers, just as it proposed the removal of education from the concurrent legislative list to improve quality of education in the country. Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, disclosed this at the 20th Annual May Seminar of the Nigerian Academy of Education which took place in Abuja. Anwuka stated that there was an urgent need for improvement of teacher education in Nigeria because of the piv-

otal role teachers always play in the educational career of the children. "No untrained teacher, in whatever circumstance or place should be allowed to be in any Nigerian classroom, be that classroom of primary, secondary or tertiary. Let me reveal that we are seriously working towards trying to obtain permission for a threeyear moratorium during which period, if you are teaching, after two years, if you don't update yourself with the pedagogical skills needed to teach effectively then you should find something else to do," he said. The minister, who disclosed that he had already started receiving punches on this new line

of action, reiterated the resolve of the government to pursue the policy in spite of all odds. "I don't succumb to light punches. We are going to pursue this and we must make teaching a profession. It must be a profession and it must cease to be an all-comers game," he stated. Anwuka noted that while the Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) had a lot to do to ensure the effective implementation of policies in education in the sector,

government needed the support of other stakeholders to achieve the desired success. The minister also frowned at the idea of having education on the concurrent list, stressing that if education must move forward in Nigeria, this country must resolve the dichotomy between the roles of the states and the Federal Government in the sector. In his lecture at the Seminar which had as its theme: "Teacher Education in Nigeria: Chal-

lenges and Reforms," the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor Monday Joshua stated that Teacher Education in Nigeria was designed to produce highly motivated, sensitive, conscientious and successful classroom teachers who will handle learners effectively and professionally for better educational achievements. The NCCE boss revealed that Teacher Education in Nigeria

had several challenges including constitutional and policy issues, inadequate funding, production versus absorption of teachers and low regard for teaching as a career. President of Nigeria Academy of Education, Prof. Uduogie Ivowi, frowned at the call in some quarters for the return to Grade II Teachers' Colleges, adding that such a move will draw the development of the nation's education sector backward.

US seeks to revitalise fertilizer programme Caleb Onwe Abuja

nited States of America has indicated its readiness to help the West African region scale up productivity in agriculture, improved food security and poverty alleviation through an efficient and transparent fertilizer programme. Nigeria Mission Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr. Michael Harvey, gave this indication during the just-concluded 2nd West Africa Fertilizer Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja. Addressing major players of the fertilizer industry in the region during the event, Harvey emphasised the role that fertilizer plays in enhancing agricultural productivity and food security in a country. He said that the US government was concerned about the constant declining yields of agriculture in West Africa, compared with other regions of the world, warning that the region may not be able to feed its ever growing population in the nearest future unless some decisive steps were taken to improve crop yield. “It is no secret that West Africa farmers continue to have among the lowest yields in comparison with other regions in the world. Unless action is taken, West Africa will be unable to feed its growing population, projected to reach 500 million in 2050, without increasing dependence on food imports it can ill afford,"

Harvey said. He noted that West Africa had low fertilizer application, averaging about 12 kilograms per hectare (ha) compared with the global average of 107 kg (ha) and admonished stakeholders in the fertilizer industry to take full advantage of the yield potential on current agricultural lands. “In 2006, African governments agreed to a fertilizer consumption target of 50kg/ha to be achieved by 2015. Five months into 2016, it appears no West Africa country has managed to meet more than 25 per cent of this goal," Harvey said. Prof. Victor Chude, a director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that judging by the Nigerian perspective, hitech graft was the bane of fertilizer distribution in the region. Chude urged other African countries to follow the example of Nigeria in sanitising the fertilizer procurement processes as that will undoubtedly ensure that farmers get quality fertilizer at the right time for application in their farms.

L-R: Former Minister of Information and Orientation, Prof. Jerry Gana; former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran and former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, at the convention of Concerned Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja ...at the weekend.

NIPC tours Abuja World Trade Centre Amadi Nnamdi Abuja

s part of efforts targeted at providing an atmosphere of encouragement to existing investors, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) at the weekend took a facility tour of the 24-storey, World Trade Centre in Abuja. The skyscraper valued at over $1.2 billion is one of the most magnificent buildings in the nation’s capital and could be described as a city within a city. The Centre is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 but the first phase would be ready before

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 8

mercial sex workers whom operate as "queens of the night" in most of the high profile red light districts of Abuja. These women of easy virtue live in Gishiri because of its proximity to the city where they serve in hotels and night clubs. If you pay a visit to the village in the morning hours; you are likely to find many young ladies of different shapes, sizes and complexions loitering around

the end of this year. Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Hajiya Ladi Katagum, who led the commission's team on the facility tour said it was aimed at providing the promoters of the project with necessary support so as to facilitate the early completion of the projects. Katagum commended the managers of the project for an excellent work and promised the commission’s readiness to collaborate with them in order to attract investors to the Centre. “NIPC will develop a business synergy whereby we will connect the Centre with

visiting businessmen, foreign dignitaries and foreign missions to facilitate patronage of the centre’s real estate and other related services,” he said. The tour took the NIPC boss to the pent house on the 23rd floor which has a panoramic view of the capital city. The team also visited other floors with finished suites that were of global standards. When fully operational, the centre will have hotel accommodations, service apartments, a standard hospital, office spaces, a shopping mall, sports facility, banks and rail station among other amenities.

Group Chairman of the Church Gate Group, Mr. B. Mahtani, and the Group Managing Director, Mr. Vinay Mahtani, who took the NIPC team on tour of the facilities disclosed that the Centre would host the Abuja Business Club and provide services to its members as well as other 330 World Trade Centres across the globe. The Church Gate Group assured the NIPC that the Centre will offer it a stand to be located at the premises to enable the commission to market Nigeria's investment potential and attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) to the economy.

A settlement of squalor in attire that are so suggestive of the sex trade. These ladies, it was learnt, loiter around during the day time but are often seen dressed up and moving out in droves once it is 7p.m. every day. Gishiri is also very notorious as the headquarters of the local gin (Burukutu) which is brewed and consumed by fun seekers at the various drinking joint. At the

centre of the village are clusters of big tress where both men and women gather from the early hours of the morning to drink themselves to stupor. When Inside Abuja approached the Madaki of the village to confirm demolition rumour that has sent quivers to the residents spine, he decline comments. One of the supposed leaders of the vil-

lage who accidentally was in the chief ’s house told our reporter that many journalists have been coming to the village to gather information without attracting the attention of the government to their plight. Their greatest fear is the looming threat of demolition of their cherished homes by the authorities and they wish it never comes true.

INSIDE ABUJA

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

A city without space for the poor C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 7

while the same property in Dawaki goes for between N1.3 m and N1.5m per annum. A brand new three-bedroom flat now goes for N2.5 million in Wuse District of Abuja while an old apartment of the same size could be rented for between N1.8 million to N2 million in the same district. Similarly, one could rent a three-bedroom flat at the rate of N1.5 million and N1.8 million in Durumi and Kado respectively. Our investigations also showed that a three-bedroom duplex in Katampe Extension would cost a whooping N5 million while a three-bedroom service apartment costs N4.5 million per annum. Shelter search Inside Abuja ran into one Aloysius Emeka, an employee of one of the private firms in Abuja who narrated his ordeal in the hands of estate agents while in search of a decent accommodation in the city. Aloysius, who is in his late 30s, has been living with his wife and two kids in a two-bedroom flat in one of the estates until a few months ago. According to him, the search for a new accommodation began sometime last December when he learnt that the estate where he lived had been sold by the landlord. Soon after, he received a quit notice from his new landlord through a caretaker. "Since January, I have been looking for another house. Where I used to live, the rent was relatively cheap when I moved in there because it was a small estate and in an isolated location. So, not many people were ready to live there. The basic facilities were there. We had water and electricity but the access road was poor and security was an issue, but over time we, the residents of the estate, were able to resolve these challenges. "When I got the quit notice, I began to look around for another accommodation. There is no place I didn't go to check if I could get something similar to what I had before but I found out that the cost of rent had risen so astronomically. Imagine being asked to pay up to N1.5 million per annum for a threebedroom apartment. You can't even talk about the areas where you will go and the estate agents will tell you that they don't even want individuals to rent the flats. They say they are looking for corporate tenants – companies, ministries and parastatals that could rent some blocks of flats as offices or guest houses. The whole thing is very frustrating because the houses are just there but you can't enter because of the very stringent conditions attached," he said. Aloysius explained that even in the satellite towns, the cost of accommodation has hit the roof and therefore beyond the average worker who depends on his monthly salary. According to him, the cost of rent has been compounded by the estate agents and caretakers who add extra costs such as agent fee, caution fee and agreement fee to the real cost of an apartment in order to earn some commission. "In one of the newly built es-

Another housing estate under construction in Abuja

tates, I got a one bedroom selfcontained flat for N950,000; N1.5 million for a two-bedroom flat and N1.8 million for a three- bedroom apartment. These rates are for one year only and you will wonder how somebody will be able to get such money to pay. Is this not robbery? "In some of these estates you will get some places they call service apartments where they will be asking you to pay N3.5 million for a three-bedroom per annum. What is in the service apartment? They say they will provide generator when the public power goes off and they will provide security for the compound at the gate. Still, these are on the high side. “So if this government wants to fight corruption, I think the first thing they should do is to bring down the cost of rent. "Take for instance, a civil servant that is earning N80,000 per month which translates to N960,000 per annum. The person will have to feed his family, pay the school fees of his children as well as pay his transport, water and light bills. In addition he has to buy fuel for his generator because there is no guarantee that he will have power supplied to his home after paying electricity distribution company. If one is confronted with all these burdens within one year, then tell me you are not sending him to go and steal to make ends meet. If he sees any avenue to steal money, he will steal it to avoid been sent out from where he is living. There is no civil servant that is not paying rent that is over and above what he or she earns as salary. Where do you want them to get the balance of the funds? "I saw a lot of houses and nobody is living in them. Nobody in a whole compound and a whole estate. The only people you find in these places are security guards. So that is why I said, the first thing this government must do in the fight against corruption in this country is to bring down the cost of rent or provide affordable mass housing scheme for low income earners, especially in Abuja," he said.

Aloysius said that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) could also bring down the cost of accommodation by enacting a Rent Control Edict and imposing taxes on landed property. According to him, the FCTA could use its Department of Development Control to take inventory of all built-up estates to ascertain the number of vacant housing units across the territory. Such a housing census, he argued, could also help the authorities determine what it stood to gain if it imposed taxes on property just as the proposed taxes would encourage the owners of these property to give them out at relatively low prices.

The whole thing is very frustrating because the houses are just there, but you can't enter

Possible remedies FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, had on assumption of office promised to build on the achievements of his predecessors in terms of the development of social infrastructure in the city. Although, he has not made specific pronouncements on the issue of shelter, some experts have advocated that the government will get it right if it embarks on mass housing projects that could deliver thousands of low cost houses annually. A former Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) Abuja Chapter, Alhaji Saka Olajide, recently postulated that the current approach of leaving the provision of shelter in Abuja entirely in the hands of private estate developers would not solve the problem. Olajide also said the idea of using law to force down rent might not work given the high cost of erecting the buildings and the fact that most estate developers sourced their funds from commercial banks at high interest rates. “Rent control has never worked anywhere in the country, even in Lagos that they have the law. How many tenants would have the time to go through the legal process with his landlord, when they are looking for sustenance and means of livelihood? Do they have money

to pay lawyers to prosecute the case for three years? It is almost impossible. "The most pragmatic way to go about it is for the local government or other agencies like the housing authority to build mass housing for the public on owner occupier basis, where there would be a robust mortgage system that would finance the houses. “All the money deducted from civil servants as pension funds and all sort of funds that are wasting away in various banks can be utilised for development purposes. They can make the houses less than 10 per cent interest rate, so that people can acquire the houses. We thought that Federal Government would have invested funds from sale of Federal Government houses for massive housing for the poor, unfortunately they never built even a hut. We expected that Federal Government through the local government should build houses like it is done all over the world. It is called council houses, two-bedroom, one-bedroom, threebedroom maximum, with minimum level of finishing so that individuals can buy it through allocation on first come first serve while they pay small percentage through the mortgage bank and they could continue to pay amortisation for over 15 years or 20 years period as the case may be. “As long as you don’t have effective mortgage system in Nigeria, housing may not be cheap and may not be available to everybody. The people who are building big houses in the town, are not building for the poor. They cannot go and borrow money at 25 to 30 per cent interest rate and you say they should give it to the poor. Banks will not do it, individuals will not do it, only government can do it. Government has the land, they can develop the infrastructure as their own contribution and allow people to build the houses through mortgage system. Without mortgage system I don’t see us getting out of the problem of lack of housing," Olajide said.

FEATURES

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Saved from the hangman’s noose For his inability to raise N35,000 bribe, an artisan spent 14 years in prison. But during his incarceration, Gbenga Adunbi’s wife deserted him while he lost his parents to the cold hands of death, writes YEKEEN NURUDEEN

or Mr. Gbenga Adunbi now 52, it would have been better for the day not to break on March 22, 2002. It was a day he would live to regret for the rest of his days. But since no man has control over either the breaking of the dawn or events that characterise the day, it came. That day, Adunbi, then 38 years old, took permission from his employers at Ishola Block Industry, Adehun area of Ado-Ekiti in AdoEkiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, to rest. But a few minutes later, Adunbi ended in police cell. He was arrested at his B15, Ojido Street in Ado-Ekiti, by two policemen, and was taken to Ologede police station for allegedly committing armed robbery. He was detained with other suspects. The police told Adunbi he was arrested for an armed robbery which occurred at Araromi area of Ikere-Ekiti two days earlier. In his defence before the High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Adunbi claimed that he had never met those he was arraigned with and had never handled a firearm in his entire life. He told the court that he met those who he was arraigned with in the police cell when he was unable to raise N35,000 the police allegedly asked him to pay for his bail. Adunbi’s march to prison began from the police station, where he said that the confessional statement written by him in the presence of Inspectors David Itsenewa (rtd) and Alagbara Omolade was torn and re-written. He said that he was coerced to endorse the re-written statement having undergone severe torture. Adunbi was arraigned with Olusegun Olusola, who allegedly escaped from Ado-Ekiti prison during the jailbreak on November 30, 2014. Adunbi, who spoke in his own defence to disprove the charge preferred against him, claimed he opted to stay behind during the jailbreak, because he was certain of his vindication at the end of the case. As fate would have it, on January 21 this year, after 14 years in remand at Ado-Ekiti prison custody, Justice Modupe Abodunde discharged and acquitted Adunbi and set him free. Abodunde said the quality of evidence the prosecution placed before the court was shaky and thereby raised considerable doubt in the mind of the court. She held that there was lingering doubt over the complicity of

Adunbi

Adunbi in the case. The judge said that some of the exhibits tendered against him were among those tendered against Olugbenga Daniel, an armed robbery defendant at a High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti. Abodunde therefore faulted the police and the prosecution’s failure to investigate and call witnesses to counter the alibi raised by Adunbi. She then discharged and acquitted Adunbi. The judge commended him for having a good command of legal parlance and on the grounds of lack of evidence and want of diligent prosecution in favour of the defence counsel, Oluwasayo, who put finishing touches to Adunbi’s self-defence. Abodunde, who was moved by the man’s reaction as he was rolling on the floor of the court, praising God and the judge, advised Adunbi to go and engage in useful living and abstain from what could bring him back to court. A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), led by Mr Leye Adeniyi, gave Adunbi a phone, but still needs to be put through on how to use the phone, because, according to him, he was not using mobile phone before he was incarcerated 14 years ago. He said during his trial, his wife had fled and left his only child with his mother. Adunbi added that his mother and father died while he was being tried. After his destiny had been truncated through the callousness of some investigating police officers, the question now is, where will Adunbi start from? But a psychologist, Mr, Olusegun Ademiloyo, advised Adunbi to seek medical attention. According to him, a psychologist and a counsellor need to work on his state of the mind before he

I spent 14 years simply because I could not raise N35,000 for the police

can be integrated into the system because of the stigma. He said: “Though, much blame could not be ascribed to the prosecuting team, special care should be taken before issuing legal advice to cases that would be terminated through poor investigation and for want of diligent prosecution. “It is our candid opinion that jurists of the legal profession would stand to fight for the fundamental rights of Gbenga Adunbi, whose life has been turned upside down.” Also, legal practitioners advised Adunbi to make a claim for malicious prosecution. According to Messrs Busuyi Ayorinde and Femi Alonge, In their reactions, messrs Busuyi Ayorinde and Femi Alonge, both can invoke his right to dignity as human being, right to personal liberty, right to family life and right to freedom of movement as enshrined in sections 34, 35, 37 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. “The rights of Gbenga Adunbi have been trampled upon by law enforcement officers under the presence of performing their lawful duty. “The team of police officers, who handled Gbenga Adunbi’s case should not go un-investigated and if found culpable, should be punished for a shoddy job because nobody knows the next victim. “We thank the Ekiti State judiciary, particularly Justice Modupe Abodunde for rising up to the challenge of not only seeing that justice was done in this instance, but for saving the life of Gbenga Adunbi from death by hanging for an offence he did not commit.” Speaking on the role of the police in Adunbi’s incarnation, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Albert Adeyemi, blamed the judges and not the police for the 14 years Adunbi spent

behind bars. He said: “I hope it does not have to do with a case where one policeman was dismissed in Ikere. But, I don’t know any of the two policemen mentioned, all the same, we have to blame these judges for the unfortunate experience of Adunbi, his life must have been re-written too, it is so sad and unfortunate. "We have a lot of people in custody that have no business being there at all; go on a visit to the police or prison custody and ask questions.” Speaking on his 14-year experience in prison, Adunbi said he did not commit the offence of armed robbery as alleged. He said: “I was an employee of Ishola Block Industry in Ado-Ekiti before my arrest. On that fateful day, I woke up feeling dizzy and that was why I took excuse from duty to take a rest at home. “But unfortunately, the statement credited to me was signed under duress and torture.” Adunbi urged government at all levels to decongest the prisons. He said: “We were 19 in a room of a toilet size. There were no drugs for any sick inmate; they don’t feed the inmates well. “All the warders and the police know how to do best is to collect money from visitors that came to check any inmate; the police are the worse. “I spent 14 years simply because I could not raise N35,000 for the police when I was initially arrested and I was kept with criminals in the cell. “The police kept me for over six months before they could allow me to send for my relatives. I pleaded with them to follow me to my work place and my house, at least to confirm my innocence, but all they were saying was for me to bring the money. “Unfortunately, there was no mobile phone as at the time of my arrest, so, it is difficult for me to reach my people and that was the beginning of my problem.” Adunbi attributed his long sojourn in the prison to the long period of strike by the court. He added: “In 2015, there was no sitting between January and July, due to the strike by the court. But if the police had done thorough investigation with the zeal and commitment, I would not have stayed for so long in the prison. “There are so many inmates that are innocent. The police are more of armed robbers than the real robbers. “Several inmates died when I was in the prison for no reason, but just because they could not raise money to bribe the police.” Adunbi, who said he could drive or do menial jobs, appealed for assistance from Nigerians to integrate him back into the system. According to him, he met some inmates who were ready to give him link to their colleagues, who were robbers. He said: “I declined because it is never in my blood. Circumstances brought this to me and I have taken it as my destiny. “Now that God has set me free, all I need now is assistance from spirited Nigerians, so that I can start my life all over again.”

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Energy

Business What's new Oil rout: IOCs’ revenue woes worsen

p.24

Minister: Airlines to enjoy forex priority status p.24

Energy: Tough but thorough under Buhari

Aviation Aviation under Buhari mixed

25 27

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

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

EXCHANGE RATE

(BDC as at May 20)

(Interbank as at May 20)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N345 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N468 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N385

l Foreign Reserves – $26.656bn as at 19/5/2016

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

Source: CBN

L-R: Deputy Head of Mission/Counselor, Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, Mr. Masaya Otsuka; Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Dr. Katsumi Hirano; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Nike Akande; Deputy Minister for Construction, Engineering and Real Estate Industry, Japan, Mr. Yasuki Kaibori and Charges d’affaires ad interim, Embassy of Nigeria in Japan, Mr. Bello Husseini, during the NigeriaJapan public-private conference for high quality infrastructure in Lagos.

Concern over airports as Abuja runway expired 14 years ago DANGER Abuja airport runway was designed to last for 20 years

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa Finance Editor

Taiwo Hassan

Industry, Agric & Brands Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst Production Editor

Wole Shadare

he Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja runway, which was constructed 34 years ago, has outlived its lifespan by over 14 years, New Telegraph has learnt. A former Director of Airport Operation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who spoke under the condition of anonymity, disclosed this to our correspondent. The source stated that the Abuja airport runway and many others were built over 30 years ago, stressing that Abuja facility was built in 1982. He said: “The Abuja runway is 34 years old now. It was designed to last for 20 years. It has exceeded its useful life and that is why every now and then it is closed for repairs.” Piqued by the situation, operators and aircraft pilots have expressed concern over air safety occasioned by the deteriorating

FAAN floats safety team standards of most of the country’s airport runways, saying they pose danger to lives and equipment. They urged the Federal Government to reconsider urgently the reconstruction of second runway for Abuja and quick resurfacing of the Lagos airport, which is considered Nigeria’s busiest aerodrome. To them, ‘the terrible condition’ of these facilities exposes the sector to a big danger. They added that the patching of the potholed Abuja airport runway is not the solution, stressing that a second runway was long overdue for the nation’s second busiest airport. Some of the operators who spoke to New Telegraph under the condition of anonymity, said that virtually all facilities, especially that of Abuja airport, have ‘expired’. The deteriorating condition of the runways came up for discourse at the just-concluded 25thAir Finance for Africa summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, with participants, attesting to the danger the terrible surfaces pose to air travel in the country. Senior Manager, Syndicated and Special Finance Department, Afreximbank, Samuel Mugoya,

N63.5 billion

Being the estimated cost of a second runway to support the existing one, which was alleged to be a ‘big fraud’

said: “From my interactions with airline operators in Nigeria, they complain of the quality of runway of most of the airports.” Aviation security consultant, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), said runways are the most important airport facility coming almost ahead of the control tower and other known ones such as the apron, navigational aids, terminal building and hangar, among others. He noted that without the terminal building or tower, aircraft could still land if there is a runway available, particularly in an emergency. Ojikutu, noted: “However, where there is no runway or there is one but is blocked or declared unserviceable, no aircraft will land and all flights operating into the airport are diverted and the flights operating out of the airport are grounded.” He said that runways require safety management system or maintenance programmes that prescribe the frequencies for surface washing and cleaning to remove CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS |news

Oil rout: IOCs’ revenue woes worsen AUSTERITY

Shell has again slashed its 2016 investment plan to $30 billion

Adeola Yusuf

he crude revenue woes rocking the international oil companies (IOCs) worsened last weekend with more firms declaring further slides in their first quarter revenues triggered by the 40 per cent drop in oil prices since 2015. Royal Dutch Shell’s earnings on a Current Cost of Supplies (CCS) in the first quarter of 2016 fell by $4 billion to $800 million, down from $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2015. This is barely three months after the oil firm acquired BG Group last February. The company announced that the development has forced it to drastically reduce its capital spending for 2016 to $30 billion. “We continue to reduce our spending levels, to capture cost opportunities and manage the financial framework in today’s lower oil price environment,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden, stated. In a statement from the oil firm, Beurden said that while

Shell Q1 earning drops 83% addressing shareholders that the drops in earnings for the period were $1.6 billion compared with $3.7 billion for the first quarter of 2015. Shareholders, represents a 58 per cent decrease. Consequently, Beurden said: “Capital investment in 2016 is clearly trending toward $30 billion,” compared to previous guidance of $33 billion and some 36 per cent lower than the combined Shell and BG invest-

ment in 2014. Shell, however, declared profit earning of $4 billion within the same period, a possibility Beurden ascribed to the company’s downstream and integrated gas businesses, which, he said, remains its current areas of strength. “Shell’s integrated activities differentiate us, with our Downstream and Integrated Gas businesses delivering

strong results and underpinning our financial performance despite continued low oil and gas prices,” he said, adding: “We will continue to manage spending, through dynamic decision-making across the organisation, taking advantage of opportunities from both the deflating market and the two companies coming together.” Beurden also said the union with BG, ‘is off to a strong

L-R: Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Foster Ogala; Acting Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Jones Afolabi and Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Rep. Tajudeen Yusuf, during the committee’s working visit to NAN headquarters in Abuja. PHOTO: NAN

Minister: Airlines to enjoy forex priority status RESCUE MISSION They sell their tickets in naira, but pay for services in dollars

Wole Shadare

inister for Aviation is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Ministry of Finance to include airlines in priority list of foreign exchange allocation, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, has said. The minister stated this in a paper he presented at the stakeholders’ meeting held with airline operators, aviation agencies and experts in the sector. He also unfolded plans to tackle the myriads of problems bedevilling the industry. The minister noted that a lot of transactions are done in foreign currency because aviation is an internationally regulated sector. Such transactions, he noted, include aircraft acquisition, purchase of spare parts, maintenance and training, which are all paid for in foreign currency. One of the banes of Nigerian carriers is their inability

start,” as a result of “detailed” forward planning before the completion of the transaction. This will likely result in accelerated delivery of the synergies from the acquisition, and at a lower cost than Shell originally set out. “The completion of the BG deal has reinforced our strategy and strength against the backdrop of hugely challenging times for our industry. For Shell and our shareholders, this is a unique opportunity to reshape and simplify the company.”

