Tuesday, may 26, 2015 binder1 by Newtelegraphonline

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Vol. 2 No. 461

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

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N150

FCT minister, Bala Mohammed, Ribadu battle for PDP chair }6

Telcom operators may hike tariff Kunle Azeez

he last may not have been heard about the impact the lingering shortage of petroleum products has on telecoms service delivery as

telecoms operators are considering a secret hike in tariff for subscribers using the over 142.5 million telephone lines in the country. New Telegraph gathered that the ‘secret’ tariff hike followed

the telecoms operators’ lamentation at the weekend over the acute shortage of diesel, which they said could impair service delivery. The operators, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and

Etisalat, had issued statements at the weekend, saying that the lingering fuel scarcity is making it difficult for them to run their operations effectively towards delivering high quality CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

NEW TELEGR

APH TUESDA Y, MAY 26,

Stewardship

2015

NUC has jailed operators — two illegal varsities’ Spokesman

Transplantatio

Open varsity don canvas ses establishmen t of organ bank

Education 27

AGENDA

Stakeholder s in education sectorthe agenda for the have set incoming administrati on hope will refocuwhich they s the sector

and politic the countr al transformation y, of players in key stakeholders and the sector, said country’s educat ion Buhari-led these are the issues resolve in administration would the order to returnnext four years in the system past glory to its . fforts, resour Setting an ces and agenda for time invest hari-led admin the Buand state ed at federal tional Presid istration, the Nalevels in fixing ent of the the educat Union Nigeri of Teachers ion sector, bring it out and (NUT), Com-a rade Micha of its woods last two decade in said the firstel Alogba-Olukoya, s have failedthe marshal the government port of call for to country on the of educat the path ion funds to educatis to devote more formation. recovery and transion sector to address in order the Despite more underfunding vexed issue of acute trillion spent than N3 trillion stagnating tor. the sec2015 to restru between 1999 and He, therefo cture the construct re, urged the ment to accord dilapidated sector, regovern provide and structures, the develo of Inform train quality pment ation Comm ers, as to provid teachTechnology unication e well as adequa facilities, (ICT) top priorit the schem the nation te y in e ’s sector is ment, whileof education develo still in its education pwobbling lowest ebb, tional educat technical and vocaand fumbl the dearth ing due to be given a ion sub-sector should boost. infrastructuof facilities, decaye d Expectedly mersault, re, and policy sumwho insiste , Alogba-Olukoya, as tinuity in well as lack of conistration d that the new admin governance Buhari should introd political will and the educat uce ion policy government on the part of the at federal free also made level, a case for the system to tackle the rot the establi ment of Educa in headlo shMeanwhile, ng. tion Bank care of the needs of studen to take deviled, among the sector is bepoor socio-e other challen by shorta conomic backgrts from ges, ge of qualifi Piqued by ound. ers, poor my betwee the nagging dichot quality of ed teachn polytechnic ostandard, versity produ dearth of academic and uniequipment, laboratory cts, the Secretary chemicals , Lagos State Executive agents, functio and reand Vocati Technical nal librari onal failure in es, mass Education (LASTVEB), the Board tificate ExamiSenior School CerMr. Antho mi Gaspe r, an engine ny Olawucessant strikesnation (SSCE), infor the scrapp er, has called children by the worke inadequate still sit rs, tional Diploming of the Higher ers’ remun funding, poor teach- for lack of facilition dusty floors a (HND) certific Naeration, exami Instead es cive and ate. learning enviro , the polytec condumalpractice, nation be limited hnics should confronting to award ited admiss insecurity and lim- some learn under nment, while the sector, trees and ries of summ for lack through se- Diploma (ND) but the National institutions.ion spaces in tertiar sheds its held at also upgrad y some of classroom faciliti and federa the state to award Bachelor ed states. es in Apart from l in Technology (B.Tech), the system levels aimed at movin With this damni even as over the years these, the sector no fruitfu forward, have yieldedg tor of the Lagos the former Recby the dichot has been stagnated downward trend ng posture and l results as State Polyte noted that in the sector, mendations incoming their chnic Buhari’s admin nation betweeomy and discrim either ended recom- should i- hamad administration of the istration n polyte shelves, jettiso focus its energy on the university Muhu ned or worst addres graduates, chnic and on May Buhari, when sworn on did not see congestion, classroom 29, has a hercul still failure s the problem of how to -in the massive ean task to To stakeh light of the day. record ities and lowlack of research facil- face in its manda ed yearly be te to fix mentation olders, the non-imple- country in the in the next the well as obsoleresearch outputs, four years. the sector tificate Exami Senior School Ceras te tions and of the recommenda The acute It is, howev libraries. nation (SSCE other genuin underf ...The Accord unding of er, worris on the part incoming ). e motives ing ome that sector, in which the the of the govern ment should to him, the govern toward policy government in the last administra 16 formulationment torate divisiostrengthen the inspec tion implemsentatio aside 26 per years is unable to n in the school and tem, set of Muhhamad ministration n by successive in order to budget on cent of the nation sysadu istries al enhan s and educat mended by education as recom ion min- and learning proces ce teaching Buhari, when , are s. Gasper, who in the quest the bane of the sector Scientific, the United Nation ’s Educational to sworn-in on ment to amend urged the govern tural Organ For Buhar foster development and the isation (UNES Culmake any i’s administration . cation Trust Fund Tertiary Eduas well as May 29, has CO), the meaningful to withou (TETFund) a the next four try to meet failure of the count furthe impac Act Herculean task years, especi t in that it should r delay and stresse kayode olanr the educat Education the 2015 target of the ally incorp ion sector, in For ewaju orate technid need for mained other All (EFA) goals, there is the cal colleges, said EDITOr, EDUCAT to face... the remajor kayode olanrewa ION above party government to rise had long becomsuch amendment the actual ization of setbacks to e consid necess newtelegraphonlin ju@ promo eration the countr point an experi quest for educat ary to te technical e.com y’s and enced hand to ap- education technocrat logical emanc ional and techno for employ vocational © Daily Telegrap and a as Education ipation. ment genera h Publishin Specifically It is also minister. tion and to drive entrep g Company education. reneurship Limited plorable state worried over the spite efforts unfortunate that dedeat finding On the incess cation system of the nation’s edulutions to the myriad lasting soant strikes to raise the and the urgent need disruption of school of problems and system tal banne sector’s developmen- various worke r and positio rs’ unions by the who urged active role n the unions , Gasper, in the socio-eit to play to redirec conomic t

Kayode olanre waju

Agenda for Buhari’s EIGHT adminpages istration of EDUCATION

}23

Fuel crisis: Fed Govt, marketers strike deal CONTIN UED

ON PAGE 27

lDealers begin lifting of commodity as workers end strike

Quick Read

Editorial

Fuelling state of emergency }19

Fayose, 19 APC lawmakers }7 meet to end rift

A cross-section of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) workers, protesting the brutalisation of their member by some Nigerian Air Force personnel at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos…yesterday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Buhari to govs: You can't choose ministers for me }4

TUESDAY, May 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SPECIALonREPORT The 8th Senate’s Fresh Generation Godswill Akpabio

Aliyu Wamakko

Jonah David Jang

Stella Adaeze Oduah

Samuel Egwu

Rabiu Kwankwaso

Theodore Orji

Mao Ohuabunwa

Uche Lilian Ekwunife

Buruji Kashamu

Jeremiah Useni

Abubakar Kyari

Ben Murray Bruce

Peter Nwaoboshi

Biodun Olujimi

Dino Melaye

Monsurat Sunmonu

Bayero Usman Nafada

Bala ibn Na’Allah

Isiaka A. Adeleke

Abubakar Danladi

Adeola Olamilekan

Binta Masi Garba

Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim

Mustapha Bukar

Duro Samuel Faseyi

Fatimat O. Raji-Rasaki

Shehu Sani

Mustapha Bukar

Philip Aruwa I Gyunka

Buhari Abdulfatai

Suleiman O. Hunkuyi

Osinakachukwu Ideozu

Danjuma La’ah

Bassey Albert Akpan

Olanrewaju Tejuoso

Mohammed A. Ohiare

Nelson Asuquo Effiong

Achonu A. Nneji

Sabo Mohammed

David Umaru

Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi

Barau I Jibrin

Nnaemeka Anyanwu

Clifford A. Ordia

John Enoh Owan

Mathew A. Urhoghide

Utazi Godfrey Chukwuka

Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi

Gbolahan Dada

Abdul-Aziz M. Nyako

Francis A. Alimikhena

Olaka Johnson Nwogu

Ogba Joseph Obinna

Tijjani Yahaya Kaura

Donald Alasoadura

Rose Okoji Oko

Yele Omogunwa

Ogola Foster

Gershom H. Bassey

Suleiman M. Nazif

Malam Ali Wakili

Abdullahi A. Gumel

Marafa Bashir Abba

Yahaya Abdullahi

Abdulrahman Abubakar

Salihu Hussain Egye

Mohammed Garba

Ighoyota Amori

Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi

Ahmadu Abubakar

Mohammed Hasan

Isah Hamma Misau

Ibrahim Abdullahi

Muhammad Ubali Shitu

On June 4, 2015, the eighth Senate of the National Assembly will be inaugurated. Of the 109 Senators who will be taking their seats, 75, representing 68 per cent will be fresh in the upper chamber. Who are these fresh Senators? What are their backgrounds and antecedents? What quality of debate and contributions are we likely to see from them? These and more will be the kernel of a special report by New Telegraph on that day. The report presents a unique opportunity for family, friends and associates of these fresh Senators to felicitate with them. For enquiries and participation: Call Biodun: 0802-301-5582, Taiwo: 0803-304-2915, Onwuka: 0803-733-9843, David: 0810-759-1663

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, May 26, 2015

News

TUESDAY, May 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fuel crisis: FG, marketers strike deal Adeola Yusuf, Tony Chukwunyem and Chukwu David

espite is underway for Nigerians as all key stakeholders in the petroleum industry have entered into an

agreement with the Federal Government to end the current energy crisis. The truce, between the Federal Government and the striking operators in the industry, was achieved yesterday in Abuja after a closed-door meeting convened by the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum

Resources (Upstream and Downstream). Following the agreement, the various striking unions in the oil sector said they had called off the strike and assured Nigerians that the oil marketers had agreed to commence oil lifting within six hours from the time of resolving

the impasse. Those who attended the meeting in response to the Senate summon included the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Major Oil Marketers' Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigeria National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Pipeline Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

Wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio (left) and wife of the Governor-elect, Mrs Martha Udom, during a special service by women for the governor's wife in Uyo...weekend.

Buhari to govs: You can't choose ministers for me Donald Ojogo and Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

he President-elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, has reiterated his position that no governor will be allowed to decide for him members of his cabinet. A source at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the President-elect had passed the message to the national leadership of the party for onward communication to the governors. Buhari was said to have questioned the rationale for the governors to choose ministers for him, when he will not choose commissioners for them. According to the source, the President-elect feels so strong that he needs a free hand to run a government without the distraction of having aides whose loyalty is more to their sponsors than his administration. The source added that the APC is trying to structure itself like that of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) where the appointment of ministers was done by the national leadership of the party. The source also stated

that Buhari was not happy that some APC states could not pay salaries despite collecting funds from the Federation Account. However, it was learnt that the stance of Buhari on the composition of his cabinet has continued to generate ripples among APC leadership. Most disturbed are governors elected on the platform of the party, New Telegraph learnt. Three weeks ago, media reports had hinted that Buhari rejected a list of proposed ministers from the APC governors when they paid a solidarity visit to him. The visit was to formally seek the assistance of the incoming federal administration on how states could get bailout to cushion the effects of the financial crisis that has hit them. Although the leadership of the APC had played down the report, concern among the governors and a section of the party leadership became heightened on Sunday as the President-elect reiterated this position in an interview with a national daily. A member of the APC’s transition team who spoke on condition of anonymity said the interview

“troubled most leaders and all the governors of the party.” He said some of the governors had made efforts to reach those they considered as ‘close enough to the President-elect’ to reconsider his stance. “Well, we all thought it was one of the speculative media reports when it was reported that the President-elect rejected a list of proposed ministers from the APC governors when they visited him. “But I can tell you that this is now real; the man has come out clearly to say it in the interview he granted over the weekend before travelling out to London. This is really a bombshell because no one expected such in the party; not even leaders of the party expected this to come before May 29. “As at now that I am talking to you, most of the state governors, I mean those elected on the APC platform, are seriously disturbed and are reaching out to those who they consider as close enough to the man (Buhari) to reconsider his stance on the matter. “The worst of all is that, already, there is suspicion among the outgoing governors and the incoming

ones that perhaps, the outgoing governors may have sold the idea to the President-elect; and this is a possibility because some of the outgoing governors, especially those from PDP, know how powerful they were and how they held the outgoing president hostage. “So, it is possible that the General’s stance may have some links with the thinking that governors under the incoming dispensation should just run their states and leave the president to run the Federal Government, including making federal appointments,” he said. APC’s spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Buhari’s spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, both referred our correspondent to the interview granted by the President-elect, indicating that it was explicit enough. Mohammed said: “If you want to know what the President-elect said, please go and read the interview in the paper. You can interpret it correctly to suit your purpose; the interview (published on Sunday) is clear.” In the interview, Buhari gave indications that the nature of his cabinet was confidential to him while

adding that his style will be different from that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He said: ''I am not just speaking about it; I have not put anything on paper. So, nobody has seen it and I haven’t discussed it with anybody. I am just keeping it close to my chest. I have been around long enough to know people that I can approach for things like that. ''The type of people I am supposed to appoint, like in the cabinet and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and service chiefs will be different from how the PDP appointed its. Definitely, the system is going to be different from what we had under the PDP where governors nominated ministers. “Previously, ministers were appointed from the political class, especially during the PDP era, where the governors would say this is my favourite candidate, he is representing my state and when he is in the cabinet he is the eye of the governor representing the opinions of the governor. Are we going to have that or are we going to see a system that will focus on only those who are going to work?”

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream Sector), Senator Magnus Abe, who presided over the meeting, announced the resolutions reached at the indoor session that lasted for 25 minutes. He also expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders for cooperating with the Senate in resolving the fuel crisis that has grounded the economy. He said: "I'm glad to announce to all of us that we have been able to reach some understanding that we believe will bring immediate solution to the immediate problems in the supply and distribution of products nationwide. I also want to thank the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Joseph Dawha, for his determined intervention with the unions within the NNPC that also resulted in a solution to the problems of the strike in the NNPC just in the course of our meeting right now. "So, as we speak now, we have clear information that NUPENG and PENGASAN strike has been called off following the intervention of the GMD of NNPC." Abe said in resolving the crisis, the stakeholders had agreed that Okonjo-Iweala would give an undertaking to major marketers and the PPPRA that the work of the committee set up to verify outstanding claims would be concluded. "If it is concluded before the end of the life of this administration, it will be reflected in the handover note. If it is not concluded before the end of the life of this administration, then the fact that such a committee is set up and working will be reflected in the handover note and a copy of the letter conveying the existence of this committee will be sent to MOMAN and DAPPMA and also to this committee. So, on the basis of that agreement, MOMAN will offer whatever cooperation that is needed to enable lifting of products nationwide to begin within the next six hours," he added. According to him, MOMAN has agreed to give a similar undertaking to NARTO to pay existing transport cost as have been determined by them, especially the portion that has been agreed by them to be paid. He said MOMAN would give the written undertaking to NARTO and a copy would also be sent to his committee while NARTO and its members and affiliates nationwide would comCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

News

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, May 26, 2015

S'Court gives Jonathan, N'Assembly deadline to settle constitution amendment dispute Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

he Supreme Court yesterday gave President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly 48 hours to settle their disagreement over the process for amending the 1999 Constitution. The seven-man panel of the court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, asked counsel in the matter to settle out of court. It adjourned till tomorrow for report of the settlement. At the resumption of the hearing yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff and the Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), failed to substitute the plaintiff from the AGF to Jonathan. Ojo had earlier filed an application seeking for substitution. He anchored the application filed on May 20, 2015 on the provisions of Order 3, Rules 1, 14 and 15 of the Supreme Court Rules and Order 17, Rules 1 and 2 as well as Order 9 Rule 2 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules. As soon as he moved the motion, the court faulted it on the grounds that Ojo ought to have filed an

entirely fresh suit in the name of the president as the plaintiff instead of filing an application for the substitution of the AGF. The court also said there was no way it could grant the second prayer in the application which sought an order amending all the processes in the suit to reflect the president as the new plaintiff. The CJN explained that such an order could not be

granted in view of the fact that the court lacked the power to amend the supporting affidavit, which was one of the processes being referred to by Ojo. But Ojo argued that his application for the substitution of the plaintiff was allowed within the rules of court, adding that the issue of substitution of the plaintiff is a bridge that needs to be crossed before amending the af-

fidavit filed in support of the originating summons. It was at this point that the CJN called on counsel to endeavour to settle the matter out of court. Both Ojo and counsel to the National Assembly, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), then agreed to initiate a settlement talk between the parties. Ojo, however, withdrew his application for the substitution of the plaintiff's

name. The court, therefore, struck out the plaintiff's motion and then adjourned till Wednesday for report of settlement. In his short ruling, the CJN said: "I must emphasize that all the senior counsel in this matter must put heads together for the amicable settlement of this matter." Jonathan had gone to court after he refused to

assent to the fourth alteration bill on the grounds of the alleged failure of the National Assembly to fulfill the mandatory requirement for the passage of the bill. The AGF, on behalf of the president, had filed the suit to challenge the passage of the bill by the National Assembly following a threat by the legislators to override the president's veto.

L-R: Regional Director, West and Central Africa, Amnesty International, Alioune Tine; Researcher, Sabrina Mahtani and Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu during a courtesy visit to Ekweremadu in Abujaâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday.

Fuel dealers begin lifting of commodity as workers end strike CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

mence lifting of products from all available depots within the next six hours. "DAPPMA is to instruct all their depots that have products to open those depots for lifting of fuel. Lifting must commence within the next six hours. We have also agreed with DPR that any depot that has product and failed to begin lifting within the next six hours should have its licence revoked immediately in the national interest. "NARTO has complained about two roads that are critical to their operations and that have made lifting of products nationwide difficult if not impossible. That is the Eleme Junction in Port Harcourt leading to the Port Harcourt Refinery - about 11 kilometres - and the Ilorin-Olorunjegba Road in Kwara State, which is the only link between the North and the South-West, particularly Lagos where these products are available at this time. "We have agreed that MOMAN will discuss this

with their members with a view to looking for a permanent solution to those places and if need be take up the matter with government. But a joint team of MOMAN and NARTO officials will go around the country to address the drivers and other stakeholders on this understanding. "We have also agreed that NNPC is to direct all relevant staff at all depots to work 24 hours, including Saturdays and Sundays for the next two weeks until normalcy returns to the sector. "We have also agreed to reach out to the Lagos State Government to facilitate this agreement and reach some kind of arrangement with the tanker drivers that will allow access to the relevant depots to enable the lifting of products to commence," Abe stated. However, before the Senate and the stakeholders from the oil industry went for the closed-door meeting, Okonjo-Iweala, who was embittered by the seeming sabotage by

operators of the sector, explained how the Federal Government had been committed to making sure that the crisis was averted. She said: "I'd like to put on the table that we have made very good effort to keep up with payments for the marketers. And I have the numbers. Between 2014 and 2015 we have paid a total of N762 billion. Since December, we have paid about N500 billion which is the number that have been quoting. This year, 2015 we have paid N192 billion. If you look at the pattern of payments we have made in previous years, this is no different. It's not like this year we are doing anything different. In fact, this year has been the opposite. We have already paid N191 billion this year. There is also provision for foreign exchange and interest rate differentials and a profit margin even for the marketers." The Senate had last week Thursday through a motion moved by the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi (PDP Bau-

chi Central) , ordered its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), to investigate reasons responsible for the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, and report back to the chamber today. Investigations by New Telegraph have revealed that members of MOMAN such as Mobil Producing, Total, Oando and Conoil have commenced lifting of petroleum products. A source said the fuel trading companies had begun lifting of the products with immediate effect. "Activities have resumed at most of the loading gantries and depots in Apapa fully. Marketers and workers unions in the oil and gas sector have also received correspondence on this. We have all been fully briefed about this development," the source said. The acute shortage of petroleum products, which began about three months ago, worsened at the weekend, throwing the economy into convulsion.

The fuel crisis, which shot up the price of petrol from N87 per litre to as much as N500 per litre, especially in Lagos, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic capital, has taken a heavy toll on both individuals and organisations. The fuel crisis has forced many organisations to render skeletal services as they lacked diesel to power their generating sets. For example, some banks announced that they were shortening opening hours beginning from yesterday due to a lack of fuel. The first such notice was issued by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) early in the morning via a statement on Twitter. The bank said due to the fuel crisis, its branches nationwide would close at 1pm instead of at 4pm. Access Bank, Union Bank, First Bank and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) also sent a similar message to their customers, announcing that they would close early due to the fuel crisis.

A bank customer, who introduced himself as Segun, told the New Telegraph that apart from the suddenness of the announcement of the early closing time, the timing was also quite bad as it happened on a Monday when people had run out of money after the weekend expenses and would besiege banks to make withdrawals. However, a source in the banking industry said the banks should not be blamed for the decision to shorten their opening hours as it was a proactive measure to protect staff and equipment in case the fuel crisis resulted in a breakdown of law and order. The early closing by the banks came on the heels of statements at the weekend by major telecoms operators such as MTN, Airtel and Etisalat announcing that the fuel crisis was impacting their services and could lead to a shutdown of their networks if no fuel supply was found for generators to power base stations and switches.

News

TUESDAY, May 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FCT minister, Ribadu battle for PDP chair Ayodele Ojo

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commenced the process of producing its national chairman following the resignation of Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu. A source told New Telegraph at the weekend that two candidates have emerged for the office. They are the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. The source, however, added that the selection process might take about two months to complete. Mu'azu resigned last Wednesday in the wake of calls by governors and party stakeholders who had called for his removal for leading the party to its worst electoral outing in 16 years. The presidency is pushing for the candidacy of Mohammed, who is from Bauchi State where Mu'azu hails from. Some vested interests in the party are, however, rooting for Ribadu on the

strength of his credibility. Ribadu is from Adamawa State from where he contested the April 11 governorship that he lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Jibrilla Bindow. Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Mohammed Wakil; former Special Adviser (Political Matters) to President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak and onetime PDP National Administrative Secretary, Alhaji Habu Fari, have also indicated interest in the office. "No doubt, the selection process has commenced. As someone in the know,

the choice before the party for the national chairmanship is between Ribadu and Mohammed. They are some of our best. "President Goodluck Jonathan and some of his associates lean towards the FCT minister. But some influential party members feel Ribadu is a good choice. The former anti-corruption czar has credibility at home and abroad. "At a time when PDP has been turned into a bazaar, we need credible people like Ribadu. These days, you pay to get party tickets. But those against his choice say he has no

political value at a time the fortunes of the party have moved from being a ruling party to an opposition party. Someone who was beaten to a third place in a governorship poll in his state may not have the needed clout. "So, the choice is between Ribadu and Mohammed," a senior member of the party told New Telegraph. New Telegraph learnt that Jonathan and other party leaders have retained the national chairmanship in the North-East. The zone is yet to complete the four-year tenure allotted to it as Bamanga

Tukur and Mu'azu failed to complete their tenures before their exit. Speaking on the interest of the minister in the PDP national chairmanship, his Special Adviser on Media, Nosike Ogbuenyi, said Mohammed would not shy away from rendering service in whatever capacity. He said: “The minister is first of all a committed Nigerian. Secondly, he is a committed member of the PDP. He is not angling for any position. But if Nigerians who are members of his own party ask him to perform any assignment that agrees with national interest and the interest

of the PDP, he will not shy from it. “To that extent, anything he does or accepts to do will be guided by the principle of service to the Nigerian people, no matter the capacity, whether as a minister or any position.” Ogbuenyi stated that the minister believed in the philosophy, manifesto and programme behind the PDP. “He has no plan whatsoever to distance himself from the party, irrespective of the current challenges. He also believes that the current challenges facing the party are surmountable,” he added.

TODAY’S WEATHER FORECAST LAGOS

ABUJA

PORT HARCOURT

KANO

ENUGU

IBADAN

CALABAR

MAIDUGURI

ONITSHA

31o C 26oC Thunder Storms

34oC 24oC Partially Cloudy

24oC 19oC Storm

43oC 26oC Mostly Sunny

33o C 23oC Thunder Storms

30oC 24oC Storm

29oC 23oC Storm

43oC 26oC Mostly Sunny

32o C 23oC Thunder Storms

L-R: Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Saleh Dunoma; Chief Regional Marketing Officer, Globacom, Mr. Ashok Israni; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello; Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Coordinator, Business Solution, Globacom, Mr. Ike Oraekwuolu, at the launch of Glo FAAN High Speed Wi-Fi at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos…yesterday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Manufacturers protest CBN's bid to disburse N300bn loan facility Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and some members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) are on warpath over the alleged shady management of the N300 billion Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) put in place last year by the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan had authorised the disbursement of the facility to key manufacturing firms as a way of boosting productivity, creating jobs and stimulating the economy. In line with the policy, the CBN had, in December 2014, invited applications from manufacturers, detailing the modalities for accessing the fund. A memorandum sent from the office of the Director, Development Fi-

nance Department, CBN read in part: “The Central Bank of Nigeria, as part of the efforts to unlock the potential of the real sector to engender output growth, value added productivity and job creation, has established a N300 billion Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF). The facility will be used to support large enterprises for start-ups and expansion and financing needs of N500 million up to a maximum of N10 billion. The real sector activities targeted by the facility are manufacturing, agricultural value chain and selected service subsectors.” According to the memorandum, every beneficiary of the facility is expected to pay back in 15 years and is required to get its bank to guarantee the loans in the event of any default. However, some manufacturers yesterday alleged that the CBN, without communicating the applicants,

later created an additional condition that firms that benefitted from similar facilities in the past would be excluded from the loan. A group of manufacturers who felt aggrieved by the change in the policy direction told New Telegraph that the extra guidelines allegedly smuggled into the scheme was a sinister plot by the apex bank to disqualify them from accessing the credit facility. The aggrieved manufacturers said they had applied for the fund based on the original guidelines where each of them was expected to get N30 billion as support to boost production in the real sector. They added that whereas the genuine companies that applied for the facility have satisfied the conditions, their names are not on the final list for the disbursement expected to take place this week. They expressed fears that the list the CBN has

and intends to use in the disbursement of the facility will be fraudulent and will not serve the interest of the manufacturing sector of the economy. “This week, we got inside information from the CBN that the bank has perfected a list of 30 companies identified as manufacturers but with no known manufacturing outfit anywhere as the beneficiaries. In fact, we got calls over the weekend that the Development Finance Department of the CBN summoned all the workers to be on duty on Saturday and Sunday, which is unusual. The person in charge that had the file of the applications from the banks guaranteeing the manufacturers, removed all the genuine applications from the file, compiled a fresh list and signed the approval preparatory to giving out the money on Wednesday (tomorrow). This is not proper and that is why we

are complaining. We don’t want to make our names known because that will further work against us. All we want is that the government should stop the disbursement and go through the list again," the group said. They called on President Jonathan to intervene by stopping the CBN from going ahead with the planned disbursement of the loan until a proper screening has been conducted on the final list. They warned that any attempt to sideline the real manufacturing outfits would not only amount to fraudulent diversion of the funds, but would impact negatively on the economy on the long run. Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria, Ibrahim Mu'azu, as at press time, did not respond to calls and text messages sent by our correspondent seeking clarifications on the issue.

News

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, May 26, 2015

Fayose, Omirin meet over Ekiti crisis lAPC lawmakers give terms for truce

Babatope Okeowo Akure

kiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, and feuding 19 lawmakers yesterday met over the crisis rocking the state. The lawmakers led by the embattled Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, his deputy, Tunji Orisalade, and others met with the governor for more than five hours in Akure, the Ondo State capital, over the lingering crisis in the

state, especially the plot to impeach the governor. While Fayose led the executive in the negotiation, Omirin led the legislative arm of government in the dialogue that was meant to chart a new course for the state. Both parties did not give details of the meeting to the reporters. The state lawmakers had served an impeachment notice on the governor detailing some impeachable offences against

him. The governor, however, denied that he had received any impeachment notice from the 19 lawmakers who are mainly of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Since the crisis began, the lawmakers have not been able to sit in the plenary session of the House of Assembly while efforts to resolve the crisis by prominent indigenes of the state led by Chief Afe Babalola have not yielded any positive result.

The lawmakers had severally alleged threat to their lives by the state government. However, Omirin who led other five lawmakers including Orisalade, Bunmi Orilowo, Churchill Adedipe and Gbenga Odebunmi met with the government's team led by Fayose, Dipo Anisulowo, Kola Oluwawole and Owoseni Ajayi as members. The Commissioner of Police, Mr. John James, and Director of State Se-

curity Service (SSS) were also in attendance. After more than five hours closed-door meeting, both Fayose and Omirin came out of the meeting to address the press and said they met in the overall interest of Ekiti State without giving details of the meeting. Fayose, who said he would not entertain question from reporters, said both the executive and legislative arms of government met in the interest of the state. His statement was corroborated by Omirin. Fayose said: "We don't want question. I don't know if the speaker is going to answer question. We are only going to make only one statement and that is the statement. "Today, we have met in the overall interest of our state believing that we will be able to find solution to the problems." Omirin in own reaction said: "That is exactly what we have done. Thank you." While Fayose drove out of the meeting, the lawmakers stayed behind to have another round of meeting. They, however,

declined to speak with reporters. A statement by Omirin's Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, explained that at the meeting "the governor emphasised before the lawmakers the offer of their salaries and other entitlements while the lawmakers insisted on the return to the status quo as at November 11, 2014.” Olujobi said: "The lawmakers made it clear they were ready to return to their jobs and the governor should provide atmosphere for that possibility. They asked the governor to clear the House of Assembly of thugs and create conditions that would make them do their jobs without any security threats. “They insisted that restoring the security aides of the principal officers and opening the Assembly for resumption of their legal duties should be the starting point for the restoration of peace." He said while the lawmakers made their position clear, the governor was more on payment of the lawmakers' entitlements while promising to look at what he could do on return to the status quo.

Handover notes: We're ready for Buhari's probe, says Sambo One of the supporters of Ogun East Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu's weeping at the Federal High Court, Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTOS: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Anule Emmanuel Abuja

Telcom operators may hike tariff V CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

of service (QoS) to subscribers. It was learnt that telecom consumers might be made to pay a higher tariff, if plans by some operators to begin hidden tariff hike sails through. “Beyond the threat to shut down their operations, the telecoms networks also are considering raising their tariffs,” an industry source told New Telegraph yesterday. The source, however, explained that operators would increase their tariffs by resorting to secret billing system. “What I can tell you, as far as I know, is that the operators are running the risk of high operational cost (OPEX), coupled with their high capital expenditure (CAPEX) in the face of declining Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). “So, it is either they shut down some of their operations in some locations, considered not commercially viable and

then secretly increase tariff, without subscribers knowing in areas where operators are still able to sustain services,” he said. The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operators had, last Sunday, sent SOS (Save our Soul) messages to their customers and other stakeholders in the country, complaining about the threat which the lingering shortage petroleum products supply is causing to their networks. Nigerian telecoms sector, with current investment in excess of $32 billion, has close to 30,000 telecoms base stations built by telecoms operators to provide quality service for their customers. Due to the poor public electricity supply in the country, telecoms operators support every tower site with heavy-duty power-generating sets, with some base stations, having up to two powergenerating sets. Recent independent

findings by New Telegraph revealed that telecoms operators spend an average of N20 billion on diesel monthly to run their power-dependent telecoms facilities scattered across the nooks and crannies of the country to provide services, both voice and data, for their customers. While the voice subscribers have reached over 142.5 million; official sources said there were over 80 million mobile Internet users in the country. However, the Director, Public Affairs at Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Mr. Tony Ojobo, said yesterday that the commission was yet to get any official communication either from the operators or subscribers regarding the plan for any secret billing as a result of the challenge of fuel scarcity. "We don't have any official communication on this yet. The commission

cannot react to hearsay. Until such a thing begins and we get official complaints from the subscribers or the operators write to us, we don't comment on such things that have not been officially brought to our attention," he said. The telecoms operators also denied such plans, when contacted yesterday. Head, Public Relations at Airtel, Mr. Femi Adeniran, said: "There is no such plan at Airtel. I can only speak for my company. We believe the current situation is temporary and we are working to mitigate the impact for our subscribers, not to impose another burden of increased tariff on them." Also speaking in an interview, the President, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said operators would not indulge in a hidden tariff hike; stressing that such as an action would be contrary to regulatory provision.

ice-President Namadi Sambo yesterday said that cabinet members who have served with President Goodluck Jonathan were ready to answer questions from the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari regarding handover notes. The handover notes were presented to transition committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) headed by Alhaji Ahmed Joda. Speaking at the ceremony, Sambo said the report comprises the activities of the Federal Government between 2011 and 2015. "The handover notes of the Federal Government of Nigeria of this administration between 2011 and 2015 have been properly articulated and printed. "The Permanent Secretaries of each ministry have signed each page of this report to authenticate it and it is our pleasure to present it to you and pray that it will guide you, guide the incoming administration towards the achievement of positive objectives, development and progress

of Nigeria. "And I want to add that all of us are always available, after this report between now and May 29, anytime you need to meet with us we are ready to come and sit and clarify. "All the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will also be ready to meet with you, give you any additional or clarifications that you would want to have on this report that we are presenting,” Sambo said. The vice president thanked members of the two transition committees for their support and contributions. Receiving the handover notes, Joda described the documents as comprehensive, saying his committee would examine the report before final submission to the incoming Buhari administration. "It is my honour and my privilege to receive this comprehensive set of the report from the government transition committee which was chaired by the vice president. "It appears that nothing has been left out. It is now our challenge to give careful study and examination of what is contained in these volumes,” Joda said.

News

NATIONAL

TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

PDP faults Osinbajo on $60bn debt Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the Vice-President-elect, Professor Yomi Osinbajo was not honest enough to tell Nigerians that the bulk of the $63. 7 billion debt incurred by the outgoing Federal Government was from All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled states. In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, PDP noted that Professor

Osinbajo’s statement was further attempt by the incoming APC administration to discredit the PDP. The Vice President-elect had said recently that the outgoing PDP-led Federal Government was leaving $60 billion debt for the incoming government. But PDP said it was a misrepresentation of fact. “It is indeed unfortunate that the Vice President-elect, who has the details of the debt stock chose to be economical with the truth and to mislead Nigerians just to discredit the current PDP-led

administration and rationalize APC’s unpreparedness for governance.” It stated that Professor Osinbajo was aware that the $63.7 billion is made up of external and domestic debts belonging not only to the Federal Government but to federal and state governments, which it noted accumulated since the 1960s. “Yet he deliberately misrepresented the facts to give the unsuspecting public the impression that the amount was exclusively incurred by the current Federal Government.

“Perhaps the Vice President-elect avoided the details so as not to expose the fact that the APC controlled Lagos State has both the highest external debt stock of $1,169, billion as well as the highest domestic debt stock of N278, 867 billion,” the statement said. The party said it was also on record that part of the contemporary borrowing from the domestic bond market was occasioned by the global economic and financial crisis as well as the downturn in crude oil revenue, which adversely affected other economies

of the world. PDP, however, charged the in-coming administration to desist from dwelling on excuses and prepare how to deliver on its campaign promises. The party wondered whether the APC and the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari did not know about the economic challenges caused by the dwindling oil revenues before making their bogus promises to Nigerians. “The APC must fulfil its promises for which Nigerians voted for them.

FG asks airport contractors for refund Wole Shadare

he Federal Government has ordered contractors engaged in the multi-billion naira airports remodelling project to make a refund for inability to complete most of their works. The Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, made the disclosure in Lagos yesterday at a presentation of the scorecard of his administration. He was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan on July 23, 2014 to replace Mrs Stella Oduah, who was sacked following controversy that trailed the purchase of two bullet proof cars at the cost of N255 million. He noted that immediately he assumed office, the government set up a committee to look at some of the projects he said have been abandoned. He noted that the committee has submitted its report to him, noting that the quality of job done at the aerodromes was shoddily done. Chidoka noted that aside the order that they return money for jobs that were not done, most of them have been asked to return to site to complete the projects. The Minister, penultimate month, in a paper he presented at a forum, disclosed that records available to him shows that remodeling of Nigerian airport terminal gulped $870 million (N174 billion). The Minister stated that the staggering amount was invested over the last five years in upgrading/remodelling airport infrastructure across the country. His words, “Many of the contractors are to refund money given to them for works on the airports. Quality of job was very poor and uncompleted in some places. They have been asked to return to site to complete the various airports projects.

L-R: Administrator, National Judiciary Institute (NJI), Justice Rozaline Bosimo; Director of Study, Dr. Cyprian Ajah and representative of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Samuel Onnoghon, during a workshop for judiciary officers on ethics and anti-corruption in Abuja… yesterday

Troops kill 30 suspected Boko Haram fighters Emmanuel Onani Abuja

he Defence Headquarters (DHQ), has announced the killing of about 30 suspected Boko Haram fighters by troops, after they successfully repelled an attack on Mafa, Borno State. It also disclosed that during the military operation, the soldiers found “thousands of Euro currency” on the body of a

Boko Haram commander (an Amir), who was believed to be a foreigner. A statement signed by the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Major General Chris Olukolade, said the fighters lost many equipment during the encounter, including 13 rifles and a machine gun. The statement reads: “Thousands of Euro currency was found on the body of a terrorist commander after troops suc-

cessfully repelled a terrorist on Mafa towards the border. The terrorist, who is also an Amir by status and believed to be of foreign descent, is among about 30 terrorist fighters who died in the encounter while many others fled with wounds. “The terrorists also lost a number weapons and equipment including the captured 13 rifles, a machine gun, rocket propelled grenade tubes and several other

assorted ammunition. A Toyota Bufallo vehicle was also recovered from the terrorists. Two of their armoured vehicles were also destroyed in the battle. “The only casualty on the side of own troops was a damaged equipment. Mopping up operations is ongoing in the general area. “Meanwhile, the offensive on all terrorists hideouts is continuing in many fronts.”

PDP wants pronouncement in suit against Tambuwal Tunde Oyesina Abuja

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to make a definite pronouncement on the suit it filed against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, over his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The court has, however, fixed June 8 for parties in

the suit to adopt their addresses. Tambuwal is the governor-elect of Sokoto State on the platform of the APC. PDP had earlier through its counsel, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) brought a motion ex-parte seeking for leave for an order of mandamus and injunction against Tambuwal. While granting PDP leave to commence the suit against Tambuwal, the trial judge, Justice A.R Mohammed, ordered that all the re-

spondents should be put on notice, saying they should also be served with all the relevant court processes. Cited as respondents in the suit were the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha, as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively. The plaintiff had prayed the court to compel Tambuwal, to declare himself as unfit to represent Kebbe/ Tambuwal Federal Constituency. Alternatively, PDP then urged the court to

compel the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ihedioha, to declare Tambuwal’s seat vacant. At the resumed hearing yesterday, Ahamba had prayed the court to give a definite pronouncement as it bothers on a very important issue that can determine the political state of the country. He submitted that Tambuwal will be sworn in on May 29, while Ihedioha will leave the office of the deputy speaker on June 6.

Jonathan signs anti-violence, immigration bills into law Anule Emmanuel

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday signed two bills earlier passed by the National Assembly into laws. The bills which have now become Acts include the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and the Immigration Act 2015. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati confirmed the development to State House correspondents at the presidential villa Abuja. The Senate had on May 4 passed the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 into law. The Bill was sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba. The Act seeks to prohibit female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices. It also prohibits abandonment of spouse, children and other dependents without sustenance, battery and harmful traditional practices. If the Law is strictly enforced, it would provide adequate protection for the vulnerable in the society and punish those who take advantage of them.

Kalu commiserates with Obasanjo

ormer Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu has sympathised with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the demise of his younger sister, Mrs Adunni Oluniola Eweje-Obasanjo. Mrs Eweje-Obasanjo died at a private hospital in Ota, Ogun State, at the age of 76. Kalu, who is in London, in a condolence message made available to the media said: “It is with a heavy heart and pain that I write to commiserate with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the passing away of his beloved younger sister, Mrs Adunni Eweje-Obasanjo. Losing a younger one is painful and demoralising but God knows best. “I urge you to take faith and be consoled by the fact that the deceased played her own role in this world and has gone to rest in the bosom of the Lord. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Obasanjo’s family at this sorrowful moment.”

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY MAY 26, 2015

News

NATIONAL

EFCC: Cases against former governors advancing Emmanuel Onani Abuja

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday said that the cases it has against some former state governors were advancing at different courts across the country. The Commission also gave indication that it “might” declare a former

• ‘Kalu’s trial political’ governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff “wanted”. Sherrif is yet to honour an invitation extended to him by the agency. At a media briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Head of Media and Publicity of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said that it was not true that the agency has not been able to achieve progress

against some politically exposed persons. He pointed to the convictions of former governors of Bayelsa and Edo states, Chiefs Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Lucky Igbinedion, respectively. He also maintained that the cases of alleged corruption involving some former governors,

including Prince Abubakar Audu (Kogi), Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Rev. Jolly Nyame (Taraba), and Joshua Dariye, were at various stages of trials. “The cases involving former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu; former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, former Nasarawa State governor, Akwe Doma, former Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyame are progressing in courts,

as several witnesses have been called by the prosecution. Of course, the case against Ayodele Fayose has only been temporarily halted by the fact of his re-election as Ekiti State governor. Uwajaren also alleged that the EFCC had seized some properties of former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Kalu. He said that the case was currently at the “Supreme Court where he is challenging the competence of the charge after the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that he has a case to answer. It also said that it has frozen some bank accounts belonging to the former governor. But in a reaction yesterday, a public affairs analyst, Farouk Lawan from Taraba state described Kalu’s trial as political. He advised the EFCC chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, to look for a btter way to extend his

tenure under the incoming government of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari. In a statement he signed yesterday, Lawan said the EFCC leadership was looking for what would please the new government, since the Jonathan administration was few days away from ending. He said:“With the Jonathan administration coming to a swift end in a matter of days, it is fast dawning on Lamorde, the bulky cop from Adamawa State, that his days with the Commission may be numbered, as the in-coming Muhammadu Buhari administration, may have no use for a leadership of a Commission that has not only been sleeping, more like a deep slumber, but lacks the depth and verve to carry out its duties. A leadership reeking in alleged monumental scandals of corruption and settlement behindthe- scene.

House speaker: Gbajabiamila, Dogara in endorsement war Philip Nyam Abuja Company Secretary, Heritage Banking Company Limited, Tomi Ojo (middle), with students of Pampers Private School, Lekki during the Heritage Bank Children’s Day Treasure Hunt to locate the ‘Fairy Godmothers’ in Lagos

Adoke, Giade risk jail over Kashamu’s extradition Foluso Ogunmodede

Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, and the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, for allegedly flouting a court order on the planned extradition of the Ogun East Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu. Adoke and Giade are to explain why they should not be sent to prison for allegedly disobeying the court order on the planned extradition of the embattled Kashamu.

Justice Ibrahim Buba issued a summons after hearing in chambers a committal application filed by Kashamu’s counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, over the action of the operatives of the NDLEA, who stormed the house of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain on Saturday to arrest him to fulfil a request by the United States government for his extradition. This piece of information was relay to journalists by Oluyede because the proceeding was not conducted in open court. According to the lawyer, the judge refused to grant any order releasing his client until the respondents were put on notice. Kashamu had dragged

the Inspector-General of Police and 11 others before Justice Okon Abang of the same court asking him to enforce his fundamental human right to freedom of movement. The politician accused the defendants of plotting to abduct and forcibly transport him to the US to face trial on alleged drugrelated offences. He also alleged that he had uncovered plans by the defendants doing the bidding of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to arrest him during his swearing-in as a senator and to transport him to the US in a private plane to face trial before Judge Norgle. Justice Abang has fixed tomorrow for ruling on the

matter. Earlier, before the court issued the summons, the NDLEA had alleged that Kashamu refused to surrender himself to operatives of the agency who stormed his Lagos residence this morning to convey him to court for his extradition trial. Armed officials of the NDLEA had at the weekend stormed the Lekki Phase 1, Lagos residence of the Senator-elect and cordoned his house following extradition request by the US government. Kashamu was allegedly indicted over drug-related offences in the US and was billed for arraignment at a Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday.

CJN preaches speedy dispensation of justice Tunde Oyesina Abuja

he Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday charged judges to take seriously, the quick dispensation of justice of every matter before them. The CJN gave the charge in Abuja while

declaring open a National Workshop for Judicial Officers on Judicial Ethics, Anti-Corruption and Performance Evaluation organized by the National Judicial institute, NJI. The CJN, who was represented by Justice Walter Onnoghen, stated that no Judiciary worth its calling can perform without abiding by Judicial Ethics. In her own welcome

address, the administrator of the Institute, Justice Rosemary Bozimo, noted that a hardworking Judicial Officer who has no integrity is a complete disgrace to the Judiciary. She further noted that enhanced judicial performance must involve high ethical comportment, integrity and hard work. “For this reason, Judicial Officers are enjoined

to exercise their judicial functions independently, expeditiously and diligently, on the basis of their personal assessment of the facts and in accordance with a conscientious understanding of the law, free of any extraneous influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interference, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason.

s the race for the Speaker of the House of Representatives gets to its peak, the two leading candidates, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos) and Hon. Yakubu Dogara are locked in a war of endorsement. While Gbajabiamila is claiming that 179 out of the 213 All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the House have endorsed him, Dogara has alleged that 213 members of the House have penned their names in his support. Gbajabiamila spoke through his campaign director general, Hon. James Faleke, in a statement yesterday in Abuja. Faleke said: “the Speakership Campaign Secretariat hereby confirm that

179 out of 213 APC Members-Elect in the 8th House of Representatives cutting across the six(6) geopolitical zones have so far voluntarily signed endorsement register of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as next Speaker of the House of Representatives.” ‘The entire Northern Caucus in endorsing Femi Gbajabiamila said that their endorsement is based on merit. They further hinged their support on the fact that the victory of APC apart from the good programmes of the party is based principally on the alliance of North/ South West. Since the South-West supported current Speaker, AminuWaziri Tambuwal to the end, they believe South-West deserves support of the North to produce the next Speaker in the person of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila”.

IBB, Abdulsalami seek support for Buhari Dan Atori MINNA

ormer Military President of Nigeria General Ibrahim Babangida and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, have called on Nigerians to support the incoming government led by General Muhammadu Buhari. They added that the peace enjoyed after the general elections must be sustained.

Speaking when they both paid a goodbye visit to the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu yesterday, IBB said for any government to succeed its people must support it. According to him: “I am concerned just as other Nigerians, whether during transition or not, every developing country has its own peculiar problems and there have to be a government to find solution to the problems confronting its nation.”

TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Metro Bankers steal N6m from

customer’s account for ‘ritual’

GREEDY BANKERS Two bankers fall prey to the antics of fraudsters in attempt to get commission in a fake financial transaction Taiwo Jimoh

etectives attached to the Lagos State Police Command have arrested two workers of a new generation bank who withdrew money from customer’s account for money ritual. The bankers’ shady transactions were exposed after they were defrauded by an Islamic cleric, Mubarak Abdulahi, 47, and a prophetess, Bola Ojo. Abdulahi is said to double as an Islamic cleric and a native doctor. While the female banker said she was set up and duped, Abdulahi said it was the lady who came to him for money ritual. “She said she was tired of banking work and wanted to get pregnant and rich. I asked her to pay N5.8 million. I told her that we would need to buy Camels and also use somebody with a hunch back for the materials,” Abdulahi said. According to a police source, a marketer with the bank met one Adebisi Ajibola in the bank who introduced himself to her as the aide of a renowned politician. The source said: “Ajibola told the female banker to assist him with the exchange of $30,000 (about N6 million). Ajibola asked her to bring the money to another bank to collect the naira equivalent. The banker agreed after much persuasion and the promise that she would get a reward. “The banker did not know

Camillus Nnaji

rotesting workers yesterday paralysed activities at the Federal

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun.bello@newtelegraphonline.com

Ojo

she was dealing with fraudsters. She told a male colleague about the deal since she did not have that kind of money. “The colleague she confided in withdrew the said amount from a client’s account, without

the owner’s knowledge. They both went with her to the bureau de change and changed it to $30,000. They now proceeded to the designated bank to give Ajibola the money and to collect her own.

“When she got to the bank, she called Ajibola that she was at the bank with the said amount. However, trouble started when he sent her the office address and asked her to bring the money to his office,

stressing that as politicians, it was not safe for them to move around with large sums of money. Without thinking twice, she went straight to Ajibola’s office at 28, Samson Street, Oke-Odo. “When she got there, she did not meet Ajibola, but met Abdulahi who allegedly hypnotised her. He gave her soap and prayed for her. He also collected the money from her.” According to the source, Abdulahi told her to use the soap and sponge to bathe while Bola Ojo spoke from the background as the voice of the Holy Ghost. Immediately they collected the money, they disappeared. After two hours, she ran to her colleague, to lament that she had been duped. The owner of the account had however been debited N6,036,000. The account owner called her account officer to know why the said amount was debited from her account. He assured her that all was well, that he would pay back the money in the next two to three hours. After waiting for weeks, the male banker confessed to the account owner. The angry lady immediately petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Aderanti, who then referred the case to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The female banker revealed how she met Ajibola, who is currently at large. Abdulahi, who had shut down his office and relocated to Ilogbo, Ogun State was arrested. His arrest, however, led to the arrest of Ojo, the fake prophetess. Abdulahi said: “It was my brother, Ajibola, who introduced me to the banker. She called me that she wanted to do money ritual. She came to my house in Egbeda for prayers, saying that she needed to get pregnant and also needed money to start her own business.” Abdulahi, a father of four, said the lady fell hook, line and sinker for the ruse. The prophetess, Ojo, a member of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Boluwatife Parish, located at Iyano-Ipaja, said she was paid N200,000 by Abdulahi for her role.

FAAN workers protest colleague’s battering Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Lagos. The workers, who were protesting the attack on one of their colleagues by officers of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) two weeks ago, prevented passers-by from using the complex to get to their different destinations. A witness told our correspondent that the workers barricaded the road leading in and out of FAAN head-

quarters. He said: “The protesters wanted their planned action to coincide with the Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka’s visit. The minister is attending a function in Lagos this morning (yesterday).” Our correspondent gathered that though no violence of any sort ensured, the FAAN workers were irked by the beating to stupor of Mr Mohammed Shuaibu by

officers of the Nigerian Air force, a fortnight. The NAF personnel attacked Shuaibu over parking disagreements involving his friend who had come to pick him from the airport until he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. At press time, he was still in the hospital receiving treatment for the injuries he sustained during the assault.

Shuaibu

Metro 11

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015

City Briefs Expect blackout, Lagos warns motorists Muritala Ayinla

agos State Government yesterday said that the residents would soon experience total blackout across the state, saying the streetlights would soon go off across the state if the fuel scarcity persisted. The General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, Mrs Ddamilola Ogunbiyi, who gave the warning in a statement, said the streetlights across the state would stop working due to the prevailing shortage of petroleum products. According to her, bridges, road and public facilities will be in darkness as long the fuel scarcity persists. Ogunbiyi listed areas to be affected as: Eko Bridge, Funsho Williams Avenue, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Iju Road, Akerele Street, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Murtala Mohammed Way, Ogudu Road, Fatai Atere Way and surrounding streets within Mushin, Itire Road. Others are: Awolowo Road, Falomo Bridge, Keystone Crescent, Adeyemo Alakija Street, Sanusi Fafunwa Street, Adeola Hopewell Street, Adeola Odeku, Akin Adesola, Raymond Njoku and Maduike Street. Ogunbiyi ‎ implored motorists and other road users to exercise caution especially at night to avert fatal accidents resulting from sudden blackout on the road. She said: “Due to the prevailing shortage of petroleum products in the country, this has affected the illumination of public lighting (streetlights) in the following locations within Lagos. “Lagos State Electricity Board implores motorists and other road users to exercise caution especially at night. We also warn that vehicles knocking down streetlight poles and vandalism of public lighting installations would not be condoned as security has been increased in all these locations.” Meanwhile, there are indications that the public facilities such as court houses, Lagos State Secretariat and other public buildings powered by the five Lagos Independent Power Plants (IPPS) would soon experience power outage if the petroleum shortage persists beyond this week.

Robbers kill Islamic cleric in wife, kids’ presence Taiwo Jimoh

unmen suspected to be robbers have shot dead the chief imam of a central mosque in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. The deceased, Alhaji Isiaka Koleosho, the chief imam of Onihale Central Mosque, a community in the local government, was killed in the presence of his wife and children for refusing to open his gate for the men of the underworld. The bandits, who scaled the fence of Koleosho’s house, entered his wife’s bedroom where they killed him in the presence of his family members. The gunmen were said to have also stormed the home of a school proprietor in the area. The incident, which happened recently, threw the residents of Onihale into fear, forcing some of them to relocate from the com-

munity. A resident, who identified himself simply as Tajudeen, said: “The death of the imam came to everybody in the community as a surprise. The deceased was our chief imam. But as a Muslim, his death does not stop us from using the mosque. We have resigned to fate. “When the armed robbers left the victim’s house, they went to a school proprietor’s

apartment in the neighbourhood and dispossessed him of his valuables.” Tajudeen explained that when the armed robbers got to Koleosho’s house, they ordered him to open his gate, but he refused. The bandits were forced to scale the fence into his compound. Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It was about 2am when we heard screams

Uncertainty over Nigerian, expatriates’ abduction Dominic Adewole Asaba

he abductors of three workers of OKMAS Nigeria Limited, the contracting firm handling the Patani-Oduophori Road project for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), are yet to contact the company. Neither the NDDC nor the construction firm had heard

anything about the victims, two expatriates and a Nigerian, six days after they were abducted by seven gunmen in Patani Local Government Area of Delta State. The victims were reportedly abducted last Wednesday at the construction site. The firm’s Public Relations Manager, Owhondah Ebere, gave the names of the expatriates as Sari Naser Karin, a Syrian and Tarek Maroun, a Lebanese. He identified the Nigerian

simply as Sahara. Ebere said that the abductors, all armed with AK 47 rifles and dressed in military uniform, stormed the project site and whisked away the three workers. He said: “The gunmen came in speedboats through the Sagbama creek to Agoloma-ToruApalabiri community and subsequently escaped via the same route.” The spokesman explained that it was the first recorded

Dominic Adewole Asaba

Kalu

olice in Delta State have arrested one Austine Okolorun and his gang members after a failed kidnap attempt. Other members of the gang are Ogbe Eki, Boboye Japhet, Jude Ubi, Chuka Toby, Mutena Godwin and Morrison Oghenegweke. Policemen pounced on the suspects after investigations revealed that they participated in the crime. The operational vehicle of the prime suspect, Okolorun, a Vento car with registration number AKU 942 AA, who lives on Adjaro Street, Ughelli, has been

Lagos residents protest blackout, crazy bills John Edu

he residents of Ifako/Ijaye Local Government Area of Lagos State yesterday took to the streets to protest lack of power supply and incessant crazy bills from officials of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC). The protest started about 9am, with protesters taking off from College Road and heading to IKEDC’s office at Alausa, Ikeja.

case of kidnap of staff of the company since the commencement of the project in 2013. He added that a formal complaint had been lodged with the police and the Department Security Service (DSS) headquarters in Asaba. Ebere said that the company was yet to be contacted get by the abductors, a situation which had forced workers of the company to lay down their tools at the project site.

Suspect dies in police, robbers’ gun duel

Police may auction vehicles

he Lagos State Police Command has warned owners of abandoned vehicles parked at Dopemu Police Division to remove them immediately or lose the vehicles to the public through auction, 21 days after the publication. The concerned vehicles are LT bus with registration number XN 759 KTU and Mitsubishi L300, marked XF 464 KJA.

The cleric’s house

from their apartment. They were shouting that people should come and rescue them. My mother and some other residents rushed to the cleric’s house. When they got there, they found him in a pool of blood. The matter was reported at Ifo Police Station.” He added that the community had been experiencing a surge in cases of armed robbery, adding that the Ogun State Police Command should come to their aid. The proprietor said: “I was fast asleep when the robbers entered my bedroom. They ordered me and my wife to bring out our money. I told them that we did not have enough money at home. One of them brought out a gun and pointed it at my wife. “They went into her room and took her jewellery, my money and some other valuables. It was after the robbers had gone that I got to know that they had killed the Islamic cleric.”

Some of the protesters said there had not been electricity supply in the area in the last four months. According to them, despite this officials of IKEDC have continued to give them bills. “Aside from the fact that they bring bills for power not supplied or used, the bills are on the high side,” one of the protesters said. The leader of the protesters, Olusegun Ojo, said the protest was to let the company know how bad the resi-

dents were feeling concerning the power supply issue. He said: “Ifako/Ijaye community is made up of 20 Community Development Areas (CDAs). We always look unkempt because there is no light to iron our clothes. Even the fuel we use as alternative can no longer be purchased because of the scarcity.” Ojo added that on several occasions the people had written to the company, but it had not given them any

positive response since November 2014. He said: “This is why the residents decided to embark on the protest. We want IKEDC to proffer a lasting solution to the lingering power problem. “We want the government to come to our aid. If after this protest, nothing is done to resolve the power issue, then we will not pay any bill. Officials of IKEDC should not bring any bill to us. Any attempt to disconnect power supply to our area may lead to an unpleasant situation.”

recovered. Parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Asaba yesterday, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Celestina Kalu, said one Isaac Botosa of Idundu Street, Warri, reported that his wife, Caroline Botosa, was abducted by gunmen on Idundu Street and taken to an unknown destination in her Toyota Vensa car with registration number KLK 624 HY. She said: “Sequel to the report, operatives of anti-robbery section swung into action and arrested one Austine Okolorun and also recovered his operational vehicle.” Kalu added that the victim, however, escaped from her abductors while her car has equally been recovered. The PPRO narrated how the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Owa-Oyibu received information that two gunmen were robbing a shop at 13, Old Lagos Road, Owa-Oyibu. She added: “Based on the information, Anti-Robbery Patrol Team, Owa-Oyibu, was immediately dispatched to the scene. The hoodlums on sighting the policemen opened fire on them and in the ensuing gun battle one of the hoodlums was gunned down while the other escaped.” The PPRO listed the items recovered from the suspects to include one locallymade pistol, one cut-to-size single-barrelled gun and one cartridge. She said the body of the dead suspect had been deposited at the General Hospital, Agbor, for autopsy, adding that efforts were on to arrest the fleeing suspect.

News

TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

SOUTH-WEST

Ekiti doctors suspend strike after release of abducted victims Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

octors in Ekiti State, who have been on strike for over two weeks over the abduction of some medical workers yesterday called off their industrial action, following the release of the abductees. The doctors, under the aegis of the Nige-

rian Medical Association (NMA), in a letter in Ado-Ekiti by their Chairman, Dr John Akinbote, addressed to Governor Ayo Fayose and which was made available to our correspondent, said the doctors called off their strike as their demand had been met. The letter titled ‘Suspension of nowork protest’, read in

part,”Sequel to the resolutions of our Emergency General Meeting of our noble association held today 25th of May, 2015, we hereby notify you of our decision to suspend the ongoing no-work protest which started based on the recent serial kidnappings and security situation in the state, which was initially conveyed to you in our

letters references NMA/ EK/05/032/2015 and NMA/EK/05/038/2015 dated 8th and 18th May, 2015 respectively. We are also using this medium to request for improvement and sustenance of security measures put in place in the state, while ensuring that punitive actions are put in place via the legislative and legal arms of your government to

curb the menace.” The NMA said it appreciated the efforts of Fayose to tackle the challenges. Some unknown gunmen had abducted the former Chief Medical Director of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Dr Patrick Adegun, his wife, Kikelomo, a nurse working with the Federal Teaching Hospital,

Ido-Ekiti, Mrs. Margaret Aladenika and two other nurses, whose identities were not revealed. The victims were kept in the bush for days, until they were rescued by local hunters and policemen last Saturday in the thick forest of Esure-Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.

Public service unions threaten to square-up with governors Babatope Okeowo Akure

ublic service unions under the auspices the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical And Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) yesterday asked governors of states owing workers’ salaries, to pay up or face the consequence of strikes in their states. The National President of the union, Mr. Solomon Adelegan, read the riot act in Akure, Ondo State capital at the 19th Plenary Session of the National

L-R: Brand Manager, Dettol, Oladipupo Ogundele; Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Oyo State, Dr. Babatunde Olatunji; member, Global Hygiene Council, Dr. Nneoma Idika and Vice-President 1, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Mr. Titus Ibekwe, at the 55th Annual General Conference and Delegates’ Meeting of the association in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Osun NLC declares strike Amosun dissolves cabinet Adeolu Adeyemo Osogbo

sun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday ordered workers in the state to proceed on an indefinite strike to protest against the non-payment of six months salaries. The Chairman of the union, Comrade Adekomi Jacob, who gave the directive at a press congress in Osogbo, said the sit down exercise commences as from today (Tuesday). Adekomi who accused the state government of non-payment of their contributory pension schemes, allowances, other entitlements, vowed not to call off the strike until their demands are attended to.

According to him “the indefinite strike action commences by all the workers in the state as from Tuesday 26th, 2015 due to the failure of the government to accede to our legitimate demands, as contained in our letter to the Government dated 12th may,2015.” He stated that the union had held series of meetings with the state government over the issue which he said was treated with levity and maintained that, all the entilement of the state workers are fought for before the strike could be called off. In reaction to the development, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, urged the leadership of the workers to suspend its strike for now.

Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

arely four days to his inauguration for a second term in office, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday dissolved the state executive council. Those affected by the dissolution included the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, Chief of Staff to the governor, Prof. Ganiyu Olatunde, commissioners, special advisers, consultants, senior special assistants, special assistants and personal assistants. The officials were subsequently directed to hand over to the most senior civil servant in their

respective ministries, departments and agencies. This was contained in a statement signed by Adeoluwa and made available to reporters in Abeokuta. According to the statement, the governor yesterday addressed members of the extended Executive Council inside the Council Chambers, OkeMosan, Abeokuta, thanking them for their support, cooperation and devotion to the accomplishment of his “Mission to Rebuild” the state. The statement partly read, “Amosun also commended the council members for being part of the team that laid foundation for a new state, adding that posterity will be kind to them for their hard work.”

Ruling houses kick against monarch-designate Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

hree ruling houses in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, have kicked against the choice of a new monarch for the town, saying

the monarch designate chosen by a section of the kingmakers was not from any ruling house. Briefing newsmen in Ikere-Ekiti yesterday, the ruling houses alleged that the choice of Jimi Adu,

as the Ogoga-elect was a flagrant violation of the state’s Chieftaincy Law. The three ruling houses: Akaiyejo, Agabaola and Ogbenuote, said the most important criterion a potential king must

fulfil before he could be crowned was to be a biological member of any of the royal families, alleging that the purported Ogoga-elect was never a member of these royal families.

Governing Council Meeting of the association. He said the unfulfilled daily expectations of an average Nigerian shows that, the ruling political elite have not only disappointed the masses, but also have not learnt from history. According to him, the implication of not paying salary to workers as and when due has increased poverty and widened the gap between the rich and the poor across the country. He said, “Nigeria is currently at a crossroad, this is because in the last 16 years of civilian rule, there has been leadership deficit.”

Tribunal begins hearing of petitions against Amosun Kunle Olayeni Abeokuta

he Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday began sitting on the petitions filed against the victory of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the April 11 gubernatorial poll by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mega Progressive People’s Party (MPPP). At a pre-hearing sitting held at the State High Court, Isabo, Abeokuta, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Henry Olusiyi, assured all parties of fairplay and justice. Olusiyi, who was accompanied by other members of the panel, Justices Abbazih Saddeeq and Abdullahi Usman, however, warned against time wastage. “You may not get what you desire, but we assure you that you will get what you deserve. We won’t encourage time wastage because we have time limit and we shall work strictly to that.” The PDP and its gubernatorial candidate, Prince Gboyega Isiaka had, on April 30, filed a petition before the tribunal, challenging Amosun’s victory,

which the petitioners alleged was fraught with irregularities. In its own petition, the MPPP sought the nullification of ‎Amosun’s election due to the “unlawful exclusion” of the party’s governorship candidate, Mrs. Iyabode Ogunmefun, from the election. The MPPP also prayed for an order of the tribunal directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a re-run governorship election in the state. But at the tribunal sitting yesterday, Amosun, the All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate filed a motion on notice challenging the competence of the petition brought before the panel by MPPP. The governor and his party were represented by his lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and 13 other lawyers. According to the motion signed by one Azeez Soboyejo, dated 13th May, 2015, the petitioner sought for an order dismissing and/or striking out the petition for being statute barred having been filed outside the mandatory statutory period of 21 days after the declaration of the election result.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Agenda

Anti-graft war

What Buhari must do to succeed, by Agbi

Onwe: President must be brutal with corruption

New administration

National Conference

Cut in cost of governance necessary – Bassey

Okei-Odumakin: Implementation of confab report key to growth

Politics Buhari must lead by example – Tofa Alhaji Bashir Tofa is a former presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in the botched Third Republic. In this interview with MUHAMMAD KABIR in Kano, he speaks on the expectations of Nigerians from the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, and the need to promote a new Nigeria

What do you consider as top priorities for the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, after assuming office on May 29? I think the good thing in all of these is that it is General Buhari that has been elected. The man has been on this track since 2003, working very hard to get the mandate of Nigerians and he has it now. I am sure all these years he has been thinking about all the problems that have bedevilled this country and how best to solve them. He was elected overwhelmingly and this is a serious message to him by Nigerians that they are just tired of what is happening in the country and they see Buhari as a kind of saviour. He is a very serious man who is determined to come in with a plan. I believe if General Buhari has no plan or

AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY Editor, POLITICS ayodele.ojo@newtelegraphonline.com

Tofa

didn’t even care about the problems of this country, he would not have been contesting elections in in the past. He has been doing it because he is worried about the situation of the country and he believes that he can bring about changes needed in this country. To your specific question, what is in the minds of Nigerians is the reduction in the cost of governance. In 1986, I wrote a book which is unpublished to estimate the cost of governance. At that time, the cost of governance was too high because what the executive, legislature and judiciary spent was out of what we can afford and it has been getting worse. If you look at the current budget, you will see that 70 per cent of our national budget is being spent on recurrent expenditure while only 30 per cent goes to capital expenditure. That is inefficiency on the part of government. So, the first thing Buhari

should do in my opinion is to see that all these payments made to elected and appointed officials are drastically reduced and he should start with himself, his vice and all his advisers. Their salaries, allowances and everything pertaining to cost of maintenance must be drastically reduced. If he shows that example, who else in this country can say I have to be paid what I should not be paid. So, that example alone will certainly force the legislature and the judiciary to cut their cost of service and if they fail to do it, public will cut it for them because Nigerians will not tolerate such again. That is the first thing. Second, the size of the public service must be reduced. I know people will say that will involve retrenching people but a civil servant is not more important than an ordinary Nigerian. Why would an employed person be earning so much money while Nigerians

are out in poverty? So he has to cut down the number of civil servants. And one way of doing that is to reduce the number of ministries. I don’t think there should be more than 12 ministries. Anybody can be appointed minister from the 36 states and that is what the constitution says, but it doesn’t mean you must create irrelevant positions and ministries for selfish reason. So, there are so many ways the President-elect can reduce the cost of governance and I am sure Buhari knows how to do these things and I’m sure it is foremost in his mind that some of these things must be faced squarely and drastically in the best interest of this country. How do you think Buhari should source for competent hands to work with him? Like I said, this is something CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Politics

Olu Agbi, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to Australia and Greece and a former Secretary to the old Ondo State Government, is a professor of International Relations and former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University. He speaks with BABATOPE OKEOWO on how the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari can succeed A new administration will be taking over on May 29, what is your advice to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari? General Buhari said he was going to change many things in this country and we believe that electoral reform is one of them. First and foremost, in my opinion we have the bi-cameral legislator, the Senate and House of Representatives. At the state level, we have the House of Assembly. My prediction is that he may like to make these representative positions part-time positions rather than full-time. These full-time positions create avenue for wastages in terms of salaries and allowances. We are spending too much money on Senators, House of Representatives’ members and that of the House of Assembly. If we make it parttime, it will not attract this kind of intense wrangling among people as we have it now. Only knowledgeable people will go and the country will benefit from it from that kind of part-time arrangement. The local government as the third tier of government should be looked at carefully as the local governments are mere appendages of the state governors. The state governors can manipulate them and their funds the way they like. Some people thought local government should have autonomy which I believe but unfortunately, the autonomy thing was killed by some governors and I think Buhari should look into that and allow local governments to be autonomous. Once local governments are autonomous, people of substance would now take up positions at the local governments. But the moment you realise that local governments can be manipulated by governors, people of substance would never come to contest as chairmen of local governments. What do you want the incoming President to do on the issue of corruption? That is the main trust of his administration. Honestly, that is the reason people voted for Buhari en masse. People thought that he would be able to put corruption on check because corruption at the moment is the bane of our society. Corruption has created so many problems for this country.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

What Buhari must do to succeed, by Agbi ers who depend on this so-called oil subsidy which is a way of siphoning money from government without doing anything, I think Buhari will put a stop to all that and once he does that, our refineries can easily be revamped. I don’t see why he should not.

Agbi

Our economy is almost in comatose now. The value of the Naira is nothing to write home about. In fact, nothing moves in Nigeria because of this corruption. How should it be tackled? I think he should give enough teeth to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offecnces Commission (ICPC) because if you said you want to send people to Kirikiri Prison you must identify those that must go to Kirikiri Prison. You cannot be picking people on the streets and be sending them to Kirikiri. If he arms EFCC with enough powers and they do their job very well, people will be afraid to engage in corruption. If you also give more power to ICPC, people will be afraid to engage in corruption. The judges must also be told in clear terms that they must not give horrible judgement because in some cases, corrupt people get free in the courts. These judges are parts of the problems of this country; the president must look at the judiciary very carefully otherwise this country will not move forward. What do you want Buhari to do on the issue of infrastructure? If corruption is tackled, infrastructure will take place. How can you have good infrastructure when you award N2 billion worth of road construction and N1 billion goes back to those who award the contract and you are expecting good road? It is not possible. Corruption is the problem. If there is no corruption, everybody will sit

up and the system will work itself out.

If you are talking of the oil sector, Buhari knows too much about the sector

How do you think the incoming president should handle the 2014 confab report? I supported President Goodluck Jonathan wholeheartedly last time thinking that he would accept the recommendations of the confab report. I think he has taken some steps though very late when he said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) must do something about the report. I don’t know the attitude of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to that report. But if the attitude of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and what Buhari himself said is anything to go by, one does not expect too much on this report. I don’t think honestly that Buhari may want to implement this report. But if the general public wants the report of the committee implemented, I think he will listen. I don’t see how he can say no. If he says no, that may be the undoing of his administration. People of this country will vote him out of office. What do you want the incoming administration to do in the oil sector? If you are talking of the oil sector, Buhari knows too much about the sector. He was a Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources before; Prof. Tam David-West who is one of his staunch supporters was also at the ministry before. I think they know the corruption at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which makes it difficult for our refineries to be revamped. People who call themselves independent market-

How do you suggest he should tackle the issue of unemployment? He has not really told us during his campaign what he would do on employment. But you know that unemployment in this country has become a serious social vice because unemployment now leads young people to kidnap elderly people in the society. Unemployment is degenerating to a situation where Nigeria itself may witness a very serious revolution. Unemployment is creating massive family problems. A woman who trains his children to the university level and these children do not get employment, the woman is still struggling to feed them, that kind of woman can never be happy and unemployment will cause untimely death for such parents. Buhari must think very hard to create a committee very quickly that will tackle this problem of unemployment. The first thing to do in my opinion is to create social work and all younger people to move into this public work and work for the government. It has been done before in some clime. Training and retraining is important. Not all graduates are employable but you train them, let them acquire skills; these skills would be useful to the society. Some kind of creativity must be brought into tackling the issue of unemployment. Like corruption, unemployment is the issue that is facing this country very seriously. What should be the size of his government? I have said it before that if he can persuade the National Assembly to promulgate a law which will make National Assembly part-time, if he can reduce the number of political appointees he will reduce the cost of governance. When a minister will have a special adviser, special assistant and so many personal assistants, what are they doing in his office? Absolutely nothing. If you look at the civil service itself, the president must be prepared to implement the Oronsanye Committee’s report. If he does not, he will be in trouble because Oronsanye has said some ministries must be merged. If these ministries are merged and you put one minister there, that is enough. Why must you have minister and minister of state? All these are creating financial problem. I think he can still pluck many loopholes in the system. The man has said it himself that he is going to have a tight cabinet. The outgoing government has 40 ministers, what can you achieve among 40 people? Some of them will be sleeping in office and get paid at the end of the day.