…Seek waiver execution to source foreign exchange to expand their operations and maintain the airplanes while their revenues are generated in naira. The carriers sell their tickets in naira and have to pay for services in forex. President, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Capt. Noggie Meggison, had recently told New Telegraph that the CBN had clandestinely removed airlines from priority list of firms that need foreign exchange. He said that the situation portends grave danger to their business. He disclosed that the airlines, under the aegis of AON, had petitioned the apex bank on the need to rescind their policy to save their businesses and, by extension, the airline industry. But the CBN swiftly reacted, describing claims by some airlines that they are unable to access foreign exchange to repatriate the proceeds of their operations as untrue. Sirika also disclosed that the Federal government had approved waivers on duty on importation of aircraft and spare parts, which he said has contributed immensely to the survival of airlines. He gave assurance that government was working towards sustaining the waiver

for continued growth. This did not, however, sit with airline operators who alleged that government only paid lip service to waiver on duty on importation of aircraft and spare part. They are piqued that three years after government approved waivers on Customs duties for aircraft and spare parts, indigenous airlines are yet to benefit from the policy. The operators said that they could have saved over N500 billion if government had implanted the policy since 2012. Managing Director of Arik Air, Mr. Chris Ndule, lamented that airlines still pay 50 per cent Customs duty on spare parts. The airline chief said that the situation had made operations of airlines very difficult. Investigations by this newspaper revealed that airlines spend billions of naira as Customs duties on aircraft and spare parts imported into the country. In most parts of Europe and the United States, the current rates of import duty on civil passengers is zero per cent in relation to small aircraft, that is those that have less than 50 seats and weigh less than 120,000 kilogramme. It would be recalled that

government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance, in the aftermath of Dana’s MD 83 aircraft, had sent notification letter to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the commencement of the new policy, while the Comptroller General of Customs had also sent a circular to his officers, but up till now, the airlines alleged that they have not benefited from the gesture. However, at a forum recently, the managing director of a helicopter firm, who pleaded anonymity, said that on the average, the airlines spend about $4 million on customs duties for aircraft acquisition. He emphasised that if fully implemented, such funds could be used for construction of two standard maintenance hangar facilities. The managing director warned that without the removal of this policy, Nigerian carriers would continually find it difficult to compete with their counterparts across the world. He noted: “Payment of Customs duties for aircraft and its spares only happen in Nigeria and nowhere else does this happen. A carrier pays an average of $4 million on import duties on an aircraft. That is huge.”

Concern over airports as Abuja runway expired 14 years ago CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

debris and residuals from aircraft tyres after landings and the frequencies for resurfacing after prescribed period or number of landings. He said that alligator cracks and intensive traffic density on the on the Abuja airport runway has necessitated the need for a second one. Just last week, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, inaugurated the Lagos Runway Safety Team. The inauguration was in compliance with Resolution A37-6 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which requires member states to implement appropriate measures to enhance runway safety. Dunoma urged the team to ensure strict compliance to ICAO standards in carrying out their duties. He also encouraged them to ensure the certification of all airports in Nigeria.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Energy Buhari:

One year after

Energy: Tough but thorough under Buhari Fuel subsidy removal, renewed attacks on oil and gas installations and the total collapse of the national grid, were the major foci of Nigeria’s energy sector in the first year of President Muhammadu Buhari. ADEOLA YUSUF reports

he announcement of subsidy removal on premium motor spirit (PMS) penultimate Wednesday changed the narrative in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year in office. Before this major step, the energy industry had been faced with probes, hues and cries on Joint Ventures (JV) Cash Call, shutdown and re-opening of refineries, including fuel scarcity, which lasted for three months. The beginning President Buhari took over the mantle of leadership in the second quarter of 2015 and in the third quarter, specifically on August 4, 2015, he appointed Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, as the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and later the minister of state for petroleum resources. Hitherto, Kachikwu was the vice president of ExxonMobil. The president also appointed the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, as the minister in charge of power. Corruption bout The first one year of President Buhari’s administration witnessed the fight against corruption in the energy sector both in government and private circles. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Dutch investigators, during this period, began the probe of Shell’s alleged involvement in the $1.1 billion Malabu /Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 scam. Aside this, some big names in the industry, including the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, were also caught in the web of corruption probe. Shell and Eni had invested at least $1.8 billion in purchasing and developing the OPL 245 block, which they own 50-50. The block reportedly holds probable reserves of 9.23 billion barrels of oil, which if proven, would represent the equivalent of a third of Shell’s proven reserves and two thirds of Eni’s. The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, which handed over to President Buhari on May 29, 2015, had controversially approved the trans-

Oil rig (left) and power installation

fer of $1.092 billion from Nigeria’s JP Morgan account in London to Nigerian accounts controlled by Malabu, a company controlled by Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete. Global oil giants, Shell and ENi, paid the money for Africa’s richest oil bloc, OPL 245. The first quarter of 2016 began with talks on a $1.2 billion multiyear drilling financing package for 36 Offshore/ Onshore Oil wells under the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture. The package, which even though was announced in the last quarter of 2015, actually began to take shape between the NNPC/ Chevron Joint Finance Team and the Consortium of local and international lenders led by Standard Chartered Bank and the United Bank for Africa Plc. (UBA) in the first quarter of 2015. This and other landmarks in the sector were later dotted by scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as fuel among others issues that later turnout to be landmines for the quarter. Scarcity The scarcity of petrol that rocked Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, reached its crescendo in the third quarter of the Buhari’s first year in office. With the controversial statement credited to Dr. Kachikwu, the long queues for fuel became unbearable between February and April 2016. This development put Kachikwu, the Federal Government and the NNPC under massive pressure to end the lingering queues in filling stations nationwide before the ‘dreaded’ two months allegedly promised by the minister. The manufacturers under the auspices of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) expectedly showed serious misgivings for Kachikwu’s statement. The alleged statement triggered acute shortage of

fuel and massive queues for the product in Lagos and Abuja. Chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Small and Medium scale Enterprise Group (SMEG), John Kachikwu, declared that such a statement was unacceptable to Nigerians at a period when businesses are dying in the country over non-availability of petrol.

The Federal Government has provided sufficient Q2 allocations for the importation of petroleum products

Temporary relief The Federal Government, also in the last quarter, took another step to end the lingering fuel scarcity with the constitution of a 14-man committee, which will interface with the NNPC and the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) on fuel distribution and enforcement of the official pump price by marketers. Kachikwu, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, also mandated it to do everything possible to bring peace back to Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at the national, zonal and depot levels. The intervention, which led to the emergence of Prince I. Dunuje as the committee chairman, according to New Telegraph checks, was facilitated by President Buhari, who directed Kachikwu to end the feud between the trios. The big stroke The announcement, penultimate Wednesday (April 11) of subsidy removal on PMS was, for the energy sector, the highpoint of the first year of President Buhari in office. With the speed of light, the retailers of the product across the country quickly complied with the new price regime by adjusting their pumps from N87 to N145 per litre and this was followed by a threat of strike by the labour union. Before Kachikwu kick-started explanations on the benefits of the fuel price hike, long queues for the product in many filling

stations across the country, especially in Lagos and Ogun states, began to disappear and this eased the task for Kachikwu. Earlier, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) released the second quarter fuel imports allocation, as a part of measures to end the lingering fuel scarcity. Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) declared in a reaction to the allocation then, that the quota was sufficient to end scarcity of fuel rocking Nigeria, not knowing that the 2.3million metric tons fuel permit would later be put in disarray by the removal of subsidy. Chairman, MOMAN, Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, disclosed in a statement issued after the second quarter fuel allocation that the Federal Government has provided sufficient Q2 allocations for the importation of petroleum products. Akinfemiwa, who also doubles as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Forte Oil Plc, said: “MOMAN wishes to inform the Nigerian public that the Federal Government has provided sufficient Q2 allocations for the importation of petroleum products.” Rising oil prices In the midst of the fuel scarcity, which dotted achievements of the Buhari’s first year, prices of oil, Nigeria’s biggest revenue earner, recorded their largest monthly gain in almost a year. Specifically, on a monthly basis, Brent’s front-month was on track to a 10 per cent gain for March – its best since April 2015 – and a 6 per cent rise in the first quarter. This was helped by a weak dollar and data showing a drawdown in crude stocks at the United States (U.S.) futures delivery hub. A proposed production freeze championed by Nigeria could not hold. It was believed then that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Energy

Attacks: NNPC, Agip lose N1.15bn in 8 days

he Nigeria crude production woes worsened at the weekend with a loss of 128, 000 barrels amounting to N1.152 billion ($5.76 million) in eight days to attack on a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian subsidiary of Eni, the Italian oil giant, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). The NAOC facility is at Ogbembiri in Southern Ijaw local government area, Bayelsa State. Both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and NAOC have equities in the ventures. The facility was attacked last penultimate Tuesday and operator, ENI, which confirmed this

BEDC signs MoU with USAID to ●Production slides further by 128,000 barrels boost electricity in an email, declared that 16,000 barrels of oil per day were lost to this assault of its crude oil pipeline in Nigeria’s southern state of Bayelsa by militants. The NAOC facilities have suffered major attacks consecutively 12 times this year. The hits follow years of relative calm in the country’s oil-producing region after a 2009 amnesty halted a spate of attacks on oil installations and kidnappings of expatriate workers. Attacks on energy infrastructure have been rampant especially on oil majors operating in the Niger Delta.

The latest victim was Italian oil giant Eni, which told UPI in an email that some of its equity oil production was knocked offline because of an attack on an oil pipeline. During midday trading at the weekend, both WTI and Brent are up around 1 percent to $48.80 and $49.67, respectively. A data compiled by New Telegraph showed that the country lost $1.589,440 corresponding to N317,888,000 in two days after the attack. In eight days, this loss has accumulated to N1.152 billion ($5.76 million) with a total loss

of 128000 barrels at an average price of $45 per barrel. The Niger Delta Avengers, a group fingered in the attack, have fiercely stepped up assaults on the likes of Chevron, Shell and Eni in recent weeks. Oil prices have increased over the same time period as the disruptions -combined with the major outages in Canada- have erased the global glut for crude oil. Nigeria’s oil production has plunged by an eye-watering 40 per cent, falling to just 1.4 million barrels per day, the lowest level in decades, Kachikwu had said, according to Reuters.

Managing Director, Primero transport services limited, Mr. Fola Tinubu (sixth left), with staff of the company during the donation of 50 BRT buses by Lagos state government to ease hardship of fuel subsidy removal in Lagos.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

freeze would barely make a difference to the global oil glut. Refineries shutdown The four refineries in Nigeria were shut down and reopened during the year under review. The shutdowns, according to the NNPC, became imperative due to the attacks on pipelines that transport crude to the installations. The refineries were reopened when the impaired pipelines were fixed. Renewed militancy, output crash Militants resume bombing of oil and gas installations in Nigeria – a development that triggered the crash of oil production by over 1 million barrels per day. Rising under a new name “avengers”, the militants did not only blow oil facilities belonging to Shell, Chevron and Eni, they also gave eviction notice to all oil companies to evacuate their staff from the Niger Delta. Refineries’ contracts Amidst the shutdown of refineries and the attendant scarcity of fuel across the country, 47 companies submitted bids for the co-location and upgrade of refineries with the NNPC, aimed at boosting the local refining capacity. The corporation, which had earlier confirmed the bid-round, also revealed plans to increase the nation’s refining capacity from 445,000 barrels per day to 650,000 barrels per day.

Energy: Tough but thorough under Buhari NNPC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Refineries, Mr. Anibo Kragha, opened the technical bid for the location of new refineries within the existing refineries in the country. He said that the corporation was committed to boosting the nation’s refining capacity, which in turn would put an end to perennial fuel scarcity in the country. “The aim is to leverage on the existing facilities to fast-track the takeoff of the refineries as soon as possible,” the COO said. He said a technical evaluation committee had been set up to study the bids and announce winners as soon as possible. Saying then that nine companies submitted bids, Kragha noted that the exercise was on course during the event, which was witnessed by representatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP). A source later confirmed to this newspaper that the number of bids had increased to 47. Power tariff increase The power sector also had a fair share of the downs in the energy sector during the first year of Buhari’s administration. Despite subsisting court order and the resolution of the Senate against the implementation of the new electricity tariffs across the country, the electricity distribution com-

panies commenced the implementation of the new tariff regime in the first quarter of 2016, which is a cardinal part of Buhari’s first year in office. The new tariffs, which took effect on February 1, 2016, based on support of minister of power and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reflected in March 2016 electricity bills. The distribution companies, it was learnt, had dispatched the bills containing the new rates to post-paid customers in their respective networks. A top official of one of the Discos said that the implementation of the new tariffs was in line with the directive of NERC. Blackout Blackout became imminent nationwide as suspected militants, on April 20, 2016, a few days before the end of Buhari’s first year, blew up a section of the Escravos gas trunk line in Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, an assault that impaired gas supply to major power plants in Nigeria. The sabotaged gas pipeline, which contributes to the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), has led to a loss of 160mmsfcd of gas daily. The Federal Government said at the last time the pipeline was blown that the power and gas sectors incurred multiple

losses in repairs, electricity shortage and gas sales resulting in a daily loss of N470 million. The attack on the pipeline connected to Chevron Nigeria Limited’s facility at Escravos, impacted negatively on the Olorunsogo NIPP plant (capacity 600MW) and other power plants. At a cost of $2.50 per thousand scf, this loss means about $400,000 loss to the country on a daily basis (N78,800,000 daily) in gas volume, the Minister of Power, Babtunde Fashola, said last January, when the installation was attacked. In a statement signed by Hakeem Bello, Special Adviser, Communications to the Minister, Fashola said: “This is in addition to losses to be incurred daily from affected power generation ($1,988,223 or N391,680,000 daily). The total daily loss to the country is, therefore, estimated at N470,479,931. Repairs of the damaged pipeline is estimated as costing ($609,137 or N120,000,000). Escravos GTL is a gas to liquids (GTL) project based in Escravos region, Nigeria. It is located in the Niger Delta about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Lagos. The plant converts natural gas into liquid petroleum products. Power at zero MW The power generation was completely grounded to zero Mega Watt (MW) penultimate

enin Electricity Distribution Plc (BEDC) has taken a bold step towards boosting access to electricity and improved services to customers in its franchise, as it signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday. The event, according to a statement, will enable USAID through the Power Africa Project to officially commence its support for the development of Nigeria’s power sector through credit enhancement, grants, technical assistance and investment promotion efforts. President Barrack Obama of United States had launched the Power Africa Initiative to bring together technical and legal experts, the private sector and governments from around the world to work in partnership to increase the number of people with access to power in Africa, including Nigeria. BEDC management signed the MOU with USAID agents, Tetratech Inc., one of the contractual vehicles funded by the agency under the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Programme, (PATRP); a five year USAID technical assistance project implemented by Tetra Tech designed to bring more electricity to subSaharan Africa by utilising a transaction-centred approach. Tuesday before it was restored to 1,400 MW. The Nigeria Electricity System Operator, which revealed this on its website, said that the zero megawatt generation occurred at 07: 12 hours. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) later issued a statement confirming that the drop in generation was restored to 1,400 MW. Describing the 1,400 MW as low generation, the TCN noted that the country’s power generation had earlier on Monday, May 16, peaked at 2, 868:30 MW. Notwithstanding the restoration of the grid, discos received dismal energy allocation, which worsened the power situation across the country. For instance, out of the 450MW that was due to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the disco only got about 50MW when the situation began to improve. Before the collapse, AEDC got an allocation of 257.97MW while the nationwide generation level stood at 2,243.2MW. Officials from the Federal Ministry of Power had attributed the never-ending fall in electricity generation to vandalism of gas pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure in the industry by miscreants. Conclusion There were more lows than highs for the energy sector in the first year of President Buhari, raising the bar of expectations for the remaining three years.

TUESDAY, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Homes&Property Buhari:

One year after

Model of Centinery City project in Abuja

As Nigerians look forward to celebrating Democracy Day, housing experts have scored President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year regime low. DAYO AYEYEMI reports

n another five days, May 29 precisely, the Federal Government will be rolling out the drums to celebrate ‘Democracy Day’ being a day that the country finally returned to civil rule. Besides, it also marks one year of President Buhari’s administration in office. While both federal and state governments are preparing for the celebration in the midst of slumping economy occasioned by the plunge in oil revenue, forex restriction, naira devaluation and hike in fuel pump price, housing experts insisted that the president’s performance in their sector has been dismal. For many built environment experts who spoke with New Telegraph, apart from the roadmap presented by the Federal Government, there is no activity that took place as far as housing delivery, mortgage provision and road infrastructure are concerned. They also expressed worries over the huge number of abandoned road projects and the inability of government to pay contractors for the works already executed. Although, government had, a few weeks ago, announced its intention to release N350 billion into critical sectors of the economy, which include road and real estate sectors, the experts said they were yet to see any industry that has received the pledge.

Experts: No impressive progress in construction Experts’ views Taking a critical look at the housing sector during the period under review, Chairman, H.O.B. Housing Estate, Akure, Chief Olusegun Bamgbade, said that government seemed to have a good roadmap for housing and infrastructure delivery, judging from the 2016 budget provisions. “Though nothing serious has been identified in this regard since the government came on board, however, there is hope in site,” he said. If within the next one year, Nigerians are yet to see any spectacular progress on housing and infrastructure provisions, he said they could come out to condemn the authorities for non-performance. “As a matter of fact, we need to exercise a little patience with this government. Going by the body language of the president and the pedigree of the vice president, in conjunction with the crop of ministers in the cabinet, I see a ray of hope in the future in all spheres of the economy,” he said. On his part, Managing Director, Xpress Property Services Ventures Limited, Mr. Olusegun Allan Alli, said: “I can cautiously say nothing much of clear significance has been done in this sector, at least, yet to be publicly disclosed.” He blamed the situation on delays in approving the 2016 budget and also flayed the government for the financial plan adjournment, saying it was not an acceptable excuse for a government, which is now one year in power considering

Clampdown on corruption and money laundering freezed the cash that ought to have been invested in real estate

the obvious deficit in affordable housing. Alli said: “I am afraid, not much is there to place on an assessment scale so far. Same goes for infrastructural development. Therefore, I will suggest that these questions be deferred to probably six months into the release of budgeted funds for these purposes.” Lull in property market The clampdown on corruption and money laundering freeze the cash that ought to have been invested in the real estate business during this period. Consequently, residential and non-residential building markets registered sluggish growth due to the anti-graft crusade. Many houses belonging to former public office holders under probe were sealed by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). These developments created panic in the housing market, as prospective buyers withdrew patronage. Managing Director, Financial Derivative Company, Mr Bismarck Rewane, noted that the Eko Atlantic City and major ongoing commercial/office projects such as shopping centres, struggled to gain attraction, as domestic and international investors adopted a wait-and-see approach to their projects. A Lagos-based estate surveyor and valuer, Chief Kola Akomolede, said that the lull in property market would continue due to low disposable income of ‘honest’ people. Mortgage finance There was no serious mort-

gage activity in the first quarter of the year, as little was heard of the much-flaunted Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC). The underdeveloped mortgage market is considered to be a hurdle to both developers and house seekers. The domestic mortgage industry is currently underdeveloped and credit is expensive, with interest rates averaging around 30 per cent, according to a recent report published by the African Development Bank. Most estimates suggest that only around 20 per cent of the population participate in the formal banking sector, with the remaining 80 per cent dealing almost entirely in cash. Way forward Jagun implored the president to deliberately allocate funds to the provision of low-income housing to revamp the economy. Besides, he wants the restructuring of the mortgage system to enhance easy access, low-interest and home-ownership for Nigerians. Regarding what needs to be done by the government to achieve a more impacting infrastructural and mass housing policies, Alli said there was need to explore partnership with the private sector especially in area of workable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) so as to reduce the burden on government’s expenditure. This initiative, he explained, would ultimately expand house delivery to the masses with wider coverage and also activate competition by forcing down CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

TUESDAY, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Business | Homes & Property

CONSENT

Lagos rakes in 3.1 billion from 3,343 applications

Dayo Ayeyemi

n a departure from the conventional method of allocating schemes, Lagos State government has adopted the Off-Plan sales method in newly-created residential estates in the metropolis. The three new residential schemes, which had received the approval of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, include Safe Court Garden in Ijanikin; Treasure Park in Toga-Torikoh in Badagry and Prince Court in Sangotedo in Lekki, with price tags ranging from N7.87 million to N75 million and N9.9 million respectively. According to the Permanent Secretary, Lagos Lands Bureau, Mr. Bode Agoro, payment for the schemes will be made in two instalments. A prospective allottee is expected to make an advance payment of 50 per cent of the cost, while a provisional letter of allocation with block and plot number would be issued. Agoro explained that the allottee is expected to pay the second instalment (balance payment) of 50 per cent within three months of the first instalment with a guarantee from government’s end to deliver the site with all necessary infrastructures within 15 months. Where the allottee fails to make second instalment of 50 per cent within 90 days of the first, the permanent secretary said the allocation would be automatically withdrawn, while the allottee would be refunded his/her deposit.

Experts: No impressive progress in construction CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

cost. He said: “Government may need to directly or indirectly subsidise the various materials needed in the sector for both programmes since they are interrelated. Good road network, stable power, clean water is what makes up public infrastructures. “The good news and hope is that higher funding have been provided for both programmes more than ever before in the current budgetary allocations.” Conclusion As government promised to release money to fund some of the critical sectors of the economy, implementation, execution and delivery of projects will play significant roles in its actualization of projects in the country’s roadmap for this critical sector.

New housing schemes: Lagos adopts Off-Plan sales mode “Upon payment of the second instalment of 50 per cent within the stipulated time, allottee is issued a confirmed letter of allocation. The Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) will be issued to the allottee within 30 days of payment of the second instalment,” he said. Under the private sector developers’ scheme, he stated that the government was roll-

ing out Aiyeteju and Idera mixed schemes in Ibeju Lekki at N30 million per hectare. “The private sector developers’ schemes are allocations of large parcels of land between five and 25 hectares to private companies that wish to construct estates and others,” he said. Chronicling the achievements of the administration in the land sub-sector in the

last 12 months, Agoro said that the Land Bureau generated a sum of N8.1 million between May 2015 and March 2016. He said that the money was generated through sales, processing and allocation of plots of land in the state. The Permanent Secretary noted that between January and March 2016, the directorate of account generated a total sum of N2.5 billion.

The agency, he explained, raked in N3.1 billion from 3,343 applications from Governor’s Consent between June 2015 and March 2016. In the area of compensation, Agoro said that N289 billion was paid to claimants of land affected by Dangote Refinery project, Ikorodu BRT road expansion and OrileBadagry road expansion during the year.

L-R: Oba of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Rilwanu Akinolu;Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, (NIESV), Lagos branch, Mr. Samuel Effiong Ukpong; and his Immidiate Past Chairman, Pastor Stephen Jagun, during the visit of NIESV to the Oba in Lagos at the weekend.

Why building failures are rampant, by estate surveyors Dayo Ayeyemi

orried by the spate of building collapse in the Lagos metropolis, practitioners under the auspice of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) have blamed high cost of funds, poor attitude and composition of physical planning, among others, as factors liable for the incidents. The experts, led by the Lagos Chairman of NIESV, Mr. Samuel Effiong Ukpong, disclosed this during a visit to the palace of Oba of Lagos, His Majesty Rilwal Akiolu. They intimated the monarch on issues bordering on building collapse, urban renewal, housing problems, infrastructure inadequacies and decay affecting Lagos as a city. Ukpong said his members were disturbed by the frequent news of collapsed buildings in the metropolis especially Lagos Island,

stressing the need to stop approval of development of buildings above four floors in Lagos without the inclusion of a consultant estate surveyors and valuers. He attributed non-inclusion of estate surveyors and valuers in project proposals and implementation, as one of the reasons for incessant collapse of buildings in the state. Explaining how cost of funds contributes to building collapse, Ukpong said: “Our source of financing real estate development is another major problem for building collapse. The developers provide about 30 per cent equity, go for counterpart funding of 70 per cent and approach the Nigerian bank, which gives him a loan at between 17.5 per cent and 25 per cent if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervenes. “He is expected to repay in three years at most because the bank has port-

folio constraints and has short-term funds. The developer makes his analysis and discovers that unless he increases his three floor approved plan or construction to five or six floors, he would be perpetually indebted to the bank. He now tries to make ends meet and ends up killing innocent people who went out to eke out a living.” On urban renewal, the Lagos NIESV boss told Oba Akiolu that many neighborhoods in Lagos Central Area were due for redevelopment, noting that most parts of Lagos Island such as Shitta area, Iddo are seriously decayed. “It is a fact that Lagos Island is the cradle of civilisation in Nigeria. Lagos was and is still the London of most other states in Nigeria. But if you look carefully at Lagos perhaps with the eye of an estate surveyor and valuer, you would see that those buildings that were

outstanding and impressive then, have lost their steam and prestige,” he said. On the way out, he suggested that multiple interest subsisting in the tiny units of development or buildings could be identified, harmonised or aggregated and developed into multi-storey buildings with modern conveniences and facilities without losing the original ownership rights or interest. He said: “We as estate surveyors and valuers see these things and are worried but who is there to listen to us or to engage us. Today, we are happy that our own king is listening to us and the fruits of this visit shall be enjoyed by all Nigerians.” Responding, Oba Akiolu pledged to collaborate with the professionals by presenting their case before Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and those in government for appropriate action.

TUESDAY, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

AVIATION Buhari:

One year after

Muritala Muhamed International Airport (MMIA) terminal, Lagos. Inset: Amaechi

Aviation under Buhari mixed The state of Nigerian aviation under President Muhammadu Buhari in the past one year could best be described mixed, writes WOLE SHADARE

he aviation industry, in the past one year under the administration of President Buhari, started slowly. Expectations were high, going by the fact that the new administrators were expected to give the sector a positive direction, compared to what happened previously. The appointment of Rotimi Amaechi and Hadi Sirika as minister of transportation and minister of state for aviation respectively and their first visit on inspection of facilities at the Lagos airport gave an insight of what would be required to reposition a decaying sector. Aviation master plan The Nigerian government said it was in the process of developing a national transportation master plan that would help in diversifying the nation’s economy. Amaechi stated that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is in the process of developing a national transportation master plan that will be implemented as a fulfilment of one of his campaign promises to diversify the nation’s economy while improving nonoil sector revenues.

“While reducing dependence on oil revenues, it will also develop the rural economy, reduce unemployment and urban drift,” Amaechi had said. Not a few believed that there is no master plan now, but a roadmap. A master plan entails the study of the traffic projection by airport, zoning of the airport, future growth of the airport, the economic drive that would make the airport grow and the likes. For example, at the Heathrow Airport, the United Kingdom is currently building the fourth runway at the cost of £21billion. So, in Nigeria, what we have done in our airport is that we have different buildings here and there, they are building a new terminal, bringing down a building, but the future site of terminals were already in the master plan and each airport has its own master plan, but they need to be updated and brought to the current realities. A master plan involves all stakeholders, operators, the airline and every other person. They all come together to produce a document that serves the industry. A master plan would have avoided all the mistakes of today.

Dwindling fortunes of airlines Nigeria’s aviation industry is not only small but also fragmented. It is so tiny compared to its population said to be over 160 million. In some climes, aviation is money spinning, contributing significantly to their nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is, however, a different situation in Nigeria where the sector contributes less than one per cent to the country’s GDP. It is appalling and very dismal to a country with the

Just like many other sectors, the aviation industry is facing many problems and challenges

largest economy in Africa. With the near death of the carriers, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) keeps issuing Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to intending airlines. No sooner than they begin operations, than the reality begins to dawn on them that the sector is highly capital intensive, requiring deep pocket to sustain their operations for years. Most of the airlines’ airplanes only get fuelled after passengers have paid for tickets and part of the money used to pay oil marketers who have resorted to a cash and carry arrangement in order to avoid growing airlines’ debt.

Airport privatisation In a bid to guarantee efficiency and good management in view of dwindling resources from the government for infrastructural development in the aviation industry, the government in December 2015 unfolded plans to privatise four major airports. The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; the Port Harcourt International Airport; and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, are the aerodromes slated for concession. Addressing aviation industry players in Abuja, the Minister of State for Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, disclosed that private sector operators would manage the airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. The minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to fasttrack the development of the sector through public private partnership. Airports have evolved mainly as government-run enterprises. Many airports seek privatisation in part to improve

their abilities to compete in the new global economy. The manner of ownership covers a wide spectrum: governmentowned and controlled airports, government-owned corporations, independent airport authorities, public-private partnerships with government majority ownership or with private majority ownership. Reasons to privatise an airport include an improved ability for an airport to diversify its operations to enhance profitability, to fund expansion, and to improve competitiveness. The arguments for privatisation include the falling availability of public funds, and a need to change to the marketoriented outlook that private businesses develop. Objections to airport privatisation are related to the apprehension that a private operator will take advantage of the monopoly that airports represent in air travel. Privatisation enables a long-term focus to meet the demands of international competition, to maintain a customer-focused plan and to free the government from providing subsidies to an unprofitable enterprise. Airports terminal completion The airport remodelling project by former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, lacked a clear cut direction. Considered a laudable project at inception, the delay in completing the terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano three years behind planned completion date, had elicited questions and smacks of unseriousness. However, government gave December 2016 as the deadline CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

TUESDAY, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | AVIATION

How Africa can harness aviation potential, by IATA DEVELOPMENT Continent’s economy to grow at 4.7 per cent per year

Power of Aviation,” scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigeria on May 23-24, 2016. Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Muhtar S. Usman and Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation,

Hadi Sirika, will join Senior IATA officials. Deputy Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Mr. Gaoussou Konate, the Secretary General of the African Civil Aviation Com-

mission (AFCAC), Ms. Iyabo Sosina, along with key regional stakeholders, would address current issues affecting aviation in Africa including public-private partnerships, aviation and tourism convergence, funding, safety and security, the prolifer-

ation of taxes and charges, next generation airports and market connectivity. This provides a platform for Africa’s key stakeholders to debate the industry’s most pressing issues and align actions to address the challenges.

Wole Shadare

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on African governments and organisations to focus not only on national issues but also on the strategic development of pan-African aviation to enable the continent reach its full economic potential. The clearing house for global airlines in a statement, said aviation in Africa carries over 70 million passengers a year, supports more than 6.9 million jobs on the continent and generates over $80 billion in Gross Domestic (GDP). It noted that over the next five years, the continent’s economy is forecast to grow at a strong 4.7 per cent per year, well above the global average rate. IATA added that for the continent to realise its full economic potential, aviation – particularly commercial air transport – must be prioritised. Meanwhile, the body has confirmed the line-up for its 2016 Aviation Day Africa Summit, with theme: “Driving African Economies through the

Virgin Atlantic’s B747-400

Aviation under Buhari mixed CONTINUED FROM PAG E 29

for the completion of the four major international airport terminals under construction. Amaechi disclosed that after completion, the Lagos airport would handle 15 million passengers annually, while the others would handle additional 15 million to bring the total traffic to 30 million passengers annually. “As a result of limited resources for capital project development, the government is exploring the possibility of private sector participation towards the realisation of the industries’ potential.” Amaechi stated that there was an urgent need to continue to improve on infrastructure, noting that out of the four conveyor belts in the Lagos airport, two had broken down. He said it was the determination of the President Buhari administration to improve critical infrastructure that would help to reflate the economy, stressing that the transport sector held the key to the economy and formed the basis of all socioeconomic interactions. Debt recovery In the aviation industry, one recurring issue that has pit the airlines against the various aviation agencies is the controversy trailing debts owed aviation agencies. Domestic airlines’ debts to FAAN, NAMA and NCAA are staggering. Just recently, FAAN, through the

various aviation unions, picketed Arik Arik over allegation that the airline owes it N11.5 billion, an allegation the airline swiftly denied. The Federal Government stated that there would be no sacred cows in the recovery of debts owed the various agencies. Collectively, Nigerian carriers are said to owe NAMA, NCAA, NCAT and NIMET over N7 billion in Passenger Service Charge and Ticket Sales Charge, prompting NCAA to give them a two-week ultimatum to pay up or be grounded. Sleaze in NAMA One issue that took the sector by storm was the arrest of top NAMA chiefs by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged sleaze. These arrests were made to explain how the Managing Director of NAMA, Ibrahim Abdulsalam and his predecessor signed off payments of over N3 billion on ‘questionable contracts’ between 2013 and 2015. Documents obtained showed that the bulk of these payments were for clearing of containers and Customs duties, which amounted to N2,101,689, 304.14 within the period under review. Most of these clearing/Customs duties payment were said to be nontransparent, as the agency had never really undertaken any “major importation that warrants payments in tens of millions of naira at different times as claimed by the management.”

The trail of approvals and payments, according to sources, revealed a lack of due process and transparency in approving the sums involved, which, in most cases, were said to be above the approval limits of the Managing Director of NAMA and should have either been referred to the board or the Minister of Aviation. The officials are currently facing trial over theft. Nigerian carriers scramble for IOSA Consequently, many Nigerian airlines have joined the league of airlines that are IOTA certified. The successful airlines are Arik, Aero Contractors and FirstNation Airways. Those on the verge of attaining IOSA certification include Medview, Allied Air Cargo Services, Overland Airways and Dana Air. Air Peace has done its last workshop, but is about to be audited. The IOSA Safety Audit, the instrument for measuring safety among airlines of the world, is not criteria to end safety related issues or prevent air accidents all over the world, but is an audit that helps airlines appreciate the importance of airlines operational safety procedures and following said safety procedures to run an efficient airline. Flight delay/cancellations Many travellers are now frustrated over incessant delay/ cancellation of flights, a situation that has taken joy out of air travel. Air travel on its own is a hectic experience, even when everything goes according to

plan. So, when there is the added challenge of unexpected delays or cancellations, it starts to feel more like ‘living through hell’. In Nigeria, airlines are quick to cancel domestic flights on the grounds of factors such as extreme weather, mechanical malfunctions and workers strike actions and this continually throws the plans of thousands of travellers into disarray. Incessant flight cancellation remains a challenge for airlines and demands for compensations by flyers seldom pitch distraught passengers against erring airlines. Albeit the Nigeria regulatory authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) made efforts to ameliorate and mediate in issues as they arise, passengers said there is more ground to cover by those involved. Flight cancellations, especially one too many, be it mechanical or otherwise, rude flight attendants, poor in-flight services, delays and leaving passengers in the dark without information as well numerous other bad deals is a pointer that the airlines may well be on their way to extinction or kiss the canvass if passengers’ complaints are ignored. Conclusion Just like many other sectors, the aviation industry is facing many problems and challenges. The challenges in the industry are affecting the smooth operation and management of the industry. The challenges range from the skyrocketing of aviation fuel experienced by airlines, lack of economic regulation of the airlines and dwindling fortunes of domestic airlines.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Intervention

Education

FG should expedite action on removal of disparity against poly –Rector

Campus

Buhari:

One year after

UNIBEN students offer medical care to traders

33 35

review

One year after the President Muhammadu Buhari administration assumed office, the education sector has not fared better

Kayode Olanrewaju and Mojeed Alabi

ne year into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, there is palpable discomfiture in the education sector over lack of a clear-cut policy direction towards rescuing the sector from its many woes. Stakeholders are not happy that despite efforts, resources and time invested at both the federal and state levels in fixing the education sector, the system has failed to return the nation to the path of recovery as a result of government’s inability to marshal workable solutions to address the challenges confronting the sector. To them, one year after and despite the ‘change mantra’ of the All Progressives Congressled administration, the sector is still riddled with several crises, ranging from mass failure in the school system, especially in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO); poor facilities; inadequate qualified teachers, shortage of classroom facilities, collapsed buildings and dust infested floors, as well as ineffective curriculum. Despite the N3,434,599 trillion spent between 1999 and 2015 to restructure the sector through infrastructural upgrade, teachers’ training, among others, the nation’s education sector is still in its lowest ebb and far from meeting the need of the country in all facets of development. Apart from the challenges of infrastructural decay and obsolete curriculum confronting the sector, the expected opium of technological and industrial development, has over the years been bogged down by inconsistent sectoral policies and lack of the right political will on the part of the government to tackle the rot in the system. In the last one year, some of the policies initiated by the Fed-

kayode olanrewaju Editor, education

kayode olanrewaju@ newtelegraphonline.com

One of the public schools in the country.

Still a far cry eral Government including the appointment of a substantive Minister for the sector, Mallam Adamu Adamu, and the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) have been widely criticised. The Minister, in particular, has been criticised by stakeholders for lacking the experience to superintend over the sector. The adoption of the TSA by the Federal Government, ostensibly to ensure transparency and avoid misapplication of public funds, is constituting a clog in the wheel of progress of Federal Governmentowned higher institutions as the operation of the policy has made it extremely difficult for federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other allied institutions to discharge their core responsibilities of teaching, research and community services as well as engaging in international academic networking due to bureaucratic processes in accessing budgeted funds. The TSA presupposes that funds belonging to these institutions and other government agencies are domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a single account from where the institutions are to make request for same whenever the need arises. This accounting system, according to key stakeholders in the sector, has created bottlenecks, undermining the institution’s autonomy and making it difficult for them to fund ongoing researches and sustain international networks; procure equipment and consumables for laboratories.

TSA is incompatible with the autonomy of universities...

This policy, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, has led to the shortfalls in the personnel cost for the institutions and the delay in the payment of salaries of workers, especially between December last year till date. “TSA is incompatible with the autonomy of universities and our union calls on the Federal Government to exempt the universities from its implementation on account of the peculiarities of the institutions,” ASUU once said. Another major step taken by this administration, which has continued to serve as a minus for it in the education sector, is the sacking or removal on February 12 of vice-chancellors of the 12 new federal universities and the immediate appointment of their successors. ASUU, in a statement, condemned the development it described as executive fiat and recklessness on the part of the government and expressed concern over its implications for due process, university autonomy, and the growth and development of Nigerian universities. Going by the provisions of the University Miscellaneous (Amendment) Act 2003, the union noted that only the Governing Councils are bestowed with powers of appointment and removal of vice-chancellors. “ASUU, way back in 2011, condemned the manner in which the new universities were established through executive fiat by President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration. For upward of four

years, the laws establishing these universities were neither enacted nor made public through the official government gazette. All our entreaties to make government correct this anomaly fell on deaf ears,” the union lamented. While the dust raised by the sack of the vice-chancellors was yet to settle, the Federal Government announced the suspension of the upgrading of the four Federal Colleges of Education, to federal universities of education. Though, the conversion of the colleges of education – Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo; Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri; Federal College of Education, Kano; and Federal College of Education, Zaria, was hurriedly carried out by President Goodluck Jonathan at the twilight of his administration, the decision of the President Buhari’s administration to suspend the policy has been widely condemned by stakeholders, describing the development as anti-progressive. In his assessment of President Buhari’s performance in the education sector in the last one year, a Professor of African & Oral Literature at the Department of English, University of Ibadan (UI), Ademola Dasylva, insisted that there has not been any impact, citing the crisis brought about by the TSA policy, and the delayed approval of 2016 Budget, which he noted had slowed down all core activities in the nation’s education sector. According to him, the non-release of funds to the universities was largely responsible for a total disintegration of infrastructure, and the consequences of this inaction are largely responsible for most, if not all, student protests in many of the nation’s universities. “Now, we have just about six months to the end of 2016, no sign of any progress in sight yet,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

education

Adamu C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

Dasylva said, arguing if the allocation to education would be able to adequately address the funding challenge and bring about the desired change. He said the on-going corruption fight should by now have moved into the tertiary institutions, advising that the government should not spare education sector in its war against financial recklessness. On the sacking of the ViceChancellors, Dasylva berated the government for its action, noting that it lacked tact and experience. “That was rather hasty and without recourse to due process. Perhaps the Minister was trying to impress the President, but ended up embarrassing the government, and humiliating decent colleagues who served the nation selflessly. Towards this end, the don urged the minster to attract and invite more colleagues from the Diaspora to provide academic and administrative leadership in those universities. Reacting to the suspension of the upgraded colleges of education to universities of education, Dasylva noted there is, therefore, an urgent need for the government and the minister to perfect the procedures for proper upgrading of the colleges to universities of education, in the best interest of numerous Nigerian youth. Appraising the education sector in the last one year, the newly elected ASUU National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, expressed discontentment over the manner with which the sector has been run, saying nothing significant has changed. “It is important to state here that most of the issues tabled before the old administration and the new one have remained unsolved especially those concerning the implementation of the NEEDS Assessment report, Staff School, FGN-ASUU agreement, funding, among others. As at today, the universities are being owed more than N400 billion NEEDS Assessment implementation funds,” he said. The union leader recalled that ASUU had in its agreement with the Federal Government as far back as 1992 stated that staff schools would be part of the welfare packages for the university workers and as a training ground for the students, but that the Federal Government has suddenly reneged on the agreement by insisting that the staff of those schools should be paid from fees generated. On TSA, Ogunyemi said the policy is not in the best inter-

Buhari:

One year after

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Education sector, not yet Uhuru est of the universities and that ASUU has written to the government over this, but failed to respond to the letters. Citing the hike in pump price regime, he noted that the education sector will suffer more because the workers rely on the petroleum products to generate power, while they are not also immune to the attendant hardship. ASUU’s words: “So, if we consider all these, and many more, you will understand that the promised change is not yet here. There has been no significant difference from what we used to complain about and what we still have today. We ought to have renegotiated the 2009 FGNASUU agreement because what we had in 2012 was just a memorandum of understanding and not a review.” Rising from its National Executive Council meeting at the University of Ilorin at the weekend, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), noted with regret that it is unfortunate that the sector has not received the expected attention from the President Buhari’s administration. Its National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abdussobour Salaam said the union, like all other Nigerians, had expected a complete departure from the past, but nothing has changed so far. For instance, he argued that the issue of the staff school, which led to almost a month nationwide strike that paralyses the system, has not been attended to by the government. “In fact, the matter has gotten to the industrial court. And, indeed with the union’s interactions with the government, we never expected the matter would still be at this level,” SSANU hinted, listing the issues of funding and the problem of earned allowances, as some of the pending issues requiring urgent attention. According to Salaam, all these issues have at different times been raised and discussed with the government, especially the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, but that there is no serious commitment on the part of the government. As part of its anti-corruption fight, the Federal Government few months ago raised 10 Adhoc committees to visit some universities and polytechnics, following allegations of financial recklessness and cases of sexual harassment in those institutions. But, stakeholders are worried that despite the energy and resources committed into the inquiry, the reports and recommendations of the committees are yet to be released, while no White Paper has been made public, therefore casting aspersion on the readiness of the government to take the education sector to a safe harbour. One other section in which the sector is challenged is the school curriculum, which stakeholders have at different fora described as “grossly insufficient and irrelevant to transform

and remove the country from its present woes.” Specifically, the relegation of History as a school subject in the curriculum has incurred the wrath of major stakeholders describing it as a disservice to the image and future of the country and her people. Meanwhile, critics have said the inability of some state governments to pay their counterpart funds in order to access the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds for the development of their primary and secondary schools, as well as many heads of tertiary institutions to access their Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), where several billions of naira are lying fallow is the bane of some of the problems in the sector. “If the challenges of funding is addressed and the quantum of allocations to the system are judiciously spent, perhaps the nation’s education sector and the school system will not

be where they are presently, in terms of provision of facilities, laboratory equipment and other instructional facilities such as books in the libraries,” they said. Though, education sector, according to a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mr. Niyi Bada, has the lion’s share in this year’s budgetary allocation, that is still a far cry from the 26 per cent of the nation’s yearly budget stipulated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Education (UNESCO), if the sector is to move forward and attain the Education For All (EFA) goals. He attributed the failure of the country to attain the EFA goals target of 2015 to inadequate funding of the sector, saying the time has come for the present administration to address the funding needs of the sector. Bada, who noted that one year is grossly inadequate to measure the performance of

an administration, however, insisted that the country should be patient with this regime, even as he added that the government needed to make some moves that will rekindle the hope of the people in the government. The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Comrade Usman Dutse bemoaned the poor state of the education sector, saying there has been no clear direction for government policies as regards the sector. “To our great surprise what we currently have is quite different from what we were promised and expected,” he added, even as the union leader hinted: “As far as the ASUP is concerned, we can tell you that since the new administration of President Buhari came on board, there has been no significant interventional development in the educational sector, and more importantly, the polytechnic education.

L-R: Olowokudejo, Ojerinde and Oni at the event.