Politics 15

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Onwe: President must be brutal with corruption Senator Emmanuel Onwe is a lawyer-turned politician and critical stakeholder in Ebonyi State. He tasks the incoming President to launch an irresistible fire power against insurgency when he assumes office on May 29. UCHENNA INYA reports What should Nigerians expect from the new President in the area of electoral reform? Establishing a robust electoral system which can guarantee transparency, credibility and fairness is an urgent obligation which the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration must undertake with genuine commitment and sincerity of purpose. The current system is grossly inadequate, despite the wave of acclaim for Prof. Attahiru Jega and his team. The electoral system is still vulnerable to manipulations and blatant rigging of elections. The introduction of technology is half-hearted and its application has been shown to be ridiculously deficient and substandard. I urge the incoming President to use the next cycle of recruitments into the electoral commission as a real opportunity to populate the place with men and women of courage, integrity, fairmindedness and patriotism. He must resist the temptation or pressure to deploy card-carrying members of any political party to pollute the commission, thereby strangling any hope for impartiality and open-mindedness. While not presenting a job application on his behalf, citizens such as Eze Festus Odimegwu possess the courage, independence of mind and boldness of purpose to undertake the sort of reformations that will give Nigerians the electoral commission that will sustain and advance our limping democracy. The reforms are not in the hands of General Buhari to perform; but the duty of recruiting the patriots who can get the job done is his and he must not squander the opportunity or betray the system in order to gain electoral advantage for himself and his party. How do you want him to tackle corruption? With every legal weapon at his disposal, the institutions that would otherwise make the task easy are themselves rotting right from the core and oozing the stench of corruption. A root and branch reform of the institutions are his primary challenge and he must rise to it with a single-minded determination. And he must lead with demonstrable moral authority and forget about the legend and fairy tales swirling around him, echoing his presumed incorruptibility and frugality. For me, he must start by declaring his assets. He must “give a damn”. All his appointees to ministries, agencies and departments must also give a

damn. The former president and all his appointees must be compelled, not required, compelled, to declare their assets within 30 days of their exit from office. A committee or tribunal must be set up to examine the paperwork, do the comparisons and the arithmetic. From there, he should proceed to compel the National Assembly to make its expenditure open and transparent to the Nigerian people – every kobo appropriated and spent must be open to public scrutiny. A backward glance must be cast on the affairs and conduct of all the branches of government and their agencies in the last eight years. He must be prepared to be brutal and ignore the silly call to approach the matter subtly. The injury inflicted on Nigeria by corruption is grave and festering. Subtlety of approach cannot be contemplated as a remedial measure. He can be mean and ferocious within the laws of the land as they stand. He doesn’t have to be dictatorial or extra-constitutional in his methods. Restitution while not entirely objectionable, must be conducted openly and complimented in the most grievous cases with terms of imprisonment. Buhari’s commitment to confront and defeat the monster of corruption generated 90 per cent of the steam that delivered him to the Presidential Villa. He will go about the fight with gloved fists at his own political and historical peril. In the power sector, what do you think the nation should expect from Buhari? Certainly not a miracle but common sense. The convoluted strategies of the past cannot help him. The president must sit around the table with the so-called investors in the privatised segments of the power sector and read them his irreducible expectations memo, complete with deadlines and sanctions for breach. What the president cannot afford to dabble into is a wholesale reversal of the privatisation programme, as demanded by certain vested interests. That will create a set of problems that will defeat his administration’s plans for the economy. In fact, I would urge him to privatise the remaining segment – which I think is transmission. But of course if some of the private investors gamed the system in any shape of form, then the expected sanctions must be imposed with an iron fist. The likes of Prof. Barth Nnaji should be brought back to do what they do best. Generation, distribution and transmission must work

Onwe

seamlessly; and the consistent supply of gas to the generation points must also work efficiently. But all of this depends on first, tackling corruption and restoring common sense and competence. The recommendations of the last confab report have not been implemented; do you expect him to do that? No, I don’t. Why should I or any other citizen with half a brain hold such an expectation? He opposed the National Conference before it commenced. His party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), opposed it as a matter of policy and principle. However, there are some useful recommendations in the conference report which I will recommend to him as policy pieces because the quality of debate from respectable Nigerians that produced those recommendations was not shabby at all.

He must be prepared to be brutal and ignore the silly call to approach the matter subtly

Boko Haram has been a major threat to peace in this country, how do you want the Buhari administration to tackle this and other security challenges? Again, this is one of the areas in which I hope that Buhari administration will yield to common sense and build on what Jonathan has achieved. Yes, it was inexplicable to have allowed the monsters to have gained so much strength and grounds and unleashed so much carnage and suffering before the decisive counterforce that was brought to bear in the last 60 days or so. Having said that, however, it is undeniable that progress has been made. Regrettably, we are now hearing that Boko Haram is recapturing border towns in Borno. This should be a powerful signal to Buhari that it’s not yet time to burst into freedom song. It appears that he will benefit from better cooperation from the West and the United States in particular than Jonathan managed. He should leverage on that and bring irresistible fire power to bear against the nihilistic animals. He is a soldier and I suspect that he appreciates better than either you or I precisely what needs to be done.

What is your take on the revamping of the oil refineries? The Federal Government should have no business whatsoever building or revamping crude refineries. Do not build. Do not revamp. If you’ve built sell it off and if you are revamping, stop and sell it off to the private experts who understand exactly what needs to be done. These foolish public undertakings are nothing but extensions of the proboscis of corruption, sucking the wealth of the nation into private bowels. There are increasing rate of unemployment in the nation. What should the Buhari government do in this regard? Revive the power sector, build on the modest efforts in the agricultural sector, provide subsidised skills and entrepreneurial acquisition training to young people under the age of 35, do not pay welfare benefits because it’s a disastrous economic route for a country like Nigeria to tow, but instead, beef up public funding for loans and grants to small scale enterprises. Take measures to grow the economy by aggressively diversifying it. Seize the trillions of naira stolen in the last two decades and plough it into education. The cumulative effect of all these actions will drive unemployment down to a single digit within Buhari’s first tenure. Common sense and sincerity of purpose. What advice do you have for him on the cost of governance? Sell off the notoriously bloated presidential fleet of private jets, do not budget N1 billion for feeding yourself and your family while millions of Nigerians go hungry, no National Assembly member or cabinet member should take more than N1 million home at the end of every month, the number of ministers and special advisers and other aides should not exceed 50, the Nigerian government should not maintain foreign embassies or high commissions in more than 30 countries, provisions for generators and diesel within the presidential quarters should be eliminated.

16 Politics

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Cut in cost of governance necessary – Bassey Chief Gershom Bassey is the Senator-elect for the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State. In this interview with CLEMENT JAMES, he speaks on a number of issues, setting an agenda for the incoming administration. Excerpts: Corruption has been blamed for most of the problems the nation is confronted with. What should the incoming administration do to address this menace? I think that the issue of corruption is an institutional issue; it is a question of building institutions and building capacity. It is when there are leakages that people become corrupt. If there are no leakages, people will not be corrupt. So, I think that we need to go to the root of corruption and block those leakages so that people don’t have the incentive in the first place to be corrupt and even if they try, it will be almost impossible. For instance, if a government agency is paying people by cash, people become susceptible to corruption. But if they are paying through the banks, then you would have blocked a possible source of corruption. Yes, one or two people may need to be made an example of corruption by punishing them, but I don’t think that should be the focus of the war against corruption. The focus should be more of blocking the root causes of corruption so that people do not have the incentive to be corrupt. We do a lot of World Bank projects in the state and I have not heard of anybody stealing World Bank money because the processes are thorough and the World Bank is spending the money in Nigeria, so how come they are getting it right and our public funds are reportedly being stolen. So, we need to fine-tune some of our processes until corruption is eliminated or minimized. Will the National Assembly not impede the fight against corruption? I think we got these things wrong. Corruption has nothing to do with the various arms of government. In fact, I think corruption has been tackled more during the democratic dispensation than in the military era. This is because there is more accountability under a civilian administration because more people are involved in governance. Under a military administration, it almost like a feudal system where you have a dictator who can slice the national cake the way he wants it. But under a civilian administration, there is a higher level of accountability. No matter how you see it, there is a system of checks and balances. So, corruption can be tackled by strengthening institutions and processes and making them more transparent. That is the way corruption is tackled

hope that our President will keep those promises. Well, everything I have said affects unemployment; whether it is power, refineries, road infrastructure, and so on; these are areas that create jobs and this is a fundamental area upon which our economy is measured. When you have industries, foreign direct investment, you start to see economic growth. So, there is no need to talk about unemployment on its own except to say the obvious, which is that there is high unemployment in Nigeria and we must find a way to tackle it. And I think that if the incoming administration keeps to its promises, then jobs would be created. So, it is my hope that as the incoming President go about tackling those things we have talked about – power, infrastructure, refineries, etc, he will do it with a view to creating jobs.

anywhere in the world – by tightening your processes. How about the power sector? Well, we need to have an uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria, period. It must be possible because Nigerians are not different from other parts of the world. The incoming President has promised us uninterrupted power supply and we want to believe that he will put everything in place to achieve that. The Goodluck Jonathan administration has gone very far in terms of the privatisation processes, so we believe that the incoming administration will take this fight to its logical conclusion and provide Nigerians with uninterrupted power supply. The issue of vandalism, to my mind, is an issue that can be tackled adequately in the course of normal business. If you are a businessman and people vandalise your car, for instance, you will find a way of tackling it. So, I think in the normal course of business, those in the power sector will find a solution to the issue of vandalism. What should also be done to address the infrastructural decay? Now, that is very key in any administration. After power, the next thing is road and transportation. To my mind, I think the incoming administration should take a holistic look at the transportation system and make it more efficient. We need to link up with every part of the country without hassles. We need to travel to any part of the country in a fast and efficient way such that movement of goods and of course, people would be very easy. Some people believe that the confab recommendations should be implemented while others think otherwise. What do you think should be done? It is my hope really that the incoming administration will look at the National Conference recommendations and use it effectively so that Nigerians would benefit from it. But again, that is not for me to decide for him. But what I do know is that one of the problems we have in Nigeria is the concentration of power at the centre and I believe that there are some confab recommendations for the devolution of powers. This issue of devolution of powers is something that we in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have subscribed to and I hope that the incoming administration will see through this. We need to make our federalism work. Right now, our federalism is not working the way it should and we need to do something, talking about fine-tuning systems. And my understanding of what came out of the confab and even in our constitutional amendment processes is that one of the major impediments is concentration of too much power in Abuja and some of that power needs to be devolved, whether in terms of fiscal federalism or whatever you want to call it. But some of the powers should be devolved in order for us to have a truly functional federalism. You see, devolution of power is not just a political mantra but

Bassey

also an economic mantra and if done, it will lead to an exponential economic growth.

The best thing to do in an austere period is to cut cost of governance and that will affect every organ of government

How about the security challenges? Security is an issue that has always been with us. Yes, I want to give kudos to the Goodluck administration for the way it has tackled the Boko Haram insurgency. But I think that security doesn’t just stop there. There are other issues of security – armed robbery, kidnapping and so on and so forth that are issues in our society. In fact, generally, people just want to feel safe in Nigeria. So, one expects that Buhari, who is a retired army general, will bring that sense of security to every part of the country. I believe that is top on his agenda. Security is also an economic issue. In a secured environment, there is a tendency to have investment flow and we want foreign direct investment in the country and one of the key components in attracting investment to the country is security. So, I want to hope that the incoming President has security on top of his agenda. How should the incoming government address the issues of moribund refineries and unemployment challenge? Every administration since the advent of this democracy has tried to focus on the refineries and I believe Buhari made promises in that regard and we are expecting him to see through his promises. But clearly, there are issues but we are not talking about the past now. We are talking about the agenda of the incoming administration and we are saying that promises have been made in that regard and we

How about the cost of governance? In a period of austerity, it is important we look at the cost of governance across the board. Now, the National Assembly is not the only arm of government. There are three arms of government and these people are on salary to do their job. So, the idea of attacking the salary of only one group of people is what we should look at. However, if there are excesses in any of the arms of government, then of course, government should look at it especially in an atmosphere of austerity. But you must pay people a salary to do their job. The best thing to do in an austere period is to cut cost of governance and that will affect every organ of government. Do you think the electoral process needs reform? Well, I think with the success of the last elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is on the right track to getting elections right in Nigeria. As you know, INEC is an independent body therefore, I will not set an agenda for the in-coming administration. Rather, I will set an agenda for INEC itself and I will expect INEC to continue to fine tune the electoral processes until we get it right. But what I will advise the Buhari administration to do is to do what the Goodluck Jonathan administration tried to do, which is to continue to build institutions; not to interfere with institutions but to build them. INEC as an independent body should be able to fine tune its own processes until it gets it right. Of course, no election anywhere in the world is perfect, but I believe that if you have a stand-alone institution, you don’t need anybody to come and tell you that you need to keep improving and I expect INEC to keep improving on its own, organically, until it gets it right. I also want to advise the incoming President that whosoever is going to be the next INEC Chairman should also be somebody of high integrity, credibility and widely respected by the public. It would be a shame if we come down from the standard that has been set by INEC in the last elections. We rather should improve, so we need somebody who should be highly rated and with a high level of integrity.

Politics 17

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Okei-Odumakin: Implementation of confab report key to growth The outcome of the last general elections generated different reactions. While some people commended the process, others kicked against it. What do you think the incoming administration should do in reforming the electoral system? Electoral reform is a key instrument of advancing democracy in any society and our history of elections has been characterised with one controversy after the other due to the inability of successive governments to carry out reforms that can make our elections credible and acceptable to all. It is therefore imperative for the incoming administration to prioritise electoral reform with a view of promoting the legitimacy of government and confidencebuilding in the minds of the citizens. The people will only see themselves as being part of and supportive to a government that they truly believe is a product of their votes, not products of election manipulations. Corruption has been described as a cancer that has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigeria’s system and one of the campaign promises of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is to tackle corruption. What is your take on this? There is no doubt that the fight against corruption was a major campaign promise of the incoming President and his party, it is therefore my view that it must now be taken beyond the realm of a mere campaign slogan to a practical action that must be embarked upon by the incoming administration. Corruption remains a major impediment to our nation’s development and the incoming government must realise that there is no amount of effort that can be invested into other sectors which can turn out productive without properly tackling the tendencies for corruption at all levels. This must be an all-inclusive approach if the war against corruption will be won. What advice would you give to the incoming administration on the issue of power? There must be an entirely new approach at tackling the perennial power failure in the country and every process that has been involved must be critically reviewed. It is my view that the incoming government should declare a state of emergency in the power sector because the failure of the country to generate the required national minimum power requirement has negatively affected the growth of the economy and also made life unbearable for practitioners in virtually every sector of our nationhood. Are you satisfied with the present state of infrastructure in the country and is there anything the incoming government should do on infrastructure development? Nigerians expect an improve-

Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, a human rights activist and women advocate, is the President of Women Arise for Change Initiative. In this interview with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE, she urges the incoming administration not to throw away the recommendations of the National Conference. She also speaks on her expectations and agenda for the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, on corruption, unemployment, infrastructure, security and cost of governance, among others

Okei-Odumakin

ment in the state of infrastructures particularly our roads and it is therefore expected that the Federal Government will collaborate with states and even the private sector in alleviating the sufferings that Nigerians daily encounter on our roads across the country. You are one of the delegates to the 2014 National Conference, what do you expect from the incoming administration in term of implementation of the confab recommendations? The incoming administration should not for whatever reason, throw away the recommendations of the National Conference. It should be noted that these recommendations in the real sense actually addressed a lot of our national questions and already proffer solutions to many issues, such as this interview even seeks to know my views about. It is therefore my view that the time for politics is over and the interest of the nation must now be brought to the fore. The incoming administration should take a look at the confab report and I am sure several questions are naturally going to be addressed especially at this time that the states of the federation are struggling to survive due to the continuous reduction in the global price of crude oil which has been the basis of the over-burdening of the centre by the other levels of government. A lot, like I said, can be achieved if the incoming administration con-

siders the implementation of the confab report.

The incoming administration should not for whatever reason, throw away the recommendations of the National Conference

How do you think the incoming government can tackle security problems confronting the country? The failures of the past must be addressed and there is a need for a total overhaul of the nation’s security. The war against insurgency and other crimes must also be sustained and improved upon from where the outgoing administration is leaving it. I still want to maintain that the incoming administration must do all it can to ensure the rescue of the Chibok girls, just like other women and children who are being held against their will by the terrorists in various parts of the country. With the ongoing fuel scarcity and the huge resources paid by government for oil subsidy, don’t you see the need for revamping of refineries? That remains the only way out of the skyrocketing pump prices and unavailability of petroleum products unfortunately in a nation that is the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil. The revamping of the existing refineries becomes as imperative as the need for the building of new ones that can sustain the capacity of local demands for petroleum products in the country. There is high rate of unemployment in the country, especially among Nigerian youths and one of the promises of the incoming administration is

job creation and mass employment. What is your take on this? In as much as I believe that it is not the exclusive responsibility of government to provide jobs for all, I want to urge the incoming administration to open windows that can ensure growth of investment and private sector’s ability to create jobs. The youth must also be empowered not to be perpetual job seekers but also wealth creators through capacity building and provision of incentives that can support their ability to be self-employed and employers of labour. Many people have attributed Nigeria’s problems to cost of governance because the large percentage of the budget is on recurrent expenditure. Would you advise the incoming administration to reduce cost of governance? The incoming president has a duty to lead by example in that very regard by ensuring that the size of government is considerably reduced and decency is brought back into public office. What we have had in the past are tendencies that seek to make our public office holders richer the moment they get into office at the detriment of poor Nigerians, who they claim to be serving. If this can be checkmated at the top, then government at other levels will have no choice than following same path of decency. Cost of governance must be seriously reduced.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Opinion The angel effect Cosmas Odoemena

n Sunday the 19th of April 2015, I went with my family and a relative to Satellite town to drop my in-law's children who had come on holiday. On our way back I noticed that my temperature gauge was rising. Just after turning into the LagosBadagry Expressway the traffic snarled with three vehicles forcing their way on a single lane. No one was ready to make way for the other. I had turned off the air conditioner to reduce the load on the engine. I was turning off and turning on the car in between movement. But, as I tried to switch on the ignition again, the car sputtered, and then died. I tried a few more times, but the car wouldn't start again. My car had stopped in the middle of nowhere! It was then that I started to lament about the doubts I had about embarking on the journey in the first place. I

was supposed to resume work the following Monday after being on leave and was to be on call same day. I felt I should have been spared the hassle of Lagos traffic eve of work resumption. But my wife Chika, as cool as a cucumber, said if it was the will of God that we should be stuck here with our two kids in this heat then "may His will be done." It was then I realized myself. I then added, "we give Him thanks in all situations." So I got out of the car, opened the car bonnet and went to look for water. I trekked for about 200 meters before I could see sachet water or 'pure water.' I bought the last four they had, for drinking and for the car. I knew the water was not enough. I carried on a long face. As I got to the car, my wife said "someone" dropped water in the car boot and then left! I didn't get it. I went and opened the boot. Standing inside was a yellow plastic jerrycan of the 25 litres size filled to the brim with water! Perplexed, I carried it and poured the water on the engine and poured into the radiator that was starving of

water. After ten minutes I started the engine again. This time, it came back to life! I kept the remaining water in the boot of the car to realize that my C-caution had been run over, and one of the arms broken. It was the least of our problems. We continued the journey contented. According to Chika, no sooner had I gone to get water than this young man who was driving a sedan stopped and said "madam na water you want?" "Take." And he took the water himself and was about pouring into the radiator until people cautioned him against that, yet. So, he put the water in my boot and disappeared. A priest once narrated how his car broke down in a remote area and needed water but could not get water around. Then, a young man surfaced with water. The priest took it from him and thanked him and went towards his car. As he looked back again the young man had vanished. The priest believed he saw an angel. As we drove along, I saw a car that had broken down, with a man, his wife and their teenage son standing over

their car. I called out to the them to know what could be the problem. They said their radiator needed water! I stopped in the middle of the road as there was no other place to pull over. Those behind me cursed. I didn't care. I had a mission. I went to my boot and brought out the jerrycan of water and carried it over to them. They already had with them a container for water, so I poured part of the water I had inside what they had and I went back to my car. All those who were cursing earlier smiled back at me. We then drove home. The car radiator which was later found to be faulty has been replaced. But I wish I had seen the person who came to our aid when we needed it most. Those we narrated the tale to believe the person was an angel. My wife thinks so too. Perhaps he was! And I am grateful to him. When you are in need may an angel come to your aid. May you also be an angel to others! • Odoemena, is a medical practitioner, Lagos. Terafema.blogspot.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Salvaging Nigeria’s oil sector TO watchers of the avalanche of events in the Nigerian petroleum industry, these are days of nightmares to the “backbone” of Africa’s largest economy. Consider this: according to reports by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transperancy Initiative, NEITI, the “sharp practices prevalent” in oil sector in Nigeria milked the nation of more than 20 billion US Dollars within the intervening period of 2001 and 2014, a period marked by record boom in global crude oil sales. Regrettably, the oil boom only left in its wake a heap of scandals that bequeathed public opprobrium among ordinary Nigerians. As expected, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) comes handy as recipient of this public disaffection, being the government agency charged with harnessing the potentials of the booming (until recently) Nigerian crude oil industry. Sad to point too that as the boom ensued, Nigerians, rather than bask in the euphoria of prosperity were left to agonize with the “curse of oil,’ a phrase coined to give a picture of the contrasting hardship oil brought to the populace. As the economics of fuel subsidy begun to become more revealing and riveting to ordinary Nigerians because of the contradiction of having to buy what one produces as

occasioned by the country’s inability to refine the crude oil needed for local consumption, cankerworms of dirty deals begun to spill everywhere. The scandalous under dealings otherwise termed “fuel subsidy scams” became more evident recently when the frequency of petroleum products scarcity became more prevalent. A national daily, the New Telegraph, recently revealed in a banner headline how the subsidy regime in Nigeria went up from about three hundred million US dollars in 2009 to a whooping five billion dollars in 2011, the eve of a “partial” subsidy removal by the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Suffice to mention that the unraveling of the Jonathan administration begun with the tardiness in managing the backlashes of that futile attempt because the gains from the removal of the burden of subsidy could not have been reinvested in a well thought-out but failed Subsidy Reinvestment Programme, SURE-P in popular parlance. The management of the proceeds from crude oil sales in Nigeria had been least efficient nor had any semblance of transparency by successive regimes and contributed in no mean feats to Nigeria’s ranking as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Enter the ‘Sanusi Revelation. •Adams Abonu

Adewole, UI VC at 61: Tribute to a deep don HIS full name is Isaac Folorunso Adewole (IFA). Pronto, his friends and students simply, and admirably though, tag him "IFA". This appellation sticks to his personality like limpet, thus, becoming more popular than his real name.The word, Ifa is regarded by the Yoruba people as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development . Ifa divination relies on a complex system of signs, compiled in a literary corpus, that is interpreted by a diviner to guide an important individual or whenever a collective decision has to be made. Prof. Adewole who recently turned 61 is neither an Ifa priest nor a traditional worshipper, but the correlation between his sobriquet , his personal attributes, and his performance in office as the 11th Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan (UI) could be explored to deconstruct this "riddle , wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", apology to Winston Churchill. If Ifa is regarded by the traditional worshippers as a deity of wisdom and intellectual development , then, one may begin to understand the reason Prof. Adewole is called Ifa as he possesses in abundance this seemingly transcendental attributes to the amazement of his friends and fiends. Having worked closely with him in the last four years, this writer has convincing evidence that

the UI VC is much divinely endowed with an uncommon mental faculty. All his classmates right from primary school, through secondary school, up to the university level have always been regaling those who care to listen with testimonies of his academic exploits as a result of uncommon wisdom and knowledge . At a reception organized for him in his alma mata, Ilesa Grammar School, all his classmates gave impressive accounts of his academic excellence. According to some of them "if there was any interschools competition involving all science subjects, you could be sure that "Folly" as he is being fondly called by some, would win laurel for Ilesa Grammar School" . Adewole replicated the same academic magnificence in his university days, winning the Glaxo Allenbury Prize for the best overall performance in Pediatrics in 1978. However, since he became the UI VC in December 2010, there has never been a major crisis occasioned by his leadership style. Not for the lack of deliberate provocation by his detractors , nor for the absence of intentional sabotage , but because the man is as wise as Solomon, the system has remained stable, peaceful and progressive . In fact, despite glaring cases of unwarranted attack and cheap blackmail against him, Prof. Adewole

carries out his burdensome schedules with a calm and collected confidence. He cuts stoic comportment of one who is at peace with his operating environment . Like a duck above the surface of water, Prof. Adewole looks composed and unruffled , but below the surface, he paddles like hell, just to ensure that the university gets better than he met it. There was a day I stormed his office to express my annoyance about some elements who specialize in manufacturing and distributing falsehoods against my person. He looked at me with an expression of déjà vu and said, "is that why you are disturbed ? Have they not written malicious and pernicious petition against me who is the VC? Yet, whenever their request come to my table, I gladly approve. Forget about them and face your work" I joyfully returned to my office with a big relief! Regarding his performance in office, Prof. Adewole will forever be remembered as one VC who revitalizes the system, improves workers' welfare and creates enabling environment for innovativeness to thrive. The University Teaching and Research Farm which was almost comatose before he became the VC is today the hub of activities. He believes in food security. • Saanu is with the Directorate of Public Communication (08059436919), University of Ibadan

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Fuelling state of emergency

t is difficult to comprehend what Africa’s largest oil producer and one of the globe’s largest exporters of crude, is going through at the moment. There is no handy explanation trailing the chaos crippling Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy. Less than a week to the emergence of a new government, it is worse than hell, living in a country that is so blessed with oil. And the cause of agony is the resource that, ordinarily, should bring joy and development across the land. There is no scientific or traditional explanation to give. Suddenly, Nigerians cannot find fuel to power their lives. The nation depends so much on oil for survival, since government virtually went to bed following the discovery of the Black Gold. Power generation has so dipped that generators are more popular in most households than three square meals. The resultant effect is that without fuel, nothing works. Exactly where we have found ourselves. Compatriots are grounded. There is no fuel to animate their generators, there is no electricity to run the factories, the few that can still offer employment, that is, and of course, there is scanty vehicular traffic. In medicine, this is a crisis situation. Nigeria has defied all medication, it has become a hopeless condition that what should be expected, is imminent death. The situation is really critical. The country is on the way to the morgue. And if nothing

is done to save halt this development, our beloved nation may just die. When everyone thought the elections did not create enough crisis to bury Nigeria, something unexpected may do just that. And our only source of wealth would then turn to a curse. For over a month, there has been confusion over the supply and distribution of petroleum products. The simple reason is that the world’s sixth largest oil producing nation, is also one of the globe’s leading oil importers. This is something that economics will dismiss as sheer irresponsibility. It is just that Nigeria , with four refineries, cannot refine enough for local consumption. This OPEC member state, just rushes to the market, to import from other oil producing nations. Whatever affects the inter national market will, of course, not spare any importer. Government may yet deregulate the oil and gas sector. The catch phrase ,is subsidy which, in the real sense should cushion the effect of past maladministration but has turned out to be the killer disease plaguing the masses and the economy. Subsidy has thrown up a cartel of money guzzling capitalists whose stomachs g row out of size while the people shrink to death. Like a Frankeinstein monster, the fuel importers who were so empowered in the first place, to make the product available, believe the best way to armtwist everyone is to make petroleum products scarce, in

whatever guise. From Lagos to Abuja, Calabar to Kano, Owerri to Maiduguri, the nation is grounded. There is scarcity of oil and gas. When the oil marketers began this journey that has crippled the country, they blamed government for owing them. Finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo –Iweala, called them to a meeting and everyone thought there was going to be a solution. The marketers were paid 156 billion naira, out of an outstanding 200 billion debt. When the minister bewailed the greedy mien of the cabal, many felt she was only crying to cover her failure to manage the economy. Today, we can see these importers in their true picture. There is no other way of showing sabotage if we cannot read this gang up against the people. Add the tanker drivers and other oil workers, who think they must crush what is left of the bones of their fellow citizens. The situation is so bad that commuters are forced to trek or spend all their pay on transportation. Food cannot be found on tables any more because there is no money to spare. Men and women, able bodied, spend days searching for fuel. The children do not go to school anymore. Teachers have no fuel to drive down to school or cannot see transport out of their homes. Soon, many cannot make telephone calls. According to one of the network providers, MTN, last Saturday,” if diesel supplies are not received within the next 24 hours, the

network will be seriously degraded and customers will feel the impact.” That will be catastrophic. The Power ministry paints a gloomy picture. Power supply has hit, 1,327 megawatts, an all time low. It has become so bad, that even bank ATM machines may not be activated. The hospitals will soon start asking bereaved families to come and evacuate the remains of their loved one from the morgue, to avoid epidemic. Flights are also disrupted. Virgin Atlantic no longer flies from Lagos to London. Passengers have to follow their Accra route. Air France has chosen Dakar instead of Lagos. Others are doing the same. It is not an international boycott. It is the best way to stay level in the aviation market. This calls for a national emergency immediately. We do not want to bother about who should be involved. There is a sitting president, there is a president- elect. Politics must be put aside, Nigerians come first. All those who matter in this country, whether in or out of government, must rally round their country men to save us from this national disgrace. It is not about President Goodluck Jonathan. It is also not about Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. It is about those they are ruling, or about to rule. Power belongs to the people. Things must change now. We do not want to wait till May 29. We call for the declaration of a national emergency. We ask for solution, not sentiments, not statements.

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Politics

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Buhari needs committed, honest team – Tofa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

that he has been on for many years. General Buhari is a very wise man and no matter what people say, I know him and I know he means business. He knows that it is not just up to him to be honest or for the few people around him to be honest, he has to choose honest, dedicated and experienced people to help him. But if he just chooses politicians or the people given to him by certain politicians, then that will

be the first mistake that he will face. He is the person that is elected, and they will question him. I am sure he knows and on that premise he will look for the kind of people he need to help him achieve his purpose. How do you think Buhari should address the issue of corruption? The first thing is the fact that he is not corrupt and that in itself is a remedy, because if the president is corrupt, then everybody under him will

be corrupt and it trickles down to the society. But if the president is not corrupt then he is not going to tolerate corruption and those under him will certainly know that it is not business as usual again. I am sure immediately Bu-

He has to choose honest, dedicated and experienced people to help him hari is sworn in on May 29, 50 per cent of corruption acts and tendencies is off

the table; people will cease to be knowingly or deliberately corrupt and all other acts of corruption like inflating contracts, stealing outrightly from the treasury, embezzlement and irresponsible spending will be blocked. I am sure he is going to look into all ways where there are loopholes which give people or officials the opportunity to be corrupt. He will also look into the reason public servants are corrupt. I think you know that some of these corruption issues are as a result

of the weak system. What should Buhari take as a major project on ascension of office? There is nothing which is not a priority. These things can be started spontaneously. He should look at all of them at the same time to see how best he will approach them. It is also important for him to reactivate the oil refineries. When we have the oil here, we should refine them here and sell at cheap price. Power also can be a priority, we don’t have power because of corruption. Look at what is happening in South Africa and how much they spend to have over 20,000 megawatts. Quite less than what we are spending but in our own case, it is because all the money is being stolen and even the current power privatisation was corruptly done. I was reading somewhere that some of those who purchased these Distribution Companies (DISCOs) have not paid the money they are required to pay and we the consumers of the electricity are the people who are subsidising them because they are double-charging the consumers. If you see the electricity bills we received, it is so outrageous. All these things should be probed and serious actions should be taken against them. The gover nment should also set up an enquiry that will carefully examine the problem and have recommendations. I don’t want them to go with a preconceived idea that the recommendations could be implemented within a month. They should be careful in investigating all these matters with competent people and get good recommendations and then decide what to do. So, all these things are what General Buhari should explain to Nigerians and we must be patient with him. Also, it is not going to make much difference if Buhari and his subordinates are honest but the rest of Nigerians are not honest. The public must be supportive of Buhari. If Buhari and his ministers are honest and we are not honest, we are not going to achieve anything or change anything. I think the campaign is ‘You Nigerians Must Change’, the change is not just the change of government or change of ministers or change of president, it is the change of hearts that we need to have throughout the country.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY MAY 26, 2015

Arts

Ebere Ameh

t was a relaxing evening at Terra Kulture penultimate Sunday when the Thespian Muse presented the stage adaptation of Oh How Dearly I Detest Thee, a thought provoking and suspense filled play, which was originally written as a radio drama by a Cameroonian, Jeanne Ngo Libondo. The performance caused the adults to laugh and while the children giggled at the constant fight of a couple who wake up with dispute, quarrelling over both relevant and irrelevant matters with each thinking of ways to kill the other. “The play is about the challenges of a man Tambe (played by Timi Charles Fadipe) and his wife Ako (played by Omoye Uzamere). They were forced into an arranged marriage and have refused to make it work. They refused to sleep together in the same room and while she refused to do the things a wife should do; he also would not play his part as the husband, to the extent that though they have been married for three years, the marriage remained unconsummated,” producer of the play, Omoye Uzamere, who also played the role of Ako, explained. “Our parents could have been so cruel to arrange and bring us together. I will never do that to my children,” Ako cried before suddenly remembering that she cannot have children without consummating her marriage. She thought of the fear of being a married virgin and concluded that leaving Tambe to go and marry another person was out of it, hence her resolve to kill him. Unfortunately, Tambe dies accidentally and though Ako cried and lamented in the presence of her in-laws who were already planning to inherit her, she laughed when they left, leaving the dead body of her husband with her. However, it dawns on her soon how her misbehaviour led to Tambe’s misery, especially in his last days. Leaving would mean exposing their weaknesses and above all, bringing shame to the name of

TONY OKUYEME Arts Editor tony.okuyeme@newtelegraphonline.com

CULTURE

Learning about marriage through live theatre

A scene in the Thespian Muse production of Oh How Dearly I Detest Thee at Terra Kulture, Lagos, , penultimate weekend

the dead Tambe. Admitting that she can’t possibly live without Tambe, she drinks the rat poison she had earlier prepared for Tambe. “I felt that sometimes you see a couple looking good together and when you get the back story, you realise that these people are living like Tom and Jerry. It sort of mirrors the situation with some married people. But for me, the major story about it is the fact that as bad as things are, if you two decide to make it work, you actually can. It took Tambe dying for Ako to realise that she wasn’t really in a bad place. And though the custom is the custom, she realises that if she goes out to tell their story, she’s going to look bad and he’s going to be disgraced. Ultimately, it shows that it doesn’t pay you to fight, the best thing to do is to work at it,” Uzamere, whose parents’ 40th anniversary coincides with their next outing on the 24th of May explained. “Marriage is not the thing that is going to make your life happy; you find happiness when you too come to live together. Marriage is not two people in love; it is not one person making the other person happy, it is two people living together with a plan for life, with the plan to impact society and do something as partners in the world,” she added. Though yet to marry, Uzamere who interpreted her role of a wife so much to the admiration of the audience joked that “one is always a better coach while watching a game from the comfort of ones living room”.