UIVC, JAMB registrar, others honour late Sofoluwe, ex-UNILAG VC Mojeed Alabi

our years after his death, the memories of the late Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Babatunde Sofoluwe, have continued to linger in the hearts of some of his contemporaries and friends. This time, it is coming from the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Idowu Olayinka, and the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who paid glowing tributes to the late Sofoluwe, for what they described as his sound leadership qualities and lofty legacies. Sofoluwe, who had died in May 2012, while in office as UNILAG’s10th Vice-Chancellor, was said to have turned around the fortune of the university by positioned it as a metropolitan ivory tower through the adoption of technology and his friendly relationship with the workers and the students. It was at the fourth annual memorial lecture, organised

in his honour of the late university administrator by the Lagos State branch of the UNILAG Alumni Association. The theme of the lecture: “Milestones in the Development of University Education in Nigeria and the Challenges of Globalisation,” was delivered by Prof. Olayinka, while Prof. Ojerinde in his keynote address, dwelt on contemporary issues in the nation’s education sector, particularly the challenges of conducting external examinations that is free of malpractices. Olayinka, who was represented at the event by Prof. Olugbenga Ajayi of the University of Ibadan, traced the foundation of university education in the country to 1948, when 104 pioneer students were admitted into the then University College, Ibadan, which in 1962 metamorphosed to the University of Ibadan. He decried the current poor quality of universities in the country, saying that the over 140 universities (public and private) and particularly the government-owned institutions are being confronted by

the same challenges. He said: “Similar challenges of inadequate funding, limited ability to attract grants, over-reliance on government subventions, unstable academic calendar, obsolete and ill-maintained facilities, ageing academic staff, among others, now face the universities.” Olayinka, therefore, advised the alumni to come together and support their alma mater with their time, investments and talents. On his part, Ojerinde condemned what he described as “sponsored attacks” on JAMB over the conduct of the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), saying many of those who were found guilty of compromising standard among workers of the examination body are currently serving one punishment or the other. Speaking earlier, the immediate past Chairman of the association and organiser of the event, Dr. Ayodele Ogunleye, said the essence of annual memorial lecture was to bring scholars together to share ideas on the ways to revive the nation’s education sector.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari:

One year after

Budget’ll transform education sector –Okebukola

Interview | education

Peter Akinsola Okebukola, a Professor of Science, Computer and Environmental Education is a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC). He speaks with KAYODE OLANREWAJU about the performance of the present administration, one year after; education summits; the sacked Vice-Chancellors, suspension of the upgrading of the four colleges of education, among other salient issues Nigeria’s education system seems to be a far cry in terms of quality of its graduates, what would you say is responsible for this? As in all countries of the world that I have recently studied and in many cases visited, the quality of graduates in Nigeria relative to what used to obtain up to the 1980s, has dropped one notch. Several factors account for the depressed quality of the Nigerian educational system. Eight of these factors have been isolated by research as being dominant. These are policy incoherence and implementation inconsistency; teacher inadequacies (quality and quantity); poor quality of student input from one level to the other; funding inadequacies; infrastructural/ facilities challenges; curriculum inadequacies; poor reading culture; and social vices especially examination malpractice. Let me expatiate on a couple of these factors beginning from policy incoherence and implementation inconsistency. In the frontline of efforts to maintain or boost quality, is the existence of well-articulated policies. Policy guidelines form the basis of action by implementers of the education agenda. The head teachers, principals, teachers, inspectors, directors, executive secretaries and directorsgeneral rely on policy guidelines for action. At the local, state and federal levels, policies are enacted to guide educational activities. The umbrella policy is the National Policy on Education. From time to time, Ministries of Education at the State/FCT and Federal level enact policies on education in response to current needs. The gap between policy prescription and practice has remained wide. What factors would you say brought this situation about? One, is the weak monitoring and evaluation mechanism. A potent inspectorate division which will turn the searchlight on the gaps and cause remedial action to be taken is hardly ever found at the federal, state and local government level. Secondly, the financial input into the system that can guarantee good performance is low. Thirdly, the operators of the system claim poor motivation and low morale. When policy is incoherent and inconsistent, implementers are confused, leading to inaccuracies in practice. In turn, the quality of management and curriculum development

is compromised. Incoherence is the typical consequence of lack of synergy between different levels of education. Inconsistency is the deviation in application of a policy or even a change in the policy for reasons that have not been thought through. In both cases, changes in leadership are the explanatory factor. When a new governor, minister, commissioner, executive secretary, vice-chancellor, dean or head of department comes into office, the typical action in Nigeria is for the policies and practices of the “old regime” even if good, to be overturned in the spirit of “making my own mark”. Next, let me take the factor of teacher inadequacies (quality and quantity). A major actor in the school setting is the teacher. There is a plethora of evidence suggesting that teacher quantity, quality and motivation exert noteworthy effects on a host of school variables. These include enrolment, participation and achievement of pupils. The shortfall in teacher number translates to high pupil/teacher ratio and severe stress on teachers on ground. The link between teacher stress and productivity has been established Inadequacy in the number of teachers in the school system could therefore account for the declining quality of education. Teacher quality is hinged on three knowledge bases. These are content knowledge, pedagogic knowledge and pedagogic-content knowledge. Many teachers in the system are frequently deficient in these knowledge bases. A recent national survey provides empirical proof of this assertion. Participants in the study identified a number of weaknesses that Education graduates exhibit after graduation to include shallow subject-matter knowledge, that is, poor knowledge of their teaching subjects; inadequate exposure to teaching practice; poor classroom management and control; poor computer literacy skills; inability to communicate effectively in English; lack of professionalism; lack of selfreliant and entrepreneurial skills; and poor attitude to work. Let me conclude on the factor of infrastructural/facilities challenges. A conducive learning environment is predisposing to quality education. Since the learning environment is far from conducive in many Nigerian schools, quality has not been assured. At the basic edu-

Okebukola

All fields of study have their general and specific roles to play in national development

cation level, gross inadequacies in facilities for effective teaching and learning prevail. There is inadequacy in the number of primary schools to support full enrolment of primary-school-age children. Worse hit are the urban areas with dense population of children resulting in high pupil/teacher ratio. The shortage of schools and especially classrooms manifests in children receiving instruction under harsh conditions. This inclemency of conditions induced by low school number could be a key factor in diminishing the motivation of children and their parents for school attendance. Taking a look at the education sector in the last one year, would you say there is tangible improvement since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office and would you say this administration has fared better in terms of delivery of education? The Buhari administration has taken off on a good start in education especially in the area of improving teacher numbers and quality. I am aware of extensive plans to attend to such issues as improved facilities for teaching and learning and increase in enrolment and retention at the basic education level. I am also aware of the plan to establish new federal universities of science and technology. This is a good move to bolster Nigeria’s highlevel human capacity in science and technology and spin us nicely into the fourth industrial revolution. We must not also lose sight of the administration’s school feeding programme which will impact enrolment, participation and achievement of basic education pupils. I am sure that the implementation of the 2016 budget will translate to giant gains for the education sector. The Federal Government has not come out with a clear-cut policy or roadmap for the sector, one year after. What is your reaction to this? I believe that there is a roadmap on education which the Buhari administration is implementing, extracts of which he announced

during his nationwide campaigns before coming into office. During the campaign, I document him as placing emphasis on quality of teachers and improvement in facilities for teaching and learning at all levels. Recall that there is an existing roadmap which should benefit from continuity in implementation. In assessing the sector, the major steps taken by the Federal Government were the suspension of the four Colleges of Education upgraded to Universities of Education, sacking of nine Vice-Chancellors of the new Federal Universities, and setting up of 10 Adhoc Committees for some universities and polytechnics. What are your views on these? I think many people got the issues muddled up. It is a question of following due process. In the two cases you mentioned, if the Jonathan administration had entrenched its actions firmly on legal grounds, upturning the actions by President Buhari would have been a greasy pole to climb. President Buhari would have taken the long and tortuous route of amending the laws of the upgraded colleges of education and the enabling laws of the new federal universities. At the twilight of the Jonathan administration when the colleges were announced as universities of education, I expressed wonder at the sudden rush. The due process has about seven steps. The first step is an amendment to the laws of the colleges of education according them the status of universities of education. The second step is for NUC to conduct an extensive audit of the curricula and programme delivery mechanisms in the four colleges. The third step is for NUC to convene a national stakeholder summit of teacher educators to draft a unique curriculum drawing good practices from other countries notably Finland and the US for the new universities to be applied in all graduate teacher preparation programmes in the country. This CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

education | public discourse |

Buhari:

STAKEHOLDERS’ APPRAISAL OF EDUCATION SECTOR

Ogunyemi: Promised change not yet here

NEEDS Assessment implementation funds. About two weeks ago, we met with the Minister of Education, and we raised most of these issues including the release of the NEEDS Assessment report implementation fund, and as usual the government promised to accede to our requests, but we cannot take politicians for their words until they release the funds. Also, if you look at the staff school issue; ASUU had agreement with the Federal Government as far back as 1992 that staff schools will be part of the welfare packages for the university workers and as a training ground for our students, but suddenly the FG has reneged on

FUTA don urges FG to produce vaccines locally Mojeed Alabi

Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi is the new National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) SUU has been very consistent in its view of the new administration about development in the country and the education sector in particular. And since I do not have personal opinion but that of my union, I believe I should just maintain those views. It is important to state here that most of the issues tabled before the previous administration and the new one have remained unresolved, especially those concerning the implementation of the NEEDS Assessment report, Staff School, FGNASUU agreement, funding, among others. As at today, the universities are being owed more than N400 billion

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

One year after

that agreement by insisting that the staff of those schools should be paid from fees paid by the pupils. Today, OAU, UNILORIN and FUTA have complied with the directive and our children are being sent home over fees. The issue of the TSA is also not in the best interest of the universities and we have written to the government over this, but there is no response to our letters. Again, on the hike of petroleum pump price, the education sector will also suffer more because we rely heavily on the petroleum products to generate power and members of staff are not going to be exempted from the attendant hardship it is imposing on Nigerians.

Salaam: Nothing has changed

Professor of Virology and Immunology at the Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Abayomi Adebayo, has said the country has the potential to manufacture vaccines locally to combat various viral infectious diseases such as Ebola, Yellow Fever, Polio, Hepatitis and Measles in humans and Newcastle disease, Infections Bursal Disease, Kata (PPR), Foot and Mouth Disease and Avian Flu in animals. This was even as he warned that the current ad-hoc approach by the government to tackling and managing outbreaks portends grave danger for the country. The veterinary medical practitioner, who disclosed this while delivering the university’s 76th inaugural lecture, entitled: “The Monster and Its Hosts: A Matrimony of Survival of the Fittest,” added that the country should deemphasise the importation of viral vaccines for the vaccination of locally reared animals. Imported vaccines, he said, indirectly introduces new strains of a virus into another area and that the new policy should also encourage prompt report of disease outbreaks to the appropriate authorities and allowing experts with

knowledge of technical details about deadly microorganisms to be in charge of the process. While advising the government to put in place more enduring response options, Adebayo canvassed manpower development, provision of specialized equipment and reagents for virology laboratories and proper funding of research efforts as vital inputs in designing a new enduring policy of containment and curtailment. The don called on farmers to organise themselves into more active cooperative bodies, arrange and undergo regular short-term courses to update their knowledge on bio-security measures, prevention of batch rearing and report promptly disease outbreak. However, the inaugural lecturer urged them to develop keen interest in laboratory findings, rather than relying heavily on blind treatment, even as the don reiterated the need to maintain simple hygiene as a major way of preventing outbreak of disease. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, who was represented by his Deputy in charge of Academic, Prof. Olatunde Arayela, lauded the lecturer for his intellectual expertise, describing him as a distinguished Virology and Immunology expert, who knows his onions and has contributed immensely to the development of knowledge in his field both at home and abroad.

Mr. Abdussobour Salaam is the National Public Relations Officer of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)

he Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has just risen from its NEC meeting between May 16 and 20, at the University of Ilorin, where several issues concerning the education sector and SSANU in particular were reviewed. It is unfortunate that the sector has not received the expected attention

from the new administration. We had expected a complete departure from the past, but nothing has changed so far. For instance, the issue of the staff school, which resulted to almost a month strike and up till date, there has been no positive development. In fact, the matter has been taken to the Industrial Arbitration Court. With SSANU’s interactions with the government, we never expected we would still be at this level. The issue of funding is also there and the

problem of Staff Earned Allowances. All these issues have at different times being raised with the government through the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, but there is no any serious commitment from the government. This does not foreclose the fact that the new administration is trying in terms of security and corruption, but in education sector that will drive out poverty and corruption, is yet to receive the required priority from the government.

Dutse: No significant development so far Comrade Usman Dutse is the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP)

s far as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) is concerned, we can tell you that since the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board, there has been no significant interventional development in the educational sector, and more importantly, the

polytechnic education. We are also yet to see clear direction for government policies as regards the educational sector and, the surprising thing is that what we currently have is quite different from what we were promised. Since January this year, there has been shortfall in the budget for personnel cost for the academic institutions and the resultant effect has been the cut in the staff salaries. The workers are no longer receiving their

full salaries, while the allocation for infrastructural development cannot in anyway address the issues. What about the report of the visitation panel to the polytechnics? It is one year into the regime and I can tell you that nothing has changed. The case is worse because prices of consumables have gone up coupled with the hike in fuel price. For instance, a rim of paper that used to cost less than N500 now goes for between N700 and N800.

Otunba Oladunni (4th left), Princess Omosowon (middle), VC, Prof. Ajibefun and others during the visit

Council chair advocates varsity, community cooperation Kayode Olanrewaju

or the of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) to make accelerated progress there is the urgent need for the institution and its host communities to further consolidate the existing relationship between them. This position was canvassed by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Otunba Solomon Oladunni, when he led the management of the institution on a visit to the Regent of Akungba-Akoko, Princess Oluwatoyin Omosowon. The Council chair, who thanked the monarch, her council of chiefs and people of the community for the support the university has enjoyed over the years, said: “We have every reason to associate with this community as the university and the community have continued to consolidate the existing relationship between them. “The community must continue to

cooperate with the university management so that Akungba Akoko and Adekunle Ajasin University could make tremendous progress,” Oladunni stressed, even as he advised the students to ensure peaceful co-existence with the community and its people. The spokesperson for the community, Chief Oladele Olowogorioye, thanked the university management for reducing the damages fee charged the students from N25, 000 to N15,000. He, however, spoke of the need for the university to put the interest and welfare of members of the community into consideration. While responding, the Pro-Chancellor assured the traditional ruler and the people that he would liaise with the management with a view to working out the modalities on how some of the requests could be met. In her remarks, Princess Omosowon thanked the Pro-Chancellor and the management team of the university for the visit and expressed optimism that the symbiotic relationship between the institution and the community would be sustained.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari:

Interview | education

One year after

‘We’ve had enough of summit jamborees’ embed history of Africa and of Nigeria in some of the relevant compulsory subjects.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

curriculum should reduce the load for education courses, significantly hike the load on the courses in the teaching subjects and shun early specialisation in such areas as education management, guidance, counselling, adult education and others that should mainly be taken at the postgraduate level. The emerging curriculum will need to be subjected to the NUC approval process. The fourth step is the development of academic briefs for the new institutions and physical master plan as a modification or upgrade of the existing master plan of the colleges. Step five is for NUC to conduct a diligent staff audit to match the minimum standards of staff in the colleges with those required to effectively deliver the new curriculum. This gap analysis will then set the stage for the next step (step 6) which is advertisement of staff at all levels from the vice-chancellor to the most junior staff. The seventh step will be massive advocacy for improvement in the conditions of service of graduate teachers who will be products of the new curriculum and a re-branding of teacher education to attract more candidates for the profession. On the purported sacking of nine vice-chancellors, my investigation leads me to conclude on the same line as I just narrated. To set the records straight, the VCs were not sacked in the sense conveyed in the public domain. I am aware that the terms of nine of the VCs expired on February 15. I am also aware that many of the nine had handed over to their deputies to hold fort until new VCs are in post. It is therefore fallacious that the nine VCs were sacked. For the others who had not completed their terms and even for the replacement of those who have, it is in the true spirit of university tradition to allow due process of appointment to be made based on university law. It is now known that the enabling laws of the new universities were not gazetted before the

Okebukola

Jonathan Administration left office. This is a sad mistake from which lessons about due process should be learned. This was the basis for the new appointments of 12 VCs made by President Buhari as Visitor, rather than by Council. The Nigerian university system will be better for it if the laws of the 12 new federal universities are expeditiously gazetted. New Councils have now been put in place and directed to take on their statutory role of appointing VCs for the universities. Even now, I am not sure if the laws have been gazetted. The university system should be saved from this unnecessary rigmarole. Some stakeholders have alleged that Nigeria is paying much attention to science education at the detriment of humanities, especially the relegation of History to the background in the school curriculum. Do you subscribe to this? I have no evidence to back this claim. Over 60 per cent of students in senior secondary schools elect to study in arts and commercial streams. At the higher education level, the 60:40 science to arts ratio has been impossible to attain even in specialised universities of science and technology. We cannot

discount the importance of science and technology to national development. It is the fulcrum around which industrialisation rests. Indeed, the plan to establish new federal universities of science and technology fits well with this aspiration. The economic heights that great nations attained can be ascribed in large part to investment in science and technology. In the same breath, we cannot also discount the importance of the humanities. All fields of study have their general and specific roles to play in national development. In the specific case of history that you mentioned, I think it is a mistake to relegate it to the background. It is a critical subject that enables us to look backwards in order to see far forward. I did history in school and can confirm the direct and collateral benefits I have derived from history. The challenge I see is in deciding which of the list of subjects, growing by the day, that students should study as compulsory and electives. The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council has been battling with striking this delicate balance. The way out is to keep history as a standalone elective for all basic and senior secondary students and

Joy Okorie

he Open Education Consortium, a global network of educational institutions and individuals that support an approach to education based on openness, including collaboration, innovation and collective development and use of open educational materials, conferred an award on the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). The award is in recognition of its successful increase of access to university education for the Nigerians. The award, tagged: “Organizational Leadership Award for Excellence in Open Edu-

If many students still learn under trees and sheds in almost all the states of the federation, could we blame this on inadequate budgetary allocation or misappropriation of the resources to the sector? It is a sad combination of both. Even if we have relatively small budget to education and such budget is fully deployed to its target activities, we will have better mileage in the delivery process. The higher the budgetary allocation, the greater the smile on the faces of corrupt officials since the amount available to be “chopped” will increase. It is a delight that the Buhari administration is poised to attack this cancer through, among other things, the efficiency unit in ministries, departments and parastatals. The states and local governments should adopt this model and implement it with sincerity of purpose. Nigeria was unable to meet the EFA Goals of 2015, and yet there is no clear-cut strategy to achieve it in the next few years, given the poor enrolment of pupils in school and some states and the 10.5 million out-of-school children in the country. Nigeria, like many African countries failed to meet the EFA Goals of 2015. One is happy to note that there is a strategy which the Buhari administration has developed/is finalising. I have no doubt that the strategy will deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relevant to education.

LASU institutes task force for external system

Global recognition for NOUN cation,” was presented to the university at the Open Education Global Conference in Krakow, Poland. Presenting the award on behalf of the organisation, its Executive Director, Mary Lou Forward, said the award is being presented to any organisation that has shown exceptional leadership or ground-breaking activities in the field of open education. She, however, hinted that the award is not usually presented every year; but rather, it is being awarded by the Consortium’s board of directors under special recommendations to recognised truly exceptional administrators or leaders or work.

There is an allegation that some Nigerian professors are fraudulently promoted by their institutions. Could this allegation be true of the Nigeria’s education system? The allegation is not true system wide, but like in any human setting, bad eggs exist. In a study my research group conducted recently, the areas where the bad eggs exist were pinpointed. Our study sample reasoned that the expansion of the system especially with state and private universities is accountable for the depreciation in the quality of staff appointment and promotion. Field observations confirmed that new universities depressed their appointment and promotion standards to be able to meet NUC-prescribed minimum standards for staff mix. More worrisome is the appointment into professorial positions of persons with academic credentials much lower than what obtained “in the good old days”. A crop of professors had started to emerge within the last ten years that would hardly merit a lecturer grade 1 position in any of the first generation universities in the 1960s and 1970s. The claim to research and publications by these charlatan “professors” is found in “roadside” journals and self-published, poorly-edited, largely-plagiarised books. Clannishness and parochialism have also added dead weights to lowering the quality of process of appointment and promotion. In some universities including some federalowned institutions, being a “son of the soil” ranks higher than merit in appointment to management and academic leadership positions such as vice-chancellor, registrar, dean of faculty or head of department. State universities are most guilty on this score. Non-indigeneship of a state is inhibitory to appointment into the university, more so into academic leadership positions.

Some stakeholders are calling for an education summit to address the challenges in the sector. Is there any need for such assembly? My count shows that we have had 38 of such national summits since 1978 all reaching about the same conclusions and recommendations. Two years ago, I successfully predicted the communique of a national summit on education which I declined to attend. In my view, we should not waste scarce resources on such summit jamborees but deploy the scarce resources to implement the recommendations of previous summits.

Prof. Fagbohun, VC

his will be cheering news to the students in the Lagos State University External System (LASUES): the management of the stateowned university, has raised a task force “Guideline on Online Complaints for Students at LASU External System,” to address all complaints about

non-completion of the process of their graduation. This was as the management expressed concerned about the influx of complaints from students about the non-conclusion of the processes leading to their graduation after completion of their programmes. Based on this development, the university set up the task force to resolve all issues relating to students’ examination and results in the external system. Toward this end, the task force was said to have investigated and analysed all issues surrounding these examination results based on its terms of reference. Under its investigation, the

task force listed the following categories of students as having one problem or the other: genuine or bona-fide students who have fulfilled all requirements for graduation, as efforts are on-going to clear this category of students. Others, under the purview of the task force are students who abandoned the programme at a point and re-appeared at a later date; students who concluded their terminal examinations without attending to courses they failed; students whose records were mixed up as a result of changes in course codes, or use of multiple matriculation numbers.

education

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

UNESCO to set up Centre of Excellence in Maths Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

lans have been unfolded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to set up Centre of Excellence in Mathematics in the country. The UNESCO Representative in the country, Dr. Osuji Otu, disclosed this in Abuja, while addressing participants at the international symposium, jointly organised by the African Academy of Sciences and African Mathematical Union on current research trends in Mathematical Sciences and Applications. He noted that Nigeria was granted UNESCO Chair of Mathematical Science as part of efforts to change the current trend in the decline of Mathematics studies in Africa, adding that UNESCO is partnering the National Mathematical Centre to reverse the trend.

According to Osuji, the symposium would chart effective course for better propagation of current developments in the Mathematical Science for the African continent. He said: “The status of Mathematics in our schools and universities is in sharp decline and this explains the interest ECOWAS has displayed by hosting the symposium” “The standard of living of a nation depends on scientific and technological development which implies foremost development and research in all sectors, and particularly in the fields of Mathematics.” The UNESCO Representative stressed the need to redefine effective strategy to share skills while all hands must be on deck in order to rebuild a common vision in Mathematical and Science studies. On the importance of the international symposium on Science and Mathematics on the African continent, the President of the African

Mathematical Union and the Director-General of National Mathematical Centre, Prof. Adewale Solarin, said the conference would go a long way in helping to reframe national and regional policies on Mathematical sciences. Solarin also added that the symposium would expose Africans to the current trend and new frontiers of research to key areas of Mathematical sciences. He, however, noted that the conference will chart effective course for further propagation of current developments in the studies of mathematics. “The aim is to get experts from across the world to expose Africans to the current trends that is the frontiers of research in the various areas of mathematical sciences and it has the benefit of reducing cost. We have many professors on the subject matter all over the world and we also have many students across Africa to learn from them and tap into their wealth of experience,” he explained.

L-R: Director of Higher Education, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Sutton Bamidele; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Book Fair Trust, Mr. Abiodun Omotubi; President, Association of Nigerian Printers and NBFT Vice-Chairman, Mr. Babs Fashanu; MD, Lase Books, Mrs. Esther Aworinde, and NBFT Chairman, Alh. Rilwanu Abdulsalami during the 2016 edition of Nigeria Book International Book Fair at the University of Lagos.

FUTVC counsels colleagues against tenure elongation Dan Atori MINNA

he Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Prof. Musbau Akanji has called on his colleagues in other higher institutions to shelve any form of tenure elongation, warning that any Vice-Chancellor who wants to perpetuate himself in office may do so in his peril. He gave the warning while interacting with journalists in Minna, the Niger State capital, where he insisted that five-year tenure should be adequate for any vicechancellor to give his best in developing the institution. The vice-chancellor said: “Universities function within the confines of committees system which makes the work easy for the vice-chancellors. Most of the works are not done by vice-chancellor alone, his key officers, in-

cluding the Deputy ViceChancellor, Registrar, Deans and others must assist him to achieve his goals, otherwise he will die in office. “I tell you the truth, most things you see are not personalised to vice-chancellor, any university administrator who personalises the issue of tenure and, or wants elongation wants to die in office. There are procedures that must be strictly followed to achieve better results in our universities.” Akanji added that “in the past, it used to be three or four years once you are appointed. As a vice-chancellor, you can achieve so much knowing fully well that there are hard decisions you have to take to move the university forward. You cannot achieve everything while in office, your successors will also continue from where you stopped.” According to Akanji, “although, vice-chancellors are constrained, we are not as

free as it appears to be. For Vice-Chancellors to take any action, the Registrar has to write him, according to the law, stating the limits which he can take action or decisions, and the deputy vicechancellors could say no and provide alternatives. It is not a vice-chancellor’s affairs alone or one-man show.” His words: “You can never finish the problem of the university at a go, you have to as a vice-chancellor do your beat and let it be documented so that your successor will continue from where you stopped, and if possible modify certain things in order to move the institution forward.” On whether the accreditation exercise of some academic programmes by professional bodies should be merged with that of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Akanji argued: “I still feel very strongly that they should be merged.”

EDUPEACE

with Mahfouz A. Adedimeji (08066372516, sms only)  Dr Adedimeji is a Senior Lecturer and Director, Centre

for Peace and Strategic Studies, Unilorin

Rope-a-dope

The Background s part of the 13th West Africa University Games (WAUG) hosted by the University of Ilorin in 2012, a conference was also organised by the WAUG Forum in which I was a participant. My presentation at the conference on Friday, March 30, 2012 was on “Winning with Words: The Semantics of Muhammad Ali’s Verbal Punches” and part of the background I gave is as follows: Dateline was October 30, 1974. Venue was Kinshasa, Zaire. Two great men were poised to fight. The boxing bout was tagged “Rumble in the Jungle”. There was George Foreman, who had proved his mettle a year earlier in Jamaica when he knocked out the well-known Joe Frazier six times in two rounds before the referee stopped the bout. Joe Frazier was before then the undisputed heavyweight champion. There was also Muhammad Ali, who was beaten in an earlier fight, dubbed the “Fight of the Century”, on points by Joe Frazier. The encounter this day was between Foreman and Ali. The “African jungle” of Kinshasa was set to be rumbled. Before the day of the fight, the two boxers had spent some time in Kinshasa where they had press conferences. At the press conferences, Ali was funny, witty, poetic, charismatic and smart as opposed to Foreman. Foreman had resolved to teach the loose “Louisville lip”, as Ali was characterised at his early age, an unforgettable lesson. As the fight was about to start, the 60,000 spectators shouted in support of Ali, who had won them to himself. Though Ali got the ‘ballistic bombs’ delivered by Foreman’s powerful punches, he succeeded in giving Foreman his first career knock-out. The strategy he used was what he called “rope-a-dope”.

The Basics Rope-a-dope is a boxing tactic invented by Muhammad Ali through which a boxer pretends to be trapped against the ropes while goading an opponent to throw tiring and ineffective punches. Muhammad Ali absorbed punches that could blow a rock throughout the eight rounds the fight lasted while using the ropes to support himself until he noticed that his opponent was getting exhausted. That was the time he used all his remaining energy to deliver devastating blows that made Foreman to kiss the canvas. He won to the admiration of his large army of supporters. Now, not only is rope-a-dope useful in boxing, it is a strategy of coping and overcoming difficult people and situations. In actual fact, dope-a-dope is a method that a person would found useful by draining an attacker of energy and walking away while the opponent is drained of energy.

Silence is the best answer for a fool

It is in application synonymous with patience, forbearance, perseverance and generally stooping to conquer. The Beauty In our world of today where commonsense is no longer common even among those who appropriate it, one good way of dealing with annoying people and difficult situations is applying the rope-a-dope method. It didn’t fail Muhammad Ali in the ring; it won’t likely fail you in life. So, when someone rants and fumes at you, just maintain your calm and let him burn his energy. You win ultimately without saying a word. Silence is the best answer for a fool. Besides, if you argue much with a fool, people would not know the difference. You don’t bite a dog just because it bites you. Education is patience. Education is perseverance. Education is strategy. People are frustrated today and it is in one’s own interest to be going one’s way. Two incidents happened recently that still benumb sense in two different ways. In Lagos, a careless driver hit another motorist inflicting on his vehicle substantial damage. The man assessed the damage, entered his vehicle and quietly drove off. In Abuja, a reckless commercial motorcyclist hit the car of a motorist. The woman came out angrily and challenged the motorcyclist. The latter had a knife and stabbed the woman to death. To worsen the situation, he rode off leaving the woman in the pool of her blood. He remains at large. Well, there is actually no point fighting back in all situations. God fights for the righteous. But if you must fight back, fight smart and rope-a-dope. Fire ultimately burns itself out. The days of sheer brawn are gone. Good brains fight and live to win. So, be patient; be persevering; be educated. Defeating the enemies of Nigeria requires tact and tactics. Things are difficult, yet, there is ease with every difficulty if we reflect.

Re: Character is everything

haracter goes along for someone to stand the test of time. Character shields a determined man from unnecessary attacks and dangers. May our character never be tested in this warring world full of economic turbulence. •Aina Akindele Oyebanji, Ketu, Lagos State

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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Analysts: Forex policy review’ll boost external reserves BOOST Currency adjustment will fetch FG more naira revenue Stories by Tony Chukwunyem

hould the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), at the end of its meeting in Abuja today, vote for a review of the apex bank’s forex policy, the decision will lead to an increase in inflows from foreign investors thereby boosting the external reserves, analysts at FSDH Group have said. In a note issued yesterday, the experts called on the CBN to review the forex policy, adding that such a move will also give the government additional naira revenue from oil exports. They said, “The price of Bon-

ny Light crude oil increased by 20.39 per cent to $49.54/b, as at May 17, 2016, from $41.15/b on March 22, 2016. Nigeria’s Crude oil production has fallen due to renewed pipeline vandalism. This has serious implication for the fiscal position of the government. An adjustment in the exchange rate to $1/N275 will give the government additional naira revenue from oil exports. “The external reserves have not benefitted from the increase in oil price because of the strong demand for foreign exchange and the drop in crude oil production. The 30-day moving average external reserves declined by 4.38 per cent from $27.88 billion at the last MPC meeting to $26.66 billion as at May 17, 2016. “We expect a change in the foreign exchange rate policy of the CBN to boost the external reserves through inflows from foreign investors”. They also stated that the value of the naira remains weak because forex demand outstrips supply, pointing out

that the announcement of a new fuel price, had further weakened the local currency on the parallel market. “The parallel market rate depreciated by 9.58 per cent to $1/ N355 as at May 16, 2016 from $/ N321 before the announcement of the increase in fuel price. The CBN official market rate remains at $1/N197. We believe the official exchange rate of $1/ N197 is almost redundant at the moment as few or no transaction is carried out at the official exchange rate. An adjustment in the exchange rate is imperative to align the rate with economic realities,” the analysts argued. The experts said the MPC should adjust both the exchange rate and the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to a level that reflects the current economic fundamentals of the country, stressing, “These two measures are important to stimulate investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy and financial market.” According to the analysts, “Looking at the macroeconom-

AMCON takes over Bacita Sugar Company

he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) yesterday took over Bacita Sugar Company in Kwara State by appointing Mr. A. B. Sulu-Gambari as the Receiver. The Receiver according to a statement, confirmed that he took effective control of the company following the inability of the owners of the compa-

ny, Josepdam Sugar Company Limited (JSCL), which is one of the debtors of AMCON to repay their outstanding debt. Bacita Sugar Company has over 30,000 hectares of sugarcane farm with a production capacity of 300 metric tonnes per day. The company has capacity for refining of sugar raw materials and is also well positioned for back-

ward integration into planting, harvesting, milling, and processing as well as refining sugar. With the appointment of a Receiver, AMCON’s strategy according to the statement, is to put the sugar company back on the path of full production by partnering with investors for a value-enhanced exit within a reasonable period of time.

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

N19,142,526.05m N18,579,219.49m 13.7 12 10.77 US$48.02 US$26,587,601,426

Mar, 2015 Mar, 2015 April, 2016 23/03/2016 Mar 2015 23/5/2016 20/5/2016

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)

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

Offer Yield 10.30 10.44 11.52 11.36 12.18 12.38 12.44 12.50

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 ↔

ic developments in the economy, there are compelling reasons to believe that the MPC members will vote to increase the MPR to 14 per cent, with symmetric corridor of +/-2per cent; adjust the exchange rate to $1/N275, with a symmetric corridor of +/-5 per cent; and equally re-open the inter-bank foreign exchange market.” However, other analysts have predicted that while the recent increase in inflation could make the MPC to vote for a hike in interest rates, the Committee is unlikely to seek a review of the CBN’s forex policy. For instance, analysts at Access Bank’s Economic Intelligence Unit, said, “We anticipate the Committee will retain the existing FX policy regime. We believe the recent directive of the government that marketers should now source their FX requirement for imports from autonomous sources will buy

the Central Bank some time in maintaining the currency peg. In addition, the committee is likely to acknowledge that reforms on the administration side, such as the recent China deal, details of which have not fully been disclosed, will address FX supply constraints.” They also predicted that the MPC will raise the benchmark interest rate (MPR) by 2 percentage points to 14 per cent, leaving the asymmetric corridor of +200 basis points and -700 basis unchanged. Similarly, analysts at FBN Quest, noted, “The announcement by the NNPC of a new retail price band for sales of petrol/gasoline, based on a “secondary” (rather than parallel) rate, has fuelled talk that a devaluation of the naira exchange rate may be coming. Financial markets expect it, offshore investors want it and the IMF has suggested it.”

AfDB predicts 3.7 % growth for Africa in 2016

espite the slump in commodity prices and global headwinds, Africa’s economy is likely to grow 3.7 per cent this year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said yesterday. The AfDB, which stated this while launching its latest regional economic outlook in the Zambian capital, also said growth could accelerate to 4.5 per cent next year if commodity prices recovered and the global economy strengthened. It attributed the development to resilient private consumption and investment, adding that the continent remained the second fastest growing economic region after East Asia. Acting Director, Development Research Department, at the AfDB, Abebe Shimeles, said, “African countries, which include top worldwide growth champions, have shown remarkable resilience in the face of global economic adversity. Turning Africa’s steady resilience into better lives for Africans requires strong policy

action to promote faster and more inclusive growth.” The AfDB further stated that in 2015, net financial flows to Africa were estimated at $208 billion, 1.8 per cent lower than in 2014 due to a contraction in investment. It, however, pointed that at $56 billion in 2015, official development assistance increased by 4 per cent, adding, “remittances remain the most stable and important single source of external finance at USD 64 billion in 2015.” The AfDB noted that with two-thirds of Africans expected to live in cities by 2050, how Africa urbanises would be critical to the continent’s future growth and development. According to the study, “The continent is urbanising at a historically rapid pace coupled with an unprecedented demographic boom: the population living in cities has doubled from 1995 to 472 million in 2015. This phenomenon is unlike what other regions, such as Asia, experienced and is currently accompanied by slow structural transformation.”

Lagos receives $43bn worth in investment propositions

he Lagos State Government received approximately $43 billion in investment propositions over the last year through the Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment. Lagos generates a significant portion of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but the country was recently ranked 169 out of 189 nations in the Ease of Doing Business report. In March Lagos State, Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment launched Lagos Global, a one-stop shop for investors headed by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, Yakub Olajide Balogun. In a chat with CNBC Africa,

Special Adviser to the Governor, Lagos Global, Professor Ademola Abass, said, “We have made a lot of progress in terms of fast-tracking the proposal, that will actually justify the one-stop shop mantra.” He added: “We have had a great deal of investment proposals coming through Lagos Global and a lot of them, we have approved.” He also mentioned the medical park as an example, as well as water transportation, and a lot for both the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. “That is just part of the story, there is a lot more that we are doing, several proposals that we are considering currently so the story has been quite encouraging,” said Abass.

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

BUSINESS | Financial Market News FMDQ Daily Quotations List

23-May-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)

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

16-Aug-13 27-Apr-12 27-Jul-07 31-Aug-07 30-May-08 29-Jun-12 23-Oct-09 13-Feb-15 27-Jan-12 14-Mar-14 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 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 584.43 605.31 719.99 286.02 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 105.00

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

0.23 0.93 1.18 1.27 2.02 3.10 3.42 3.72 5.68 7.81 9.67 12.52 13.00 13.49 14.16 18.15 19.82

8.06 12.61 13.05 13.07 13.26 13.54 13.60 13.67 13.57 13.66 13.61 13.63 13.64 13.64 13.65 13.69 13.65

7.44 12.44 12.91 12.94 13.17 13.42 13.48 13.57 13.50 13.59 13.55 13.59 13.58 13.58 13.59 13.64 13.60

101.08 102.09 96.57 95.73 95.58 106.04 82.40 105.26 110.84 102.50 94.10 108.10 93.10 68.66 77.35 89.75 91.48

101.23 102.24 96.72 95.88 95.73 106.34 82.70 105.56 111.14 102.80 94.40 108.40 93.40 68.96 77.65 90.05 91.78

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

6,459.96

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

6,232.57

Rating/Agency

Description

Issuer

6414.957269

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

0.44

2.94

12.72

101.87

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

0.10 0.10 0.91 0.63 1.61 1.42 1.43 1.40 1.40 1.59 2.01 3.50 1.97 4.51 4.61 2.64 2.67 3.24 3.45 3.48 3.59 6.46 3.57

4.46 3.48 1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02 2.01 1.00 1.30 3.76 2.53 1.00 1.52 4.01 1.00 2.52 1.79 3.04

11.06 10.08 13.49 16.68 15.55 14.11 14.12 16.93 16.67 16.97 15.28 15.63 14.25 14.93 17.39 15.95 14.43 15.08 17.62 14.62 16.15 15.38 16.67

100.24 100.50 97.09 98.31 97.83 99.81 99.81 97.17 96.87 98.01 100.30 97.04 100.80 95.42 92.59 97.07 101.13 100.96 97.26 104.69 103.34 106.06 100.81

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

0.35 0.42 0.54 0.91 1.12 1.35 0.81 1.13 1.30 1.30 2.35 1.41 1.49 1.61 2.46 4.48 2.98 5.49 5.60 5.97 4.14 8.35 8.35 9.48

1.00 1.34 1.00 5.49 5.25 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

10.08 11.00 11.50 17.98 18.29 14.97 13.83 16.19 19.43 14.08 14.52 17.53 19.24 16.44 17.84 14.63 17.05 16.09 14.58 14.59 16.42 14.64 14.64 14.61

100.92 101.27 102.29 98.76 98.19 97.61 103.85 99.75 98.34 102.06 98.95 97.85 98.45 99.36 94.76 101.96 96.56 93.43 106.93 107.37 98.78 107.74 93.36 101.41

10-Oct-20

2.50

3.37

16.75

96.14

Agency Bonds Nil

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1.20

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1.22

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

446.12 437.37

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 20.87 2.05 9.76 26.00 30.50 30.00 10.00 0.10 15.44 7.90

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

536.21

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

535.61

Sukuk BBB-/Agusto

10-Oct-13

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

*OSUN

14.75

9.40

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

9.40

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

9.04

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

1.72

1.00

12.41

96.63

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

*AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

2.94

1.00

12.73

96.53

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

24.95 24.10 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Outstanding Value ($’mm)

Coupon (%)

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

7.23

6.99

98.09

99.03

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

5.66

5.24

98.94

99.77

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

7.48

7.30

93.99

94.91

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,455.13

Corporate Eurobonds B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

8.16

7.27

98.99

99.96

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

23.57

21.15

75.00

78.08

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

7.10

97.56

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

8.52

94.25

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

18.02

17.06

79.28

81.16

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

13.81 13.95 14.63

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

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

DTM

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Discount Rate (%)

2.77

29-Jul-16

6.18

13.69

13.36

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

3,150.00 2,724.45 Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Yield @ Issue (%)

04-Nov-15

13.75

Commercial Papers Nil

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

2.77

**TREASURY BILLS^ DTM 10 17 24 31 38 52 59 66 73

FIXINGS Maturity 2-Jun-16 9-Jun-16 16-Jun-16 23-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 14-Jul-16 21-Jul-16 28-Jul-16 4-Aug-16

Bid Discount (%) 4.71 6.35 7.09 6.24 6.42 6.66 7.49 7.88 8.07

Offer Discount (%) 4.46 6.10 6.84 5.99 6.17 6.41 7.24 7.63 7.82

Bid Yield (%) 4.71 6.37 7.12 6.27 6.46 6.72 7.58 7.99 8.20

Money Market

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 8.4625 10.9176 12.3751 14.0346

Tenor

Rate (%)

OBB

7.92

O/N

8.42

Tenor Call 1M 3M

REPO

Rate (%) 8.08 8.50 9.17

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

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

197.33 199.13 199.70 201.04 201.71 206.40 213.05

197.43 199.65 200.03 201.46 202.26 207.07 214.10

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

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

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

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

Stock market down by N35bn on profit taking Description

Issuer

6,232.57

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

03-Apr-12

17.25

Agency Bonds

Nil

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

FMBN

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

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

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

Consequently, the AllShare Index shed 100.48 basis points or 0.37 per cent to close Sell pressure dominates at 27,015.97 index points as market activities, as against 27,116.45 recorded the bargain hunters retreat previous day, while the market capitalisation of equities depreciated by N35 billion or 0.37 per cent to close lower. Meanwhile, a turnover of Stories by Chris Ugwu 316.7 million shares in 3,924 deals rading activities on the was recorded in the day’s trading. TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE floor of the Nigerian The banking sub sector of TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION stock market yester- the financial services sector Corporate Bonds day opened the trading was 13.00 theNAHCO most active (measured 29-SEP-2016 A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO 14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016 A-/Agusto FSDH week in the red, as the overall by turnover volume) with 134.03 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 Nil ***LCRM NSE 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 Nil performance measures, million shares exchanged by in0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 Nil 13.00 UBA A/GCR and market capitalisation, UBA ASI vestors in30-SEP-2017 1,256 deals. 18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017 BBB-/GCR *C & I LEASING fell by 0.37 per cent. *DANA Volume in9-APR-2018 the sub-sector MPR+7.00 DANA Nil MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 A-/DataPro†; CCC/GCR *TOWER was largely driven by activiThe downswing according MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018 AAA/DataPro†; B/GCR *TOWER A+/Agusto; A/GCR watchers was UBA due to to market ties 14.00 in UBA theII 30-SEP-2018 shares of GTB Plc LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018 Bbb+/Agusto†; BBB+/GCR† *LA CASERA profit takings spec- and 15.75 Access Bank IIPlc. MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS 17-FEB-2019 BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR by market *CHELLARAMS 16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019 Nil *DANA ulators following appreciable Also, other premium subsec15.00 FCMB 6-NOV-2020 A-/GCR *FCMB 15.25 NAHCO IIby 14-NOV-2020 A+/Agusto;made A-/GCR gains by someNAHCO blue chip tor, boosted the activities in 15.50 TRANSCORP 4-DEC-2020 Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC companies recently. *FCMB the shares Zenith Bank Plc 14.25 FCMB I of 20-NOV-2021 BBB/GCR

CAUTIOUS

#{r}

A/GCR BBB/GCR Bbb/Agusto; A-/GCR A/GCR A/GCR AAA/GCR

UBA FIDELITY *TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC STANBIC IBTC STANBIC IBTC *NMRC

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

30-Dec-14 13-May-15 26-Oct-15 30-Sep-14 30-Sep-14 29-Jul-15

16.45 16.48 16.00 16.29 13.25 14.90

and FBNH Plc followed with a turnover of 62.4 million shares in 817 deals. The number of gainers at the close of trading session was 14, while decliners closed at 28. Further analysis of the day’s trading showed that Stanbic IBTC Plc topped the gainers’ table with 10.19 per cent to close at N16.54 per share, while D N Meyer Plc followed with 8.22 per cent to close at 79 kobo per share. Fidson Health Care Plc also added five per cent 29-Sep-11 13.00 to 25-Oct-13 14.25 close at N2.10 per share. 09-Dec-11 0.00/16.00 20-Apr-12 0.00/16.50 On the flip side, PZ Cussons 06-Jul-12 0.00/16.50 30-Sep-10 chart with 13.00 Plc led the losers’ a 30-Nov-12 18.00 drop of 4.9709-Apr-11 per cent to 16.00 close 09-Sep-11 18.00 at N21.81 per share. Union Di09-Sep-11 16.00 30-Sep-11 with a loss 14.00 of con Plc followed 18-Oct-13 15.75 4.94 per cent17-Feb-12 to close at N12.52 18.00 01-Apr-14 16.00 per share, while Zenith Bank 06-Nov-15 15.00 15.25 to Plc dropped14-Nov-13 by 4.89 per cent 04-Dec-15 15.50 close at N15.17 per share.14.25 20-Nov-14

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

SEC mulls new rules for quoted firms’AGM TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Abdulwahab Isa Sukuk

Abuja BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

he Director General, SeSupranational Bond AAA/S&P curities and Exchange IFC Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P *AfDB Commission (SEC) Mr. TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE Mounir Gwarzo has disclosed TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION that new guidelines on conIssuer duct ofRating/Agency Annual General MeetFGN Eurobonds ing (AGM) by quoted firms are BB-/Fitch; B+/S&P to be released by the CommisBB-/Fitch; FGN sion. BB-/S&P BB-/Fitch; The subsisting manner of BB-/S&P conducing AGM, he said does TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION not give enough voice and voting power to retail shareholdCorporate Eurobonds B+/S&P a development ACCESS PLC ers, he BANK said B/Fitch; B/S&P FIDELITY BANK PLC needed to be reviewed. B+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK PLC B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P ZENITH BANK PLC Gwarzo stated these yesterB/Fitch; B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC day while speaking during B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANKthe PLC B-/Fitch; B/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC II inauguration of Study Team B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK LTD B-/S&P ECOBANK NIG. LTD on “Voice and Voting Power: TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE What role for the retail shareTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION holders in the Nigerian capital market?” Rating/Agency Issuer The mandate of the group is Commercial Papers Nil

aimed at increasing the voice ensuring that minority shareand voting power of the retail holders and retail investors 14.75 14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 shareholders for a robust Nige- who fled the10-Oct-13 market due to the rian capital market. downturn of the market in The SEC boss said apart 2008 returned. from10.20the review of the conShe noted11-Feb-13 that the National IFC 11-FEB-2018 10.20 1-FEB-2021 10-Jul-14 11.25 duct11.25 of AFDB AGMs, the commission Investor Protection Fund set would also be carrying out a up by SEC should assist toreview of the Companies and wards boosting confidence Issue Date Coupon (%) Allied Matters Act. Description of such investors to not only “This study is not only good return to the market but also 6.75before JAN 28, 2021the 07-Oct-11 6.75 afbut timely because become more active in the JUL 12,would 2018 12-Jul-13 fairs of their companies.5.13 end of this week,5.13 SEC have set up a team6.38 that will The minister tasked6.38the JUL 12, 2023 re12-Jul-13 view the Companies and Allied study group to ensure balance Matters Act. As at today, we in the power equation between have started working on rules the majority and the minority 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 25-Jul-12 7.25 of that will guide the conduct shareholders in the interest 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 09-May-13 6.88 of AGMs and so the timing is the economy and the economy . 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 08-Nov-13 6.00 6.25 APR 22, 2019 22-Apr-14 6.25 right and we need to move very She said the need to set the 8.75 May 21, 2019 21-May-14 8.75 fast because I believe that some group was to enable the retail 8.25 AUG 07, 2020 07-Aug-13 8.25 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 24-Jun-14 9.25 of your recommendations will lost confidence 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021 investors who 23-Jul-14 8.00 in 8.75 AUG 14, 2021are be part of these laws that the market 14-Aug-14 following the 8.75 meltbeing reviewed,” he said. down to return to the market. Minister said the group has Minister of Finance, Mrs. Description the a period of Issue six Date months to@presKemi Adeosun enjoined Yield Issue (%) study group to work towards ent its recommendation.