“If you want to be a doctor, you spend so many number of years studying. Same with Law, but you want to get married and you are just waiting for life to happen to you and you don’t know anything about marriage? People need to attach themselves to people who can mentor them in marriage. They need to learn about marriage – what they want from marriage, the sorts of things to expect so that there are no rude awakenings. So I believe in understanding the institution of marriage so that I won’t be like Ako when I get married,” Uzamere said. The Nigerian stage witnessed the introduction of Westend’s Timi Charles Fadipe, who played the role of Tambe in the stage production. Though it was his debut outing on stage in Nigeria, the UK trained actor, has been acting professionally for six years. He bemoaned the poor attendance and suggested that we can improve theatre in Nigeria by a little bit of more awareness on the part of the production side as well as on the part of the audience side. He also noted that there is a need, on the technical side to improve on theatre training. “I think that some artists here have the mentality that theatre here is a little bit old fashioned. There is nothing wrong with that. In Nigeria we like history a lot, so a lot of our plays are based on history, which is fine. However, we can amend that by making it more contemporary to suit today’s audience. It’s good, and I’m

happy that theatre is really growing. I came back a few years ago and I have seen a lot of shows and musicals and it’s getting better. We just need to keep up the good work,” Fadipe said. For Uzamere who did theatre production training in the UK, theatre is sustained all over the world by grants. “I don’t want to say that it is a dying art form but it doesn’t have the same pull as it had in the nineties for example. I did a theatre production training in the UK a couple of years ago and one of the questions burning in our minds was how do we get funding? But we found that it is grants. Usually the government has a system set up and people who can afford to give out money to foundations and to production companies so that theatre is sustainable. That is why it is more expensive to see this play than to see a movie at the galleria. Its real time performance and all of these is set up for one day, the next time, you set it up again. That is a lot of work and a lot of human, financial and material resources to produce. I think creating an environment where people are able to give better and getting people to experience theatre such that they have a taste for it will go a long way in making them ask for more,” Uzamere observed. Directed by Toritseju Ejor, Oh How Dearly I Detest Thee was produced by Omoye Uzamere and featured renowned actors like Toyin Oshinaike, Omoye Uzamere, Timi Charles Fadipe as part of the cast.

Arts

Moses Kadiri

eyond the usual splashing of colours on canvas many artists are known for these days, artists explore the use of various techniques to effectively communicate their views to the public. Such is clearly playing out in Knowldge Across Boundaries, a group exhibition of paintings, prints and media technique, which opened on Saturday, May 23 at Quintessence Gallery, Admiralty Way, Lekki, Lagos, and will run till June 20, 2015. The exhibition features well known artists and art scholars, Kunle Adeyemi and Egharevba Sukanthy Visagapperumal. It shows Adeyemi’s experiments with his printmaking brand. The art lecturer creates clear-cut sharper lines images that appeal to the senses. So many things come to play in his showcase, an assemblage documents of fantastic events. One is tempted to refer to Adeyemi as event ‘documenter’. The works exudes humour, life and sound. “Each work is not created merely as object or thing, but also as organised and conquered space. It should be felt as a trapped mass, a low-layered building and a protrusion of this trapped energy,” he said. It is quite clear from his works that without art life is miserable to man. He explores and communicates his ideas through some thematic works he calls ‘series’. “I found out that l cannot exhaust my ideas on a single sentence or in a few words that give full meaning or do justice to my theme. I therefore look at such subjects from multiple angles because it is difficult and too limitless for me to translate the varied moods and connotations on a lone canvas, paper and board.” The Lagos-based artist also noted that the exhibition is stemmed from the need to revamp the studio practice, and culture through creative techniques, genre synthesis and hands-on-skills in order to improve studio practice in visual arts. “This study facilitates innovations and explores synergy in studio practice within the ambience of critical visual thinking and synthesis in painting, printmaking, sculpture and construction. The resultant effect of this synergy is the creation of new complex and intricate creative possibilities which l call ‘Paintograph and Paintocast’, in studio art making,” he disclosed. For those who do not know his works, his presentations could be seen as pedestrian, the artist relate his works to some of the things which occur in his environment. Therefore he lends his voice through his works to proffer solutions to those issues. His body of works prove that artists have the ability to think outside a specific scope. The beauty, colours, and the humour in his display did not take away the seriousness and the message therein. Such work is titled, It is Time to Wind up the Festival is Over. “What I am doing presently cut across 4 genre of art, it is the conventional thing for everyone that went to school to say that painting is painting, sculpture is sculpture, that is why people are boxed in these genre and they might not be able to move away from there, what I have done is bring in printmaking, paintings, sculpture and construction put them together form an art and they speak new

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

In Lagos, brushstrokes of Knowledge Across Boundaries

Some of the works on display at the exhibition

language, that ability to create that change is what matters in the work of art,” Adeyemi enthused. He reiterated that the on-going study has the tendency to provide a direction capable of stimulating change and act as catalyst for budding visual artists. This is the first time Adeyemi and Sukanthy will both be showing their pieces after they left Delta State University, Abraka. On display, Sukanthy demonstrate that she has the ability of running the home front as a mother as well as an artist. A lot of things come to place in her presentation such as culture, background, inter-group influences among many others. Sukanthy ability to present these documentaries gives her an edge over many women who would not want to be heard despite going through the Ivory Tower. Her works reflects two communities, Tamil (Sri-Lanka), and Tiv (Nigeria) where she grew up. “For many artists who have had to grow up or engage in other socio-economic activities in two or more disparate environment the issue of synthesis comes glaringly to the fore... but no studio art practice has hitherto addressed the issue of synthesis of art element in the two art cultures. “This is the concern of my works at this exhibition. That is the main mission of my works for this show, to synthesize Tamil and Tiv pictorial elements that are viable and applicable to the creative art of two cultures.” Born in Jaffna, northern part of Sri-Lanka, Sunkanthy grew up in Benue state, her research is guided by the concept of natural synthesis propounded by Uche Okeke (1933) on which the ‘Zarianists’ based their creative resolution. “The concept of synthesis as a creative tendency holds that modern artists should absorb and adapt any good art technique or style from any part of the world in creation of art in Nigeria.” She emphasised that the studio paintings produced for this exhibition are neither Tamil nor Tiv, but contemporary art forms, motifs and

Sukanthy

Adeyemi

idioms by a Sri-Lanka Nigeria painter. Some of her works on display include The Burden we Bear (acrylic on canvas), Where we Are (mixed media with paper quills and acrylic), Pangs of Womanhood (collage on paper), Sugar Spice and Everything Nice (acrylic on canvas), My Own World (water colour on paper). Knowledge Across Boundaries is dedicated to the late Mr. Ponniah Visagapperumal (1936-2011),

Sunkanthy’s father. He was a SriLanka who lived and worked in Nigeria since 1982. He had 42 years of teaching experience in Sri-Lanka and Nigeria. Visagapperumal was a multi-media artist who had an expert touch on anatomy and a quest for exploring new ideas and materials. His work, The Last Night was showcased in October Rain, 2009, the first annual juried art exhibition in Lagos.

Odun Aje festival to promote values –Adams Taiwo Jimoh

he National Coordinator of Oodua People’s congress, Otunba Gani Adams has said the idea behind the celebration of Odun Aje’ wealth festival is to promote traditional values and showcase the existence and importance of the deity and call on the spirit to attract business and economic activities to Lagos and Nigeria in general. He disclosed that because of the premium the Yorubas placed on the deity “we often pray for traders that ‘Aje a wo gba’ which translate as may profit enter your business. When profit entered into one’s business, such a person becomes successful and wealthy”.

Adams stated this at the just concluded ‘Odun Aje’ wealth festival held at Ashton Garden Event Centre, Ogba, Lagos, recently. He explained that the festival was instituted by the Olokun Festival Foundation to “direct attention of our society to the economy and all productive endeavors activities that confer prosperity on our people and our country”. “We designed the festival to raise the consciousness of our people on the traditional values also to complement the efforts being made towards the development of tourism as an inexhaustible resources and money spinner with potentials of breaking our country’s monolithic reliance on petroleum. “Tourism development, I

must re-emphasis, owns the future to our peoples and Nigeria’s economic prosperity in the nearest future if welldeveloped and a festival like the one we are doing provide limitless opportunities for likely investors to access information about economic bounties in Yoruba land and Nigeria in general.” He said developed countries of the world had placed much premium on their small and medium enterprises which help in the economic growth of such a country of the world. He therefore called on the incoming administration of General Muhammed Buhari to “place more premium on small and medium enterprises (SMS), which is the backbone of western country”.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Stewardship

Transplantation

NUC has jailed two illegal varsities’ operators — Spokesman

Open varsity don canvasses establishment of organ bank

Education AGENDA

Stakeholders in the education sector have set agenda for the incoming administration which they hope will refocus the sector Kayode Olanrewaju

fforts, resources and time invested at federal and state levels in fixing the education sector, and bring it out of its woods in the last two decades have failed to marshal the country on the path of education recovery and transformation. Despite more than N3 trillion trillion spent between 1999 and 2015 to restructure the sector, reconstruct dilapidated structures, provide and train quality teachers, as to provide well as adequate facilities, the nation’s education sector is still in its lowest ebb, wobbling and fumbling due to the dearth of facilities, decayed infrastructure, and policy summersault, as well as lack of continuity in governance and the political will on the part of the government to tackle the rot in the system headlong. Meanwhile, the sector is bedeviled, among other challenges, by shortage of qualified teachers, poor quality of academic standard, dearth of laboratory equipment, chemicals and reagents, functional libraries, mass failure in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), incessant strikes by the workers, inadequate funding, poor teachers’ remuneration, examination malpractice, insecurity and limited admission spaces in tertiary institutions. Apart from these, the sector over the years has been stagnated by the dichotomy and discrimination between polytechnic and university graduates, classroom congestion, lack of research facilities and low research outputs, as well as obsolete libraries. It is, however, worrisome that

kayode olanrewaju Editor, education

kayode olanrewaju@ newtelegraphonline.com

Buhari

Agenda for Buhari’s administration children still sit on dusty floors for lack of facilities and conducive learning environment, while some learn under trees and sheds for lack of classroom facilities in some states. With this damning posture and downward trend in the sector, the incoming administration of Muhhamadu Buhari, when sworn-in on May 29, has a herculean task to face in its mandate to fix the sector in the next four years. The acute underfunding of the sector, in which the government in the last 16 years is unable to set aside 26 per cent of the national budget on education as recommended by the United Nation’s Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as well as the failure of the country to meet the 2015 target of the Education For All (EFA) goals, remained other major setbacks to the actualization of the country’s quest for educational and technological emancipation. It is also unfortunate that despite efforts at finding lasting solutions to the myriad of problems

...The incoming administration of Muhhamadu Buhari, when sworn-in on May 29, has a Herculean task to face...

confronting the sector, through series of summits held at the state and federal levels aimed at moving the system forward, have yielded no fruitful results as their recommendations either ended on the shelves, jettisoned or worst still did not see the light of the day. To stakeholders, the non-implementation of the recommendations and other genuine motives on the part of the government towards policy formulation and implementation by successive administrations and education ministries, are the bane of the sector in the quest to foster development. For Buhari’s administration to make any meaningful impact in the next four years, especially in the education sector, there is the need for the government to rise above party consideration to appoint an experienced hand and a technocrat as Education minister. Specifically worried over the deplorable state of the nation’s education system and the urgent need to raise the sector’s developmental banner and position it to play active role in the socio-economic

and political transformation of the country, key stakeholders and players in the country’s education sector, said these are the issues Buhari-led administration would resolve in the next four years in order to return the system to its past glory. Setting an agenda for the Buhari-led administration, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Michael Alogba-Olukoya, said the first port of call for the government is to devote more funds to education sector in order to address the vexed issue of acute underfunding stagnating the sector. He, therefore, urged the government to accord the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) top priority in the scheme of education development, while technical and vocational education sub-sector should be given a boost. Expectedly, Alogba-Olukoya, who insisted that the new administration should introduce free education policy at federal level, also made a case for the establishment of Education Bank to take care of the needs of students from poor socio-economic background. Piqued by the nagging dichotomy between polytechnic and university products, the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Mr. Anthony Olawumi Gasper, an engineer, has called for the scrapping of the Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate. Instead, the polytechnics should be limited to award the National Diploma (ND) but also upgraded to award Bachelor in Technology (B.Tech), even as the former Rector of the Lagos State Polytechnic noted that Buhari’s administration should focus its energy on how to address the problem of massive failure recorded yearly be the country in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). According to him, the government should strengthen the inspectorate division in the school system, in order to enhance teaching and learning process. Gasper, who urged the government to amend the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Act without further delay and stressed that it should incorporate technical colleges, said such amendment had long become necessary to promote technical and vocational education for employment generation and to drive entrepreneurship education. On the incessant strikes and disruption of school system by the various workers’ unions, Gasper, who urged the unions to redirect CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

24 Education

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Don tasks govt, industry on research output Igbeaku Orji UMUAHIA

he inability of governments, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and industrialists to transform research results and prototypes into finished products has been identified as the bane of sustainable development in the country. Against this back drop, a Professor of Animal Nutrition at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, Sunday Nwabueze Ukachukwu, has tasked stakeholders in the country to rise to the challenge of transforming research results, especially in animal nutrition, into consumables by farmers and feed millers. Ukachukwu made the call at the university’s 22nd inaugural lecture, entitled: “Killers to Edibles - A Key to Sustainable Livestock and National Development.” In his lecture, he said: “This will contribute to making animal products more available and affordable to meet the increasing demand for livestock products by the increasing population.” According to him, the process of arriving at the research conclusion spanning several

years “have been geared towards developing novel feeds and feed stuffs as alterative feed resources which will be available and cheap, thereby leading to reduced cost of production of animal products.” The Animal Nutritionist said nutritionists are expected to make frantic search for alternative feeds which would

be of high quality and free from human and industrial composition. Ukachukwu, however, noted: “Many neglected and under-utilised tropical legumes have been investigated and methods of processing them into safe and edible forms confirmed. “However, most of the re-

search results are yet to be transformed into physical products that can be utilized by animal farmers and feed millers. Most of the results are in the researchers’ drawers and laptops while others are, at best, on the pages of journals.” He lamented that available feeds and sustainability

of feed production systems were challenged by scarcity and competition for available foodstuffs by man, industry and animal, adding that affordable livestock products were also needed in the diets of man for healthy living and healthy workforce, which he said were essential for national development.

‘9,000 Nigerians in Canadian institutions’ Mojeed Alabi

Oduani of Okpanam, Mbanefo commissioning the borehole donated to Madonna School for Special Needs Children in Asaba by International League of Friends (ILOF)

Group donates centre, borehole to special schools Dominic Adewole ASABA

group, under the aegis of International League of Friends (ILOF), has donated items valued at several millions of naira to the Centre for Autism and Development Disabilities and the Madonna School for Special Needs Children in Asaba, Delta state. The gesture was borne out of the need by the group to assuage the suffering and challenges facing such group of children in schools across the country. The President of the League, Sir Rowland Okolo, accompanied by other members of the group, expressed delight to identify with the noble project through the donation of a 7.2 KVA electric generating plant to the Centre and a water borehole with metallic tank stand to the school.

While commissioning the water project, Okolo, who said the League’s charitable gesture to the school has gone a long way in solving the age-long pressing need of the school for potable water supply, said the special need donated to the Centre of Autism would definitely improve the children’s living condition and gave them a renewed hope for the future. He lamented why the government and the society should abandon this set of children, who for no fault of theirs, were born into such category. “The main purpose of commissioning this project is to formally dedicate the water borehole for the use of the school; it is also a forum to call on government and its agencies and other social groups that there is indeed a dire need to improve the living conditions of the less-privileged in the society.” While he urged public spirited individuals and corporate organizations

to contribute towards reducing the financial and educational burdens of such schools and children, the Administrator of Total-Care Nursery, Primary and Secondary of Madonna School for Children with Special Needs, Florence Igoche, of the Daughters of Charity, said the children needed support because they are already saddled with so many challenges to cope with. She recalled how the school started in 1996 with only four children when ILOF assisted them to build their first classroom block, listing the various needs of the school to include, a befitting dining hall for boarding house students, a modern dormitory and standard library facility. The traditional ruler of the community, the Uduani of Okpanam Kingdom, Mike Mbanefo, the Father of the Day at the event, lauded the group for impacting meaningfully in the lives of the less-privileged in the society.

he Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Perry Calderwood has disclosed that more than 9,000 Nigerians are currently studying in various higher institutions in the country, saying they have been good ambassadors of Nigeria doing the country proud out there. Calderwood, who spoke at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka during his visit to the institution, sought for mutually beneficial partnerships between Canada and UNILAG, even as he noted that exploring partnership with the university in the area of entrepreneurship, scholar exchange programmes and capacity building, would go a long way in helping the two nations in no small measure. The high commissioner, who was accompanied on the visit by his deputy, Marcello Difranco, said he was visiting UNILAG for the second time since his appointment, and pledged to work for better collaborations between Canada and institution. While responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahman Bello, who recalled that he had his postgraduate programmes in Canada, said the quality of Canadian education system was not in doubt, but urged the high commissioner to use his good office to attract Canadians to the university for cross-cultural opportunities. He called the attention of the visitors to the university’s foundation programmes, revealing that there are currently more than six foreign partners, even as he requested for exploration of partnership agreement with Canadian universities through the high commissioner.

Mimiko seeks N1bn take-off grant for poly Babatope Okeowo Akure

O Mimiko

ndo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has pleaded with the Federal Government to release N1billion as take-off grant for the newly established Federal Polytechnic in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of the state. The governor made the plea while receiving a letter of approval of the polytechnic from

the Education Minister, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau. This was as the traditional ruler of the town, the Jegun of Ile-Oluji, Oba Stephen Adedugbe, conferred a chieftaincy title of Atunluse of Ile-Oluji on the minister. The governor, who described the polytechnic as a symbol of community involvement in tertiary institution, noted that the people of Ile-Oluji were excited and much ready to make sacrifice for the smooth take-off of

the institution. Mimiko, who also assured the minister of the state government’s readiness to ensure speedy take-off of the polytechnic and make it a worldclass institution, commended the Federal Government for responding to the age-long request of the state for a federal polytechnic. While presenting the letter of approval to Mimiko, the minister noted that the establishment of the polytechnic

was based on the need to develop manpower required for sustainable development of the country in critical sectors of the economy. Shekarau, who said officials of the ministry would work with the state government towards developing the temporary and permanent sites for the take-off of the polytechnic, however added that the officials would also work out the master plan for the administrative block of the institution.

Education 25

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

JABU inaugural lecture for June 2

Professor of Medical Sociology, Akinsanya Olubunmi Alo, will deliver the third inaugural lecture of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State. The lecture is entitled: “Corruption Monster – The Social Ebola that Transforms Physicians to Patients in Nigeria.” The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sola Fajana will chair the lecture billed for Tuesday June 2, at the Oba Oladele Olashore Auditorium of the private university.

Prof. Alo

SAGE team rallies support for blind students

Winners of Omo Imagine and Achiever contest emerge Kayode Olanrewaju

welve-year-old Imurang Salisu, a pupil of Army Children School, Abule Egba, Lagos, has emerged the overall winner of this year’s edition of Omo Imagine and Achieve Competition. The competition was instituted by Unilever Nigeria Plc, maker of Omo brand of detergent, to unleash pupils’ talents in creative arts. The theme of this year’s edition of the creative art competition is “Unleash Your Potential” which focused on the future career of the children, expressed through artistic display of the pupils. Announcing the winners at the grand finale of the competition held at Funtastic Land, Ilupeju, Lagos, Salisu smiled home with the grand prize of N1 million in form of bursary in the Creative Arts category, while the first runner-up, Clementina Emmanuel a pupil of De Brain Foundation School, Kaduna State, received N500, 000 in form of a bursary and Sunday Daniel of Mafah Education Centre, Benin City, Edo State who placed third got N200, 000 bursary. Also in the essay writing category,

Adedeji Adesida of the Corona School in Gbagada, emerged the best essayist in the competition. Instituted four years ago by Unilever Nigeria Plc to celebrate the creativity in the pupils, the 2015 edition of the competition kicked off on February with about 4,000 public and private primary schools across the federation. Omo, which is widely known as the fastest stain removing detergent in the market, wrapped up its creative initiative is set out among other things through the competition to put every participant on the same platform of what they want to become. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the school stage, state level and the national winners. Some of the Omo Brand Ambassadors, and Nollywood stars, Mallam Ali Nuhu, Funke Akindele and Chioma Akpotha, who were present to add colour to the event, urged the pupils to work hard and always believe in themselves. While lauding Unilever Nigeria for instituting the competition, which aimed at unleashing the pupils’ art potential, through detailed and emotional drawings, the trio pleaded with

parents to take good care of their children and allow them to choose career by themselves. The event attracted the winners from the various state finals with their parents and teachers as well as government functionaries. Speaking at the event, the Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria, David Okeme said that the competition had served as a platform for thousands of school children to express their talent. He said: “Omo is very proud that many more children, their parents and schools are getting onboard the Omo Imagine and Achieve initiative and few years after its inception, the level of creativity shown by the pupils has continued to be amazing. “Selecting the best has not been an easy task as there were tons of great work and you could see the effort the kids have put in.” Meanwhile, Category Manager for Fabrics Cleaning, Unilever Nigeria, Ibironke Ugbaja declared that the initiative is a resounding success and an affirmation that Unilever’s continued investment in empowering the Nigerian child was already yielding fruitful results.

Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

new ray of hope has continued to beckon on blind students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, following the donation of brail books and writing materials to the pupils of FCT School for the Blind Child. The educational materials were donated by a team of students’ entrepreneurs, under the aegis of the crystallites Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE), a non-governmental organisation (NGO). This was disclosed by Mr. Agwu Amogu, who chaired the N10 million fund-raising for the “Blind Must Read” project in Abuja. Amogu said the project was aimed at assisting the blind students in their education by providing text books and dictionaries for them to use. The Assistant Project Coordinator of the team, Mr. Yusuf Nasir, said the plight of the blind students was a major concern for the organisation and they decided to come up with the project. According to him, as part of moves to support the blind students, the SAGE team of Junior Secondary School Garki, Area 10 recycled old calendars and newspapers to produce brail books. Nasir, who explained that brail books are the kind of books the blinds read, noted: “Brail book is a book that the blind students use, in which they use their hands to trace the letters for them read.” He said: “If we look at the level of participation of this group of pupils in external examinations including the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) we will realize that their performance is very poor while those that write the examinations are hardly successful. We want them to also know that they are not alone, for the fact that they are blind we are all one.”

: L-R: Funke Akindele; Mr. Okeme; Chioma Akpotha; the overall winner, Imurang Salisu; Ali Nuhu and Ibironke Ugbaja at the grand finale of the competition.

Lagos seeks private school owners’ support Mojeed Alabi

he Lagos State Government is seeking the cooperation and support of private schools owners in the state in its drive to ensure the delivery of quality education, saying such has become imperative to make the implementation of its policies stress-free. The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, who made the plea during a stakeholders’ forum, urged the school owners and other stakeholders in the state’s education sector to adhere strictly to the state’s education policies for the betterment of sector in the state and the country

Fashola

by extension. Oladunjoye promised the school owners of continued support by the incoming administration, saying the template already established will be sustained. She pointed out that the government is committed

to raising the standard of education as well as providing necessary infrastructure, stressing that this could only be achieved with the support of the stakeholders. Earlier in her speech, the Director-General, Education Quality Assurance and organisers of the forum, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo recalled that the office, which was created as part of efforts to improve the quality and standard of education in the state, has made meaningful contributions to sanitize the guidelines guiding the operation of education below tertiary level. She hinted that the office, with five major depart-

ments including quality assurance, private education and special programmes, planning and school registration and human resources, has within the short time of its existence organised a review of instruments and held sensitization and training programmes for practitioners in the sector. She explained: “The aim of this forum is to have a robust interactive session in which all issues will be discussed in order to move education forward and to intimate the school owners about the new trend in the discharge of their responsibilities as education quality providers.

26 Education

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

NUC has jailed two illegal varsities’ operators — Spokesman Ibrahim Usman Yakassai is Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations for the National Universities Commission (NUC). He speaks with YEKEEN NURUDEEN on the activities of the Commission to rid the country of illegal universities operators. Why has the number of illegal universities be on the increase despite the efforts of National Universities Commission’s fight against the illicit business? Well, if you notice in the Commission’s bulletin, we have the list of the illegal universities and we have continued to publish them so that they will not resurface. In the past we have had situations where we closed down illegal degree mill in Kaduna and we are planning to carry out similar operations in Lagos. So, because of that we decided that once we capture a university as an illegal institution and even after NUC has run that operator aground, and after convicting such operators, we will still publish that university in our bulletin. This is to ensure that the name of that university will ever appear anywhere as an illegal degree mill and that is the basis. That to a large extent has helped the Commission to have a tally of how many illegal universities it has so far clamped down on, and to assist the public in having the number of how many such institution had been shut down. The essence is that, first we stopped them from operating anywhere in the country, as well as assist the public by putting the names of the universities and their operators in the public domain. Apart from the closure and arrest of some of the operators of illegal these universities, is NUC able to prosecute them? Well, the law establishing the National Universities Commission is being amended. We have been able to convict some of them. Last year, a Professor who operates an illegal university was jailed. Besides, the Commission is having several cases in the court. Of course, what is most important to us as the university regulatory agency is to stop illegal universities from operating, and to make sure that innocent members of the society were not being duped, as well as to prosecute offenders where possible. We are prosecuting them, but you have to realise that the nation’s legal system, as good as it is sometimes could be very slow. But, the Commission wants to assure that any case that it’s prosecuting; it will take it to its logical conclusion. By and large, I will say that we have never been found wanting for lack of diligence in our prosecution process. Do we have any legal framework that empowers NUC in the fight against illegal university?

Well, Section 24 of Educational Act, which is Cap E34 Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004, mandates that any institution that is not established in accordance with the licensing procedures in that Act shall be closed down by the NUC. Beyond that, it does not state any sanction that could be imposed on any culprit found guilty to have been involved in promoting and operating illegal university. But as a responsible organisation; responsible to the nation and responsible to the public, NUC cannot just stop or wait at that. So, what we are doing is that this lacuna is being addressed Yakassai through amendment process to that law which is presently before the National Assembly. In the amendment, we want the operation of illegal university to be criminalised and appropriate sanctions will be provided. Meanwhile, now that we are awaiting for the amendment, what the Commission is doing presently is to hide under the Criminal Law and Criminal Code both in Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria respectively, which is called 419 Law (obtaining money under false pretense) to prosecute offenders. We mean false pretence in the sense that the operators present the universities as legalised institutions to attract innocent Nigerians and students to the institutions and defraud them by collecting fees from them and issued them fake degrees. All these now make So far, the ingredients of obtaining money the under false pretense to be constituted. Once these ingredients are conCommisjunctively consummated, then, the sion has offence is committed. That is what we are using now. convictHowever, in the process, we reed two quire the affected students who were victims to come out and testify propriagainst them, but that has remained etors of a greater challenge to us because most time we do not see these stuillegal dents. They usually run away under universithe guise and mentality that they don’t want to be involved. “I don’t ties want it to be through me that this person would be jailed.” That is the position we are presently. But, when the NUC law is amended, we won’t need any student to do that before you prosecute operators of fake universities. Presently, the law has not criminalised the operations of illegal universities per say. Of course, it is the activities of the proprietors that are unwholesome; obtaining money under false pretense. That is the provision in the law that we are using to prosecute those the Commission arraigned in the court. But,

the disadvantage of this is that we still need the students to come out and prove that money was obtained from them under false pretence. Does NUC have records of number of prosecutions and list of illegal universities? Of course, we do. We have the record which is with our Legal Department. How many of such illegal operators have been so far convicted or under trial? So far, the Commission has convicted two proprietors of illegal universities. For instance, the NUC has been able to convict and sentence the Proprietor of Temple University, Mr. and Mrs. Pius Nwachukwu, as well as owner of illegal study centre of Nasarawa State University and Middle Belt University, Mr. Francis Ada Agbos. However, one of the proprietors, that is the Proprietor of Peace Keeping University, Akwanga died before his trial was concluded in 2011. We also have those that are currently under trial. The Proprietor of Olympic University, Nsukka, Mr. Chibuzor Agbo is undergoing trial in Nsukka; Mr. Martins Oloruntise, who is the Proprietor of International Open University of Sri Lanka, Akure Study Centre; as well as the Proprietor of Christian of Charity American University of Science and Technology, Ifeanyi Obiora, who is being tried in Abuja. We also have one Iornem, the operator of New Idea Management and Commonwealth University, who is also being tried. The NUC has also moved against university satellite campuses. To what extent has the Commission succeeded in closing down the campuses? To all intent and purpose, as far as I know, there is no study centre

or satellite campus of any university operating in the country. If we know of any we will go there and close them down. We don’t allow any study centre or satellite campus except if that centre is in Abuja and it belongs to the University of Abuja, that is a dual mode university which is allowed to run both distance learning and conventional system at the same time. When the NUC scrapped and closed down satellite campuses, it reeled out some stringent conditions for such campuses to operate. Part of these conditions is that such campus should not operate more than 200 kilometers radius from the parent university, and that the centres should use the same lecturers being used in the main campus to lecture there. Hence, I want to stress that these conditions made it rather impossible for any university to operate study centres or satellite campuses. So, for now we don’t know of any one and if you do kindly assist us because I can assure you that the Commission will go there and close it down. What measures are being put in place by NUC to detect illegal university? What people don’t realise is that as a Commission, we are highly mobile in our operations. Our staff are at all times in most of the states carrying out one activity or the other; either accreditation or monitoring. We also have gone one step further by asking members of the public to report any form of illegal operations in their communities to us. Sometimes, you will be shocked about the caliber of people who report to us. At the beginning of this fight, what we did was to go round all the states; visiting and talking to the all governors, police commissioners, and other security operatives such as police, SSS, EFCC, ICPC, while we have a joint team of NUC operatives.

Education

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 3

their energy to make the system function well, however advocated a deliberate effort that would foster strong partnership between the industry and the colleges. While insisting that the budget to education sector has been greatly improved in recent times, the executive secretary challenged the new government to beam its searchlight on prudent disbursement and spending of TETFund and budgetary allocations. For the Deputy Secretary General of NUT, Mr. Wale Oyeniyi, the Buhariled government should establish the Teacher Salary Structure (TSS) towards improved teachers’ motivation, calling for adequate infrastructure and facilities at all levels of education to tackle the problem of students learning under trees and sheds. Lamenting the rising cases of insecurity in schools, he said one major task before Buhari is to ensure adequate security in schools, even as he suggested the introduction of insurance policies for teachers and students. Worried by the level of infrastructural decay in the sector, the Dean, School of Transport, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Samuel Odewumi, urged the government to address the most critical areas of need of the sector which include quality assurance, infrastructure and teachers ‘ continuous knowledge and skills upgrade. On the rising profile of unemployment, in which education has a crucial role to play, the don said the moribund technical colleges should be revived and adequately equipped with qualified staff, as this will go a long way to accelerate national development. Echoing Gasper, he challenged the new government to resuscitate and strengthen inspectorate and monitoring division in the primary and secondary schools to improve the quality assurance, while at tertiary level there should be notable compliance with benchmarks and minimum academic standards by all the relevant agencies including the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). In fact, the General Manager of Education Cooperation Society, a non-governmental and civil society organization, Dr. Chudi Iheanacho said Buhari should uphold some of the positive policies already initiated by the outgoing administration such the Almajiri Education programme. For improved sector, the government under Buhari’s watch should hands off the management of secondary school education so that a good chunk of national education budget is not spent on the few unity schools. As part of moves to restore confidence to higher institutions, a Professor of African & Oral Literature at the

Agenda for Buhari’s administration

Alogba-Olukoya

Prof. Adeyemi

University of Ibadan (UI) and Coordinator, Ibadan Cultural Studies Group (ICSG), Prof. Demola Dasylva called for serious commitment on the part of the government that will guarantee faithful implementation of the National Policy on Education on the 6-3-3-4 system as originally designed. He also urged the government to tackle the problem of corruption, poor implementation of education by the superintending ministries, and lack of political will on the part of the government, if the sector is to move forward. Dasylva advised the incoming administration to as a deliberate policy meet the 26 per cent of the national budgetary allocation for education, saying this is a sure way of ensuring adequate funding of the sector at all the levels. Apart from repositioning of technical and vocational education and incorporated at secondary and tertiary levels to meet the nation’s skills development requirements, the don said as a matter of urgency, the ‘Quranic schools’ should be upgraded to assume a formal setting and integrated into the UBE scheme. Its curricula should be expanded to involve skill development programmes in crafts and creative arts and technical training in carpentry, shoe-making, tailoring, hair-dressing, pottery, cloth weaving and cloth dyeing. Under the new government, Dasylva has suggested that the National Universities Commission (NUC) should be refocused, while there is need for the overhaul and review of the various programmes currently run in the universities towards improved quality

and relevance to national development. He advised that Buhari-led government should immediately dissolve all the university governing councils, as most of them are cast in the image of the current government, saying fresh governing councils which will be purely based on merit and share the vision of a true and positive change of the in-coming government needed to constitute. Meanwhile, he said the Buhari-led government should critically study the report and recommendations of the NEEDS Assessment on the nation’s university education with a view to implementing them and carrying out proper investigation to determine, especially, how heads of public universities spent the huge resources they received in the past four years. Dasylva urged the in-coming government to mandate relevant government agencies to include private universities in the TETFund research grants allocations, saying private universities should not be exempted from the education largesse. Though, the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Ado Tennebe, said Buhari’s administration should continue to build on the legacies left behind by the outgoing administration, he insisted that some of the policies of the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, especially the Almajiri Education programme, TETFund intervention, among others, should be retained while increased funding of the education sector need to be undetaken. Echoing Tenebe, his University of Lagos (UNILAG) counterpart, Prof.

Rahman Bello, sought more funding for the sector for it to compete globally. Under the education reform agenda of Buhari-led government, the Acting Executive Secretary of the National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Dr. Alex Maiyanga, said there is the need to give teacher education a top priority. According to him, the government should put all teacher training institutions including universities and education faculties under the National Commission for Colleges of Education for regulation, even as he said all colleges of education should be upgraded to degree awarding institutions to raise enrolment into the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE). Also setting agenda for the incoming administration, the Bells University of Technology Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Association of ViceChancellor and Registrars of Private Universities in Nigeria (AVCRPNU), Prof. Isaac Adeyemi, said the government should include private universities in the TETFund allocations, while government should invest massively in education infrastructure at the basic and higher levels. The don said merit, experience and integrity should be allowed to count in the appointment of a minister for the sector. Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University, Prof. Charles Ayo, however lamented that accountability and transparency, which he claimed are lacking in the management of the system, should be enthroned by the new government. Ayo, who insisted that the challenge of underfunding is no longer tenable as excuse in the sector, urged Buhari’s administration to carry out a proper cleansing of the education sector, which is the foundation for national development. To the Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji, Buhari’s priority should be to declare a state of emergency in the education sector. Echoing other stakeholders, he said there is the need to overhaul public schools in the country, even as he challenged Buhari’s administration to improve the teacher’s salary structure, while strategies should be put in place to enhance adequate motivation and incentive of teachers. Adedimeji said the Buhari-led administration on assumption of office on May 29 should offer automatic employment to graduates with First Class and Second Class Upper Division as Graduate Assistants in universities, as this will address the depletion of quality lecturers in the university system.

Open varsity don canvasses establishment of organ bank Mojeed Alabi

he Dean of the School of Law, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Justus Sokefun has advocated the establishment of a bank where organs of willing individuals could be kept. Besides, the don called on the government to create a National Board for Transplantation of Organs (NBTO) in the country that would take charge of all matters concern-

ing transplantations. Sokefun, who made this request while delivering the university’s seventh inaugural lecture, entitled: “Towards a Legal Regimen for the Transplantation of Human Organs in Nigeria,” insisted that such board should be backed with an Act to be known as the National Human Organ Transplantation Act for it to function effectively. According to him, the organ bank should be like the blood bank where pants of blood are kept so that when people are in need they could go to the bank

till his donor appears rather than waiting till the sick provides a donor. His words: “And the Act will, among other things, determine the requisite personnel for transplantation surgeries, assist in research for the definition of brain-death, provide training and continued education for staff. It will also ensure the provision of financial incentives for highly technical and intricate aspects of medical practice.” He added that the board will also ensure the setting up of

transplant centres on regional basis in the country, as well as organise mass education for the public on the virtues of donating organs. According to him, transplantation of organs from a living or dead person in need of transplantation, has become a global practice which is often justified on grounds of its benefits to patients, but that legal framework for the process is weak in Nigeria. He, therefore, urged stakeholders and particularly lawmakers to promulgate relevant

laws that will address the challenges, saying that in spite of new breakthroughs, innovations and techniques in medical practice and fast-pace medical research, law had been slow in responding to such novel frontiers. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, who commended the lecturer for what he described as stimulating lecture, said the university would continue to do its utmost best to liberate the country from illiteracy. He added that Sokefun’s submission will be recommended to the appropriate authorities for implementation.

28 Education | Campus

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

RUN academic staff groan over new time-table Adeyewa, VC

Owomolade Timothy and Shadrack Yusuf

embers of academic staff of the Redeemer’s University (RUN), Ede, Osun State are challenging the decision of the management of the private university, to change the academic timetable from two-hour to one-hour lecture mode.

Under the new time-table, lectures would now span for one hour with an hour break between 12 noon and 1pm. Following the development the members of staff and students, who were complaining that they did not see any need for such policy, however described it as unnecessary and a product of wrong judgment on the part of the management. According to the Head, Physical Sciences, Prof. Kola Wole, in a chat with Telegraph Campus, the new time-table was introduced to ensure the attendance of lecturers throughout the week days, and to provide the students a balanced university education. His words: “This is my ninth year in the university because I got here in 2006. Then, we were used to one-hour lecture. I have experienced three universities – the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), where I was the Vice-

Chancellor. The practice is always one-hour lecture, except for practicals which can be three hours. “But between 2007 and 2008, we began to experience the problem of limited space in campground. We could not expand our facilities. That was why the management then decided to introduce the two-hour of lecture system. Since the university is now on a very large space with adequate facilities, the management was advised to revert to the old order of one-hour lecture. The paper suggesting the new change was taken to university Senate.” Wole, who insisted that the change is always a difficult thing, noted that the two-hour lecture practice came with so many disadvantages, saying some the lecturers were only coming to lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is the need to discipline ourselves and I am happy that the lecturers are complaining,” he explained, stressing that “a lecturer should be

able to package his lecture, even for 45 minutes in order for quality delivery. While highlighting the disadvantages of the two-hour lecture, Wole said that by the time a lecture is over one hour, the lecturers and students are anxious to go. “If you go to some offices now you probably won’t find half of the lecturers in this university, and that should not be the case,” the don said, even as he pointed out that when the lecture hours are spread on the time table, the lecturers will work. He added: “Even when a lecturer has no lecture, he is expected to be available in his office because the students might want to consult him. The students’ interaction with their lecturers should not be limited to the classroom alone. We need to do this so as to provide balanced education to our students. To me, the one-hour lecture mode has come to stay in the university.

Staff, students hail provost Emeka Onwudinjo UNIZIK

embers of staff and students of Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze , Anambra State are counting their blessings. Thanks to the quality and progressive leadership styles of the Provost of the college, Prof Josephat Ogbuagu, a Professor of Industrial Chemistry, whom they said has given the college a face-lift. According to the students, Ogbuagu, the third substantive Provost of the college, has since his assumption of office on February 15, 2010 served as a wind of change that has continued to blow through the college in all spheres of its development. They said the wind is blowing with accelerated velocity that has continued to bring about the necessary changes in all sectors of the college, even as they added that the provost on assumption of office inherited a dilapidated institution, lacking academic quality and discipline, infrastructure and motivation for workers. “But within Ogbuagu’s first term, he has raised the institution from its total collapsing state to an extent that the leader of the accreditation team that visited the college’s academic programmes, Prof. U.T. Muhammed from the Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, expressed satisfaction with the great works being done by the provost and his management after facilities tour of the college,” they said. Towards this end, the

team, according to them, urged the provost not to relent in his efforts in moving the college forward ahead of its contemporaries, even as the leader of the team described the college as the fastest growing technical college in the country. Similarly, the Head, Quality Assurance Unit of the National Commission of Colleges of Education (NCCE), Dr. A. Abdulkareen, who led other principal officers of the Commission on a three-day capacity building workshop to the college, commended the provost for his leadership style and for raising the banner of the institution. Abdulkareen, while noting that they were thrilled by the level of infrastructural development and quality of projects executed by the management under Ogbuagu’s watch, however noted that Ogbuagu has proved his mettle as a visionary leader, whose passion for the transformation of the institution has never been hidden. The Public Relations Officer for the college, Mr. Ike Sunday, while recalling in a chat with the Telegraph Campus that infrastructure and facilities in the college were already moribund at the mini campus and permanent site of the college before Ogbuagu’s administration, added that the administration has brought great changes to the institution. His words: “Since his assumption of office, a wind of change has been blowing through the college and this wind is moving with accelerated velocity to bring about necessary changes in all sectors of the college.

Anyadubalu handing over the school band set to Mrs. Uwaezuoke who is flanked by some of the teachers during the event.

How philanthropist put smiles on pupils’ faces, unveils quiz contest Emeka Onwudinjo UNIZIK

he management, staff and pupils of Central School Umunachi, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, are still savouring the set of band instruments, valued at over a million naira donated to the school. The items were donated to the school by a philanthropist, Mr. Pat Anyadubalu, in order to assist the school and motivate the pupils. Anyadubalu, a legal practitioner, whose pet project is Back -To-School Foundation, a nongovernmental and profit making organisation, while presenting the facilities, disclosed that the gesture was part of his contributions towards the development of the pupils and school. He recalled: “I am back at my alma mater because this prima-

ry school was where I had my first formal education between 1975 and 1981. Hence, it is part of my philanthropic gestures to support my alma mater. I have realised with regret that in most cases that whenever there is clamour that the old students should support their alma mater, the emphasis has usually been on the universities or secondary schools, with no one supporting their primary schools. However, you will find out that primary schools should be given that basic support because that is the origin and the foundation of quality education for a child.” Anyadubalu added: “When the foundation of a house is faulty, we can hardly rectify a faulty foundation, and what to do is to pull down the entire building. But, if the foundation is solid and there is an error on the building, we can subsequently rectify such er-

ror. Therefore, if the foundation was not properly laid, it would probably have been very difficult for such child to rise up to secondary school or university level. In the case where the foundation is properly laid, we will appreciate that the sky would be the limit of that child. That was why I said let me support my alma mater begin with my primary school.” The donor, who lamented that the school lacked band set which the pupils use during assembly and on Children’s Day on May 27 and Independence celebration on October 1 for match past, said of the gesture: “I believe that absence or lack of a band set will affect the match past and some other functions of the school. And more importantly, it will motivate and afford the pupils to practise and compete with others schools during such celebrations.”

Education | Campus 29

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Refocus school curriculum to reflect national needs, don tells FG Oladele Oge UNN

don at the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Aloysius Okolie, has urged the Federal Government to refocus the nation’s academic curriculum to reflect its needs in order for the graduates or products of the system to be employable. Okolie, a Professor of Political Science made the call while delivering the 92nd inaugural lecture of the university, which took place at the Princess Alexandra Hall of the institution. This is as he said such refocusing would mobilize internal expertise, skills and endowments to generate the required local content to move the education sector forward and fast track the economy. He said: “There is need to reformulate and refocus the academic curriculum in the country to reflect the nation’s needs, so as to pave the way for efficient manpower. Impact factor content attuned to addressing externalised needs and values is a disguised strategy for advancing academic imperialism and deepening the incidence of self-repudiation and self-delusion.” In order to break the umbilical cord of underdevelopment, the don insisted that developing countries must believe in themselves and prioritize development strategies based on traditional values. “Developing countries should begin to address the issue of poverty which is assuming a dangerous dimension,” Okolie noted, saying they should provide the required funds and critical infrastructure that would support their development as well as revive abandoned cottage and small-scale industries. While noting that the basics of global political economy are challenges facing peripheral social formations in developing countries, the political scientist added that “development is a product of sound, sustained and cogent planning and administrations of curative pills purchased at a genuine market and attuned to the needs of the target.” “Underdevelopment could be likened to the blind, chaotic and unregulated administration of curative pills purchased for cancer patient and

wrongly administered to malaria patient, “he said. Meanwhile, the inaugural lecturer said the power and sanctity of ballot box should be strengthened and preserved by allowing the electoral process to reflect the choices of the people. The electoral process, according to him, should reflect choices and ideal of respective states, while the people should reserve the powers to vote and choose public office holders.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Academic, Prof. Polycarp Chigbu, expressed the university’s readiness to enrich its host and immediate community and the society at large through intellectual meals and academic discourse by renowned scholars and professors of the university, who have distinguished themselves

in their various fields of research. While lauding the inaugural lecturer for the stimulating lecture, he said: “Today’s lecture is another intellect meal with difference as the lecturer is a renowned political scientist that has immense contributions in national development. The university will continue to provide the enabling environment to educate and enrich the public with sound knowledge.”

Ozumba

30 Education

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Maltina Teacher of the Year to emerge Oct 5 Kayode Olanrewaju

he maxim “Teachers’ reward is in heaven,” was last week set aside by the Nigerian Breweries Plc, manufacturer of Maltina brand of non-alcoholic drink, which instituted the Maltina Teacher of the Year Award to celebrate and reward the teachers. Under the maiden yearly award, the Nigerian Breweries Plc has earmarked N50 million to reward committed and diligent teachers in public secondary schools across the country. The award, which is being instituted and sponsored by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, according to the organisers, is aimed at restoring the pride of teachers and the dignity of the teaching profession. The five-step evaluation process of the entries, the Corporate Affairs Adviser of the company, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, said will produce 37 champions, one from each state of the federation and the Federal Territory Capital, who will be the state champions, out of whom the Multina Teacher of the Year will finally emerge. He said the state champions and the national winners will be celebrated and decorated during the grand ceremony, billed for October 5, in commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day. The Maltina Teacher of the Year will smile home with N1 million each year for

the next five year as well as an overseas training, while the school will get a classroom built and donated by NBL. Each of the state champions is expected to receive N500,000; while the first runner up will get N1million, the second runner up will receive N750,000. According to Kufre, while flagging off the award at a press conference in Lagos, pointed out that the award, which is a new initiative from the Foundation, is designed to recognise, celebrate and motivate teachers in the country. “We hope that through this initiative, we can inspire this nation to accord teachers their deserved position and bring back respect to the teaching profession in Nigeria, “ Kufre said. Also, the company’s Human Resources Director, Mr. Victor Famuyibo, in his remarks, described teachers as builders of the wealth of nations, who deserved to be recognised, encouraged and celebrated. “Everywhere in the world, teachers play a vital role in the training, coaching and determining the quality of education and this is critical to sustainable national development,” he added. The acting Deputy General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr. Wale Oyeniyi, while lauding the company for its initiative, declared that Maltina drink has become the official drink of NUT and schools in all their activities across the country.

EDUPEACE

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

For you and for me

ne thing that bothers me most about the calamity that has struck our education, not only here but also everywhere “modernization” is taking place, is the scant regard given to the role of parents. All of a sudden, we seem to have forgotten that the role of parents in educating their children is primary and pre-eminent. And like a magnificent building with a weak and fetid foundation, the whole education edifice collapses like a pack of cards when there is a windstorm. I still remember some of the life lessons I learnt from my father when I was growing up. I am troubled that I hope when I am gone, my own children will remember the life lessons they learn from me. Do I have as much time for my children as my parents did for me? Let the question prick your conscience too, if you have children. It is very crucial not to leave the education of children to teachers alone, or to the ubiquitous children channels. While teachers do their job of teaching children school subjects, parents should also do their job of teaching children life subjects. Afterall, the University of Life is one where one continues to learn till one dies or “graduates”, which is the real graduation. However, this unwholesome development, which I called a year ago “Apathy of duty” (see New Telegraph, May 28 2014 or www.newtelegraphonline.com/ apathy-duty/) is more prevalent in Western or Westernising societies than the Eastern (including Middle-Eastern) ones. This is why part of the balanced education that I advocated last week would imply a happy marriage of the African, Eastern and

It is very crucial not to leave the education of children to teachers alone

Western education. It is in this regard that I wasn’t surprised that the beautiful words I share below are those of a TV broadcaster in Hong Kong, addressed to his son, but also meant “for you and for me”, to quote Michael Jackson: Dear son, “I am writing this to you for three reasons: 1. Life, fortune and mishaps are unpredictable, nobody knows how long he lives. Some words are better said early. 2. I am your father, and if I don’t tell you these, no one else will. 3. What is written is my own personal bitter experiences that perhaps could save you a lot of unnecessary heartaches. “Remember the following as you go through life: Do not bear grudge towards those who are not good to you. No one has responsibility of treating you well, except your mum and I. To those who are good to you, treasure them and be thankful. Also you must be cautious. Everyone has a motive for every move. When a person is good to you, it does not mean he really likes you. Be careful, do not hastily regard the person as a real friend.

L-R: Kufre, Famuyibo and Oyeniyi at the event

FUTA restates commitment to train student leaders Mojeed Alabi

he authorities of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) have expressed determination to sponsor the new leadership of the institution’s students’ union to participate in local and international leadership trainings. This, according to the university, is part of efforts towards making them function adequately well in their new roles. The management disclosed this during the swearing-in ceremony of the union leaders by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, who further advised the students not to see their new positions as opportunity to cheat on their colleagues by cutting corners, rather to see it as additional responsibilities and opportunity to serve. Daramola, who was represented by his Deputy in charge of Development, Prof.

Tolulope Akinbogun admonished them to see leadership as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish set objectives and direct an organisation in a way that will make it cohesive and coherent. He said: “The underlying principles here are service, character and teamwork. Do not let your position get into your heads. You must be humble and approach every situation with maturity. The character you display during your tenure will show the kind of persons you are. Strive to serve others, even as you lead. “We have consistently been sponsoring student leaders to attend leadership training programmes within and outside the country for the past six years. I believe your administration will not be an exception. This is part of our resolve to take FUTA and its products to a higher level of internationalization in scholarship and excellence.”

OAU gets $1.12m for research on vegetables

he efforts of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in general research, especially in agricultural products, particularly food and vegetable productions, have received a boost as the Canada-based International Development Research Centre (IDRC) awarded it a grant of $1.12 million US Dollars. The grant is to support the project on the development of agronomic packages for the cultivation of indigenous vegetables such as “Igbagba, Woorowo, Ogunmo, Ugu, Tete Abalaye and Odu.” The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, who said the project is being funded by the centre through the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF), stressed that OAU, in partnership with four other universities, including Osun State University; University De Parakou in Benin Republic; Universities of Saskatchewan

and Manitoba, both in Canada, would collaborate with the Institute of Agriculture Research and Training (IAR and T) in Ibadan, Bioresources Development Centre (NABDA) in Ogbomoso and some Non-Governmental Organisations in the projects. According to Olarewaju, the project in its second phase was designed to advance indigenous vegetables production, enhance vegetable yields, promote consumption and value addition, propel marketing, preserve soil and water ecosystems His words: “While it is envisaged that the results from the project have the potential to set up profitable vegetable value chain and business that would continue to work in a self-sustaining manner beyond the life of the project, it will also leverage Canadian knowledge in using the only synchroton in Canada to analyse long-term effects of micro-dosing techniques.”

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Energy

The task ahead of Buhari

Property

Aviation

N24.5bn bonds: Who blinks first, DMO or FMBN?

Nigeria’s aviation: What Buhari needs to do

Business What's news

Alleged $20bn missing revenue: Seven Energy opens up Indigenous firm, Seven Energy, has opened up on allegation of complicity in the $20 billion missing oil revenues, saying that the company had been vindicated

p.32

Nigeria’s wheat imports from US drops to 55% The United States’ market share of Nigerian wheat imports has dropped to 55 per cent

L-R: Group Managing Director, WEMPCO Western Products, Mr. Lewis Tung; President, Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko and Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, at a dinner by the private sector in honor of Aganga and the unveiling of a ‘Photo Story of MITI Transformation in 42 Months’, in Lagos.

DISSATISFACTION The losses may have been occasioned by the perceived dwindling in quality of service Kunle Azeez

p.32

The Business Desk Ayodele Aminu

Deputy Editor (Business)

Bayo Akomolafe

Asst. Editor (Maritime)

Sunday Ojeme

Asst. Editor (Insurance)

Tony Chukwunyem

Asst. Editor (Money Market)

Dele Alao

Industry & Agric Editor

Dayo Ayeyemi Property Editor

Adeola Yusuf Energy Editor

Wole Shadare Aviation Editor

Chris Ugwu

Capital Market Editor

Abdulwahab Isa

ne of the country’s mobile telecommunications services provider, Etisalat Nigeria, has witnessed a loss of about 31,538 telephone lines from its network to competitors, a report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed. New Telegraph gathered that the losses, contained in the latest Mobile Number Portability (MNP) status report obtained from the telecoms umpire, represents the total number of telephone lines that ported out of Etisalat network since the introduction of porting service in 2013. The figure also represents a dent in the telco’s subscriber

Finance Editor

Kunle Azeez

Senior Correspondent

Chuks Onuanyin Energy

Nnamdi Amadi Reporter

Johnson Adebayo

Asst. Production Editor

31,538 subscribers dump Etisalat network base and revenue, currently estimated at about 22 million, according to last subscriber data from the telecoms regulator. However, the telecoms operator tops the gainer’s chart in incoming ported lines, most of the times, in attracting more incoming (in-porting) than the rivals. MNP is an innovative service launched by the Commission on April 21, 2013, which allows subscribers to switch, at no cost, from their existing network to other networks adjudged by the subscribers to be delivering improved services. The service currently runs only on the networks of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operators including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat. According to the NCC data,

the United Arab Emirates (UAE) telecoms firm witnessed a loss of 768 subscribers on its network in May 2013, a month after the momentous launch of porting service by the regulator in April that year. In June, 2013, 646 subscribers also ported out of Etisalat network while in July, August, September, October, November and December, 917; 934; 1,019; 1,001; 1,129 and 626 mobile subscribers dumped the network respectively. According to the NCC report, the trend on Etisalat also in terms of the number outporting also continued in 2014

22m

Total number of Etisalat’s subscriber base

as the mobile operator lost 806 subscribers in January; 807 in February; 3,157 in March; 1,817 in April; 1552 in May and by the end of June, another 2,375 Etisalat subscribers migrated to another networks. Also in July last year, NCC reported a loss of 2,634 subscribers on Etisalat network and, in August, September, October, November and December, the number of telephone lines lost were 1,598; 2,682; 1,757; 1,019 and 920 respectively. This year, the telecoms network was also reported by the regulator to have lost 1749 phone lines in January and in February, the total number of telephone lines that ported out of Etisalat network was 1,625. Till date, official records CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

Rates Dashboard INFLATION RATE April 2015................................8.7% March 2015.............................8.5% February 2015.........................8.4%

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

EXCHANGE RATE (BDC as at May 22)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N222 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N340 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N245

l Foreign Reserves – $29.789bn as at 21/05/2015

Source: CBN

EXCHANGE RATE (Interbank as at May 22)

USD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N200 Pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N301 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N214

xts

Niaas it v-

Business | News

INVESTMENT Company invests $500m in technical partnership with NPDC Adeola Yusuf

ndigenous firm, Seven Energy, has opened up on allegation of complicity in the $20 billion missing oil revenues, saying that the company had been vindicated. Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Goveernor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had raised the issue in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan in September last year, saying that the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had failed to turn over nearly $50 billion in revenue over an 18-month period, from January 2012 to July 2013, “in gross violation of the law.” Sanus, who is now the emir of Kano, acknowledged in a letter to the Nigerian Senate that the missing funds could be “$10.8 billion or $12 billion or

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Alleged $20bn missing revenue: Seven Energy opens up $19 billion or $21 billion, adding that the apparent diversion “has been going on for a long time” and could “bring the entire economy to its knees” if it is not stopped. He also listed some companies, including Seven Seas, as culpable in the alleged sleaze. But Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs, Seven Energy, Alhaji Abdullah Bukar, told our corrospendent at a press parley in Lagos, that Sanusi, who raised the alarm, did not include the name of the company in his second article because on the company’s innocence. “Sanusi listed a number of companies and much later he changed the list and Seven Energy is one of the companies he removed from the list,” he said. He added that Seven Energy has over the years of its existence remained resolute and

committed to contributing to the economic development and progress of Nigeria through legitimate business in the oil and gas sector. The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Jeff Corey and Vice President, Quality, Health, Safety, Security, Government and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Glemm Besfall, corroborated his view. While Corey said that the company has invested $500 million in technical partnership with Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Besfall disclosed that about N225 million is spent on Corporate Social Responsibility annually. Corey said that the company has expended about $500 million in technical partnership with the NPDC. He said: “We are in technical partnership and $500 mil-

lion has been invested into this and government is having good returns on investments. We are also in partnership with Frontier Energy.” Bestfall said that the company has engaged in training and employment of Nigerians; improving the power supply and standard of living of host community in Akwa Ibom State. Besides, he said that the company has supported industry expansion in that state. The CSR, he continued, is felt in both the local and national levels through community projects and developments, health and safety and environment. “Our Corporate Social Responsibility is not limited to everything we have done in the 19 Local Government Areas and 220 communities of our operations. On pipeline engagement including Right of Way with our community,

we spent N70 million per year (pipeline), on Green Team Initiative, we have N75 million allocations per annum; while N80 million is for community development,” he said. In all, he said, Seven Energy has about N225 million investments on CSR. Bukar had earlier said that Seven Energy’s contribution to national economic growth includes supply of gas to plants in Calabar, Unicem and Alaoji. “We feed these plants with gas and we plan to expand our customer base based on the 600 million capacity we earlier talked about,” he said. “In the upstream we will acquire and develop strategically located reserves and resources; ensure production volumes sufficient to meet gas supply obligation; develop gas reserves and resources in the OPL (Oil Prospect Lease) 905, 907 and 917.

Subscribers dump Etisalat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

show that close to 200,000 subscribers have, at one time or the other, ported from their existing mobile network to another among GSM firms. According to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, there were two major reasons for introducing MNP scheme into the nation’s telecoms sector. “The first is to provide choices for the subscribers in the face of unsatisfactory experience they are having on their current network and the second is to keep operators on their toes to invest on their network to improve service delivery, since by not improving its network, an operator stands a chance of losing its subscribers to other network with better quality of service experience for the subscribers,” he said in an interview during an industry forum in Lagos. Meanwhile, industry analysts have attributed the gradual increase in the uptake of MNP to the unsatisfactory quality of service (QoS) provided by GSM firms. Speaking at the weekend, Chief Executive Officer of AAA Infotek, Mr. Akin Akinbo, said: “Ordinarily, if I am on a network and I am satisfied with the service I get, there is no point switching; but if not, I may see a need to port out of my networks to another network.” He, however, noted that the fact that some people were switching from their current networks to another is an indication that they were not satisfied with the services on either existing networks and “since NCC has provided telecoms consumers with the freedom to vacate their existing networks to competitor’s network, whose service is adjudged better.”

L-R: Registrar/CEO, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN), Mr. Sunday Adeyemi; Vice-President, Mr. Udom Inoyo and President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Anthony Arabome, at the Institute’s 10th induction ceremony in Lagos. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Nigeria’s wheat imports from US drops to 55% HIGH LEVIES Import duties discourage wheat importation Bayo Akomolafe

he United States’ market share of Nigerian wheat imports has dropped to 55 per cent. Prior to mid-year 2012, the United States held over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s wheat market. But data obtained by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed that the country will

export only 2.3 million metric tons to Nigeria for the year 2015/16, due to high import levies being charged at the port. The country will import $513,682,000 worth of the commodity from US this year based on the current global price of $223.34 per metric ton. The latest drastic change in the wheat market share was attributed to Nigeria’s wheat import reduction measures. In July 2012, the Federal Government introduced a 15-per cent levy on wheat grain imports, resulting in an increase of the duty from five per cent to 20 per cent.

Also, it introduced a 65-percent levy on wheat flour imports – leading to an increase in duty from 35 per cent to 100 per cent in order to save $796 million a year and to boost local production. Already, Nigeria’s domestic wheat production has dropped 20 per cent from 100,000 tons to 80,000 tons despite government’s plans to achieve 68 per cent local production in 2015. Within three years, the country has imported N567.7 billion ($3.55 billion) worth of wheat. In 2012, Nigeria imported 4,140,000 metric tons; 2013, 4,550,000 metric tons, an increase of 9.90 per cent from

the previous year. In 2014, 4,750,000 metric tons was imported between January and November. This year, the country’s wheat demand will rise to 5.6 million metric tons. The report explained that the country was using the Soft Red Winter (SRW) wheat for cookies production and Hard White Wheat (HWW) for bread and noodle production. The report explained that high demand for wheat flour for the production of wheat, noodles, pasta and biscuits had contributed to Nigeria’s wheat market worth approximately $1 billion in US exports.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Nigeria’s crude market downtime worsens p.34

Energy

The task ahead of Buhari

The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, would be inheriting a crisis-ridden energy sector when he officially resumes on Friday. In this report, ENERGY EDITOR, ADEOLA YUSUF, sets an agenda for the in-coming government

he fuel scarcity lingers, cooking gas scarcity is worsening and the freefall in power generation continues unabated: These are happening in the inauguration week of Muhammadu Buhari. The President-elect has a fair knowledge of the energy industry and his election victory in the March 28, 2015; presidential election had caused panic at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other oil agencies. The president-elect had, on his own, said that he was set to tackle errant marketers and companies in the oil and gas industry in his bid to clean up the sector that has become the nation’s cesspool of corruption. Corruption Although, Buhari, a one-time Minister of Energy and former Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), had earlier vowed to fight corruption in the energy sector, he should not underestimate the sleaze in the sector. Stakeholders have, in fact, said that the success of Buhari’s fight against corruption in the energy sector will determine the overall success of his government. It was learnt that Buhari’s administration, which takes off from May 29, would focus on reforming the oil sector as part of his agenda of repositioning the economy. A report by Reuters, which gave an insight into the incoming administration’s plan for the oil and gas sector, said that it would focus on the reform of the segment first before sorting issues of taxes. The reform could lead to drastic change in policy that has bred corruption in the sector and made it easy for oil marketers and companies to engage in shady deals. For example, the report of a probe panel set up by the House of Representatives showed that the subsidy regime between 2009 and 2011, the period the report covers was fraught with “endemic corruption and entrenched inefficiency.” It found out that fuel importers were being paid for 59 million litres a day, while the country only consumes 35 million litres. Besides, Nigeria spent N2.587

Oil rig. Inset: Buhari

trillion on fuel subsidy in 2011 as against N245 billion provided for it in the budget. Four party sources from the All Progressives Congress (APC) told Reuters that the issue of fiscal terms, seen as crucial by the industry, would have to wait on current thinking about oil and gas policies for Nigeria. Crude output has stagnated at about two million barrels per day over the past few years, owing partly to under-investment. “We need to address the structural issues and leave the fiscal for now. A more transparent NNPC is needed with reasonable accounting,” Senator Bukola Saraki, said. Expectation on PIB Oil firms are keen on knowing Buhari’s plans on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), particularly the stand on tax. Jonathan’s administration redrafted the PIB, which had been in the works at the National Assembly for a decade. The PIB was meant to change everything from fiscal terms to overhauling the NNPC, environmental rules and revenue sharing, but its comprehensive nature caused disputes between lawmakers. Yet the main thing the oil companies were worried about was tax. The bill proposes 20 per cent tax on offshore projects and 50 per cent for onshore. Shell, Exxon and other majors had complained that the terms are unfair, given the risk associated with operating in Nigeria. Uncertainty over the fiscal terms of the bill have been holding back billions of dollars of investment,

especially into capital-intensive deep-water offshore, leading some to propose that the bill be broken up into several pieces and debated separately. The Buhari administration should, however, focus more on the reform of the oil sector before sorting out the issue of taxes.

Success of Buhari’s fight against corruption in the energy sector will determine the overall success of his government

Save drying oil reserves Crude discoverers in Nigeria under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum explorationists (NAPE), have hinted of plans to continue to rally foreign and localbased experts to find a way forward for the oil and gas industry. They expressed expectations that the in-coming government should save the dwindling oil reserves by encouraging increased exploration in the oil and gas sector. NAPE has been at the forefront of proffering solutions to myriads of problems facing Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, especially government’s target to increase oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily production of four million barrels by 2020. The country’s oil and gas industry has a lot of potentials for investors. Although oil companies in Nigeria shared in the blame for not doing enough to achieve the country’s exploration potential due to several issues, the policy thrust of government remained the major ingredients for efforts to boost oil reserves. As long as Nigeria continues to operate without finding more

crude oil, the country will definitely experience decline in reserve, but that will not lead to total depletion unless there are no new discoveries. Government had projected 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserve and four million barrels production per day for 2010, but failed to meet the target. It has now projected the same targets for 2020. All these projections would be achieved if there were strong policies on ground to encourage more investment in crude oil exploration. Downstream deregulation Stakeholders in the downstream sub-sector have called on the incoming president to totally deregulate the sector. Executive Secretary of Major Oil marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Thomas Olawore and his counterpart at Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers (DAPPMA), Adefemi Adewole, urged the incoming president to fully deregulate the sector. They insisted that this is the only way the country could be out of the perennial fuel scarcity facing it. Also, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has set an agenda for the in-coming government of Buhari in the petroleum industry. He said that the government must end importation of petroleum products within a record time. This came as the union urged CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

Business | Energy

DIP China reduced crude import from Nigeria by 50.3% in November Stories by Adeola Yusuf

he disruptions rocking Nigeria’s crude sale at the international market has worsened with over 15 million barrels of oil from Nigeria’s shore still unsold. The crude contained in June-loading cargoes schedule is different from the over 45 million barrels from the schedule of July loading still waiting for buyers. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter, depends largely on proceeds from crude to service over 85 per cent of its annual budget. The country has been suffering bearish sale at the market following the cut in demand for Nigeria’s grade by Indian and China. India, which recently replaced the United States as Nigeria’s biggest oil market, recently cut its import of the country’s crude by 38 per cent last December, while China did not import a barrel from the country in the period, data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) revealed.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Nigeria’s crude market downtime worsens, 15m barrels unsold India’s import of Nigerian crude tumbled to 5.2 million barrels in December, from 13.7 million in October and 12.4 million in November 2014. China, which bought 1.9 million barrels of Nigerian crude last October, reduced its import from the country by 50.3 per cent to 946,913 barrels in November. With the decline in imports from India and China, the share of the Asian region in Nigeria’s crude oil export dropped to 20 per cent last December from 30 per cent in October and 27 per cent in November. The Asian region, which is the major target market for many oil exporters, is a key market for Nigeria. Meanwhile, sluggish sale of Nigeria’s crude has rendered the shutdown of production at the Nembe oilfield in the country ineffective on the market. “Oil traders said the protest had no immediate market impact given an existing oversupply of June-loading cargoes of Nigerian crude,” Renters news reported. Total export from Nigeria in the month of December stood at 65.9 million, down from 67.1 mil-

lion barrels in September and 70 million barrels in August, according to the NNPC data. “Four regions namely, Europe, Asia and Far East, South America and Africa remain the major destinations of Nigerian crude and condensate export,” the NNPC said. Europe continued to be the largest regional importer of Nigerian oil as its imported 31.4 million barrels in December, up from 23.6 million barrels in October. Not only has the United States drastically reduced its import of Nigerian crude as a result of its increasing shale oil production, the country is gearing up to export its crude oil, with Asia being

a key target destination. After months of pressure over the ban on exports of most domestic crude in the US, the President Barack Obama administration in January took steps that were expected to unleash a wave of ultra-light shale oil known as condensate onto global markets. The US imports of Nigerian crude oil tumbled by 75 per cent last year to 21.51 million barrels, the lowest since the country started importing from Nigeria, the US Energy Information Administration had said. The country, which traditionally had been the largest importer of Nigerian oil until the last few years, changed to the 10th largest in 2014.

In July last year, the US imports of Nigerian crude fell to zero for the first time on record, according to data from the EIA. Meanwhile, protesters mostly young men with some women last Friday stormed Nembe oilfield in Bayelsa state in about 30 speedboats shutting down crude oil production at two flow stations of the oilfield. They were enraged over what they claimed was the sell-off of the region’s energy wealth without the approval of its inhabitants, particularly the sale of assets by Shell in oil mining license (OML) 29 and the accompanying Nembe Creek trunkline in late March to Aiteo Eastern E&P Company for about $1.7 billion.

Policy direction for Buhari CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

the out-going National Assembly to pass the protracted Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before its tenure lapses in June. At a briefing, NUPENG President, Mr. Igwe Achese, noted that the in-coming government must also ensure the safety of the nation’s pipelines network to reduce the haulage of products by roads with its negative consequences, including loss of lives through road accidents and traffic gridlock, especially on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which had been causing untold hardships for road users, among others. He said among the expectations of NUPENG from the incoming government was that the “government must ensure job security in the sector, as the cardinal programme of the party is job creation. The four refineries must be rehabilitated and new ones established to end or reduce massive importation of petroleum products into the country. “Government must also protect the nation’s pipelines from vandals, because if the pipelines are effectively protected with public depots scattered across the country, products will move through the pipelines to all the major depots across the country. “This will reduce the pressures on our roads with its consequences such as road accidents and gridlocks, especially in Lagos, that has been creating untold hardships for citizens. Again, without the safety of the pipelines, crude

cannot even get to refineries such as the Kaduna refineries. Government must also rehabilitate and expand all the access roads to the refineries.” Local content policy Another area of focus for the in-coming president is to strengthen the local content policy for the oil and gas sector. With this, the interest of Nigerian technocrats would not only be protected, but also the economic emancipation of the country would be enhanced. Gas flaring The in-coming government should also tackle air pollution and environmental degradation caused by oil spill and gas flaring. The incoherence in policy and stand of the out-going government on the gas flaring and oil spill have contributed immensely to degradation of the oil producing communities. These must be stopped in the interest of the nation. Power reforms The power sector reforms need to be revisited, especially in the area of generation and transmission. The power supply, which has continued to fall due to gas unavailability, the mystery of gas shortage and pipeline vandalism, despite surveillance contracts running into millions of dollars, also has to be addressed. Conclusion All eyes are now on the president-elect who is also expected to have his eyes on the energy sector.