GUINNESS NIGERIA

GUINNESS CP III 29-JUL-16

04-Nov-15

13.75

7.44 12.44 12.91 12.94 13.17 13.42 13.48 13.57 13.50 13.59 13.55 13.59 13.58 13.58 13.59 13.64 13.60

101.08 102.09 96.57 95.73 95.58 106.04 82.40 105.26 110.84 102.50 94.10 108.10 93.10 68.66 77.35 89.75 91.48

101.23 102.24 96.72 95.88 95.73 106.34 82.70 105.56 111.14 102.80 94.40 108.40 93.40 68.96 77.65 90.05 91.78

CIS inaugurates 12 committees to drive operations

Outstanding Value (₦’bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

1.20

03-Apr-17

0.44

n pursuit of its determina1.22 tion to strengthen the operations of the Chartered 1.30 30-Jun-16 0.10 In2.05 30-Jun-16 0.10 stitute of Stockbrokers (CIS), 57.00 19-Apr-17 0.91 30-Jun-17 the16.45 Governing Council of0.63the 25.00 31-Dec-17 1.61 Institute has30-Sep-18 inaugurated 23.44 1.42 12 4.22 04-Oct-18 1.43 committees with 148 members. 10.98 09-Dec-18 1.40 8.14 12-Dec-18 1.40 The Committees, which 21.68 14-Feb-19 1.59 12.55been specifically 02-Oct-19 2.01 up have set 80.00 22-Nov-19 3.50 to drive the activities of1.97the 21.65 12-Dec-19 87.50 27-Nov-20 4.51 Institute according a state5.00 31-Dec-20 4.61 4.03 31-Dec-20 2.64 ment, are: Education Com4.04 06-Jan-21 2.67 mittee, Research and Techni14.37 09-Dec-21 3.24 4.39 16-Feb-22 3.45 cal 4.53 Committee, Membership 27-Feb-22 3.48 27.10 30-Mar-22 3.59 Committee, Finance Commit3.00 31-Mar-22 6.46 27-May-22Committee, 3.57 tee,7.68 Programmes 446.12 Continuing Professional De437.37 velopment (CPD) Committee and15.00 Board of 29-Sep-16 Fellows. Others 0.35 5.53 25-Oct-16 0.42 are112.22 Investigating Panel, 0.54 Sup08-Dec-16 116.70 19-Apr-17 Investiga0.91 porting Member 66.49 06-Jul-17 1.12 20.00Disciplinary 30-Sep-17 1.35 tors, Tribunal, 0.46 30-Nov-17 0.81 Nominating Committee, and 3.60 09-Apr-18 1.13 1.82 09-Sep-18 1.30 Presidential Nominating Com0.50 09-Sep-18 1.30 35.00 30-Sep-18 2.35 mittee. The Committees have a 1.50 18-Oct-18 1.41 two-year tenure. 0.27 17-Feb-19 1.49 4.50 01-Apr-19 1.61 Addressing the Committee 20.87 06-Nov-20 2.46 2.05 14-Nov-20 4.48 members at the inauguration 9.76 04-Dec-20 2.98 ceremony in20-Nov-21 the Institute’s 26.00 5.49 30.50 30-Dec-21 5.60 Council Chambers yesterday , 30.00 13-May-22 5.97 the10.00 President,26-Oct-22 Mr. Oluwaseyi 4.14 0.10 15.44 7.90

30-Sep-24 30-Sep-24 29-Jul-30

8.35 8.35 9.48

Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

2.94

12.72

101.87

Abe explained that their appointmenta were the outcome of due diligence 4.46 a careful 11.06 100.24 3.48 10.08 100.50 conducted by the Council to 1.00 13.49 97.09 5.71 16.68people who 98.31are fit ensure that 2.39 15.55 97.83 and are given an oppor1.00 proper 14.11 99.81 1.00 14.12 99.81 tunity to serve the Institute. 3.82 16.93 97.17 3.56He noted 16.67 that the Institute 96.87 3.82 16.97 98.01 2.02 15.28 100.30 were had many talents that 2.01 15.63 97.04 willingly ready to drive 1.00 14.25 100.80its ar1.30 14.93 95.42 ray of activities. 3.76 17.39 92.59 2.53According 15.95 to him, the 97.07 Com1.00 14.43 101.13 mittees’ performance shall be 1.52 15.08 100.96 4.01 17.62 97.26 based on the quarterly imple1.00 14.62 104.69 2.52 16.15 103.34 mentation of their terms of 1.79 15.38 106.06 3.04 16.67 100.81 reference, which form the deliverables. “The Council is of the strong view Institute 1.00 10.08 that the 100.92 1.34 11.00 101.27 must be developed in order to 1.00 11.50 102.29 5.49 17.98meet the 98.76 adequately expecta5.25 18.29 98.19 1.88 97.61 tion of its14.97 stakeholders in line 1.88 13.83 103.85 with the global best practices”, 3.15 16.19 99.75 6.35 98.34 Abe said. 19.43 1.00 14.08 102.06 1.17 14.52 98.95 He urged the Committee 4.42 17.53 97.85 members to live up to expec6.11 19.24 98.45 3.28 16.44 99.36 tation, as the Institute places 4.47 17.84 94.76 1.00 14.63 101.96 premium on their activities, 3.55 17.05 96.56 which are to the 2.51 16.09pertinent 93.43 1.00 14.58 development 106.93 growth and of 1.00 14.59 107.37 the Market in 98.78 general. 2.77 Capital 16.42 1.00 1.00 1.00

14.64 14.64 14.61

107.74 93.36 101.41

Nestle shareholders get N15bn dividend 536.21 535.61

hareholders of Nestle Ni2.50 geria Plc.10-Oct-20 have approved a final dividend of N15 9.04 billion or N19.00 per ordinary share 12.00 of 50 kobo 11-Feb-18each as 1.72de12.95 01-Feb-21 clared by the board of the 2.94 com24.95 pany for financial year ended 24.10 December 31, 2015. Outstanding Value Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) ($’mm) dividend was approved The at the company’s 47th Annual 500.00 28-Jan-21(AGM) 7.23 General Meeting held 500.00 12-Jul-18 . 5.66 in Lagos yesterday The company 500.00 food products 12-Jul-23 7.48 had last year declared an in1,500.00 1,455.13 terim dividend of N7.9 billion or N10.00 per share. This brings 25-Jul-17 8.16 the350.00 total for the 2015 financial 300.00 02-May-18 23.57 year to N22.9 billion, translating 400.00 08-Nov-18 7.10 22-Apr-19 8.52 to a500.00 total dividend to N29.00 and 200.00 21-May-19 18.02 making it the 07-Aug-20 highest dividend 300.00 13.81 400.00 24-Jun-21 so far by a listed13.95 com450.00declared 23-Jul-21 14.63 250.00 14-Aug-21 pany in the 2015 financial12.23 year. 3,150.00 Speaking at the AGM, Pres2,724.45 ident, Nigerian Shareholders Outstanding Value Solidarity Association ofDTMNiMaturity Date (₦’bn) geria (NSSA), Chief Timothy 9.40

9.40

2.77

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

8.06 12.61 13.05 13.07 13.26 13.54 13.60 13.67 13.57 13.66 13.61 13.63 13.64 13.64 13.65 13.69 13.65

1.20

Sub-National Bonds

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

0.23 0.93 1.18 1.27 2.02 3.10 3.42 3.72 5.68 7.81 9.67 12.52 13.00 13.49 14.16 18.15 19.82

6414.957269

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

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

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

BUSINESS |Financial Market News 6,459.96

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

581.39 480.13 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 584.43 605.31 719.99 286.02 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 1075.92 105.00

29-Jul-16

Adesiyan, commended the 3.37 16.75 96.14 management of Nestle Nigeria for the increase in revenue and profit despite the macro economy challenges last 1.00 12.41 96.63 year. 1.00 12.73 96.53 He noted that the company’s impressive profit translates into growth in dividend payment. Offer Yield (%) Bid Price Offer Price Adesiyan however, urged Prices & Yields the management to float right 6.99 99.03 more issues in 98.09 order to allow 5.24 98.94 take position. 99.77 shareholders Nigeria 7.30He noted, 93.99 “Nestle 94.91 over the years has been consistent in dividend payment and we (shareholders) are de7.27 98.99 it. We applauded 99.96 lighted about 21.15 75.00 78.08 the management for consider7.10 97.56 97.56 8.52 94.25 94.25 ing shareholders’ investment 17.06 79.28 81.16 first since82.25 they know82.25 what is 13.81 13.95 83.00 83.00 best 14.63 for shareholders.” 76.00 76.00 11.76 84.88 86.63 manHe however, urged the agement to consider new investment in order to grow in Risk Yield profit Valuation and(%)increase dividend Discount Rate (%) Premium (%) payment to shareholders. #

6.18

13.69

2.77

13.36

23-May-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”). not constitute professional, financial or **TREASURY BILLS^ FIXINGS Money MarketThe Information does Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) DTM We attempt to ensure the Maturity Bid Discount (%) Offer Discount (%) on an “AS Bid Yield (%) Tenor Rate (%) investment advice. Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS IS” and AVAILABLE” basis and mayNIBOR not be accurate or up to date. We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance 10 2-Jun-16 4.71 4.46 4.71 OBB 7.92 Tenor Bid ($/N) Offer ($/N) or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept action taken on the basis 17 9-Jun-16 6.35liability for the results of any 6.10 6.37 of the Information. Tenor Rate (%) FGN

24 31 38 Bonds 52 59 66 73 Rating/Agency 80 87 101 108 122 136 143 150 157 164 178 192 199 NA 206 227 241 255 269 283 297 304 318 332 346

16-Jun-16 23-Jun-16 30-Jun-16 14-Jul-16 21-Jul-16 28-Jul-16 4-Aug-16 Issuer 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 17-Nov-16 1-Dec-16 8-Dec-16 NA 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 4-May-17

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

7.09 6.24 6.42 6.66 7.49 7.88 8.07 Description 7.97 7.94 13.05 16-AUG-2016 9.25 15.10 27-APR-2017 9.09 9.85 27-JUL-2017 9.66 9.92 9.35 31-AUG-2017 9.63 10.70 30-MAY-2018 9.94 ^16.00 29-JUN-201910.01 9.64 7.00 23-OCT-2019 9.69 ^15.54 13-FEB-202010.05 ^16.39 27-JAN-20229.94 9.84 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 10.53 ^12.50 22-JAN-202610.88 15.00 28-NOV-2028 11.04 10.45 12.49 22-MAY-2029 11.21 8.50 20-NOV-2029 10.74 ^10.00 23-JUL-203010.16 12.10 ^12.1493 18-JUL-2034 12.06 ^12.40 18-MAR-2036 11.87

6.84 5.99 6.17 6.41 7.24 7.63 7.82 Issue Date 7.72 7.69 16-Aug-13 9.00 8.84 27-Apr-12 9.41 27-Jul-07 9.67 31-Aug-07 9.38 9.69 30-May-08 9.76 29-Jun-12 9.39 23-Oct-09 9.44 9.80 13-Feb-15 9.69 27-Jan-12 9.59 14-Mar-14 10.28 10.63 22-Jan-16 10.79 28-Nov-08 10.20 22-May-09 10.96 10.49 20-Nov-09 9.91 23-Jul-10 11.85 18-Jul-14 11.81 18-Mar-16 11.62

7.12

Bonds 6.27

6.46 6.72 7.58 7.99 8.20 Coupon (%) 8.11 8.09 13.05 9.49 9.34 15.10 9.98 9.85 10.30 9.35 10.00 10.36 10.70 10.46 16.00 10.07 7.00 10.17 10.61 15.54 10.50 16.39 10.42 14.20 11.27 11.72 12.50 11.96 15.00 11.32 12.49 12.27 11.77 8.50 11.10 10.00 13.52 12.1493 13.55 12.4000 13.37

*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

8.42

REPO

Rate (%) 16-Aug-16 6.4778 7.6522 27-Apr-17 8.3179 27-Jul-17 10.0701 31-Aug-17 11.3836 14.7658 30-May-18

351.30 29-Jun-19 233.90 23-Oct-19 NIFEX 584.43 13-Feb-20 Current Price ($/N) 605.31 27-Jan-22 BID($/N) 199.0000 719.99 14-Mar-24 OFFER ($/N) 199.1000 286.02 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-34 105.00 18-Mar-36

Rate (%) 8.08 8.50 Bid9.17 Yield 9.83

(%)

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

0.23 8.06 7.44 NOTE: 0.93 12.61 12.44 :Benchmarks 1.18 13.05 12.91 * :Amortising Bond 1.27Bond 13.07 12.94 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset of Nigeria 2.02 Management Corporation 13.26 13.17 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 3.10 13.54 13.42 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 3.42 Finance Corporation 13.60 13.48 IFC: International LCRM: Local 3.72Contractors Receivables 13.67 Management 13.57 NAHCO: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 5.68 13.57 13.50 O/N: Overnight 7.81 13.66 Company 13.59 UPDC: UAC Property Development WAPCO:West Cement Company13.55 9.67Africa Portland 13.61 12.52 13.63 13.59 13.00 13.64 13.58 13.49 13.64 13.58 14.16 13.65 13.59 18.15 13.69 13.64 19.82 13.65 13.60

6,459.96

197.33 199.13 199.70 201.04 201.71 206.40 213.05 Bid Price 217.84

197.43 199.65 200.03 Price 201.46 202.26 207.07 214.10Price Offer 218.16

101.08 102.09

101.23 102.24

108.10 93.10 68.66 77.35 89.75 91.48

108.40 93.40 68.96 77.65 90.05 91.78

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

NA :Not Applicable 96.57 96.72 ^ : Market Prices 95.73 95.88 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred 95.58coupon bonds 95.73 DTM: Days-To-Maturity 106.04 106.34 TTM: Term-To-Maturity 82.70 ‡ : Bond82.40 rating under review †: Bond105.26 rating expired 105.56 N/A :Not Available 110.84 111.14 {r} :Issuer in receivership 102.50 102.80 NGC: Nigeria-German Company UBA: United 94.10Bank for Africa 94.40

6414.957269

Outstanding Value (₦’bn) FMDQ FGN BOND INDEX

Description

Issuer

Issue Date

Agency Bonds Nil

8.4625 10.9176 12.3751 14.0346

6,232.57

# 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)

979.77 1,408.95 1,423.21 3,811.93

Total Outstanding Volume (₦’bn)

03-Apr-12 Weighting by Outstanding Volume

928.23 1,325.30 1,667.49 3,921.02

23.67 33.80 42.53 100.00

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 25.70 36.96 37.34 100.00

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 1.22

1.30 2.05 57.00 16.45 25.00 23.44 4.22 10.98 8.14 21.68 12.55

0.24 0.34 0.43 1.00

Maturity Date

03-Apr-17 % Exposure_ Mod_Duration 12.74 29.37 57.90 100.00

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)

0.44

Implied Yield

13.62 13.62 13.67 13.65

0.10 0.10 0.91 0.63 1.61 1.42 1.43 1.40 1.40 1.59 2.01

# Risk Premium (%)

2.94 Implied Portfolio Price 133.6569 147.3192 111.4759 128.8419

4.46 3.48 1.00 5.71 2.39 1.00 1.00 3.82 3.56 3.82 2.02

12.72

INDEX

1,215.97 1,277.17 1,343.96 1,226.91

11.06 10.08 13.49 16.68 15.55 14.11 14.12 16.93 16.67 16.97 15.28

101.87 YTD Return (%) 9.7594 26.1313 33.4593 16.2746

100.24 100.50 97.09 98.31 97.83 99.81 99.81 97.17 96.87 98.01 100.30

NEWS | south-west

tuesday, may 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fulani herdsmen’s attack: Fayose bans free grazing, cattle rearing

kiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has banned free grazing and cattle rearing in the state. Fayose, who spoke yesterday in Oke-Ako, a suburb of Ikole Local Government Area of the state, invaded last Friday by Fulani herdsmen, killing two residents of the town and injuring others, said whoever was interested in cattle farming should get their own private cattle ranch. The governor said the state House of Assembly, would be approached for immediate passage of a law to criminalise free (range) grazing anywhere across the sixteen local councils of the state. He also donated a sum of N2.5 million to the families of the deceased as well as N2.5 million and a pick-

up van equipped with security gadgets to the local hunters in order for them to protect the people. He warned that government would henceforth confiscate any strayed cattle seen anywhere in the state apart from ranches created for them by their owners, describing the Fulani herdsmen attack on communities across the country as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly.” He said: “We will not leave our lands for Fulani herdsmen and in a system where the leadership of the country looks the other way while our people are being killed, we will have no option than to defend ourselves by whatever means. I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-

Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. “I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise. “I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch.’’ The lawmaker representing Ikole Constituency 1 in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Titilayo Akerele, who assured the governor that the House would be waiting for his bill on the matter, said ‘’on behalf of the people of this constuency I want to thank you for identifying with us in this community

Kashamu's faction: We stand by Sheriff Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he faction of Ogun State Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to Senator Buruji Kashamu, yesterday declared that it was in support of the sacked National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. It accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and some governors of the PDP of allegedly having ulterior agenda in the controversial national

100,210

The total area (in sq. km) of water of Colombia. Source: Worldfactsandfigures. com

L-R: Former Chairman, Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, OSOPADEC, Chief Adewale Omojuwa; Senator representing Ondo Central Senatorial District, Omotayo Alasoadura and Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, during the governor's visit to the Senator over the death of his wife, at his residence in Akure…at the weekend.

member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Olawale Raji, has said that N12 billion would be required to address the power outage currently being experienced in Epe Local Government and other border communities in the Lagos East senatorial district. Raji, who represents Epe Constituency, disclosed this during his First Town Hall meeting with

the national convention of our party which was billed to hold last Saturday in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, it has become imperative to offer some clarifications. "First, it is a fact that the National Chairman of our great party, who is the only person empowered to preside over the National Convention, according to Article 33 (1) a of the PDP Constitution 2012 (as amended), announced the postponement of the exercise after consulting with various stakeholders of the party. The faction maintained that the Engr. Adebayo Dayo-led executives and delegates from the state remained the authentic persons eligible to participate in the convention. The Ogun PDP faction submitted that the Sheriff-led NWC and the Dayo-led executive in the state remained intact, urging party members to remain calm "until another legally and properly constituted convention is called."

Don tasks FG on security challenges Sola Adeyemo Ibadan

N12bn needed to address power outage in Epe, says Rep Muritala Ayinla

convention of the party held in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State on Saturday. In a statement signed by the factional state Publicity Secretary of Ogun PDP, Bolaji Adeniji, the party also faulted the decision to recognise delegates from another faction of the state led by Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu as the authentic representatives from the state at the convention. The statement titled "PDP and its controversial National Convention: Matters arising," the Kashamu's faction accused PDP governors of equating themselves with the party and lording their wishes over the rest of party members. The faction said the setting up of a caretaker committee headed by former Kaduna State Governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, in disregard of subsisting court orders was illegal, adding that such arrangement was alien to the party's constitution. It said, "Given the controversies that trailed

residents of his constituency, in Epe, lamenting that the communities had been in blackout for years without any respite from the Federal Government. The lawmaker argued that the paramount thing to the residents of Epe Federal Constituency comprising of Epe, Eredo, Agbowa, Ejirin and other communities, was power supply, adding that the 33KV line from Egbin Terminal substation, which was the only source of power supply to the communities was often

plagued by breakdown. He said: "The permanent solution to the current power supply challenges in Epe and others is for the Omotosho Independent Power Plant, IPP supplying electricity to this axis to become operational. "The contract to rehabilitate the project had been awarded by the Federal Government since 2012. 30 percent of the total fund; mobilisation was paid to the contractor. But months after, the work was abandoned.

"I spoke to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on the issue and he planned to embark on it but after investigation, he realised that the State do not have the money to fund such project. "The fund needed is over N12 billion and that was why I have not stop visiting the Minister of Housing, Power and Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the immediate past governor of the state, to demand the progress made on the project," he added.

n associate professor of Comparative Politics, University of Ilorin, Dr. Gbade Ojo, has urged the Federal Government to employ sophisticated approach in fighting the menace of insecurity created by the Boko Haram insurgency, as well as corruption. Ojo, who made the disclosure while delivering a lecture on the topic: "Security Challenges and Sustainable Peace: The Way Forward," at the Oodua Newspaper Lecture and Award Ceremony which took place at the NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, said that the insurgents, freedom fighters and miscre-

ants had devised hi-tech approach to their nefarious exploits. He observed that the increasing number of unemployed Nigerians as a result of the financial challenge confronting the country seemed to have made the youths vulnerable to criminal activities, adding that the state of insecurity had been compounded by both Boko Haram insurgency and Fulani herdsmen's menace, among other social vices. He enjoined the media to play positive roles that would engender development, noting that "in a plural and deeply divided society like Nigeria, the media should down play centrifugal tendencies to hasten the process of national integration", he stressed.

Nigeria’s peaceful existence depends on unity –Mimiko Strike: Osun workers defy resumption order Babatope Okeowo Akure

ife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko, has said that the sustainability of the unity of the country would only depend on peaceful co-existence among Nigerians Mrs. Mimiko said without unity of purpose and unity of all

the ethnic nationalities there would be no peace, security and meaningful development. The governor’s wife who spoke yesterday at an annual event organised to commemorate the Children Day Celebration in Ondo State held at the International Event Centres , “The Dome” in Akure, the state capital, stressed the need for the recognition of the cru-

cial role of the education sector as the panacea for meaningful and rapid socio-economic development for the nation. This, she said had been the vision of the Gover nor Olusegun Mimiko’s-led administration in the state in achieving development in the education sector which is one of the cardinal focus of the government.

Sulaiman Salawudeen Ado-Ekiti

ost civil servants, including teachers across the sixteen Local Government Areas of Osun State yesterday defied the order by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), directing the workers to return to work. Checks by our correspondent revealed that

only a few workers, mostly senior civil servants, reported at their duty posts, while several others still stayed away. The low turnout was attributed to last Tuesday's ultimatum given to the state government by the leadership of the labour unions to pay the arrears of salaries, especially cooperative and loan deductions for December. The state government

presently owes workers five months’ salary arrears and allowances. Chairman, Ekiti NLC, Mr, Ade Adesanmi, his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Mr. Odunayo Adesoye as well as the Secretary, Joint Negotiation Committee, Mr. Oladele Blessing, had last week jointly signed a statement requesting government to pay the outstanding arrears to workers.

News|SOUTH-EAST

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Catholic priests seek divine intervention to Nigeria’s challenges Eche Nwaobasi Nnewi

orried by the various socio-political problems bedeviling the country including resumed hostility in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen’s killings, fuel crisis, strikes, nonpayments of salaries, among others, a Catholic Church priests movement, Marian Movement of Priests Association and Concerned Catholic Faithful in Nigeria said they had sought divine intervention to restore peace in the country. The groups said it is organising a five days prayer and fasting programme with the theme; “Five national day of reparation for our nation in distress and triumph of the church.” It said it had secured divine intervention that would ensure that the unpleasant situation of the country were turned around for the

better without bloodshed. The five day prayer programme, which was held at the site of the wailing statue of Blessed Virgin Mary St. Catherine Catholic Church Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe Anambra East LGA, Anambra State at the weekend, featured procession, penitent prayers, confession, entrustment of Nigeria nation to the blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Eucharist celebration as well as presence of many important Catholic priests and dignitaries who prayed for Nigeria. Speaking at the event, Sir Anselem Okafor the Senior Special Assisstant on Religious Affairs to Governor Chief Willie Obiano, who represented the governor at the occasion, commended the association for embarking on the prayer session for the country, noting that from what the country was going through presently, the country needs constant prayers to succeed.