Power installation

Ikeja Electric moves to end crazy billing, energy theft T he metering irregularities “also known as crazy billing” being experienced by the 300, 000 customers of the Ikeja Electric will soon fizzle out, the company has said. Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company, Engineer Abiodun Ajifowobaje, gave this assurance during the rollout of smart metering pilot scheme in Lagos. He said that the scheme would also end energy theft. Ajifobaje said: “Almost 300, 000 customers are not adequately metered - either they do not have meters at all or that they are on estimated billing. But this problem and the protest by customers as a result of crazy billing will be a thing of the past. “We had earlier commissioned a study and the outcome of the study is what led to this. We inherited some number of meters. Over 40, 000 of these meters have been

by-passed by our customers. “But under this Advance Meter Infrastructure (AMI) scheme, we have ensured that 99 per cent of this problem is addressed. The new meter is such that when you install it in your house, we can communicate with it. We will be able to know if there is an infringement on them. “This time around we are ready for by-passers and defaulters. The idea of tampering with meters will no longer be tolerated. “On the 25th of this month, 2, 000 meters would have been rolled out as pilot. We will install all these meter in different locations and monitor them and this will determine the massive roll out of the meters-about 300,000 meters by July. He said 300, 000 customers do not have meters at or they have faulty meters, adding that the company would be open and transparent in the deployment of the smart me-

ters to all these customers. On the Nigerian Content development, he said that the company had spent over N1.7 billion on suppliers. “Since we took over on the 1st of November, all our equipment, materials and all we use have not been imported. We source our equipment locally. It is a milestone in the development of our company. We have spent over N1.7billion on these Nigerian local suppliers for our operations,” he said. Stating that power supply to the Ikeja electric from the national grid has crashed to 280 Mega watts, Ajifowobaje said that his company is making frantic efforts to boost its embedded power generation. “We have done a lot of work on embedded generation. We are at an advanced stage of signing contracts with companies on this. We are also working on captive power-companies that generate power, more than they could not evacuate and use,” he said.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

‘Construction investment value to hit $9.4bn’ p.36 A battle line appears drawn between the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) over payment of N24.564 billion housing bond debt that matured last Sunday, which is generating concerns in the sector, write DAYO AYEYEMI and ABDULWAHAB ISA

Property&Environment N24.5bn bonds: Who blinks first, DMO or FMBN?

here has been uproar in the housing sector in the last two weeks following the battle of wit between the Federal Government and its agency, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), over the latter’s inability to redeem its N24.564 billion bond, which eventually matured last Sunday (May 24). Already, President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the recommendations of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that FMBN should sell some of its assets and provide other credible solutions to raise funds to pay its maturing obligation of N24.564 billion to forestall imposing a crisis on the economy. The fear among stakeholders is, however, whether the Federal Government will go ahead with its threat and sell FMBN’s assets. N24.5bn mortgage bond The amount in question is part of the N100 billion that the FMBN received from the Federal Government, which guaranteed the bond on March 27, 2007 to support its multi-tranche issuance programmes aimed at enabling Nigerians, especially career public servants, acquire residential houses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The launch of the bond was designed to kick-start the sale of Federal Government’s non-essential residential houses in the Federal Capital Territory to public servants under the monetisation policy of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. The FMBN, Nigeria’s premier mortgage bank, was directed to act as the issuing house through an incorporated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - Messrs FMBN SPV Issuer Limited. The first tranche of the bond, N26 billion, was sold in 2007. Impressed with the outcome, Messrs FMBN SPV Issuer Limited, in 2012, issued another N6 billion notes by way of private placement, to qualified institutional investors. The Series 2 fixed rate notes issued under the N100 billion residential mortgage-backed securities pro-

Okonjo-Iweala

Ya’u Kumo

gramme, sponsored by FMBN, is 100 per cent guaranteed by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The total value of the Federal Government guarantee that had been utilised so far is N32 billion. Why mortgage bonds are risk free transactions is because they are backed with unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of the Federal Government. Interestingly, investors that subscribed to the bond are due to recoup their investments on the maturity of bond Series 3 on May 24, 2015. The FMBN has an obligation to pay N24.564 billion to Note holders. The crisis Crisis erupted when President Goodluck Jonathan, in a circular dated May 5, 2015, approved the recommendations of OkonjoIweala, that FMBN should sell some of its assets and provide other credible solutions to raise funds to pay its maturing obligation of N24.564 billion. The directive, which the Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakeni, has been mandated to carry out, stipulates that the Aso Savings and Loans Limited should immediately remit the collections of N4.54 billion, which “it has failed to remit to the FMBN.” The FMBN was also directed by the Coordinating Minister of Finance to immediately recover all the non-performing loans (NPLs), including use of foreclosures (where the Certificate of Occupancies) of the properties are in the custody of the security trustees of assets of the defaulters. In the recommendations to the finance minister dated April 24, 2015, by the Abraham Nwankwo-led Debt Management Office

Nwankwo

(DMO), it noted: “As the institution with adequate mandate and professional competence, we expect that FMBN has the appropriate kit of instruments it should use to effectively manage its portfolio. But in its response, FMBN, in a circular dated April 29, 2015 and signed by its Director General, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo, described the DMO’s position on the issue as misleading, adding that the bank cannot be held liable for the bond.

FMBN SPV Issuer, FMBN SPV Funding and FMBN Mortgage Trustee are distinct entities from FMBN

Buck passing Due to unresolved issues surrounding the bond’s redemption on maturity date, some government officials have been castigating FMBN, saying that the bond was its initiative and its redemption should be the responsibility of the bank. Another school of thought said that since the mortgage-backed bond was floated to finance acquisition of non-essential residential housing units sold by the Federal Government in the FCT to its civil servants, the former should be responsible. The scheme was entirely Federal Government’s initiative, hence it was floated using a special purpose vehicle, reasoned another school of thought. FMBN’s defense Managing Director of FMBN, Gimba Ya’u Kumo, in a letter dated April 29, 2015, addressed to the DMO, had explained that the bond issuance programme was at the instance of the Federal Government. He had also added that the Federal Government’s guarantee that supported the bond transaction was between the Federal Government as the guarantor and UBA Trustees Limited as the Notes Trustees.

He said: “The bond was structured in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the DMO, both the tenor and the interest mismatch were identified at the time, but overlooked by the then minister of finance.” Kumo, in the letter, noted that the guarantee was irrevocable and unconditional, which, according to him, requires the guarantor to make good its obligation in the event of default of shortfall. He insisted that FMBN was just a facilitator of the bond programmme, through a SPV incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with FMBN SPV Issuer Limited, FMBN SPV Funding Limited and FMBN Mortgage Trustee Limited. A statement obtained on the transaction stated: “These are distinct entities from FMBN; hence it is wrong and misleading to say that the bond is FMBN bond. “Given the provisions contained in agreement, it is revealed that the Federal Government can redeem the guarantee to meet the matured obligation and subsequently recoup from the un-remitted collection by Aso Savings & Loans Plc. (N4.54 billion), nonperforming loans (N3.64 billion) and outstanding mortgages.” Parties to the bond programme sponsored by FMBN SPV Issuer include UBA Capital, Lead Arranger/Adviser for Series 1 Bond, UBA Capital Trustees, Notes Trustees, FBN Trustees Limited, Security Trustee, G. Elias & Co; Transactions Counsel, Dunn Loren Merrifield Ltd, GIC Provider, Bond Series 2 & 3, Aso Savings & Loans Plc, Mortgage Loan Originator/Servicer and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc. CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Business | Property & Environment

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

‘Construction investment value to hit $9.4bn’ DEVELOPMENT

Manufacturers and marketers plan to grow construction industry Stories by Dayo Ayeyemi

igeria’s construction industry will witness an investment value reaching $9.5 billion (N1.5 trillion) by 2021, an international agency, Business Monitor International, has predicted. The agency, in his latest report, noted that Nigeria is the global hotspot till 2020, noting that the nation’s construction

growth is faster than India’s, reflecting increased wealth and urbanisation resulting from the country’s oil production. It pointed out that with a population of over 160 million, high rate of urbanisation and construction contribution of 3.2 per cent to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), only Nigeria and India will enjoy higher growth rates than China in their construction output in 2020. “Nigeria has the potential to be one of the biggest construction markets,” the UK report has stated. According to the latest 10year forecast from Global Construction Perspective and Oxford Economics, construction

growth in Nigeria will be the fastest in the market. The new study noted: “China will overtake the United States of America (USA) as the world’s biggest construction market in 2018 and the fastest growth will happen in Nigeria.” Nigeria’s economy is the fourth fastest growing worldwide, the largest economy in Africa and 26th largest in the world, with GDP of $510 billion. Potential to achieve 7.1 per cent annual GDP growth could make Nigeria a top-20 economy in 2030, with GDP of over $1.6 trillion supported by

rapid infrastructure expansion through investment of up to $1.5 trillion. According to the report, revised figures indicated that year-on-year growth will be 9.5 per cent for 2012, adding that the growth trend will continue till the end of the forecast period in 2021. Relying on these predictions, the Nile Support Services has concluded plan to host the second edition of the building, construction and mining mart in Lagos. The event will bring together manufacturers and marketers of

construction equipment, haulage materials and spare parts, among others, to bridge the gap between the producers, products and prospective market. Managing Director of Nile Support Services, Mr. Dapo Orelaja, described the exhibition as the gateway to the Nigerian construction industry that provides the exhibitors and participants the opportunity to conduct serious business with professionals. He said: “It would also encourage and influence networking and marketing at the highest level to buyers and decision makers.”

Estate surveyors tasked on integrity, devotion to duty

rofessionals under the auspices of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos branch, have been tasked on the need to jealously guide their integrity and be devoted to their calling. Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, I.M. Vector Limited, Professor Fola Aboaba, an engineer, gave this advice at the 11th Biennial Honour Night of the institution in Lagos. According to him, integrity and devotion to duty have become imperative for professionals in this dispensation in order to attain greater heights in their profession and assume leadership position in the country. Aboaba stated that the way

to the top is rough, full of difficulties such as distraction, lack of integrity and bickering within family. He said: “Today, we need people who are devoted to duty to see that Nigeria evolves. You can do it individually. The way to the top is not smooth; there are muds and hiccups, but with focus and devotion to duty, one will get there.” Lagos branch’s chairman of NIESV, Mr Stephen Jagun, at the occasion, thanked members and corporate bodies who have supported him and the association over the years. Some individuals and corporate bodies were rewarded with meritorious service and corporate awards.

L-R: Immediate Past Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos branch, Mr. Sola Fatoki; member, Mr. Roland Abonta; 1st Vice-President, Dr. Joshua Patunola-Ajayi; former President, Mr. Emeka Eleh; Chairman, Lagos branch, Pastor Stephen Jagun and a member, Okey Ogbonna, during the ‘Honour Night’ organised by NIESV in Lagos.

Who blinks first, DMO or FMBN? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

Experts’ view Experts have called on stakeholders connected to the bond to honour their obligation as spelt out in terms of agreement. They described current events surrounding the bonds as unfortunate, saying that the country has serious obligation under the bond transactions, which if not properly handled, could undermine the country internally and externally. President of Real Estate Developers’ Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Rev. Ugo Chime, said that passing the buck to the FMBN at this stage would not augur well for the country. He said: “I don’t think that at a time when government should be thinking of beefing up the capital base of FMBN, it should be asking the bank to sell off its assets. It is gross dereliction of duty to the masses. This entire controversy is a distraction at this moment. “The Federal Government should pay the money that is due in a few days as this date has not come to them as a surprise. There are no assets for the FMBN to sell off to be able to meet the deadline, even if

there were, how many days will it take to do so and meet up with the deadline?” Chime said that government has used privatisation to remove safety nets from the common man, describing the bond controversy as “another attempt to further make the common man suffer.” He added: “People are contributing 2.5 per cent to the National Housing Fund and over 90 per cent of these people cannot access the NHF loans due to poor funding by the same government. Government should live up to its responsibility as far as this bond issue is concerned.” He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to honour its guarantee on the bond to avoid lack of confidence by investors, which may prevent corporate bodies from raising external funds. Chairman, H.O.B. Housing Estates, Chief Olusegun Bamgbade, said that there are better ways of resolving the issue. He said that it was advisable to avail the services of experienced and successful business icons on critical issues like bond redemption. To put an end to the on-going embarrassment, he advised the Federal Government to pay the

money and be reimbursed later by the concerned institutions. Bamgbade also advised FMBN to stop the obnoxious order through the law court with immediate effect. He said: “In my own candid opinion, the Federal Government has not been properly briefed on this subject matter. And if they were properly briefed, yet such a barbaric action was instructed, it was purely done in bad fate.” He noted that the finance minister, who incidentally is the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, should have treated issues as regard the bond with deep insight, describing the instruction to sell off FMBN’s assets as “wrong, ill advised, disastrous, senile, irresponsible, and childish.” He queried: “How can a responsible Federal Government instruct the sale of its assets on default of a meager N24.64 billion? Do you know the international implications of this act on Nigerian economy? Do you believe any investor will be enthusiastic about any investment in Nigeria under any guise? Do you think the person that gave that instruction is mentally balanced? For God’s sake, why are we treat-

ing salient issues of grievous international implications?” Chairman, Lagos branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr. Stephen Jagun, said that it was a pity that the government and her agencies are uncoordinated, adding that the repayment of the bond did not come overnight. He said: “What plans were in place for its repayment? All over, government bonds are preferred because of the security it supposes to offer. This definitely is a disappointment. Secondly, where there defects? Government officials are not supposed to be playing the ostrich.” Jagun pointed out that it has become a shame that mortgage firms that are declaring profits owe heavily. He cautioned that adequate care must be taken by those in charge not to scare away players in the market; particularly “foreign investors who will always be reading between the lines.” Challenges of bond performances Some identifiable challenges confronting the bond performance include the economic realities of the past, which have continued to threaten poli-

cies and plans of government. These include negative interest (subsidy) arising from government fixing the mortgage interest rate at 9.5 per cent (below market rate) while the bonds were issued at the following market rates: Series I (9.98 per cent), Series II (17.25 per cent) and Series III (16.5 per cent). The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) was to offset the subsidy payments on an annual basis. However, FCTA paid the subsidy for only one year throughout the tenors of the bonds. There was also a challenge of tenor mismatch arising from mortgage tenors of 15 years while the bonds are for five and three years respectively. Others are non-performing loans arising from default on mortgage repayments, which mortgage loan originators (MLOs) have a responsibility to recover; and non-remittance of collections by MLOs. Conclusion The Federal Government and FMBN should sheath their swords and resolve the matter amicably so as not to jeopardise the chances of corporate institutions from raising funds at the international markets.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Lufthansa sets JET A1 efficiency record p.38

Aviation

Nigeria’s aviation: What Buhari needs to do These are not the best of times in the Nigerian aviation industry. Reason: The sector is enmeshed in too many crises. Experts who spoke to Aviation Editor, WOLE SHADARE, proffered solutions to the dwindling fortune of the industry

igeria’s aviation industry, no doubt, is currently experiencing what could be described as ‘wilderness journey’ due to the crashes and air incidents that have occurred in the country in the recent times, which has dragged her past safety records into disrepute. While the industry watchers believed that putting the industry on the right track does not necessarily require too much money, they insist that Nigeria would have made enormous progress if experts, who know about aviation, had been allowed to run the sector. Already, the election of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president has brought back hope to a beleaguered industry. Experts in the aviation sector have called on the president-elect to appoint a technocrat to oversee and correct some of the shenanigans that had taken place in the past 16 years. Not that the sector did not record some achievements, the rot and wanton corruption that pervaded the aviation landscape far outweigh the achievements. Cutting corners Because of the endemic corruption in the country, some of the airlines are alleged to be cutting corners in a bid to reduce their overhead while endangering the lives of passengers. This school of thought has been reinforced with the recent near mishaps and other unpalatable reports emanating from the industry. The development called to question whether, indeed, the aviation sector was a poster banner for the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s transformation agenda as it had been touted in some past years. Remodeling, capacity building This is one area that the incoming administration needs to focus on. The deplorable state of infrastructure at both the international and domestic airports in Nigeria has given rise to a call by all and sundry for an immediate radical revamp of the aviation industry. Most of the facilities at Nigeria’s airports are decades old and out of order. The endemic cor-

Murtala Muhammed International Airport terminal, Lagos.

ruption in Nigeria is perhaps at the root of the infrastructural decay evident at the airports. The airports collect huge revenue from airlines, passengers and sundry businesses operating within and around the airports, yet the airports are an eyesore. The decay at the Lagos airport is indescribable. Even with the much publicised remodeling that reportedly gulped over N600 billion, not much has changed to justify the waste of public funds. Aside the expansion of the terminal to make room for security checks, which was poorly done, what you see does not justify the claim that several billions of naira was spent. What was claimed that was spent could give the country some of the best airports in Africa. Everyday, users of the terminal curse and abuse whenever they go through the area with so much pain, as passenger facilitation takes more than two hours to be completed. Airline operators’ agenda Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Noggie Meggison, in a letter to the president-elect, said that the task to rebuild the aviation/airline sector must remain on course in the light of many issues that domestic operators have consistently put on the frontier burner for government’s attention. Against this background, the AON drew Buhari’s attention to issues agitating their minds, such as the need for aircraft maintenance hangar in the country, exclusion of domestic airlines by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window and the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel. Others are multiple tax regimes given by aviation authorities to domestic carriers, removal

The rot and wanton corruption that pervaded the aviation landscape far outweigh achievements recorded

of Value Added Tax (VAT) on air transportation as in other modes of transportation, including foreign airline operating in and out of Nigeria that are not paying VAT. Also included is improvement of service delivery by aeronautical agencies, access to single digit loan by financial institutions, engagement of more Nigerian pilots and engineers by foreign carriers. There are over 500 youth pilots and engineers unemployed. Other areas that the operators would want Buhari to address include multiple entry points granted foreign carriers, inadequate airport facilities and day time only operation of most of our airport as well as stimulus package/intervention for domestic airlines. Meggison said: “We hope that as the incoming administration settles down in office, it will put a strong aviation policy in place, it would engage AON on how to move the air transport sector forward to a place where we should be; as major contributor to Nigeria economic and Gross Domestic Product (GDP – from 0.4 per cent to 10 per cent in two years). “Also it should create employment for teaming youths, skilled pilots and engineers (create 5000 skilled and 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in two years). The incoming government should also compel foreign carriers to set up a line station for aircraft maintenance in the country and employ local engineers to assist in turning around the growth of the sector. It should look into other avenues also. If policies are not put in place, the challenge of unemployment of pilots and engineers may not be resolved as soon as possible.” Experts’ perspective Former Nigerian Bar Associa-

tion (NBA) President and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba, has stressed the need for Buhari to diversify the Nigerian economy by focusing on the aviation sector as a major revenue earner with huge potentials. He gave the advice recently at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos. Agbakoba said that the incoming administration should, as a matter of urgency and because of the dwindling oil revenue, see aviation as a major economic frontier to tap from. He noted that with about 170 million persons, regional economic potentials, 22 airports and a growing mass of flying middle class, much attention should be paid to Nigeria’s aviation industry, which requires massive revamping in terms of infrastructure, legal, institutional and administrative framework. The new areas Agbakoba called on the incoming administration to focus on include: Strategies for maximising the advantages of Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and other high end aviation partner countries, legal and regulatory imperatives for the aviation safety to raise international acceptance and usability of Nigeria air space. Others are framework for utilisation of ‘Open Skies’ pact and other international protocols and development of a National Aviation Policy. One of such framework is the introduction of Aviation Cabotage. He cited Chile, Australia and United States where he said law and regulations were effectively used to support local operators. He is also pushing for Fly Nigeria CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

Business | Aviation

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Lufthansa sets JET A1 efficiency record COST-CUTTING By 2025, the company will receive 272 aircraft at a list value of 38bn euros Stories by Wole Shadare

he airlines in the Lufthansa Group have once again set a record for efficiency. In 2014, the planes of the passenger fleets only used an average of 3.84 litres of kerosene (2013: 3.91 l/100pkm) to carry a passenger 100 kilometres. A statement by the airline said that this represents an improvement of 1.6 per cent over the previous year. As in previous years, the Group has thus met the demanding aerospace industry target of annual efficiency gains of 1.5 per cent. Whether Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian

Airlines or Germanwings all airlines in the Lufthansa Group have continued to improve their specific consumption values. According to the airline, the cargo aircraft of Lufthansa Cargo were also more efficient than ever, with 0.183 litres/ tonne kilometres - an improvement of 5.2 per cent over 2013. In 2014, Group-wide efficiency in cargo transportation was increased by 0.8 per cent. In the reporting year 2014, the absolute fuel consumption in the Group increased slightly by 0.7 per cent with an increase in transport capacity of 1.9 per cent, so, the trend towards the decoupling of transport capacity and fuel consumption was also continued successfully. The further reduction of specific fuel consumption is foreseeable through the investment in new, more efficient and low-noise aircraft. Lufthansa, according to the statement, has now put the last

of 19 Boeing 747-8 aircraft into service. The aircraft is 15 per cent more fuel efficient than its predecessor model B 747400. By 2025, the company said it would receive 272 aircraft at a list value of 38 billion euros. This is the biggest fleet modernisation programme in the history of the Lufthansa Group, the statement said, adding that in 2015 alone, 17 aircraft will be delivered to the Group. According to the airline, the basis for further achievements in environmental performance is the four-pillar strategy established for climate protection, which combines different environmental measures. In addition to numerous programmes for the more efficient use of the resource kerosene, the Group is also focusing on the research and use of alternative, low-CO2 fuels. The Lufthansa Group according to the statement, is also engaged in the electro-mobility

Lufthansa’s A330 aircraft in flight

Dubai denies age restrictions for Nigerian travellers

ontrary to media reports, there are no visa restrictions whatsoever to Dubai for Nigeria travellers below the age of 40, whether they are married or single. The official portal of the Dubai Government, Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce, as well as Emirates airline, stated that visas to Dubai can easily be obtained by all persons with the valid travel documents, irrespective of their age or marital status. The media had recently reported that ladies/men travelling alone should be 40 years old and above; married women travelling with children should be above 40 years old; ladies/ men who are less than 40 years old will be allowed to travel if accompanied by someone who is above 40 and bears the same surname with them. The Dubai Smart Government Department stated that

“Dubai is tolerant and cosmopolitan and all visitors are welcome. With year-round sunshine, intriguing deserts, beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels and shopping malls, fascinating heritage attractions and a thriving business community, Dubai receives millions of leisure and business visitors each year from around the world. These visitors can benefit from a range of services and a local infrastructure that help make any trip to Dubai smooth and hassle-free.” Nigerians are therefore encouraged to visit Dubai without any fear of age or marriage restrictions. The list of documents required to obtain a visa to Dubai include: Passports valid for at least 6 months, passport copy, Applicant’s colour photograph, Original application form (available at all Emirates Travel Hubs) in Arabic or English with addresses and contact

numbers at both their originating country and in Dubai, Copy of Emirates ticket, hold documents for their next destination, have sponsor in the UAE to cover their stay or confirmed hotel reservation. Emirates Airlines advised on three ways to apply for your UAE visa. Some of the ways are apply online through the Emirates Manage a Booking tool after booking your Emirates or through the local Emirates office or through official Emirates partners Other rules and conditions for visa to Dubai include that the visa fees must be paid upon application, Visa fees are nonrefundable, the ticket is nonrefundable if the visa has been issued and utilised. According to the carrier, visa processing time is approximately three to four working days. All visa types are valid for 59 days from the date of issue.

initiative E-PORT AN at Frankfurt Airport, in order to make the taxiing and towing operations of aircraft more efficient

through the use of electromobility and thus to reduce kerosene consumption and CO2emissions on the ground.

Agenda for Buhari CO N TI N U E D FROM PAGE 37

Bill to be passed by the National Assembly. Agbakoba said that the Bill is modeled after the US Regulation with special regard to Nigeria’s technical abilities, capacity and development. He argued that an efficient aviation sector would therefore provide crucial support and enabling environment for a developing economy like Nigeria, adding that the impact of Singaporean and Malaysian airlines on the growth of their economies was massive. Besides, he noted that the industry would support tourism and international business by providing the only rapid worldwide transportation network. President, Centurion Security and Safety, Captain John Ojikutu, said that government should re-assess its ‘transformation’ programme in the industry. “First, the issue of airport terminal remodeling; government should no longer put public funds into building airport passenger or cargo terminal building, given the positive experiences of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal (MMA2), Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (Nahcoaviance), Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (Sahcol), DHL, and others. “These terminals are desirable, but they are not essentially safety concerns to civil aviation in any of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 18 Annexes. These are shopping malls, lounge and storages of commercial concern for private investors with no values to passenger safety, but desirable only for passenger comfort,” he lamented. Ojikutu said that government should emphasise on capacity building and manpower development in the regulatory agency and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). He added that government should commercialise the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). Also, he said that government should, henceforth, only inject recoverable funds to these agencies for developing or upgrading their safety and security systems. Also, Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, called on the president-elect to take urgent steps on assumption of duty to address those policies that make the operating environment difficult for domestic carriers. In particular, Onyema said that the best policy the incoming government could put in place is to influence a single digit interest rate loans to be accessed by domestic airlines from Nigerian commercial banks.

He said that such low interest credit window is better than mere intervention packages to domestic carriers that may not entirely address the gamut of their operational challenges. He also listed a policy that would make it easy for domestic carriers to access land from the airport authority to set up aircraft maintenance hangar, which, he said, would not only create jobs, but will drastically reduce the cost of offshore aircraft maintenance. Managing Director, MedView Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, who spoke to New Telegraph in Lagos recently, said that the only way the incoming administration could give succour to airlines was to ensure that interest rates on loans was reduced to a single digit. He lamented that the airlines at the moment pay very high interest rates, unlike their counterparts in Europe who get single digit interest on loan from financial institutions. He insisted that with this, the airlines would find it practically impossible to compete with their counterparts in other climes and appealed to the incoming administration to, as a matter of urgency, address the financial challenge. He also wants the incoming administration to take a look at the absence of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in the country, saying that this was affecting the performance of indigenous carriers. He recalled that in the past the country carried out checks on aircraft from A-D, but since liquidation of the former national carrier, Nigeria Airways, such checks were now done abroad at huge cost to the airline. Bankole also charged the incoming administration to look into the skyrocketing price of aviation fuel in the local scene, stressing that despite the fall of the commodity in the international market, domestic operators still purchase the product at N145 per litre. Conclusion There is no reason why aviation sector should be where it is today. There is an urgent need for government policy to create economic value to the country though aviation. It is disheartening that aviation industry contributes just 0.4 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria when foreign airlines operating into Nigeria are contributing up to 34 per cent to their economy with Nigerian passengers. Up to 60 per cent of their passengers are from Nigeria. Nigeria has a more robust economy. Nigeria’s aviation has no business to be where it is presently.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESday, MAY 26, 2015

Photo | News

L-R: Chairman, Editorial Board, Nation newspapers, Mr. Sam Omatseye; Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; 1st Vice-President, Institute of Directors Nigeria (IOD), Mr. Yemi Akeju; former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Philip Asiodu and Mr. Victor Banjo, displaying the book written on Delta Beyond Oil policy of Uduaghan, during a public lecture by the Institute, in Lagos.

L-R: Representative of the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce & Industry, Mr. Olaseni Ajala; Head, EMEA Bayer, Ingrun Alsleben; Managing Director, Bayer Middle Africa Limited, Mohammed Jimoh; Deputy German Consul-General, Jorg Steckhan; Board member, Bayer AG, Michael Konig and Managing Director, Bayer West-Central Africa, Amechi Nwachuku, during the inauguration of Bayer Middle Africa Limited in Lagos . PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

L-R: Vice President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ibekwe Titus; National President, Dr Kayode Obembe and Secretary General, Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki, at a news conference on Communiqué of the 55th Annual General Delegate Conference of the Association in Ibadan.

L-R: Senior Manager, segment, MTN Nigeria, Saidat Lawal-Mohammed; two of the sponsored customers—Oyedele Ogunyinka Olaitan (Ibadan) and Bolaji Adeola (Akure) and Segment Specialist, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Adline Okeke, during the departure press conference of 20 subscribers sponsored by MTN for this year’s pilgrimage, in Lagos.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

A cross-section of choristers at the 2015 Presidential Thanksgiving and inauguration of Interdenominational Church Service in Abuja

Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON),Mr. Tony Okoroji (left) and Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba, receiving the COSON award for championing the relevance of copyright laws on musical works and sound recordings at the Society’s 5th year celebration in Lagos. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

L-R: Senior Information Technology Teacher, Corona School, Mrs. Ethel Elete; Junior Information Technology Teacher, Mrs. Fodelia Anemeje; Officer, Deloitte Nigeria, Miss Chiemerie Onyia and Deputy Head of School, Mrs. Grace Omo-Egbekuse, during Junior Achievement Nigeria International re-launch of E-learning at the School in Lagos. PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Caretaker Chairman, Port Harcourt City Local Government, Mr Nnadi Nwuche (right), voting during the Rivers Local Government Election at 15 Rumoji in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Business | Money Line

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

AMCON recovers 57% of bad debts acquired in 2010

BARRED Lenders not likely to be offered another bailout Tony Chukwunyem with agency report

he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has disclosed that it has recovered 57 per cent of the bad debts it purchased five years ago as part of measures to resolve the banking crisis. Bloomberg quoted AMCON’s Chief Executive Officer, Mustafa ChikeObi, as saying: “We’re a little bit behind, but not too far behind what we expected. The courts are a constraining factor. As much as we want to carry a hammer, we still have to go through the court system and remain an institution that obeys the laws. That takes time.” He said that the Corporation managed to collect or restructure the debts it bought at a rate of 1.07 times for what it paid for them, above its 80 percent target. Modeled on organisations including Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency Ltd. and Korea Asset Management Corp., AMCON used bonds to bail out 10 banks and buy more than 12,000 loans from industries including aviation, gasoline marketing and

manufacturing for about N1.8 trillion. Speaking against the backdrop of rising NonPerforming Loans (NPLs) following the sharp drop in oil prices, the AMCON boss said it was unlikely that lenders will be offered another bailout. He said: “If the central bank, whose decision it is mostly, did ask us, we’d have to think very seriously about it. But there’s not much appetite from the central bank, AMCON or the nation for this. No-

body wants it.” The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had revealed last month that while NPLs stood at 2.9 per cent at the end of December, they were heading north. The ratio will climb to between 5 per cent and 10 per cent by the end of 2015, Fitch Ratings said last year. Brent crude’s 40 percent drop since last June is making it harder for oil companies, which account for about a fifth

of lending in Nigeria, to repay loans, Fitch said. Local companies are also battling to pay for imports and service foreign-currency debt after the naira’s 18 per cent depreciation against the dollar in the last 12 months. Dollar-denominated loans made up 45 percent of the total in Nigeria last year, according to Exotix Partners LLP. Chike-Obi, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. mortgage-backed bond trader, also wants to

Africa’s GDP growth to hit preeconomic crisis levels –AfDB

frican economies will grow 4.5 per cent this year and 5 per cent in 2016 due to rising demand for exports, the highest levels since the global economic crisis took hold in 2007, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said. Financial inflows will increase nearly 7 per cent to $193 billion, supported by higher foreign direct investment and a spike in portfolio investments, the bank said in its annual African Economic Outlook report.

The AfDB estimates African economies to have grown by 3.9 per cent in 2014. In the years prior to the economic crisis, African economic growth averaged between 5-7 percent. Improving economic prospects worldwide will increase demand for the continent’s exports, the report released at the opening of the bank’s annual meetings in Abidjan, Ivory Coast said. But the rebound is expected to be uneven. “Growth remains

highest in East, West and Central Africa, respectively and lowest in North and Southern Africa. The main challenges in all regions are to diversify and make growth more inclusive,” the report stated. Foreign direct investment is expected to reach $55.2 billion this year up from an estimated $49.5 billion in 2014. Portfolio investments will jump more than 36 percent to $18.4 billion this year from an estimated $13.5 billion in 2014.

Economic Indicators As at

As at M2* CPS* INF IBR MPR

N14,737,618.7m N16,509,472.5m 8.7 0.0000 13

Description

TTM

4.00% 23-Apr-2015 13.05% 16-Aug-2016 15.10% 27-Apr-2017 16.00% 29-Jun-2019 16.39% 27-Jan-2022 10.00% 23-Jul-2030

1.21 2.53 3.22 5.39 7.98 16.47

Tenor (Days) Call 7 30 60 90 180 365

Rate (%) 11.9167 12.3333 12.6667 12.9167 13.2167 13.5000 13.7500

NIBOR

Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 May, 2015 2/5/2014 1/20/2014 Source: CBN

FGN Bonds Bid Price 90.20 99.25 104.10 109.35 114.15 76.60

91-day NTB DPR PLR Bonny Light Ext Res**

Offer Yield 13.01 13.40 13.47 13.49 13.44 13.59

Price 90.35 99.40 104.40 109.65 114.45 76.90

Tenor (Months) 1 2 3 6 9 12

Rate (%) 12.1827 12.2737 12.3744 12.8521 12.8535 13.8443

Treasury Bills Maturity Date 08-May-14 07-Aug-14 22-Jan-15

Bid 12.10 12.10 12.05

Bid Spot ($/N) 163.28 THE FIXINGS –NIBOR, NITTY and NIFEX of February 6,2014

10.899 7.96 17.01 US$109.9 US$29,737,064,868

NITTY

11/6/2013 Dec, 2013 Dec, 2013 1/20/2014 22/5/2015

Yield 12.86 13.33 13.35 13.42 13.38 13.53

Money Market Offer 11.85 11.85 11.80 Offer 163.38

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) 11.33 11.63

NIFEX Spot ($/N)

Bid 163.4000

Offer 163.5000 Source: FMDQ

sell the last of AMCON’s bank holdings. It owns Keystone Bank Ltd. and has stakes in Unity Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc. He said Keystone, one of the three banks nationalised after the 2009 crisis and the last lender standing, will probably be sold

this year, while AMCON’s shares in Unity and Wema will be disposed of “as soon as is practical.” Based on the experience of selling Mainstreet Bank Ltd. and Enterprise Bank Ltd. last year to domestic investors, interest in the new offerings could be high, Chike-Obi said. “The prices we got were much higher than we expected,” he said. “There was a lot of international interest in both banks. In the end, the local banks were the highest bidders.”

FirstBank re-elected to PCI SSC’s Board of Advisors

irst Bank of Nigeria Limited has been reelected into the Board of Advisors of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) for the second consecutive time. PCI SSC is an open, global forum for the development of payment card security standards. The Council works with organisations around the world to protect businesses and consumers against data theft by continuously developing new payment security standards, cyber security training courses, and certification programmes. In a statement, First Bank said its Head of Information Security management, Lara Nwokedi, would represent the lender on the Board of PCI SSC in the fight against payment fraud and data

breaches globally. The lender also said that Nwokedi, a payment card industry professional, security lead auditor and implementer, has many years’ experience in information security and has led several initiatives in the company. Emmanuel Okoroji, who will be the alternate for FirstBank on the Board of Advisors of PCI SSC, will support Nwokedi in this function. According to the statement, “FirstBank has been the only African Bank elected to the PCI SSC Board since its inception. The Bank’s reelection into the Board underpins its commitment to the protection of customer assets and information while maintaining a safe and secure environment for customer transactions.”

United Mortgage Bank launches promo

he United Mortgage Bank Limited has launched a customer-loyalty reward scheme that is also aimed at promoting savings culture. The bank unveiled the Bubble Switch savings promo, Terra savings promo and the Joy savings account. A statement quoted the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, United Mortgage Bank, Mr. Walter Akpan to have said the promo is targeted at both existing and prospective customers. He explained that the overall strategy of the mortgage bank had been to deploy integrated financial products and services to meet the needs of its customers, most especially in the area of mortgage banking, which had been hitherto ignored. In order to achieve such feat, he pledged that the firm would continue to develop and sustain passion for excellence in customer

service by doing ordinary things exceptionally and professionally. “With the three new products, we are offering, we are not just encouraging the savings culture, we are giving hope to our customers that through a savings culture, benefits awaits them. To stand a chance of winning in the Bubble Switch Savings promo, existing and new account holders are expected to open an account with a minimum balance of N50, 000 and maintain a minimum balance account of N300, 000 for six months to win a gift voucher worth $100 (N20, 000). This promo includes four percent interest rate per annum payable quarterly. “For Terra Savings promo, customers will open an account with a minimum balance of N100, 000, save up to N500, 000 for one year and qualify for a raffle draw to win a plot of land in Lagos mainland.”

Business | Financial Market News

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

25-May-15

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

Bonds FGN Bonds

Price

Rating/Agency

Issuer

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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

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

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

581.39 476.80 20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 193.73 600.00 573.14 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 299.50

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

4,746.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,428.10

Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

Bid Price

Offer Price

1.23 1.92 2.17 2.27 3.01 4.10 4.41 4.72 6.68 8.80 13.51 13.99 14.49 15.16 19.15

13.77 13.82 13.81 13.82 13.87 13.92 13.89 13.86 13.70 13.66 17.09 17.65 18.31 15.54 13.75

13.63 13.73 13.73 13.73 13.73 13.83 13.79 13.78 13.63 13.60 17.03 17.57 18.20 15.47 13.70

99.16 102.08 92.73 91.51 92.41 106.28 77.80 105.62 111.47 102.68 89.10 73.50 50.66 68.00 89.23

99.31 102.23 92.88 91.66 92.71 106.58 78.10 105.92 111.77 102.98 89.40 73.80 50.96 68.30 89.53

Maturity Date

TTM (Yrs)

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

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

03-Apr-12 09-Dec-11 20-Apr-12 06-Jul-12

17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

2.40 112.22 116.70 66.49

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.98 1.54 1.90 2.12

2.27 2.19 2.71 2.85

16.78 15.95 16.50 16.66

100.47 100.04 101.57 97.91

Agency Bonds ***LCRM

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

297.82

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

298.31

Sub-National Bonds A/Agusto

KADUNA

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.27

4.44

16.52

98.86

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.35

3.23

15.84

99.00

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

0.62

4.46

18.24

97.61

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.62

3.48

17.27

98.97

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.90

1.00

14.79

92.27

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.17

1.00

15.28

98.42

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.60

1.79

15.63

96.58

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.98

1.80

15.60

97.39

Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

2.00

1.00

14.80

98.63

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR†

*EKITI

14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018

09-Dec-11

14.50

13.73

09-Dec-18

1.97

1.00

14.80

99.50

Bb-/Agusto

*NIGER

14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018

12-Dec-13

14.00

10.20

12-Dec-18

1.98

4.78

18.58

93.04

‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR

*ONDO

15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019

14-Feb-12

15.50

27.00

14-Feb-19

2.17

1.00

14.81

101.12

BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

*GOMBE LAGOS

15.50 GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019

BBB-/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019

02-Oct-12 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12

15.50 14.50 14.75

15.09 80.00 25.70

02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19

2.60 4.50 2.57

1.00 1.00 1.00

14.84 14.89 14.84

101.25 98.76 99.81 99.70

BBB-/Agusto

*OSUN

14.75 OSUN II 10-OCT-2020

10-Oct-13

14.75

10.78

10-Oct-20

3.11

1.00

14.87

Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020

27-Nov-13

13.50

87.50

27-Nov-20

5.51

1.00

14.77

95.34

A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro

KOGI

15.00 KOGI 31-DEC-2020

31-Dec-13

15.00

5.00

31-Dec-20

5.60

1.00

14.75

100.87

‡ /Agusto A-/GCR

*EKITI *NASARAWA

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

31-Dec-13

14.50

4.55

31-Dec-20

3.26

1.44

15.32

98.02

06-Jan-14

15.00

4.56

06-Jan-21

3.29

1.00

14.88

100.23

99.25

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

452.88 440.52

Corporate Bonds BBB+/Agusto BBB-/Agusto

*UPDC

10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015

17-Aug-10

10.00

2.50

17-Aug-15

0.23

1.00

13.19

*FLOURMILLS

12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015

09-Dec-10

12.00

18.75

09-Dec-15

0.29

1.00

13.23

99.65

BB/GCR

*CHELLARAMS

14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016

06-Jan-11

14.00

0.42

06-Jan-16

0.37

2.63

15.38

99.53

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

29-Sep-11

13.00

15.00

29-Sep-16

1.35

1.00

15.00

97.59

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

25-Oct-16

1.42

1.34

15.23

98.76

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

30-Sep-17

2.35

1.00

14.82

96.44

BBB-/GCR

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.64

30-Nov-17

1.37

1.88

15.84

103.31

Nil

*C & I LEASING *DANA#{r}

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

5.40

09-Apr-18

1.63

1.00

14.77

101.64

A-/DataPro†; B+/GCR

*TOWER#

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.54

09-Sep-18

1.79

1.00

14.78

104.67

1.79

1.00

14.78

101.73

AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR

*TOWER

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.70

09-Sep-18

A+/Agusto; A/GCR

UBA

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

22-Sep-18

3.33

3.00

16.88

92.82

BBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

2.10

18-Oct-18

1.90

2.29

16.08

99.42

BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR

*LA CASERA *CHELLARAMS#

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

17-Feb-12

18.00

0.36

17-Feb-19

1.98

6.11

19.91

97.11

Nil

*DANA#{r}

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

01-Apr-19

2.60

2.16

16.00

99.94

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

NAHCO

15.25 NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020

14-Nov-13

15.25

2.05

14-Nov-20

5.47

2.76

16.53

95.48

BBB/GCR

FCMB

14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021

20-Nov-14

14.25

26.00

20-Nov-21

6.49

1.80

15.45

95.20

A/GCR

UBA

16.45 UBA I 30-DEC-2021

30-Dec-14

16.45

30.50

30-Dec-21

6.60

2.11

15.75

102.77

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

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

30-Sep-14

11.93

0.10

30-Sep-24

9.35

1.00

14.88

85.31

A/GCR

STANBIC IBTC

13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024

30-Sep-14

13.25

15.44

30-Sep-24

9.35

1.00

14.88

91.88

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

187.53

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

182.24

Supranational Bond AAA/S&P

IFC

10.20 IFC 11-FEB-2018

11-Feb-13

10.20

12.00

11-Feb-18

2.72

1.00

14.85

89.87

Aaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P

AfDB

11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021

10-Jul-14

11.25

12.95

01-Feb-21

4.75

1.00

14.86

85.32

Bid Price

Offer Price

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

24.95 21.83

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION Rating/Agency

Issuer

Description

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value ($mm)

Maturity Date

Bid Yield (%)

Offer Yield (%)

6.75 JAN 28, 2021

07-Oct-11

6.75

500.00

28-Jan-21

5.70

5.49

105.01

106.06

5.13 JUL 12, 2018

12-Jul-13

5.13

500.00

12-Jul-18

4.52

4.25

101.75

102.54

6.38 JUL 12, 2023

12-Jul-13

6.38

500.00

12-Jul-23

5.95

5.76

102.68

103.96

FGN Eurobonds

Prices & Yields

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

FGN

BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

1,500.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

1,547.21

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

GTBANK PLC I

7.50 MAY 19, 2016

19-May-11

7.50

500.00

19-May-16

6.44

4.34

100.99

102.99

B+/S&P

ACCESS BANK PLC

7.25 JUL 25, 2017

25-Jul-12

7.25

350.00

25-Jul-17

7.34

99.80

B/Fitch; B/S&P

FIDELITY BANK PLC

6.88 MAY 09, 2018

09-May-13

6.88

300.00

02-May-18

10.42

9.35

91.19

93.76

B+/Fitch; B+/S&P

GTBANK PLC

6.00 NOV 08, 2018

08-Nov-13

6.00

400.00

08-Nov-18

7.44

6.82

95.68

97.52

B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P

ZENITH BANK PLC

6.25 APR 22, 2019

22-Apr-14

6.25

500.00

22-Apr-19

7.41

96.13

B/Fitch; B/S&P

DIAMOND BANK PLC

8.75 May 21, 2019

21-May-14

8.75

200.00

21-May-19

10.43

9.66

94.63

97.06

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

8.76 10.32 9.07

8.76 9.95 9.07

97.21 95.38 94.23

97.21 97.00 94.23

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.24

9.58

92.50

95.38

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

3,650.00

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

3,508.83

**Treasury Bills^ DTM 10 17 31 38 45 52 59 66

FIXINGS Maturity 4-Jun-15 11-Jun-15 25-Jun-15 2-Jul-15 9-Jul-15 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 30-Jul-15

Bid Discount (%) 13.83 13.00 13.42 13.42 11.06 13.36 11.72 12.02

Offer Discount (%) 13.58 12.75 13.17 13.17 10.81 13.11 11.47 11.77

Bid Yield (%) 13.88 13.08 13.57 13.61 11.21 13.62 11.95 12.29

Money Market Tenor

NIBOR Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Rate (%) 10.2750 14.8337 16.2208 17.3392

Rate (%)

OBB

9.67

O/N

10.21

Tenor Call 1M

REPO

Rate (%) 11.00 12.00

Foreign Exchange (Spot & Forwards) Tenor

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

Spot 7D 14D 1M 2M 3M

197.83 201.81 202.13 202.87 204.24 205.60

197.93 201.93 202.28 203.37 205.31 207.21

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

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

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

20.00 100.00 300.00 351.30 233.90 193.73 600.00 573.14 75.00 150.00 200.00 591.57 299.50

TOTAL OUTSTANDINGTUESDAY, VALUE MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

4,746.32

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

4,428.10

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

2.17 2.27 3.01 4.10 4.41 4.72 6.68 8.80 13.51 13.99 14.49 15.16 19.15

Description

Issuer

Blue chips

Agency Bonds

92.73 91.51 92.41 106.28 77.80 105.62 111.47 102.68 89.10 73.50 50.66 68.00 89.23

92.88 91.66 92.71 106.58 78.10 105.92 111.77 102.98 89.40 73.80 50.96 68.30 89.53

Business | Financial Market News

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

03-Apr-12

17.25 0.00/16.00 0.00/16.50 0.00/16.50

2.40 112.22 116.70 66.49

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17

0.98 1.54 1.90 2.12

2.27 2.19 2.71 2.85

16.78 15.95 16.50 16.66

100.47 100.04 101.57 97.91

for enough fuel to power 34,151.81.88 as against 12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015 their vehicle to work. 34,272.09 recorded31-Aug-10 at the 30-Sep-10 13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015 30-Jun-11 BBB+/Agusto *BENUE BENUE 30-JUN-2016 With 2114.00 gainers and weekend, while market ‡Stories /Agusto *IMO 15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016 by Chris Ugwu equi26 losers, the key bench- capitalisation of 30-Jun-09 19-Apr-10 10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017 A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR LAGOS 30-Jun-10 13.75maintained BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017 ties depreciated by ‡ /Agusto *BAYELSA mark indices N41 30-Dec-10 14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017 ‡ /Agusto cent he NigerianEDO equi- negative trajectory to billion or 0.35 per 30-Sep-11 14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018 ‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR *DELTA 04-Oct-11 to ties marketNIGER yes- close in the14.00 red, as IIactiviNIGER 4-OCT-2018 from N11.644 trillion Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR ‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR† *EKITI 14.50 EKITI 09-DEC-2018 terday slipped ties in the shares of blue N11.603 trillion. 09-Dec-11 12-Dec-13 Bb-/Agusto *NIGER 14.00 NIGER III 12-DEC-2018 chip companies dragged further to begin Meanwhile, a 14-Feb-12 turn‡ /Agusto; A-/GCR *ONDO 15.50 ONDO 14-FEB-2019 02-Oct-12 BBB+/Agusto; A-/GCR *GOMBE GOMBE 02-OCT-2019 the week on a negative down the 15.50 equities mar- over of 220.4 million Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR LAGOS 14.50 LAGOS 22-NOV-2019 22-Nov-12 12-Dec-12 BBB-/Agusto; *OSUN 14.75 OSUN 12-DEC-2019 path, asBBB+/GCR shortage of pe- ket. shares worth N2.7 billion 10-Oct-13 BBB-/Agusto *OSUN OSUN II 10-OCT-2020 troleum products LAGOS cripTrading14.75 activities on in 3,612 deals was record27-Nov-13 Aa-/Agusto; ‡ /GCR 13.50 LAGOS 27-NOV-2020 31-Dec-13 pled the economy forcing the floor 15.00 of KOGI Exchange ed in the day’s trading. A-/Agusto; BBB+/DataPro KOGI 31-DEC-2020 ‡ /Agusto 14.50 EKITI II 31-DEC-2020 in the many companies *EKITI close had also closed The banking 31-Dec-13 sub06-Jan-14 A-/GCR *NASARAWA 15.00 NASARAWA 06-JAN-2021 sector of the financial early . red last Friday following TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE services sector was the Market watchers said negative sentiments of TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION most active (measured investors are yet to get reinvestors. Corporate Bonds 10.00 UPDC 17-AUG-2015 17-Aug-10 BBB+/Agusto *UPDC spite, as trading volume Consequently, the by turnover volume); 12.00 FLOURMILLS 9-DEC-2015 BBB-/Agusto 09-Dec-10 *FLOURMILLS All-Share Index dipped was lower than usual due with 116.9 million shares 14.00 CHELLARAMS 06-JAN-2016 BB/GCR 06-Jan-11 *CHELLARAMS Sub-National Bonds

A/Agusto

KADUNA

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

297.82 worth N962.6 million ex298.31 changed by investors in 1,119 deals. 12.50 8.50 Volume in the banking 13.00 2.16 14.00 4.86 sub-sector was largely 15.50 5.73 driven by activities in 10.00 57.00 13.75 25.73 Plc the shares of UBA 14.00 25.00 and Access Bank Plc. 14.00 30.81 14.00 9.00 Also, other finan14.50 13.73 cial services sub-sector, 14.00 10.20 boosted 15.50 by activities 27.00 in 15.50 15.09 the shares of FCMB Plc, 14.50 80.00 14.75 with a turnover 25.70 followed 14.75 10.78 of 38.7 million shares val13.50 87.50 15.00 5.00 ued at N195.1 million in 14.50 4.55 556 deals. 15.00 4.56 Further analysis 452.88 of the day’s trading showed 440.52 that Vono Products Plc 10.00 2.50 topped the day’s gainers’ 12.00 table 14.00 with 9.84 per 18.75 cent to 0.42

NAHCO

13.00 NAHCO 29-SEP-2016

A-/Agusto

FSDH

14.25 FSDH 25-OCT-2016

25-Oct-13

14.25

5.53

A/GCR

UBA

13.00 UBA 30-SEP-2017

30-Sep-10

13.00

20.00

18.00 C&I LEASING 30-NOV-2017

30-Nov-12

18.00

0.64

Stock ExBBB-/GCRhe Nigerian *C & I LEASING Nil change (NSE)*DANA has notiA-/DataPro†; B+/GCR *TOWER fied the investing public AAA/DataPro†; A/GCR *TOWER A+/Agusto; A/GCR UBA of the established processes inBBB+/Agusto; BBB+/GCR *LA CASERA volved in the transfer of their BBB-/DataPro†; BB/GCR *CHELLARAMS securities. Nil *DANA A+/Agusto; A-/GCR NAHCO This according to a notice BBB/GCR FCMB obtained from the Exchange’s A/GCR UBA A/GCR IBTC website, is to ensureSTANBIC a seamless A/GCR STANBIC IBTC transfer of securities (including TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE shares, exchange traded funds TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION and fixed income securities) Supranational Bond by investors from suspended/ AAA/S&P IFC inactive/expelled stockbrokAaa/Moody's; AAA/S&P AfDB TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE ing firms to active stockbrokTOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION ing firms. The NSE said that the transRating/Agency Issuer fer process is exclusively by the FGN Eurobonds Central Securities Clearing SysBB-/Fitch; B+/S&P Plc. tem (CSCS) BB-/Fitch; It advised investors and FGN BB-/S&P shareholders that are desirous BB-/Fitch; BB-/S&P of transferring their securities TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE from a suspended/inactive/ TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION expelled stockbroking firm to Corporate appointEurobonds an active/target stockB+/Fitch; B+/S&P GTBANK I broking firm to deal on PLC their B+/S&P ACCESS BANK PLC behalf. B/Fitch; B/S&P FIDELITY BANK PLC The active/targetGTBANK stockbrokB+/Fitch; B+/S&P PLC B+/Fitch; BB-/S&P PLC ing firm (i.e., the firmZENITH thatBANK an inB/Fitch; B/S&P DIAMOND BANK PLC vestor desires to move to) shall B-/Fitch; B/S&P FIRST BANK PLC conduct a Know YourACCESS Customer B-/Fitch; B/S&P BANK PLC II #{r}

#{r}

B-/Fitch; B/S&P

FIRST BANK LTD

B-/S&P

ECOBANK NIG. LTD

Issue Date

0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 09-Dec-11 Blue chip firms ***LCRM 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 20-Apr-12 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 06-Jul-12 drag down equities TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE to inability of some deal- 120.28 basis points or TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION market ing members to source 0.35 per cent to close at

13.73 13.73 13.73 13.83 13.79 13.78 13.63 13.60 17.03 17.57 18.20 15.47 13.70

Stock market extends losing band

Rating/Agency

A+/Agusto; A-/GCR

13.81 13.82 13.87 13.92 13.89 13.86 13.70 13.66 17.09 17.65 18.31 15.54 13.75

29-Sep-11

13.00

close at N1.34 per share, ers with a drop of five per while Neimeth Nigeria cent to close at 57 kobo Plc followed with five per per share, while UBN 31-Aug-15 16.52 98.86 Plc shed 4.29 per cent cent to close at 0.27 N1.26 per 4.44 30-Sep-15 0.35 3.23 15.84 99.00 30-Jun-16 close at 97.61 N10.05 share. Betaglas 0.62 Plc added 4.46 each to18.24 30-Jun-16 0.62 3.48 17.27 98.97 4.67 per cent to1.90 close at 1.00 per share. Dangote Flour 19-Apr-17 14.79 92.27 30-Jun-17 1.17 1.00 Plc plunged 15.28 98.42 per N38.10 per share. by 3.93 31-Dec-17 2.60 96.58 On the flip side, ABC 1.79 cent to 15.63 close at N3.91 per 30-Sep-18 1.98 1.80 15.60 97.39 04-Oct-18 2.00 the los- 1.00 share. 14.80 98.63 Transport Plc led

MPR+7.00 DANA 9-APR-2018

09-Apr-11

16.00

MPR+7.00 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

18.00

2.54

MPR+5.25 TOWER 9-SEP-2018

09-Sep-11

16.00

0.70

14.00 UBA II 22-SEP-2018

22-Sep-11

14.00

35.00

1.97

1.00

14.80

12-Dec-18

1.98

4.78

18.58

93.04

14-Feb-19

2.17

1.00

14.81

101.12

99.50

02-Oct-19 22-Nov-19 12-Dec-19

2.60 4.50 2.57

1.00 1.00 1.00

14.84 14.89 14.84

101.25 98.76 99.81

10-Oct-20

3.11

1.00

14.87

99.70

27-Nov-20

5.51

1.00

14.77

95.34

Vitafoam, Vono plan meger

5.60Securi- 1.00 reenwich The 14.75 company100.87 posted 31-Dec-20 3.26 1.44 15.32 98.02 ties Limited has1.00 an after tax profit of 06-Jan-21 3.29 14.88 100.23 on behalf of its N659 million in the curclients - Vitafoam Nige- rent year as against ria Plc and Vono Product N395 million recorded 17-Aug-15 previous99.25year. Plc notified the0.23 Nigerian1.00 in the13.19 09-Dec-15 0.29 1.00 13.23 99.65 This indicated an inStock Exchange (NSE) 06-Jan-16 0.37 2.63 15.38 99.53 of29-Sep-16 the proposed Scheme crease of 67 per cent. 1.35 1.00 15.00 97.59 25-Oct-16 1.42 15.23 98.76 of30-Sep-17 Merger between the1.34 Vitafoam grew its 2.35 1.00 14.82 96.44 two firms. earnings per share (EPS) 30-Nov-17 1.37 1.88 15.84 103.31 09-Apr-18 1.63 Green- 1.00 by 69 per 14.77 cent by 101.64 According to post09-Sep-18 1.79 1.00 14.78 104.67 wich Securities Limit-1.00 ing an 14.78 EPS of 81 kobo 09-Sep-18 1.79 101.73 22-Sep-18 3.33 16.88 in the current 92.82 ed, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc3.00 per share 18-Oct-18 1.90 99.42 currently holds 47.5 per2.29 period 16.08 compared with 17-Feb-19 1.98 6.11 19.91 97.11 cent in Vono Product Plc.2.16 48 kobo16.00 per share99.94 in the 01-Apr-19 2.60 14-Nov-20 5.47 16.53 previous year. 95.48 It said: “Both com-2.76 20-Nov-21 6.49 1.80 15.45 95.20 panies combine2.11 As part 30-Dec-21 seek to6.60 15.75 of the strategy 102.77 30-Sep-24 9.35 opera- 1.00 to strengthen 14.88 85.31 their business its operations 30-Sep-24 9.35 1.00 14.88 91.88 tions to ensure busi- offshore, the company has ness efficiency. In this installed modern equipregard, an application ment in its plant in Sierra shall be filed 2.72 with the1.00 Leone. 14.85 11-Feb-18 89.87 Securities and Ex-1.00 However, 01-Feb-21 4.75 14.86 Vono Products 85.32 change Commission recorded a loss of N410 (SEC). The market will million during the period be updated on the progended Bid December 31, 2014. Maturity Date Bid Yield (%) Offer Yield (%) Price Offer Price ress of the proposed In a filing with the & Yields Scheme of Merger in Prices Exchange, the company 28-Jan-21 5.49 posted105.01 106.06 due course.” 5.70 a loss after tax of Vitafoam has pro-4.25 N410 million as against 12-Jul-18 4.52 101.75 102.54 posed a dividend of N246 a loss of N5.625 million 12-Jul-23 5.95 5.76 102.68 103.96 million, translating into recorded during the 30 kobo per share in ad- comparable period of dition to a bonus share 2013. of one for every five Its revenue also rose 19-May-16 6.44 100.99 per cent 102.99 ordinary shares held4.34 by 10.22 to 25-Jul-17 7.34 7.34 99.80 99.80 by02-May-18 each shareholder N215.149 million in the 10.42 9.35 91.19 93.76 as08-Nov-18 rewards from the6.82 review95.68 period of 7.44 97.522014 22-Apr-19 7.41 7.41 from N193.161 96.13 96.13 company’s outstanding million in 21-May-19 10.43 94.63 97.06 performance in its 20149.66 the corresponding period 07-Aug-20 8.76 8.76 97.21 97.21 financial year.10.32 24-Jun-21 9.95 of 2013. 95.38 97.00 31-Dec-20

15.00

NSE floats processes for transfer of securities

09-Dec-18

5.40

15.75 LA CASERA 18-OCT-2018

18-Oct-13

15.75

MPR+5.00 CHELLARAMS II 17-FEB-2019

17-Feb-12

18.00

0.36

16.00 DANA II 1-APR-2019

01-Apr-14

16.00

4.50

23-Jul-14

8.00

450.00

23-Jul-21

9.07

94.23

14-Aug-14

8.75

250.00

14-Aug-21

10.24

9.58

92.50

95.38

NAHCO II 14-NOV-2020 (KYC)15.25 due diligence process to 14.25 FCMB I 20-NOV-2021 verify16.45 the identity of the invesUBA I 30-DEC-2021 182D T.bills+1.20 STANBIC IA 30-SEP-2024 tor before establishing a rela13.25 STANBIC IB 30-SEP-2024 tionship with the investor. Thereafter, the active/target stockbroking firm shall provide 10.20 CSCS with a number of IFC 11-FEB-2018 requirements including a copy 11.25 AFDB 1-FEB-2021 of the investor’s KYC documents verified by the active/ target stockbroking firm; the Description investor’s bank account details (not bank statement), which 6.75 JAN 28,not 2021 less has been operated for than six months5.13and evidence JUL 12, 2018 of share ownership such as con6.38 JUL 12, 2023 tract notes. Also included are purchase receipts and dividend warrant stubs and identification documents, which could be 7.50 MAY 19, 2016 Cura National Identity Card, 7.25 JUL 25, 2017 rent Driver’s License or Current 6.88 MAY 09, 2018 International Passport. 6.00 NOV 08, 2018 6.25 APR 22, 2019 The active/target stockbrok8.75 May 21, 2019 ing firm shall 8.25 provide CSCS AUG 07, 2020 with a letter confirming that 9.25/6M USD LIBOR+7.677 JUN 24, 2021 8.00/2Y USD SWAP+6.488 JUL 23 2021

2.10

14-Nov-13 15.25 2.05 it has conducted a satisfactory 20-Nov-14 14.25 26.00 KYC due diligence process in 30-Dec-14 16.45 30.50 30-Sep-14 11.93 KYC 0.10 addition to the physical 30-Sep-14 13.25 15.44 documents submitted to CSCS. 187.53 Furthermore, two authorised 182.24 signatories of the active/target firm including the Managing 11-Feb-13 10.20 12.00 Director and another autho10-Jul-14 11.25 12.95 24.95 rised signatory are required 21.83 to visit CSCS with the firm’s officialIssue stamp and the personalOutstanding Value Date Coupon (%) ($mm) Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) seal of the Managing 07-Oct-11 6.75 stamp 500.00 Director to sign, seal and the CSCS indemnity form. 12-Jul-13 5.13 500.00 Besides, the investor is re12-Jul-13 6.38 500.00 quired to visit CSCS with proof 1,500.00 of identification for a bio-data capture as further proof of 1,547.21 ownership. Where the investor 19-May-11 7.50for the 500.00 is unable to visit CSCS 25-Jul-12 7.25 350.00 bio-data capture as a result of 09-May-13 6.88 300.00 distance, age, ill health, 08-Nov-13 6.00 etc., a 400.00 6.25 500.00 notary 22-Apr-14 public should duly con21-May-14 8.75 200.00 firm the proof of identification 07-Aug-13 8.25 300.00 before submission to CSCS 24-Jun-14 9.25 400.00

8.75 AUG 14, 2021

FMDQ Daily Quotations List

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

25-May-15

3,650.00 3,508.83

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 Money Market or investment advice. We attempt to ensure the Information is accurate; however, the Information is provided “AS FIXINGS IS” and on an “AS AVAILABLE” basis and may not be accurate or up Exchange to date. We do &not guarantee Foreign (Spot Forwards) DTM Maturity Bid Discount (%) Offer Discount (%) Bid Yield (%) Tenor Rate (%) NIBORfor the results of any action taken on the basis of the Information. the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, performance or fitness for a particular purpose of any of the Information, neither do we accept liability 10 4-Jun-15 13.83 13.58 13.88

**Treasury Bills^ professional, financial 17 31 38 45 52 59 Rating/Agency 66 73 80 94 101 108 122 129 143 157 171 192 NA 206 227 234 241 248 255 262 269 276 283

11-Jun-15 25-Jun-15 2-Jul-15 9-Jul-15 16-Jul-15 23-Jul-15 Issuer 30-Jul-15 6-Aug-15 13-Aug-15 27-Aug-15 3-Sep-15 10-Sep-15 24-Sep-15 1-Oct-15 15-Oct-15 29-Oct-15 12-Nov-15 3-Dec-15 NA 17-Dec-15 7-Jan-16 14-Jan-16 21-Jan-16 28-Jan-16 4-Feb-16 11-Feb-16 18-Feb-16 25-Feb-16 3-Mar-16

FGN Bonds

297 TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

13.00 13.42 13.42 11.06 13.36 11.72 Description 12.02 12.07 12.17 ^13.05 16-AUG-2016 11.40 ^15.10 27-APR-2017 11.80 13.48 9.85 27-JUL-2017 13.38 9.35 31-AUG-2017 13.50 10.70 30-MAY-2018 13.46 13.72 ^16.00 29-JUN-2019 13.62 7.00 23-OCT-2019 12.79 15.54 13-FEB-2020 13.11 ^16.39 27-JAN-2022 13.32 13.82 ^14.20 14-MAR-2024 13.15 15.00 28-NOV-2028 13.87 12.49 22-MAY-2029 13.40 13.54 8.50 20-NOV-2029 13.58 ^10.00 23-JUL-2030 13.90 ^12.1493 13.52 18-JUL-2034

12.75 13.17 13.17 10.81 13.11 11.47 Issue 11.77Date 11.82 11.92 16-Aug-13 11.15 27-Apr-12 11.55 13.23 27-Jul-07 13.13 31-Aug-07 13.25 30-May-08 13.21 13.47 29-Jun-12 13.37 23-Oct-09 12.54 13-Feb-15 12.86 27-Jan-12 13.07 13.57 14-Mar-14 12.90 28-Nov-08 13.62 22-May-09 13.15 13.29 20-Nov-09 13.33 23-Jul-10 13.65 18-Jul-14 13.27

13.08 13.57 13.61 11.21 13.62 11.95 Coupon 12.29 (%) 12.36 12.50 13.05 11.74 15.10 12.19 14.04 9.85 14.00 9.35 14.17 10.70 14.20 14.57 16.00 14.55 7.00 13.71 15.54 14.16 16.39 14.52 15.17 14.20 14.39 15.00 15.31 12.49 14.78 15.00 8.50 15.09 10.00 15.53 12.1493 15.10

Bonds

17-Mar-16

13.09

12.84

14.65

24-Mar-16

12.67

12.42

14.16

13.28

13.03

15.01

13.31

13.06

15.14

346 5-May-16 13.30 *for the Amortising bonds, the average life is calculated and not the duration

13.05

15.21

304

318 TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION 7-Apr-16 332

21-Apr-16

Rating/Agency Issuer Risk Premium is a combination of credit risk and liquidity risk premiums **Exclusive of non-trading t.bills #

Description

Tenor O/N 1M 3M 6M

Outstanding Value (N'bn) 581.39

Rate (%) 10.2750 14.8337 16.2208 17.3392

9.67

O/N

10.21

REPO

Maturity Date

NITTY

Tenor 476.80 1M 2M 20.00 3M 100.00 6M 300.00 9M 12M 351.30

OBB

16-Aug-16

Rate (%) 27-Apr-17 13.1346 13.1459 27-Jul-17 13.6672 31-Aug-17 14.2067 30-May-18 14.5833 14.7840 29-Jun-19

233.90 23-Oct-19 193.73 13-Feb-20 NIFEX 600.00 27-Jan-22 Current Price ($/N)14-Mar-24 573.14 BID($/N) 199.0000 75.00 28-Nov-28 OFFER ($/N) 199.1000 150.00 22-May-29 200.00 20-Nov-29 591.57 23-Jul-30 299.50 18-Jul-34

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

Bid Yield (%) 12.00

Rate (%) 11.00

Maturity Date

Avg. Life/TTM (Yrs)

13.00 14.00

Tenor

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

1.23 13.77 13.63 1.92 13.82 13.73 NOTE: 2.17 13.81 13.73 :Benchmarks 2.27 13.82 13.73 * :Amortising Bond 3.01Bond 13.87 13.73 µ :Convertible AMCON: Asset of Nigeria 4.10 Management Corporation 13.92 13.83 FGN: Federal Government of Nigeria 4.41 13.89 13.79 FMBN: Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria 4.72 Finance Corporation 13.86 13.78 IFC: International 6.68 13.70 Management 13.63 LCRM: Local Contractors Receivables NAHCO: Nigerian 8.80 Aviation Handling 13.66 Company 13.60 O/N: Overnight 13.51 17.09 17.03 UPDC: UAC Property Development Company 13.99 17.65 Company17.57 WAPCO:West Africa Portland Cement 14.49 18.31 18.20 15.16 15.54 15.47 19.15 13.75 13.70

Bid ($/N)

Offer ($/N)

197.83 197.93 201.81 201.93 Price 202.28 202.13 202.87 203.37 204.24 205.31 Bid Price Offer 205.60 207.21Price 206.28 213.47 220.29 226.27

99.16 99.31 102.08 102.23 92.73 92.88 NA :Not Applicable 91.51 91.66 ^ : Market Prices 92.41 92.71 # : Floating Rate Bond ***: Deferred coupon bonds 106.28 106.58 77.80 78.10 ‡ : Bond rating under review 105.92 †: Bond 105.62 rating expired 111.77 N/A :Not111.47 Available {r} :Issuer in receivership 102.98 102.68 89.10 89.40 NGC: Nigeria-German Company 73.50Bank for Africa 73.80 UBA: United 50.66 50.96 68.00 68.30 89.23 89.53

4,746.32 4,428.10

Issue Date

Coupon (%)

Outstanding Value (N'bn)

# Risk Premium (%)

Valuation Yield (%)

Modelled Price

Agency Bonds ***LCRM Modified Duration Buckets

TOTAL OUTSTANDING VALUE

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Porfolio Market Value(Bn)

Volume(Bn)

03-Apr-12 17.25 2.40 09-Dec-11FMDQ FGN 0.00/16.00 BOND INDEX 112.22 20-Apr-12 0.00/16.50 116.70 06-Jul-12 0.00/16.50 66.49 Weighting by Weighting by Mkt

Outstanding Vol

Bucket Weighting

Value

297.82

1,436.55

1,409.48

41.39

43.59

3<5

1,207.55

1,124.68

33.03

36.64

Sub-National Bonds

17.25 FMB II 03-APR-2017 0.00/16.00 LCRM 08-DEC-2016 0.00/16.50 LCRM II 19-APR-2017 0.00/16.50 LCRM III 06-JUL-2017 Total Outstanding

Market

03-Apr-17 08-Dec-16 19-Apr-17 06-Jul-17 % Exposure_

Mod_Duration

0.98 1.54 1.90 2.12

Implied Yield

2.27 2.19 2.71 2.85 Implied

Portfolio Price

16.78 15.95 16.50 16.66

INDEX

100.47 100.04 101.57 97.91 YTD Return (%)

0.41

18.96

13.85

105.4910

1,181.92

6.6857

0.33

38.74

13.68

111.8379

1,115.93

10.2074

298.31

651.66

871.07

25.58

19.77

0.26

42.30

14.81

78.5908

1,104.60

9.6904

3,295.76

3,405.23

100.00

1.00

100.00

14.19

100.7061

1,137.97

7.8458

A/Agusto

KADUNA

31-Aug-10

12.50

8.50

31-Aug-15

0.27

A-/Agusto

*EBONYI

13.00 EBONYI 30-SEP-2015

30-Sep-10

13.00

2.16

30-Sep-15

0.35

3.23

15.84

99.00

BBB+/Agusto

*BENUE

14.00 BENUE 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-11

14.00

4.86

30-Jun-16

0.62

4.46

18.24

97.61

‡ /Agusto

*IMO

15.50 IMO 30-JUN-2016

30-Jun-09

15.50

5.73

30-Jun-16

0.62

3.48

17.27

98.97

A+/Agusto; ‡ /GCR

LAGOS

10.00 LAGOS 19-APR-2017

19-Apr-10

10.00

57.00

19-Apr-17

1.90

1.00

14.79

92.27

‡ /Agusto

*BAYELSA

13.75 BAYELSA 30-JUN-2017

30-Jun-10

13.75

25.73

30-Jun-17

1.17

1.00

15.28

98.42

‡ /Agusto

EDO

14.00 EDO 31-DEC-2017

30-Dec-10

14.00

25.00

31-Dec-17

2.60

1.79

15.63

96.58

‡ /Agusto; A+/GCR

*DELTA

14.00 DELTA 30-SEP-2018

30-Sep-11

14.00

30.81

30-Sep-18

1.98

1.80

15.60

97.39

Bb-/Agusto; A-/GCR

NIGER

14.00 NIGER II 4-OCT-2018

04-Oct-11

14.00

9.00

04-Oct-18

2.00

1.00

14.80

98.63

12.50 KADUNA 31-AUG-2015

4.44

16.52

98.86

Business | Capital Market

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015

Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

The Nigerian Stock Market Exchange as at May 25, 2015 Daily Summary (Equities)

Daily Summary (Bonds)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Activity Summary on Board DEBT Federal

Bond Name 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 16.39% FGN JAN 2022 Federal Totals

Symbol FG9B2019S3 FG9B2022S1

No. of Deals 1 2 3

DEBT Board Totals

Current Price 107.50 112.20

Bond Activity Totals

Quantity Traded 5,000 8,465 13465

HEALTHCARE HEALTHCARE Totals

Value Traded 5,702,472.53 9,957,365.88 15,659,838.41

13,465

15,659,838.41

13465

15,659,838.41

ICT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. IT Services Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE

Crop Production Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals

Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

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

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO Symbol LIVESTOCK Daily Summary

No. of Deals 27 22 49

Current Price 30.26 30.01

Quantity Traded 162,152 152,370 314,522

Value Traded 4,682,331.65 4,575,462.40 9,257,794.05

No. of Deals 10 (Equities) 10

Current Price 2.40

Quantity Traded 179,900 179,900

Value Traded 432,682.00 432,682.00

494,422

9,690,476.05

AGRICULTURE Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G.Nigerian LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. Published by The Stock Exchange © JOHN HOLT PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

Symbol AGLEVENT JOHNHOLT TRANSCORP UACN

No. of Deals 1 1 134 46 182

CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015

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

Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY

182

Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR NIG. PLC. Daily Summary asMILLS of 25/05/2015 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NIGERIA PLC. EQTY ActivityNESTLE Summary on Board CONSUMER GOODS Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Food Products--Diversified Food Products--Diversified Totals

11,696,011

110,523,797.12

Current Price 0.82

Quantity Traded 130,533 130,533

Value Traded 106,765.94 106,765.94

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 29 29

Current Price 52.00

Quantity Traded 80,832 80,832

Value Traded 4,190,265.37 4,190,265.37

No. of Deals 18 18

Current Price 10.10

Quantity Traded 170,918 170,918

Value Traded 1,777,920.30 1,777,920.30

Symbol No. of Deals Daily Summary (Equities)

Current Price 10.00

Quantity Traded 4,920 4,920

Value Traded 49,200.00 49,200.00

Symbol UAC-PROP

UPDCREIT

1 1

387,203

6,124,151.61

Page

Symbol CHAMPION GUINNESS INTBREW NB PREMBREW

No. of Deals 12 49 16 69 2 148

Current Price 6.78 155.72 20.00 154.00 3.43

Quantity Traded 140,945 82,412 91,997 2,524,614 1,456 2,841,424

Value Traded 957,501.70 12,837,897.19 1,861,689.94 388,731,683.43 4,746.56 404,393,518.82

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 178.00

Quantity Traded 6,607 6,607

Value Traded 1,158,743.36 1,158,743.36

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON

No. of Deals 104 37 70 25 44 280

Current Price 3.91 6.51 35.00 3.70 7.30

Quantity Traded 4,164,123 553,307 767,994 1,495,112 835,901 7,816,437

Value Traded 16,465,744.80 3,567,805.78 26,846,756.09 5,531,119.40 6,044,561.98 58,455,988.05