IPOB chides Miyetti Allah’s stand, disowns Igbo culpability in 1966 coup Charles Onyekwere ENUGU

he Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), has decried the attacks against its self-rule agitation by some entities in the country, describing as unfortunate the position of some northern groups backing the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led government alleged plans to exterminate all pro-Biafra groups. In a press statement made available to newsmen by the group’s spokespersons, Mr. Emma Mmezue and Dr. Clifford Iroanya, respectively, IPOB, accused a pro-northern group, Miyetti Allah, of misrepresenting facts with its claim that northerners were being killed in Igbo land. The group also pointed out that it was faceless groups like Miyetti Allah that sparked off the 1966

genocide against the Igbo that eventually led to the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. “Fifty years ago, faceless groups sprung up in Zaria, Kaduna, Kano and other areas of the north, alleging that the January 1966 military coup was an ethnic coup. They claimed that northerners were being killed all over eastern part of Nigeria. “These sponsored groups, stoked embers of hatred and prepared the ground for the horrendous three wave pogrom of 29th May to 2nd June 1966, 29th July to 2nd August 1966, and 29th Sept to 2nd Oct 1966 in which hundreds of thousands of easterners mostly women and children, were systematically slaughtered all over the north. “Those faceless groups that prepared the grounds for that unprecedented genocide, quickly disappeared into thin air.

Today, another faceless group, Northern Consensus Movement, which claimed to be a coalition of northern groups like President Muhammadu Buhari’s Miyetti Allah among other obviously fake groups, have alleged that hundreds of northerners are being killed in the South-East, and have advised the Federal Government to treat IPOB the way the Boko Haram insurgents are being treated. “It is instructive, that the entire South-West based media houses have never noted any attack on northerners in the South East. It is also surprising that these false allegations are coming only from President Buhari’s own organization, Miyetti Allah. “We recall that the alleged strange killings and burying of five Fulani in Abia forest, in a grave site is yet to be substantiated by the Directorate of State Services DSS, till date.”

Ugwuanyi’s wife restates commitment to rural dwellers’ health

he wife of the Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi, has said that the sustenance of rural dwellers in the areas of cervical cancer, hypertension, eye problem, type 2 diabetes, heart failure are in the priority of her pet health and empowerment programme in the state. Ugwuanyi spoke at an event convened by her project, “Ugo touch of life foundation” providing free medicare and and empowerment to rural women and youths which took place at Orba, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State. During the event, the governor’s wife presented de-worming packs, drugs, books, wash hand basins and stands to five primary schools which she visited in the area, noting that, more schools would benefit in the next exercise. She urged the benefiting schools to use the items effectively by imbibing the example of a woman in proverbs 31: 10 - 31 which said obedience and diligence bring more blessing to humanity. The governor’s wife expressed gratitude to all her collaborators particularly the Masters Energy Ltd, Part two and the UNTH Volunteer Doctors, urging other philanthropists, NGOs in the state to join hands to better the lot of the people of the state.

Enugu allocates land for commercial agric

nugu State Government has allocated 750 hectares of arable land for commercial agriculture for youths and women in the state, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Michael Eneh has stated. The commissioner made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Enugu. He said ``contracts have been awarded by the state government for the clearing of a total of 750 hectares of land for commercial agriculture in the state. “On completion, the land will be segmented into three hectare plots for allocation to youths and women to undertake commercial food cultivation.’’

CONFIRMATION/ change OF NAME

Emeka

This is to confirm that Ezco Eze and Emeka Oliver Eze refer to one and same person. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Akintola

This is to confirm that Akin Olaniyan and Akintola Olaniyan refer to one and same person. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Aladeyelu

Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi (right), addressing Nimbo women when she donated relief materials to the survivors of Fulani herdsmen attack on the community…at the weekend

I, formerly known and addressed as Titilayo Adetoro Adeoyo now wish to be known and addressed as Titilayo Adetoro Aladeyelu. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Otuko

I, formerly known and addressed as John Ejiro now wish to be known and addressed as Okoro Emmanuel Otuko. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

IGP’s squad arrests alleged corrupt policemen Okegwo Kenechukwu Onitsha

ndications emerged yesterday that a Special Surveillance Squad established by the Inspector General of Police Mr. Solomon Arase, has arrested an unconfirmed number of policemen in Anambra State over various allegations of corruption in different parts of the state. A dependable source close to the police command told our correspondent that some of the policemen were arrested while collecting bribe at their duty posts or at checkpoints. The source further disclosed that Arase had, a few weeks ago, directed it surveillance team in all the states of the federa-

tion to monitor activities of policemen particularly on federal highways, urban town and cities. “You see, the Inspector General of police is doing everything to re-position the police but some of us in this force are immersed in gratification and bribery inspite of the fact that we have continually warned them, but to no avail”, the source said. When contacted, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Ali Okechukwu, confirmed that though the IG’s Special Surveillance Squad was in Anambra, but denied that some policemen were arrested. The PPRO said: “They came to the state and were taken round Anambra State but nobody was ar-

rested as being reported by the team to my knowledge”. He, however, said that they charged the command to sustain the tempo of security network in the state and to make sure that crimes and other related offenses were reduced to the barest minimum. He said that the squad restated Arase’s zero tolerance to corruption, pointing out that anybody caught or found wanting in his responsibility to the public would be dealt with severely. He said the Federal Government through the instrumentality of the IGP had also provided logistics and were working out modalities to make sure that the Nigerian police ranked high in the comity of nations.

Ugwuanyi to inaugurate completed projects

nugu State Urban Renewal Committee has said that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s plans to inaugurate some completed road projects in the state as part of the activities marking his one year anniversary in office. Speaking during the inspection tour of ongoing road projects in the state, Chairman of the committee, Mr. Chris Offor, commended the governor for his development initiatives and commitment to his campaign promises to the people of the state despite the present economic challenges in the country. Offor said the governor was able to record remarkable achievements in the state, especially in the area of infrastructural development because of his passion for good governance and steadfastness to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.

Danlami

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Zainab .T. Garba now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Zainab Danlami. All former documents remain valid. N.Y.S.C and the general public should please take note.

Oshiogwemoh

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

Damingo

I, formerly known and addressed as Paul Remember now wish to be known and addressed as Damingo Sonny Festus. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc and the general public should please take note.

Gbeneowei

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinyere Ukatu now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinyere Ebideinere Gbeneowei. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

Abiamowei

I, formerly known and addressed as Rita Ebimene Abiamowei now wish to be known and addressed as Rita Ebimodei Abiamowei. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

42 News|south-South

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Wike: I won’t allow militants sabotage economy

Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

ivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday restated his resolve not to allow militants sabotage the nation’s economy by attacking oil installations in the state. The governor, who spoke when the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, visited him at the Government House, Port Harcourt, said the state

would help the military to tackle militancy. He said nobody will be shielded from the military operations against militants sabotaging the nation’s economy, stressing that governors of states in the Niger Delta don’t believe in using violence to solve the issues affecting the region. Wike said: “What is happening is affecting our revenue as a state. We shall help the military to fish out militants blowing up oil pipelines in the region.” He

added that militancy would affect the region’s economy and development in the long run. “As a government, we cannot support economic sabotage. What is going on is economic sabotage. Production is being negatively affected with the revenue of states dwindling. “There are ways to channel grievances and it is wrong to do what will negatively affect the people of the region.” He commended the

military for the sacrifice they have made in providing security in the state, especially in Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Abua/Odual and Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Areas of the state. Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olonisakin, who was accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibok Ibas and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, said the resurgence of mili-

tancy in the Niger-Delta is giving the military serious concern. “Recent activities of the militants have led to the sabotage of oil and gas infrastructure,” he said, stressing the need to halt it. He urged the governor to reach out to his colleagues in the Niger Delta to resolve the conflicts in the area, just as he disclosed that the military high command was in the region to interface with the leadership of the Operation Pulio Shield and other service commanders on

how to put an end to criminality in the region. Meanwhile, General Olonishakin said the military would engage the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to stop attacks on oil and gas installations in the region. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Chief of Defence Staff spoke at the inauguration of 12 refurbished gunboats and 40-bed space accommodation for troops in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Your days are numbered, Dickson tells criminals Chris Ejim Yenagoa

ayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, yesterday expressed determination to stem the tide of violence, criminality and brigandage by persons within and outside the state, saying their days are A cross-section numbered. of pensioners in He gave the warning Edo State protest the nonpayment during a meeting with traof their 42 months ditional rulers, chairmen arrears in Benin of Community DevelopCity …yesterday. ment Committees and representatives of the various PHOTO: NAN security agencies in Yenagoa. The governor, who stressed the need to curb the spate of criminal acof the Peoples Democratic tivities such as kidnapping, Party (PDP), Chief Wole pipeline vandalism and the Olanipekun (SAN), that attack on law enforcement no report of violence was agents, called on the people recorded during the electo work closely with securition. ty agencies towards appreAdie further admithending the perpetrators. ted that the agents of the Speaking on the recent various political parties, including the APC, signed the results of the election.

Bayelsa guber tribunal: Dickson opens defence today Tunde Oyesina Abuja

ayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, will today open his defence in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Timipre Sylva, challenging his election as governor of the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had yesterday

closed its case before the state governorship election tribunal sitting in Abuja. The electoral body had told the tribunal that the election that produced Governor Seriake Dickson was free, fair and was held in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act. Its lead counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), called two witnesses who testified to the credibility of the election. In the testimony of Justine Adie, a civil servant, who was the Electoral

Officer in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the January 9, 2016 poll was free, fair and in conformity with the electoral law. He further told the tribunal under cross examination by counsel to Governor Dickson, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) and that

$17m

The pay of Robin van Persie of Fernabache in 2016. Source: Goal.com

€11m

The annual salary of coach Louis van Gaal of Manchester United in 2015 season. Source: France Football

Oshiomhole advocates for women in politics Agip pipeline bombing: Peace returns Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

do State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday stressed the need for men to support women in their quest to participate in politics and occupy leadership positions. Speaking while playing host to the wives of members of the Edo State House of Assembly, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Benin City, Governor Oshiomhole said: “Part of the problem of women in our country is that too many men, based on wrong assumptions, don’t encourage their wives to be active in politics. “Yet women account for

at least a simple or slight majority of our population and there is no field in which a man can excel that a woman cannot excel even better. “The largest democracy on this planet, which is India, has been led and governed by a woman for many years, but it wasn’t possible without a supporting husband and family members. We have had a powerful woman in the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher. “She won’t be forgotten in a hurry. But for the fact that she carried her handbag, which women are associated with, everything about her, her attitude, character, courage, showed that she had much more than the average man in the British parliament.

to Bayelsa community

Pauline Onyibe Yenagoa

ollowing Sunday’s bombing of Agip pipeline at Ikienghenbiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, a resident of the community, who spoke with New Telegraph in the community, said peace and calm have returned to the community. He said some hours after the incident, civil defense operatives came and restored peace in the community. The source said the locals ran away on Sunday when the incident happened, but that as at the

time of filing this report, residents of the community have returned to their homes. He said no other person has been arrested after the first arrest was made. New Telegraph, however, gathered that civil defense operatives are still combing the creeks and the surrounding communities to get the remaining perpetrators of the act. Reports also said the group, which was led by Suoyou, Iyelawei and Fyneboy, vandalised the pipeline along the AzuzuamaIkienghenbiri axis of the trunk line conveying crude oil from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company flow station at Tebidaba to Brass.

killing of three security operatives in the state, Dickson recalled the military invasion of Odi in Kolokuma/Opokuma and Odioma in Brass Local Government Areas, adding that the incident should serve as a lesson to all other communities. He, therefore, called on community leaders to collaborate with security agencies to maintain law and order in their domains to avert a recurrence, stressing that, security is a collective responsibility of all. Dickson said: “Nobody within and outside the state would be allowed to create havoc and make Bayelsa to be a place for violence and bloodshed.” The governor also condemned the rate of kidnapping in recent times, restating the government’s position on the payment of ransom, as negotiating with kidnappers would also be a crime in the state.

Edo pensioners protest non-payment of 42 months’ arrears

Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

ggrieved pensioners of the Edo State public service yesterday protested against the non-payment of their 42 months’ pension arrears and gratuities owed them by the state government. The elderly men and women under the umbrella of Concerned Pensioners and Batchless Members, during the protest stormed the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, where they lamented their plight and alleged abandonment after serving the state meritoriously in various capacities. They complained that most of them, who retired from public service in the state between 2013 and 2016, were yet to be paid their pensions and gratuities. According to a letter

written on their behalf by one Ehiorenren Efe, to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, a copy of which was made available to newsmen, the pensioners said: “We are not particularly happy that you did not deem it fit and proper to use your very good office to assuage and ameliorate our financial plight by paying us our outstanding pension benefits.” They said such “an amount that would have helped to assuage the hardship that we have been subjected to due to the very long delay in approving our screening and subsequent enrolment for our monthly payments.” The batches 47 and 48 pensioners with placards of various inscriptions, who said Edo pensioners are more displaced internally than the Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) and several others, also appealed to the governor to constitute the state pensions board.

News|north

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Kebbi trains 300 women, youths in skills acquisition Abubakar Abdul Birnin Kebbi

he Coordinator of Mallipa Foundation and wife of Kebbi State Governor, Hajiya Aisha Atiku Bagudu, in collaboration with the Technology Business Incubation Centre in Birnin Kebbi have flagged-off skill acquisition training in the state. No fewer than 300 women and youths from the 21 Local Government Areas of the state are to benefit from the skill acquisition and empowerment programme. Speaking during the flagging-off ceremony yesterday at the TBIC Birnin Kebbi, Hajiya Bagudu said that the training would offer a golden opportunity to the youths, who are yet to be engaged meaningfully, as well as reduce the high rate of poverty and criminal activities in the state.

Court okays Zakzaky N2bn suit against FG Tunde Oyesina Abuja

he Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday okayed the N2billion suit filed by the detained leader of the Shi’ite Islamic sect, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, against the Federal Government.

Sokoto sets up due process office for service delivery

n the quest for efficiency in governance and in line with global best practices, the Sokoto State Government said it has established the Office of Due Process, which will ensure efficient, transparency and effective monitoring of all public contracts and other related duties for the overall interest of the people. Already, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has approved the appointment of Mr. Kabiru Haliru, a lawyer, as the Executive Secretary of the new outfit. A statement issued in Sokoto, the state capital, by the Media Aide to the Governor, Mallam Imam Imam, said the office, to be

known as Public Procurement and Price Intelligence Unit, will bring about efficient utilisation of public resources by ensuring that such resources are effectively deployed towards attaining the best value at all times. According the statement, the new office will also promote prudence, transparency and accountability in government spending, particularly in the procurement of goods and services. “In addition, the new office will promote professionalism in the execution of the procurement functions and streamline quality control practices.”

81,000 24.59%

The official capacity of Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia. Source: Businessinsider.in

The percentage of the clubtrained players by Spanish clubs in 2010-2011. Source: Football-observatory. com

The trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, however, fixed June 14 for hearing. He further ordered service of the relevant court processes on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN. Also cited as respondent alongside AGF are the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigerian Police Force. Zakzaky, who had been in detention since December 2015, through his counsel Femi Falana, SAN, is praying the court for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, dignity of human person, right to private and family life and private property.

MAKURDI

enue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday assured the people of the state that killers of his Senior Special Assistant on Security, Mr. Denen Igbana, would soon be apprehended. The governor, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Terwase Orbunde, when the aides to

the governor paid him a condolence visit at the Benue People’s House, however, noted that Igbana’s killers have dared him and the state government. He said marching orders had been given to security agents in the state to commence investigation into the killing, stressing that God that made him governor would not allow the perpetrators of the heinous act to go scot-free or unpunished.

Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP A10), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Falana is also contending that the continued detention of his client without being charged before a competent court is in violation of his right to fair hearing as enshrined in section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. He further submitted that the applicant had since lost one of his eyes, owing to the treatment meted out to him by security agents, acting on behalf of the Federal Government, adding that the detained Sh’ite leader was denied access to his medical doctors, family members and relatives. He, however, submitted

L-R: Former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi; Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Kwara State, Chief Bode Adekanye; Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chairman, APC, Kwara State, Hon. Ishola Balogun Filani, as the governor welcomes Ishola and Bode after their release by their kidnappers in Ilorin …at the weekend

that the applicant’s rights to health and association as enshrined in Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights had been violated. Falana prayed the court to declare that detention of the applicant without access to his family and friends was not only illegal but in violation of his rights to freedom of association as enshrined in section 40 of the Constitution. He further prayed the court for an order directing the immediate and unconditional release of the applicant from the custody of the 1st and 2nd respondents. He also prayed the court for an order restraining the respondents from further violating the applicant’s fundamental rights in any manner whatsoever and howsoever without lawful justification.

Kogi boils as governor sacks 20,000 council workers Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

here was pandemonium yesterday in Kogi State, following the alleged retrenchment of more than 20,000 council workers across the 21 local government areas in the state. The affected workers as at the time of filing this report, had embarked in protest, barricading major roads in the state capital with burn fire, shouting “Yahaya Bello Ole.” The state govern-

Ortom vows to apprehend killers of his security aide Cephas Iorhemen

Falana hinged the suit marked FHC/CS/128/2016 on Sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41 and 46 (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as on Articles 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, LFN, 2010. The plaintiff wants the court to declare that the detention of the applicant at Abuja by the respondents since December 14, 2015, was illegal and unconstitutional as it violated his fundamental rights to personal liberty as enshrined in section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and

Meanwhile, Ortom said that he would not allow hoodlums thrive under his watch, recalling that when the incident happened last Friday, he immediately summoned a security council meeting of the state. He thanked his aides for the visit and expression of concern over the death of their colleague, the late Igbana, saying they should participate actively in the burial of late aide.

ment had in February this year constituted screening committees to verify bonafide members of state on the pay roll of the state government, Local Government Councils and the teaching service. The screening committee, which commenced its exercise in March, was said to have submitted it report to Governor Yahaya Bello, on Saturday, which consequently recommended the retrenchment of thousands of workers across the 21 LGAs in

the state. The President of the state chapter of the National Union of local government Employee (NULGE), Comrade Tom Abutu, condemned and rejected the report of the screening exercise, arguing that the report was a total deviation from the initial agreement between the labour union and the state government. Abutu, however, in a telephone chat said: “The retrenchment of workers was never part of the agreement we entered

into with the government. So, the so-called retrenchment exercise is hereby rejected and declared inconsequential.” Meanwhile, reports from some local government councils across the state indicated that in Lokoja, the state capital, alone more than half of the entire workforce sacked, according to the report. Of the over 800 workers in Lokoja Local Government Area, the appointment of over 400 workers was said to also have been terminated.

Boko Haram: Navy to set up operational base in Lake Chad Ahmed Miringa MAIDUGURI

o fortify its continued war against Boko Haram insurgency and effectively defeat fleeing insurgents in the ongoing military crackdown in Sambisa Forest and other parts of the North-East part of the country, the Nigerian Navy is to set up ‘Operational Base’ along the shores of Lake Chad Basin area.

The decision is to further pursue and apprehend the terrorists from their hideouts. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas disclosed this on Monday, when he led other officers of his team on a courtesy call on the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima at the Government House Maiduguri, the state capital. “We also want to inform you that the Nigerian Navy has concluded arrangement

to establish its Operational Base in Lake Chad Basin area purposely to address issue of Boko Haram in our territories,” he stated. The Naval chief, who was represented by the Chief of Naval Administration, Rear Admiral Obiara Medini said they were in Borno State to officially launch and inaugurate its 2016 Medical Rhapsody at Dalori Camp II, where over 5,000 orphans and widows are hosted as a result of Bboko Haram insurgency.

WORLD \ NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Pope, top Imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

ope Francis embraced the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican yesterday in a historic encounter both sides hope will lead to greater understanding and dialogue between the two faiths. The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world’s Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took of-

fice in 2013. “Our meeting is the message,” Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, shortly after he had hugged and kissed his guest, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event. In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said the two sides had agreed to convene a “peace conference”. A statement quoted Tayeb

as telling Francis: “We need to take a joint stance, hand in hand, to bring happiness to humanity. Divine religions were revealed to make people happy, not to cause them hardship.” The imam’s deputy, Abbas Shuman, told Egyptian TV channel CBC that the two leaders had agreed to resume dialogue and that the proposed conference would cover the issues of poverty, extremism and terrorism. The Vatican did not immediately confirm the conference

plans. A spokesman said the talks had been “very cordial” with the imam spending 30 minutes with the pope and just over an hour in total at St Peter’s. Tayeb’s decision to fly to Rome, unexpectedly announced last week, followed the easing of serious tensions that marked the reign of Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI. Ties were badly soured when the now-retired Benedict made a September 2006 speech in which he was perceived to have linked Islam to violence, spark-

ing deadly protests in several countries and reprisal attacks on Christians. Pope John-Paul II met the then-grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo in 2000, a year before the September 11 attacks on New York transformed relations between the West and the Islamic world. Yesterday’s visit was effectively the long-delayed reciprocal meeting and the Vatican said that both clerics had “underlined the great significance of this new meeting”.

US lifts embargo on arms sales to Vietnam

Pope embracing Al-Azhar imam at their meeting.

One killed in Kenya protests

enyan police used tear gas and water cannon yesterday to disperse opposition supporters demanding a change of leadership at the electoral commission ahead of a vote due next year. Local media reported at least one killed in Kisumu in the west of the country, while police in Nairobi and the second city of Mombasa fought running battles with small groups of protesters. The opposition CORD party claimed several people killed, but there was no immediate police confirmation of any casualties. “Innocent Kenyans have lost lives today,” opposition CORD party leader Raila Odinga told reporters. “We must condemn this in the strongest terms possible.” The opposition claimed in a statement that its supporters were “killed in various parts

of the country,” without giving a number. Police had banned the planned demonstrations and scores of officers in riot gear guarded the building that houses the election commission headquarters in the centre of the capital. They fired tear gas cannisters and stun grenades to disperse groups of onlookers and used water cannon to douse people who did not move quickly enough along a nearby pedestrian overpass. The clashes followed violent protests in the city centre last week and the acrid smell of tear gas filled the city’s usually traffic-clogged streets. In Nairobi’s Kibera slum, police also fired tear gas as dozens of demonstrators blocked the road with burning tyres, with some hurling rocks, an AFP reporter said. Clashes were also reported

in the main port city of Mombasa, and in the small western town of Kakamega, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. Odinga, a former prime minister who lost his bid for the presidency in 2013, accuses the election commission of bias towards President Uhuru Kenyatta and has demanded new commissioners be named ahead of elections due in August 2017. Kenyatta beat Odinga by more than 800,000 votes to win the presidency in 2013. Odinga and civil society groups accused the electoral commission of a series of irregularities that they said skewed the results. The election nonetheless passed off peacefully, in contrast to the country’s disputed 2007 elections which degenerated into fierce interethnic violence that killed more than 1,100 people after Odinga’s supporters challenged his defeat by Mwai Kibaki.

Van der Bellen elected Austrian president

lexander Van der Bellen has won Austria’s presidential election, preventing Norbert Hofer from becoming the EU’s first far-right head of state. Mr. Van der Bellen, a pro-EU independent backed by the Greens, beat Mr Hofer by just 31,000 votes among the 4.64m cast. The president-elect vowed to address the “divisions” among Austrians that the poll had “made visible”. Mr Hofer’s campaign had targeted anti-EU feelings and fears about migrants. He said his defeat was a “sad day”. The Freedom Party candidate said on his Facebook

page (in German): “Please don’t be disheartened. The effort in this election campaign is not wasted, but is an investment for the future.” The interior ministry said Mr Van der Bellen had won 2,254,484 votes to Mr Hofer’s 2,223,458, or 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent. Although Mr Van der Bellen, 72, is officially independent, he led Austria’s Greens for a decade and some European Green politicians were hailing him as the world’s first elected Green head of state. Speaking after his victory, he said he accepted many Austrians had different views and that some

people were angry, but he added: “People can be different and still treat each other respectfully.” The rhetoric in the campaign had been fierce at times. Mr Van der Bellen had said he did not want Austria to be led by a “populist rightwing, pan-Germanic fraternity member” and even urged voters “who don’t like me but perhaps like Hofer even less to vote for me”. Mr. Hofer had been photographed sporting the German colours of the nationalist Marko-Germania student fraternity, which stands for “the German cultural community” and bears the slogan “Honour, Freedom, Fatherland”.

resident Barack Obama has announced the US is fully lifting its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, its one-time enemy. Speaking during a visit to communist Vietnam and talks with its leaders, Mr. Obama said the move removed a “lingering vestige of the Cold War”. The US is trying to bolster its relationship with its Pacific allies, as China asserts territorial claims. But Mr. Obama said the embargo decision was not related to US policy on China. “It’s based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards normalisation with Vietnam,” he said in Hanoi. Vietnam is one of several countries in the region involved in maritime disputes with China. The US insists on the right to freedom of navigation in the

South China Sea. In 2014, a row over a Chinese oil rig near the Paracel islands led to clashes between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels and anti-China riots in Vietnam. White House officials had indicated the arms ban, in force since 1984, would be lifted only if human rights in Vietnam improved. “Sales will need to still meet strict requirements, including those related to human rights, but this change will ensure that Vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself,” Mr Obama said after talks with President Tran Dai Quang. Vietnam had been arguing for an end to the embargo, which was partially lifted in 2014. Mr Obama’s visit comes 41 years after the end of the Vietnam War in which the US sought to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam.

EU urges Congo to redouble election efforts

he European Union has urged authorities in Congo to breathe new life into the electoral process so that political chaos doesn’t undermine the chances for free, fair and inclusive polls. EU foreign ministers called yesterday on authorities to draw up a new calendar for a vote currently scheduled for November and update electoral lists. They said only a government that is “legitimate and democratically

elected can bring stability and unite all forces in the country.” Tension is building in Congo as President Joseph Kabila’s maneuvers to avoid a national election and remain in office beyond his constitutionally permitted term, US officials and opposition members say. Congo’s top opposition candidate for president flew to South Africa for medical treatment Friday after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him.

Turkey threatens to suspend agreements with EU

erman Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkey’s president yesterday that Ankara must fulfill all the European Union’s conditions to secure visa-free travel for its citizens, but Turkey responded that it would suspend agreements with the EU if the bloc does not keep its promises. The EU says Turkey must narrow its definition of “terrorist” and “terrorist act.” The bloc is concerned that journalists and political dissenters could be targeted. But Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that is out of the question.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the World Humanitarian Summit meeting in Istanbul, Merkel said that she doesn’t expect the visa waiver to be implemented at the beginning of July as was originally hoped. Merkel, who is facing pressure at home to be tough with Erdogan, also expressed concern about a move to strip legislators in Turkey of their immunity from prosecution. But she underlined her commitment to the EU-Turkey deal aimed at stemming Europe’s migrant influx, arguing that its success is a matter of “mutual interest.”

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport News

Did you know?

Sport

I am ready for South African job –Keshi

That Roger Federer pulled out of the ongoing French Open due to injury and it is the first time in 17 years that the tennis legend will be missing a Grand Slam.

International Mourinho waits in the wings as Man United sack Van Gaal

46 47

Eagles coach:

NFF drops Le Guen over demands Coach insists on $50,000 monthly pay Technical Committee in the dark

Ajibade Olusesan

egotiations between the Nigeria Football Federation and French coach, Paul Le Guen, for the vacant Super Eagles Head Coach job has collapsed irretrievably over money, New Telegraph can report authoritatively. The former Cameroon national team coach was the anointed candidate of the Amaju Pinnick-led board in the wake of the resignation of former national team handler Sunday Oliseh. Pinnick and his team went as far as meeting with the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, over the decision to engage Le Guen but along the line the insistence of the Frenchman not to go down on his $50,000 monthly wage demand has thrown spanner into the deal.

Super Eagles striker, Moses Simon (left) in action against Egypt

According to a source in the NFF, the federation is holding out for $30,000 salary, a proposal Le Guen has rejected. The source said that current economic situation and problematic foreign exchange has made it difficult for the federation to meet the coach’s demand. “The NFF was very keen to sign the coach and if not for the Minister, Pinnick would have announced Le Guen immediately after the AFCON 2017 ouster,” the source who is a staff of the federation told our correspondent. “Both parties agreed all other details except for the money aspect which

was still pending. The federation had already secured accommodation for him in Lagos with an official car but it looks like the deal is not going to work again because the man is insisting on $50,000 and there is no way the NFF can pay him that amount.” “They are still looking for sponsor for the payment of salary because the bank that was paying Oliseh is trying to back out and with the continuous dollar rise, the NFF will not part with that kind of money,” he added. The NFF has given impression that its technical committee was saddled with the responsibility of searching

for a new coach but our correspondent learnt that the technical committee was actually in the dark over who becomes the next Eagles manager. The source in the NFF confirmed that President Amaju Pinnick was the one doing the searching without carrying the committee along. “We are not aware of anything concerning any coach as I am talking to you. As a member of the committee, my chairman has not told me anything, we have not met on any issue relating to appointment of a coach“ a member of the committee told New Telegraph.

ITTF Premier Lotto Nigeria Open

We missed Quadri, says Toriola

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami Group Sport Editor

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Sport Editor

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya Sport Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan

t least a Nigerian player would have reached the final of the just-concluded International Table Tennis Federation Premier Lotto Nigeria Open if Africa’s best player, Aruna Quadri, had come for the World Series, veteran star Segun Toriola has posited. With Quadri not available due to club engagement, no Nigerian player progressed beyond the semifinal of both men and women’s singles of the tournament. Interestingly, only ageing stars Toriola and

Funke Oshonaike went that far with many questioning the readiness of some local stars to take their game to the next level. Olympics-bound Edem Offiong and Bode Abiodun crashed out in the quarterfinals while Cecilia Otu-Akpan, Janet Effiong, Ajoke, Ojo Onaolapo all exited the tournament in the round of 16 In an interview with our correspondent, Toriola said that Nigerian players could have done better with Quadri around, saying the job of motivating the youngsters fell only on his shoulder, a respon-

sibility the France-based star would have shared with him if he was in Lagos. “If Quadri was around perhaps we might have two Nigerians playing in the final. Personally, I think I would have done better because his presence would have motivated me a lot more. I would have had fewer jobs to do in encouraging these young ones. If I see Quadri up there doing his thing and I am doing my thing here, we will be more energised, it won’t be a case of me bearing the load alone. I think we missed the young man,” he said.

Toriola

SPORT NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

I’m ready for South African job – Keshi S tephen Keshi has said that he will take up the opportunity of working in the South African top-flight, the Premier Soccer League. The Nigerian legend explained that if the terms and conditions from any offer suits his choice, he would take up the deal.

The 54-year-old further stated that he was leaving his door open for other options as well apart from working in the South African top division, the Absa Premier League. “As a professional, I am ready to take up an offer provided the terms are okay by me,” Keshi told supersport.com.

“An opportunity to work in South Africa (in the Absa Premier League) is one that interests me, but like I said, I’m a professional and I am open to opportunities with the terms that will suit what I want. “Right now, I am not in a hur ry to jump on any offer. I will take my time to decide on my future.” The former Nigeria head coach recently signed up with a South African football agency headed by Tim Sukazi and that has fuelled speculations about his future destination being the Rainbow Nation. Sukazi’s comments in the South African media earlier this month has also stoked the embers of the reports linking Keshi to a move to the Absa Premier League. Keshi won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and has also managed Mali and Togo, a small West African country, he guided to the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

LMC opens mid-season transfer window ...as Giwa FC appeal expulsion Charles Ogundiya

he League Management Company on Monday opened the mid-season transfer window to enable clubs to beef up their teams ahead of the second stanza of the 2016 Nigeria Professional Football League season. The LMC, in a circular to all clubs announced the opening of the mid-season transfer window, starting from 8am on Monday, May 23 to 5pm on June 3, to register new players and sign up players on permanent or temporary transfer. The circular also reminded the clubs that for any registration to be approved, attestation letter from the serving players and coaches of the clubs must be presented confirming that their obligations to the players and coaches have been fully met. “Within this period, any club may apply for the new registration of a player or to have the registration of a player transferred to it

or for a temporary transfer,” the circular informed the clubs. “Pursuant to Rules B9.45.2 and Rules B9.45.4.4, every club is expected to submit the attestation by each of its currently registered players as a pre-condition for registration. This is to ensure that there are no overdue payments owed the players.” Meanwhile, Giwa FC have appealed their expulsion from the NPFL by the LMC for failure to honour three matches cumulatively in one season which is in violation of Rule B13.28 of the NPFL Rules and Framework. In response to the LMC Summary Jurisdiction Notice, the Secretary of Giwa FC, Samson Adamu, in a letter dated May 21, wrote to acknowledge the decision but also notified the LMC of their decision to reject the ruling and appeal same. By this notice of appeal, Giwa FC will now appear before the relevant authority in the coming days for hearing.

Civil Defence takes up more athletes Charles Ogundiya

Yobo testimonial excites Mikel, Musa …as Enyeama, Emenike arrive Nigeria

Ajibade Olusesan

uper Eagles skipper, Mikel Obi, and his assistant, Ahmed Musa, are excited to be part of the Joseph Yobo Testimonial billed to take place at the Adokiye Amesiemeka Stadium in Port Harcourt on May 27. The two prominent players were last week released by the Nigeria Football Federation to honour the event since the Super Eagles also have backto-back friendly matches against Mali and Luxemburg at about the same time. Event coordinator, Waidi Akanni, confirmed on Monday that Mikel and Musa were happy to be in the picture for the testimonial. “Mikel spoke with Yobo about his expectation to meet other top players from other parts of the world in Port Harcourt. Musa is also excited because he believes it is a global event,” Akanni said. Meanwhile, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike have arrived Nigeria for the testimonial. The two players who were both at the World Cup in Brazil for Nigeria arrived the country at the weekend after a long season and they are ready for the testimonial match, which will be played in honour of Yobo. Both Enyeama and Yobo are close friends with the former Super Eagles captain. Yobo forged good relationship when they both played for the Super Eagles, with the former Everton defender playing Enyeama’s best man at his wedding in 2006. Top players from various parts of

Keshi

Europe especially the EPL will be in Port Harcourt for the match. The list of those who have confirmed for the testimonial include Samuel Eto’o Didier Drogba, John Terry, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney, the Ayew Brothers: Dede and Jordan, Sulley Muntari, Djibrin Cisse and Tresor Lualua amongst others.

igeria Security and Civil Defence Corps recently gave employment to three top Nigerian athletes to increase the number of sportsmen and women on its payroll. Former junior international, Divine Oduduru, quartermiler, Orukpe Erayokan, and Javelin thrower, Kelechi Nwanaga, were all employed by the para-military body. The Director of Sports, NSCDC, Ayodele Titus, told New Telegraph that the motive was to empower more youths who are talented but are rotting away on the streets without jobs. “We have so many talented athletes without good background,” he said. “By encouraging them, they can do better, we are trying to give them their future so that after their careers as athletes, they can have something

to fall back on. “We saw the three of them (Oduduru, Erayokan and Nwanaga) as the future of the country and they have no jobs. Sometimes, they will come for competitions and will be begging for money to travel and feed themselves which is not good. “NSCDC decided to encourage them by giving them jobs so that they will serve the organisation and the country better in athletics.” Ayodele further noted that the target of the organisation was to have more athletes at the Olympics. Among those that have qualified are Aruna Quadri in table-tennis and Mariam Usman, a weightlifter, who just returned from Cameroon after winning three gold medals. The director said they were looking at getting more athletes who would excel like the likes of Nigeria 60m World Indoor record holder, Olusoji Fasuba, Franca Idoko, and others.

Lagos agog for Olukoya athletics championship Charles Ogundiya

Mikel

he tartan tracks of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos will be on fire on Tues-

CSKA confirm English interests in Musa Ajibade Olusesan

ussian champions CSKA Moscow have confirmed interests from England for Nigeria international Ahmed Musa, but insist nothing has been signed yet. Musa has been the subject of interest from English champions Leicester City, with a host of other clubs also mentioned to be interested in his services. CSKA chief Roman Babayev has confirmed the interests in

the 23-year-old, but said no deal had been agreed yet. “I cannot say yes or no. It is no secret that Musa was and remains in very serious demand, particularly from the English teams,” Babayev told championat. “Until documents are signed, the transfer is not complete and I will not speak about it.” Musa is believed to be on his way out of Russia with surprise EPL champions Leicester City his most likely destination.

day and Wednesday for the sixth edition of the Daniel Olukoya Youth and Junior Athletics Championships. The two-day championship will see athletes competing for honour in both track and field events with qualification for the IAAF World Junior Championship at stake. In a statement signed by Athletic Federation of Nigeria’s head of

Aniekeme Alphonsus

Media and Communication, Olukayode Thomas, athletes from participating states and clubs are expected to arrive on Tuesday for screening at the venue, while the competition will be on Wednesday. According to the release, this edition of the championship will be used to select athletes that will be representing Nigeria at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland from July 19 to 24. Some of the starsexpected to shine at the tourney are those who represented the country at the last Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in 2015 including Aniekeme Alphonsus who won five medals at the games.

INTERNATIONAL SPORT

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 NEW TELEGRAPH

Mourinho waits in the wings as Man United sack Van Gaal F

FIFA fires deputy secretary general

anchester United have sacked Louis van Gaal just two days after the Dutchman led them to victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. Van Gaal, who has been given a £5million pay-off on top of £400,000 for winning the FA Cup, has been made to pay for United’s poor Premier League campaign and will be replaced by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. His Dutch coaching staff - including United assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg and goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek - have also left the club with immediate effect. Ed Woodward arrived at Manchester United’s Carrington training complex ahead of talks with Van Gaal on Monday morning. The United executive vice-chairman informed Van Gaal he will no longer continue as manager as they look to appoint

Mourinho as his successor. Van Gaal arrived at Carrington at around 8.45am. His entire coaching staff were also present as they learned their fate. The 64-year-old was pictured waving goodbye as he left United’s training ground base for what could be the last time on Monday afternoon. Mourinho expects to have more talks on Tuesday ahead of signing a threeyear deal with his long-term assistant Rui Faria and goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro expected to follow. Ryan Giggs’ future at United is up in the air despite Mourinho’s wish to keep the Welshman at the club. Van Gaal’s trusted performance analyst Max Reckers, who caused friction within the Manchester United family, has also been shown the Old Trafford exit door.

Mourinho

Pique: Barca deserved Copa del Rey title

entre-back Gerard Pique said Barcelona were deserved winners of the Copa del Rey, while praising his team-mates and their winning “trajectory”. Barcelona overcame Javier Mascherano’s first-half red card as they defeated Sevilla 2-0 after extra time in Sunday’s Copa del Rey final in Madrid. Following a goalless 90 minutes at Vicente Calderon, Jordi Alba and Neymar were both on target in the additional periods to lift Spanish champions Barca to their fourth title of the season, much to the delight of Pique. “The team’s trajectory in recent years is magnificent,” Pique said. “We had to play back for a lot of minutes and try to find some counter-attacks. “The game got really tough around the half-hour, but we fought, we won and I think we deserved it. “We want to keep winning titles and adding to our honours.”

Neymar (left) adding a second goal to give Barcelona a further cushion deep into the second period of extra time

Halep hurries into second round

ormer finalist Simona Halep made a confident start to her 2016 French Open challenge, swatting aside Nao Hibino in 45 minutes. Three of Halep’s last four Grand Slam appearances have ended with defeat to players ranked outside the Top 50, however there was never any danger of number four coming at the hands of Hibino. Halep broke six times to complete a 6-2, 6-0 victory and set up a second-round meeting against either Zarina Diyas or Carina Witthoeft.

FRENCH OPEN

IFA acting secretary general Markus Kattner has been sacked after being accused of paying himself bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. World governing body FIFA said an investigation “uncovered breaches of fiduciary responsibilities”. The 45-year-old German took over as acting general secretary after Jerome Valcke was sacked for irregularities. The dismissal is not connected to the payment made to Michel Platini by former president Sepp Blatter in 2011. Former FIFA vice president Platini and Blatter were last year found guilty of ethics breaches over the 2m Swiss Franc (£1.3m) “disloyal payment”. UEFA president Platini, 60, resigned from European football’s governing body after failing to have a six-year ban from football overturned. Blatter, 80, is still waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Valcke, 55, was given a 12-year ban from football in February for his alleged involvement in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets. Kattner joined FIFA in 2003 as director of finance, becoming deputy secretary general in 2007.

Italy coach drops, Giovinco out Euro 2016 squad

LS duo Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco have both been omitted from Antonio Conte’s provisional Italy squad for Euro 2016. Both were left out of the training camp last week due to commitments with New York City and Toronto, and despite claims from both over the weekend that a spot at the finals was still possible, neither have been included in the 30-man group. Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo and Sunderland’s Fabio Borini, who were both called up last week, have also been cut, though rising Torino star Marco Benassi has retained his place as part of a midfield shorn of the injured Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti. Juventus veterans including Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, along with Manchester United’s Matteo Darmian and Paris SaintGermain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, will link up with the squad after sitting out last week’s camp due to domestic cup final commitments.

Wawrinka survives first round scare D

efending champion Stanislas Wawrinka completed a stirring comeback in the first round at the French Open tennis tournament on Monday, battling past Lukas Rosol 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Rosol was looking to make Wawrinka the first defending men’s singles champion to lose in the first round at Roland Garros, but the Swiss fought back hard to claim victory in three hours and 11 minutes on a cold and wet day. The start of play was delayed for more than three hours due to rain. In their third meeting this year, the Czech broke for a 3-2 lead be-

fore going on to seal the opener against Wawrinka. Wawrinka looked to be back on track when he raced through the second set to level the match, but Rosol again took an early lead in the third set and did not allow Wawrinka back in contention as he assumed a twosets-to-one lead. Eighth seed Milos Raonic made a strong start to his campaign, dismissing Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5). The Canadian hit 41 winners and converted four of his 15 break points to defeat Tipsarevic, who was playing just his second tour-level match since the 2015 US Open after being sidelined through foot and knee injuries.

Wawrinka

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Still on David Cameron’s comments Adewale Kupoluyi

xpectedly, people should react to what can best be described as glib talk by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has tagged both Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt” nations, during a video conversation he had with Queen Elizabeth of England. The Prime Minister was talking about the anti-corruption summit, which was recently held in London that took place at Buckingham Palace, to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday. No doubt, Cameron’s statement can be said to be both true and false. True in the sense that Nigeria is noted to be a top country when it comes to being corruption and impunity, at least, borrowing from the recent statistics, which indicated that Afghanistan was ranked at 167, ahead of only Somalia and North Korea, in Transparency International’s 2015 corruption perception index in which our dear country, Nigeria was 136th! But false in the sense that concerted efforts are being made to put the country on the right track. This, the British authorities cannot claim ignorance. Therefore, his allegation cannot be said to be truly sincere going by the context in which it was made. No wonder that after Mr. Cameron made his costly comments, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was said to have interjected by saying: “But this particular President (Muhammadu Buhari) is not corrupt … he’s trying very hard.” It is unfortunate that Nigeria has found itself in this mess. Over the years, our leaders have milked the nation dry in great proportions. What this simply means is that what should be the commonwealth has ended up in the pockets of the very few elite at the great expense of the multitude, who daily die as a result of the perilous situation they have been subjected to by our leaders. Not only do we find ourselves in this unfortunate circumstance. Stolen wealth of the nation have been domiciled in foreign lands with the hope it would serve as the save haven made possible by the various legislation in these countries that encourage stolen monies to be safely kept. Cameron cannot claim ignorance of this reality. To say the least, our British friends have remained accomplices in the crime over the years. This was the editorial of The Guardian of the United Kingdom titled, “The Guardian View on Corruption: David Cameron Should Look Closer to Home”, which observed has that the British system makes it possible to “hide their ill-gotten gains in your luxury homes, department stores, car dealerships, private schools and anywhere else that will accept their cash with no questions asked. The role of London’s property market as vessels to conceal stolen wealth has

President Buhari with Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S Secretary of States John Kerry, at the Opening Plenary of the Anti Corruption Summit at the Lancaster House, London, United Kingdom... recently

been exposed in court documents, reports, documentaries and more.” It well respected publication stated further that “the president of the Nigerian senate, Bukola Saraki, currently facing allegations that he failed to declare his assets, owns a property in London’s Belgravia in his own name. But last month’s Panama Papers revealed that the £5.7m property next door is owned by companies incorporated in the Seychelles and British Virgin Islands, whose respective shareholders are Saraki’s wife and former special assistant. And a £1.65m townhouse in Kensington is shown as belonging to a BVI company whose sole shareholder is Folorunsho Coker, former head of the number plate production authority of the state of Lagos and currently business adviser to the governor of Lagos. None of these individuals may have done anything wrong, but the charge from those campaigners is hard to duck. Under successive governments, from Thatcher to Blair to Cameron, London has become the financial centre for the world’s dirty money”. That is why it is not too surprising that the response given by President Buhari seems to be impressive. Afterall, the man knows what is happening in Nigeria. Buhari, who spoke briefly with Sky News after he delivered his keynote address at the Commonwealth event tagged, “Tackling Corruption Together: A Conference for Civil Society, Business and Government Leaders”, said he would not demand an apology from Cameron for describing Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country. Rather, Buhari had said all he would demand from Cameron was the return of Nigeria’s stolen assets. That is what we certainly need for now and not any

apology. It is sheer distraction. Let the monies be repatriated and injected into our comatose economy. Not only that, we should ensure that the existing framework that makes it possible to loot the economy with ease is redressed. From all that have transpired, what one can comfortably say that the Cameron’s statement was reckless, purely political and was meant to discredit the integrity of Nigeria, perhaps, to score cheap credit before the Queen, as it was not necessary at all to have passed such a statement in the first instance. Silence could be golden at times. Rather, what the United Kingdom should do to help the Nigeria is to: Firstly, stop receiving stolen money from Nigerians. When it simple logic that conversion is promoted when there is a reliable custody to hide stolen resources. Secondly, help repatriate the looted funds that are stashed away in the British economy. Rather than feeding fat on the looted funds from other nations, usually developing countries, the colonial masters should evolve strategies that would do-away with dirty monies from their economies. Thirdly, support the government in its anti-graft war. One of the simplest way of doing this is to present correct facts and figures about the nation to the international community, not falsehood and half-truths. We do not need to argue that many Nigerians are people of high integrity and accomplishments in all ramifications. Many scientists, business executives, students, researchers and academics are known to be excelling in several parts of the world. Cameron cannot claim ignorance of the giant strides being made by Nigerian scholars living in the United Kingdom. That is why his recent

is certainly not be a true reflection of what Nigeria and Nigerians stand for, not minding the few ones that have given our nation a bad name. And my last word for the imperialists: Stop being an accomplice to receiving and harbouring resources and owners of stolen wealth. Simple! •Kupoluyi writes from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, adewalekupoluyi@yahoo.co.uk, @adewalekupoluyi

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