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals

Current Price 39.90 870.00

Quantity Traded 28,269 271,474

Value Traded 1,135,278.00 236,144,276.07

CADBURY NESTLE

15 60

Page

Symbol

No. of Deals 75

Current Price

Quantity Traded 299,743

Value Traded 237,279,554.07

Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals

Symbol VITAFOAM VONO

No. of Deals 47 6 53

Current Price 4.90 1.34

Quantity Traded 1,165,018 431,177 1,596,195

Value Traded 5,736,538.70 567,817.18 6,304,355.88

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 28 24 52

Current Price 28.66 45.00

Quantity Traded 103,345 186,244 289,589

Value Traded 3,034,732.28 8,382,842.70 11,417,574.98

12,849,995

719,009,735.16

Quantity Traded 29,031,646 944,801 97,548 1,794,622 8,255,749 8,263,270 1,516,402 49,334,924 335,421

Value Traded 182,732,221.75 4,211,892.30 2,085,703.88 3,315,491.93 239,655,005.90 21,240,610.44 3,229,822.36 256,030,719.14 3,414,271.72

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking

ACCESS PLC. Daily Summary as BANK of 25/05/2015

DIAMOND BANK PLC Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK on NIG.PLC. Activity Summary Board EQTY

Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 FINANCIAL SERVICES Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045 Banking

UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045 Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services

Activity Summary on Board EQTY RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC

UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FBN HOLDINGS PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

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

Symbol No. of Deals UNITYBNK 64 WEMABANK 31 ZENITHBANK 226 Daily Summary (Equities) 1,119 Symbol

No. of Deals

Current Price 6.29 4.44 21.70 1.85 29.05 2.63 2.10 5.19 10.05

Page

Current Price 2.40 0.99 22.00

Quantity Traded 3,437,590 2,354,135 10,731,652 116,097,760

Value Traded 8,186,974.29 2,337,144.73 236,243,662.99 962,683,521.43

Current Price

Quantity Traded

Value Traded

NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 Chemicals Totals Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 13

Quantity Traded 482,054 482,054

Value Traded 617,711.28 617,711.28

Symbol RESORTSAL

No. of Deals 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 761,000

Value Traded 380,500.00

Symbol UNHOMES

No. of Deals 3 4

Current Price 6.40

Page Quantity Traded 5,000 766,000

13 6 of Value Traded

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FBNH FCMB NESF ROYALEX STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 61 21 334 54 1 1 23 61 556

Current Price 3.00 4.00 9.00 3.10 552.20 0.50 30.00 1.49

No. of Deals 5 6 32 23 15 81

Current Price 1.75 3.59 44.00 1.86 1.26

Value Traded 177,648.80 102,746.50 8,292,106.90 237,714.55 941,388.88 9,751,605.63

Page

Quantity Traded 50,000 50,000

Value Traded 25,000.00 25,000.00

54,800

77,800.00

4 Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP Daily Summary CCNN DANGCEM

No. of Deals 10 13 24 (Equities) 10 60

Current Price 21.50 10.00 41.50 10.50 177.00

Quantity Traded 17,167 61,650 62,740 29,579 1,455,847

Value Traded 367,514.24 590,515.22 2,476,867.50 307,795.08 257,703,339.25

Symbol FIRSTALUM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 1 8 44 170

Current Price 0.50 3.47 96.50

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 1.65

Quantity Traded 1,000 101,500 2,910,998 4,640,481 Page Quantity Traded 86,666 86,666

Value Traded 500.00 339,205.00 280,921,105.08 542,706,841.37 13 8 of Value Traded 142,998.90 142,998.90

Symbol BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 21 21

Current Price 38.10

194 Symbol BOCGAS

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 5.11

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

Quantity Traded 499,318 499,318

Value Traded 18,987,679.00 18,987,679.00

5,226,465

561,837,519.27

Quantity Traded 5,318 5,318

Value Traded 25,845.48 25,845.48

5,318

25,845.48

Quantity Traded 1,461

Value Traded 730.50

Current Price

Quantity Traded 1,461

Value Traded 730.50

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

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 218 218

Current Price 18.20

Quantity Traded 4,668,875 4,668,875

Value Traded 84,175,076.93 84,175,076.93

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

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS TOTAL

No. of Deals 20 15 24 24 2 31 116

Current Price 41.00 2.70 177.80 150.00 50.54 152.60

Quantity Traded 128,287 274,000 19,694 87,838 60 68,722 578,601

Value Traded 5,232,984.44 742,015.00 3,356,381.80 13,228,343.21 2,881.20 10,366,141.02 32,928,746.67

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 45 45

Current Price 340.00

Quantity Traded 78,000 78,000

Value Traded 26,301,969.19 26,301,969.19

5,326,937

143,406,523.29

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 600.00 600.00

SERVICES Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. Apparel Retailers Totals

Page

381 Symbol

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 3.15

DailyLENNARDS Summary (Equities)

Page

Current Price 0.80

Quantity Traded 104,689 104,689

Value Traded 84,045.76 84,045.76

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

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 9 8 17

Current Price 4.80 1.19

Quantity Traded 352,005 175,428 527,433

Value Traded 1,697,074.00 205,746.25 1,902,820.25

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 35 35

Current Price 0.71

Quantity Traded 3,225,465 3,225,465

Value Traded 2,243,149.38 2,243,149.38

Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC Hospitality Totals

Symbol TANTALIZER

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 200 200

Value Traded 100.00 100.00

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 3.90

Quantity Traded 25,294 25,294

Value Traded 93,840.74 93,840.74

Symbol DAARCOMM

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 5,000 5,000

Value Traded 2,500.00 2,500.00

Current Price 6.00

Quantity Traded 267,589

Value Traded 1,452,134.28

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals UPL

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Printing/Publishing Printing/Publishing Totals

Page

Symbol

No. of Deals 21

Current Price

Quantity Traded 267,589

Value Traded 1,452,134.28

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 15 15

Current Price 0.57

Quantity Traded 7,099,000 7,099,000

Value Traded 4,053,740.00 4,053,740.00

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

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 17 35 52

Current Price 2.45 6.35

Quantity Traded 194,318 657,774 852,092

Value Traded 454,727.94 4,022,362.25 4,477,090.19

Support and Logistics

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 3.51

Quantity Traded 27,685 27,685

Value Traded 98,281.75 98,281.75

154

12,134,647

14,408,302.35

3,607

220,325,307

2,745,338,029.70

CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 Support14:30:45.045 and Logistics Totals Printed 25/05/2015

EQTY Board Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

No. of Deals 7 7

Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015

Symbol RTBRISCOE

SERVICES Totals

Activity Summary on Board ASeM

30,400.00 410,900.00

Quantity Traded 101,540 30,015 188,333 136,459 762,742 1,219,089

Current Price 0.50

No. of Deals 2

Printing/Publishing UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC.

Current Price 1.27

Symbol EVANSMED FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH

No. of Deals 2 2

Symbol

Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Media/Entertainment Totals

No. of Deals 20 20

1,170,482,273.74

Symbol CHAMS

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Published byAND The Nigerian Stock Exchange © OIL GAS Energy Equipment and Services Energy Equipment and Services Totals

Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

Value Traded 2,500,000.00 2,665,734.16 2,911,855.75 250.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 50.00 2,500.00 5,000.00 12,498.00 3,274,343.41 2,550.00 1,150.00 2,550.00 2,500.00 7,500.00 243,655.18 11,637,136.50 5 of 13

170,930,420

Value Traded 52,800.00 52,800.00

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

1,875

Quantity Traded 4,800 4,800

0.50

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

Quantity Traded 5,000,000 2,664,683 2,871,425 500 5,000 5,000 100 5,000 10,000 4,166 3,750,394 5,100 2,300 5,100 5,000 15,000 464,593 14,813,361 Page

Value Traded 28,406,809.17 11,392,767.04 95,023,927.88 40,172,621.92 24,750.00 50.00 16,159,176.81 3,952,901.71 195,133,004.53

Current Price 11.02

Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 OIL AND GAS Totals Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045

9,751,605.63

No. of Deals 2 2

NATURAL RESOURCES Totals

Current Price 0.50 1.01 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 3.00 0.89 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.52

Quantity Traded 9,386,539 2,852,866 10,392,884 12,962,702 45 100 538,648 2,637,461 38,771,245

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

1,219,089

Symbol NCR

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

No. of Deals 1 20 58 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 44 2 2 2 1 2 33 176

Daily Summary (Equities)

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

Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol AFRINSURE AIICO CONTINSURE CORNERST EQUITYASUR GUINEAINS HMARKINS LASACO LINKASSURE MANSARD NEM SOVRENINS STACO STDINSURE UNIC UNIVINSURE WAPIC

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals

No. of Deals 152 23 42 46 194 89 (Equities) 23 192 37

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Value Traded 3,675.00 13 1 of 22.36 29,862,769.35 80,657,330.41 110,523,797.12

No. of Deals 6 6

Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals

Quantity Traded 2,500 Page 26 9,732,207 1,961,278 11,696,011

Symbol COSTAIN

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals

Current Price 1.54 0.90 3.04 41.27

ICT Totals Daily Summary as of 25/05/2015 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Printed 25/05/2015 14:30:45.045 Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC

CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals

Symbol MCNICHOLS

No. of Deals 5 5

CONSUMER GOODS Totals

Current Price 1.57

Quantity Traded 150,000 150,000

Value Traded 228,500.00 228,500.00

150,000

ASeM Board Totals

150,000

228,500.00

Equity Activity Totals

3,612

220,475,307

2,745,566,529.70

Page

228,500.00

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund

Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Symbol LOTUSHAL15 NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

No. of Deals 1 1 3 5

Current Price 10.60 2,316.00 15.87

Quantity Traded 5 25 3,005 3,035

Value Traded 53.00 57,900.00 48,409.35 106,362.35

ETF Board Totals

3,035

106,362.35

ETP Activity Totals

3,035

106,362.35

Page

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Features

A nation in throes of fuel scarcity In a few hours’ time, there will be a change of government, the first of its kind in the country’s political history, yet Nigerians may not savour the joy of the moment because of the effects of the fuel shortage, writes MOJEED ALABI

Vehicles waiting to buy fuel at a filling station

es, there are no guns, no grenades, clubs, bows and arrows anywhere except in the North-East where terrorists hold sway. Also, catapults are no longer common but in the villages where young lads run after rats and squirrels. Even the gun-wielding militia men who once terrorised Nigerians have returned to the creeks. And since the killing of a 26-year-old pregnant lawyer by stray bullets from the guns of pipeline vandals at Arepo, Ogun State, a few weeks ago, things seem to have returned to normal. Yet, to say that Nigeria is at war may not be incorrect as all signs of war are in place except the display

ABIODUN BELLO FEATURES Editor

abiodun. bello@newtelegraphonline.com

of weapons. It is indeed not the best of times for Nigerians as the fuel scarcity continues to bite harder, a situation that has been described by many people as antithetical to the socio-economic potential of Africa’s largest economy and the sixth biggest global oil producing nation. The situation has been further compounded by the decadence in the power sector with electricity generation degenerating to an all-time low of about 1,000 megawatts from the usual 4,800, which was even far below the nation's need. The situation may not have degenerated to the conditions in the war-ravaged Syrian Arab Republic - a country in Western Asia, where people now live on plants grown in cemeteries to survive - but current developments in Nigeria are also symbolic of a war situation as transportation, communication, banking, health, education, among other sectors are already grounded. The hunger, anger and frustration on the faces of Nigerians this time cut across the length and breadth of the country. The situation is no respecter of ethnicity, religion or party affiliations. The poor, the rich, young and old all have their fingers in their mouths, biting very hard for the frustrations they are facing. This is the time the rich are ashamed as the huge wad of notes in their pockets cannot find fuel to buy. At homes, everything is being rationed. Many only cook once a day

as price of gas has also skyrocketed with alternative kerosene nowhere to be found. It is not only cooking that is rationed; regardless of the heat, many cannot afford to bathe more than once a day because there is no fuel or electricity to power the water pumping machines. Even children are barred from putting on more than a cloth per day because the hampers are already filled up with no water to wash them. In the midst of this, government workers in most states of the federation are the most hit. They are being owed salary for about six months, amounting to about N300 billion. Thus, continuing to go to work is not an option for them. Though, workers’ unions have not declared strike, everyone is taking law into his hands because government has suddenly become lame duck. In less than 72 hours there would be change in government – a transition of power between President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yet to many Nigerians, the few hours are like decades when they consider the hardship they are being made to go through. At the weekend, many corporate organisations and essential service providers such as banks, communication outfits, radio stations, transport companies have announced plans to shut down if the situation persisted. For instance, the mobile telecommunication giant, with over 50

million subscribers, MTN, has announced its intention to shut down some of its base stations due to fuel scarcity. In a statement credited to the company's Corporate Service Executive, Mr. Adewale Goodluck and which was released on the popular social medium, twitter, on Sunday, MTN announced its decision to shut down some of its base-stations that are powered by diesel-operated generators. The statement reads in part: “The management of MTN states that the current diesel scarcity in most parts of Nigeria is posing threat to quality of services and the ability to optimally operate the network. “MTN’s available reserves of diesel are running low and the company must source for significant quantity of diesel in the very near future to prevent a shutdown of services across Nigeria. If diesel supplies are not available within the next 24 hours the network will be seriously degraded and customers will feel the impact.” Also, another major player in the sector, Airtel, has alerted its customers to prepare for difficult times; saying communication through its networks might no longer be smooth if the fuel scarcity continued. The text message from Airtel management to its customers on Sunday reads in part: “Dear Valued Customer, this is to inform you that due to nationwide fuel crisis our services C O N T I N U E D on PA G E 4 6

FEATURES

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Transition in a war-like situation C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 5

may experience some strain. We are doing everything possible to manage the situation. Thank you for understanding.” In a similar development, also on Sunday, the management of GTBank, the financial institution with a very large customer base, issued notice of early closure of its branches nationwide, saying: “The current shortage of petroleum products in the country has limited our ability to supply diesel to all our branches in order to continue normal branch operations. “Due to this, we unavoidably have to close our branches nationwide at 1 pm, from tomorrow Monday, 25th May 2015.” The aviation sector is no different. For most part of last week, several airline operators announced plans to significantly alter their normal flight schedules, blaming it on their inability to get aviation fuel for their aircraft. On May 22, one of the country's busiest carriers, Aero Contractors, announced that: “Due to the current scarcity of Jet-A1 fuel being experienced in the country, we regret to inform you that all our flights will not operate regularly as scheduled. “We regret any inconveniences the changes will cause. All efforts are being made to ameliorate the situation and revert to our regular flight schedule.” At the airports in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, thousands of travellers were stranded as most airlines cancelled their scheduled flights. In Abuja in particular, the few airlines operating, including Dana Airlines, jacked up their fares while passengers continued to groan. Car dealers are not exempted in this season of warnings to clients and customers, as a major dealer, Cosharis Motors, also warned buyers of its new BMW cars to park them until fuel is available, saying using adulterated fuel on them could damage sensitive parts. The warning is coming on the heels of the recognition of the only available channel to purchase fuel in the country, which is black market, where a litre costs as much as N500. Buyers also claim the petroleum products bought from black markets are usually mixed with kerosene and with little water content. In Lagos in particular, the situation is expected to grow worse as the public transportation system is already shutting down. The Lagos State Rapid Bus System (LAGBUS) said in a statement that it was left with about 17,000 litres of fuel and that its buses consumed as much as 15,000 litres per day, and it could not guarantee service beyond 6PM on Monday. But Nigeria did not just find itself in this mess overnight. It is the cumulative effects of the long years of miss-governance by successive administrations. The country, which is now on the verge of total shutdown, is at the mercy of the striking fuel marketers and transporters, which has lasted for more than two weeks. Although there were reports yesterday that the strike would be called off any moment. The nation, regarded as Africa’s largest oil producer, has to import refined petroleum products owing to lack of local refineries and the import-

A soldier buying fuel from black marketers

PHOTOS: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Buhari

Jonathan

ers have been in dispute for some time over unpaid bills of nearly $1 billion. That is the difference between the cost of imported products and the government subsidised fuel prices in Nigeria since October 2014. The marketers claimed that the Federal Government has refused to fulfil its subsidy payment obligations. However, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the marketers had not been paid because she could not sign off money that she would find difficult to explain to Nigerians later. She said the marketers, who had earlier agreed with the setting up of an ad hoc committee made up of their representatives, those of Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Debt Management Office (DMO), and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to verify their claims suddenly backed out. But expectedly, both the ruling party and the main opposition which are already working towards role swapping are already engaged in blame games. While APC is accusing the PDP of plan-

ning to truncate the transition of power, the latter is accusing the former of sabotaging its efforts so that it could have reasons to link its ‘assured’ failure to. APC accused President Jonathan of handing over a nation in deep crisis, even as his administration continues to contrive more crises without making any effort to solve any of them. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC appealed to Nigerians not to lose hope, despite the daunting challenges they were currently facing in “this atmosphere of contrived chaos”, saying help was on the way. He said: “In a few days’ time, President Jonathan will hand over to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari. Never in the history of our country has any government handed over to another a more distressed country: No electricity, no fuel, workers are on strike, billions are owed to state and federal workers, $60 billion are owed in national debt and the economy is virtually grounded. “Today, Nigerians are roaming the streets, jerry cans in hand, searching for everything from kerosene to fuel

to diesel to power their homes, keep their vehicles on the road and keep their businesses going. They are paying as much as N300 per litre for fuel, if at all they can get it. Yet their government is not saying a word about the situation. “While Jonathan’s administration has arrogantly told Nigerians that it remains in office and in power till May 29, all it has been doing was sacking people and making new appointments as if it has been deprived of the opportunity to do so in the past six years." But on the other hand, and in what appears a repeat concert show, PDP blamed the severe petroleum product scarcity in the country on alleged sabotage by APC. This is just as PDP tasked APC to get ready to apply its much-mouthed manifesto or be bold to apologise to Nigerians for presenting false messianic posture and making false promises. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, PDP equally frowned at Buhari’s ‘embarrassing’ journey to the United Kingdom just as it berated him for snubbing handover programme lined up by the Federal Government to transmit power to him on Friday. The statement reads in part: “It is curious and more than a co-incidence that the nation is experiencing an acute shortage of fuel and electricity supply at this point in time, when such has not been the case under the current PDP-led administration. Whatever the situation is, Nigerians are not interested in who is behind the crises but how to solve them. The kids who could not be taken to schools by their parents and those already declaring mid-term break as a face-saving mechanism, or the hospitals where epidemic may soon break out due to the near collapse of the system, will all not be interested in the blame-game but the solution.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015

Abia election tribunal adjourns Kalu, Ohuabunwa’s petitions till June 3 Igbeaku Orji Umuahia

he election petition tribunal sitting in Umuahia, has adjourned to June 3, 2015, for further mention, the petition filed by former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu against the election of Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa, over the Abia North senatorial election. The adjournment, according to the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Mohammed Wakili, was to give the first respondent, Ohuabunwa,

enough time to respond to the petition. Counsel to Dr. Kalu, Perfect Okorie, told the tribunal that the petitions were served with the reply to the 2nd -9th respondents on 23rd May, 2015. He also reported that the 1st respondent was served on May 8, 2015, but was yet to receive his response. Counsel to the respondent, M. O. Onyeka, on his part told the tribunal that the first respondent had been served on the 8th May, 2015, assuring that they were going to give “our reply before the next adjourned date.”

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Counsel to the second and ninth respondents, N. Ebuka, said “we filed our reply to the petition on the 13th May, 2015. In the same vein, the tribunal was told that after two adjournments, the House of Representatives member –elect for Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal constituency, Chief Uko Nkole, was yet to reply to the petition against him by the APGA candidate, Nnamdi Iro Orji. The matter was also

adjourned to June 3, 2015. Other matters adjourned to June 3, 2015, include, Dr. Ejike Orji, of the APGA against Nkeiruka Onyejiocha in the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal constituency, Hon Chinenye Ike, against Darlington Nwokocha in the Isiala Ngwa North and South Federal constituency and David Ogba Onuoha of the APGA against Mao Ohuabunwa, in the Abia North senatorial district.

Igbo leaders extol Onu on doctoral award Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

gbo leaders drawn from all the states of the South-East at the weekend extolled the first executive Governor of Abia State Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, over the honourary doctorate degree he was awarded by the Abia State University. Onu was hosted to a grand reception at the weekend by Igbo dignitaries from all political parties, following the award of a Doctorate Degree in Public Administration, Honoris Causa by the Abia State University, Uturu. The reception, which

lasted till Sunday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was rounded off by a reception held for him by the All Progressives Grand Alliance’s (APGA) governorship aspirant, Dr. Okey Ezeh. The event, which had Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha as the Royal Father of the Day and Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe in attendance, witnessed eulogies for Onu, for his ideals as a politician. Political leaders from the PDP, LP, UPP and APGA used the forum to assert and endorse the credibility of Onu as the emerging leader of the South-East, whose pedigree has remained untainted.

Coalition petitions EFCC over Discos’ operations Uwakwe Abugu Enugu

coalition of over 150 rights groups operating under the aegis of Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), requesting it to investigate the 11 power distribution companies (DISCOS) operating across the country, following the hardship being experienced across the country over the near grounding of electricity supply. In a similar development, Prof. Uche Azikiwe, wife of the late first president of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, has sent a save our soul message to the nation’s authorities to urgently do something to reverse the abysmal service delivery of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) which has crippled homes and businesses set up within Enugu State.

According to the petition to the EFCC titled “request for investigation of the activities of electricity distribution companies in the country”, the coalition said it has received complaints from individuals and organizations that several consumers who applied and paid for prepaid meters, as far back as two years ago, have not been supplied by the electricity distribution companies. The petition, signed by Raymond Onyegu, president of the Socio-economic Rights Initiative (SERI), Chino Obiagwu, Chairman of HRAN and Enwelum Ogechukwu, executive director of one of the rights groups, noted, “following the complaints we received, our intervention led to writing to the eleven DISCOS in the country for the demand of their explanation on the state of the activities based on the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2011 as private companies licensed to perform public duties’’.

L-R: Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Waheed Olagunju; Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano; Managing Director/CEO, BoI, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Prof. Joe Asike, at the inauguration of the BoI office in Awka

Support Umahi, cleric tells Elechi Charles Onyekwere ABAKALIKI

he Bishop of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Abakaliki Rt. Rev. Godfrey, Agupusi, has urged the out-going governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi, to support the Governor- elect, Engr. Dave Umahi, to enable him succeed in his effort towards bringing development and peace to the state.

Imo PDP expels Araraume, Anumudu, 18 others Steve Uzoechi OWERRI

ollowing the loss of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State in the recently conducted general elections, the state chapter of the party, in its bid to put its house in order, has expelled twenty leaders of the party following a resolution of the State Executive Committee of the party on their activities during the elections. In a statement signed by

the state party Chairman, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie, the entire members of the state executive of the party and the 27 local government Chairmen of the party, noted, “After a full and exhaustive deliberation on the reports of the activities of the underlisted persons against the interest of our great party in the just concluded general elections which actions revealed gross anti-party activities, the state executive committee accepts the report and recommendation and

accordingly expels the underlisted.” Top on the list of expelled members by the PDP is Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, who was expelled for his defection to the APC. Others are Chief Jerry Chukwueke, Chief Humphrey Anumudu, Chief Gibson Njemanze, Chief Cyprain Amako, Chief Charles Amako, Barr. Kingsley Ononuju, Chief Ethelbert Okere, Hon. Jones Uzoka, and Hon. Independence Ogunewe, among others.

The cleric, who said this during the interdenomitional church service to mark the year 2015 Democracy Day celebration held at the church premises ,in Abakaliki, enjoined the gover nor-elect to put behind whatever wrongs done against him and shun any for m of disaffection in the interest of the state and the people who voted him into power. Agupusi lamented

that the last general election in some parts of the country was a declaration of war without gun, but called on Igbos to appreciate the importance of leadership and put their house in order to enable them participate and be part of the in-coming administration in the country. “Today is the happiest day in the life of Chief Martin Elechi. You came on board aggressively and wanted to fix the state

within eight years in power. Now you are leaving office in good health. You can count your gains and lost for the past eight years. you must translate your handshake with your Deputy Governor and Governor-elect, Engr. Dave Umahi. In his remarks, the out-going governor Chief Martin Elechi, noted that he controlled his emotions to avoid shedding tears of joy resulting from lots of challenges facing the state at the end of his administration.

Group opposes monarch’s appointment as Abuja varsity chancellor

Peter Osondu Aba

group, Abia for Good Democratic Governance (AGDG), has opposed the recent appointment of the chairman of Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH (Eze) Eberechi Dick as Chancellor of the University of Abuja by President Goodluck Jonathan. President Jonathan

recently appointed 37 traditional rulers across the country as Chancellors of 37 federal universities. In a statement, the co-ordinator of the group Comrade John Olu Maduka, said the group was opposed to the appointment which, they said, would portray the nation in bad light, since, according to the group, the traditional ruler does not possess the requisite academic qualification. Maduka said it was

on record that up to 1974 when Dick attended a local school at Itungwa in Obingwa Local Government of the state where he sat for his First School Leaving Certificate, he was not known to have proceeded for any further education. Going further, the group said, “He (Dick) was a manager for a dealer on petroleum products from where he got a filling station of his own.

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Nigerians groan as fuel sells for N250 per litre in Delta Dominic Adewole ASABA

o fewer than 500 travelers were yesterday stranded at the defunct toll-gate along the AsabaOnitsha Expressway in Delta State, following the hike in the price of fuel in the state. The travelers said they were shocked that motorists suddenly jacked up transport fares from their fixed prices. The hike in the price of petroleum products has also

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crippled commercial activities in Asaba metropolis as few vehicles were seen traversing the link roads at the state capital. Also, banks across the state, including the First City Monument Bank (FCMB), have alerted their customers to transact their business before the closing hours that has been brought back from 4.00pm to 1.00pm. With the increment in price, the official pump price of the product gradually rose from N100 per litre since last week to N250 yesterday.

The major marketers that were initially selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre had to alter their dispensers after the crisis bit harder on them. New Telegraph’s checks in Asaba yesterday revealed that 95 per cent of the independent marketers have the product, but are selling arbitrarily to end-users. Chief Chukwudi Chukwujendu, a top ranking politician in the state yesterday, said the product was sold by major marketers to private petrol outlets at exorbitant prices.

“Have you not wondered why the product is available in mushroom petrol stations whereas the major ones do not have? The major marketers sell at N160 and N170 to independent marketers, who in turn sell at N230 – N250 to the general public. They prefer to do it this way because they cannot sell above the official pump price,” the politician said. He condemned what he described as “insensitivity” on the part of the Federal Government to tackle the crisis, which has lasted for two months.”

C’River builds 17 primary schools in eight years Clement James Calabar

he Cross River State government said it has established 17 primary schools in the state in the last eight years, thus increasing the number of such schools to 1, 077 from 1, 016. Similarly, it said enrolment in primary schools has increased from 223, 200 in 2007 to 295, 973 in 2015. The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Offiong E. Offiong, made this disclosure at the end of their tenure briefing in Calabar yesterday. In what was tagged, “We have transformed Education in Cross River State,” Offiong said his ministry has laid a solid foundation for the takeoff of quality

education at the primary school level, with emphasis on ensuring that pupils in Primaries 1 and 2 are able to read and write. “One major index in the transformation of our primary schools is the ability of many of our pupils at Primaries 1 and 2 to read and write. This is a major departure from what we met on ground where pupils in Primaries 4 to 6 could not read and write,” he said. According to him, the increase in enrollment shows a corresponding expansion in infrastructure through the UBE intervention. “Thus, the numbers of classroom have increased from 6,113 to 9,689 and in the process over 300 primary schools have been comprehensively renovated,” Offiong explained.

Group decries smear campaign against NDDC board Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

L-R: Rivers State Governor, Hon, Rotimi Amaechi; APC Chieftain, Chief Tony Momoh; former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon, Ghali Na’Aba and former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, at the premiere of a documentary entitled; ‘Dynamics of Change, The Amaechi Years,’ in Abuja …at the weekend. PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

Ex-Edo deputy governor tasks Buhari on governance Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

former Deputy Gover nor of Edo State, Peter Obadan, yesterday tasked the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari on key sectors of the economy. He said the Presidentelect should go back to the drawing board to reassess what has happened in the

past, especially the privatisation of several companies with a view to addressing the myriads of challenges confronting the nation’s power, oil and gas sectors. He said revisiting those core privatised sectors and ensuring the choice of time-tested team in his new cabinet would help launch the nation’s economy back on stream. Speaking in an interview with newsmen in Benin, the state capital,

Obadan said “corruption has been the bane of the country’s woes. He said: “We have seen the privatisation of some of these sectors and we have seen them not working and he would want to find out why they are not working. And if we are going to reengineer those areas, I am sure he would willingly do that but I am sure there is a strategic thing already set up. “When we look at the

power sector, the government had all sorts of strategic plans; had money injected into it right from 1999 to date and we have not seen much changes and of course don’t forget that there is competition from external factors; you have those who are importing generators and all that, you have those who are importing oil, so, these are people who are ensuring that nothing actually works in the country,” said.

Transporters hike fares as fuel scarcity hits harder Emmanuel Masha Port Harcourt

ommuters in Port Harcourt and its environs were yesterday stranded at major busstops and motor parks and were forced to pay twice the normal transport fare to their destinations as the ongoing fuel scarcity worsened yesterday.

Most filling stations across Port Harcourt, the River State capital, were locked up due to the scarcity of petroleum products, while those that opened for business sold the product at over 50 per cent of the normal price amid long queues that obstructed the flow of traffic. Distances that taxi drivers and other com-

mercial vehicle operators used to charge N100 and N50 respectively attracted N150 and N100 fares, just as inter-state transporters also hiked their fares. But it was not the case along the Eleme axis of East-West Road in the outskirts of the city, where almost half of the filling stations operating in the area were selling

fuel, diesel and kerosene. While black market peddlers of fuel sold a litre for N200 or N250 in some places and 10 litres for between N2000 and N2, 500, most of the filling stations sold a litre of fuel for N180 to struggling and impatient motorists and those buying in jerry-cans, as well as tricycle operators and motorcycle riders.

he Niger Delta Coalition of Civil Rights Activists (NDCCRA) has cautioned against alleged smear campaign against the existing board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The body said making a grievous allegation without proof was against the interest of the Niger Delta people, who the commission serves. The group said based on its investigation, those accusing the NDDC of mismanagement of funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta on the pages of newspapers acted

in bad faith, and that the publication was politically motivated. NDCCRA noted in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Dumo Micheal Jaja and the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Comrade Philip Aniekan Etim, that those “antagonising” the NDDC board were contractors who had been awarded contracts, but failed to deliver on such contracts. While saying that it was against corrupt practices as a civil rights’ group, and for the development of the Niger Delta, it said the commission needs improved funding to cope with the rising development challenges confronting the region.

Uduaghan urges monarchs to eschew discrimination Gabriel Choba Ughelli

elta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has advised traditional rulers to eschew discrimination and favouritism in their dealings with their subjects. The governor gave the advice at the presentation of the staff of office to two traditional rulers in Orogun and Ogor kingdoms in Ughelli North Local Government area of the state. Represented by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, the governor told Efeurhobo Eyefia 1, the Okpara-Uku of Orogun Kingdom that “as the father of all, you are the symbol of the people’s custom and tradition, including the hub around which the socio-economic life of this community revolves.

I wish to advise, therefore, that all forms of sectionalism, partiality, discrimination and favouritism be eschewed in your day-to-day administration.” While thanking the people of the kingdom for their support all through his eight years administration in the state, Uduaghan urged them to extend the same support and cooperation to the incoming administration. Also in an address by the Okpara-Uku in Council, read by Chief Aaron Edewor, the Onotu-Uku of Orogun, itthe community expressed appreciation to the governor for his good gestures to the people of Orogun kingdom. In Ogor, the governor said: “While congratulating your majesty on your ascension to the throne, being the custodian of the tradition of your people.”

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY,MAY 26, 2015

Biodun Oyeleye Ilorin

ealth workers under the auspices of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) yesterday commenced an indefinite strike, worsening the situation at the hospital where resident doctors have also been on strike since May 7, 2015. Chairman of NUAHP at the hospital, Comrade Oluwumi Olutunde, who addressed newsmen at the end of an emergency congress to appraise the week-long warning strike, said the union would not consider any review of

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Health workers, doctors’ strikes ground Ilorin teaching hospital the situation until all of its demands have been met by government. He said the decision was based on a directive from the national leadership of the union. He said: “We have been deceived for too long and this time around we are not going to allow ourselves to be deceived again.” He appealed to patients and their relatives, who will bear the brunt of the industrial dispute, to bear with members of the union. He said the union can no longer accept a situa-

tion whereby only a section of workers in the health sector would be dominating the rest, adding that most of what NUAHP is fighting for has been granted to medical doctors. NUAHP is an umbrella body that covers physiotherapists, dieticians, medical laboratory scientists, radiographers/ imaging scientists, speech therapists, optometrists, dental therapists, pharmacists, dental technologists, clinical psychologists, information managers and

others in the health sector. The NUAHP chairman lamented that the union has been on some of the issues since 2009, adding that the union has used several strategies to make government see reason with it, but that it has been taken for granted, hence the decision that this time around there would be no surrender until the entire demands have been met by the authorities. According to Olatunde, “It appears the only language this government understands is the language

of strike and we are ready to speak it with them,” he said as members in attendance cheered on with solidarity songs. He listed some of the demands by the union to include promotion of NUAHP members from CONHESS 14 to 15, which he claimed has been on for more than a decade, urgent release of a circular to implement a signed agreement on adjustment of salary for all health professionals as done for medical doctors since January 2014 and imme-

diate release of circular of retirement age of health professionals from 60 to 65 years as agreed since May 2012. Other demands include payment of arrears on skipping of CONHESS 10 since 2010 in compliance with a court order, abolition of the post of Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee and immediate employment of more professionals into the various departments and replacement of retired professionals in the clinical areas.

Security beefed up in Kano ahead of May 29 handover date Muhammad Kabir Kano

L-R: Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida; Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, during a farewell visit to Aliyu in Minna…yesterday... PHOTO: DAN ATORI

Gemade asks tribunal to strike out Suswam’s petition Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

he Benue State Election Petition Tribunal yesterday commenced a part-hearing session with counsel to Senator Barnabas Gemade, J. J. Igbabon, urging the tribunal to strike out Governor Gabriel Suswam’s petition on grounds that it is incompetent. The application for the hearing of Suswam’s case was scheduled to be heard yesterday, but counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Garba Kwambe, appealed to the tribunal to give him more time to study the application. But responding to Kwambe’s plea, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, expressed grief over the slow pace of cases at the tribunal, saying that it amounts to delay tactics on the part of the

parties at the tribunal. Justice Dipeolu, however, said the tribunal would not tolerate any unnecessary adjournment. She said: “I do not like the way we are starting, cases should be fast-tracked. We are still crawling and I do not like it. If we go at this pace, we will end up not achieving anything. She adjourned the Gemade/Suswam case to June 2, 2015 for the hearing of the application.

he Kano State government has beefed up security ahead of the May 29 handover date in the state. To this end, a combined team of security officials including the police, the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Army, Immigration and Customs, has been saddled with the responsibility of ensuring security before, during and after the handover ceremony. This was even as the police in the state yesterday arrested a man, Umar Muhammad, for

abducting and raping a nine-year-old girl in the state. His accomplice, Mustapha Idiris, was said to be at large as at the time of filing this report. Speaking with newsmen about the security situation in the state yesterday, the Chairman of the Joint Task Force, who is also the Kano State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim K. Idiris, warned that nobody would be allowed to carry bags and any kind of luggage around the venue of the handover ceremony. He said no vehicular movement will be allowed to use siren apart from that of the governor and the emir.

Gunmen abduct high court judge in Kogi Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

unmen yesterday kidnapped a high court judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi of Ebogogo High Court in Adavi Local Government area of Kogi State, after killing his orderly. The orderly, Cpl. Usman Musa, was shot dead by the hoodlums before his principal was taken away.

The judge’s driver, Mr. Ajayi Kolawole, who was bewildered, said the gunmen were not masked, but wore dark glasses and were three in number. While giving account of the incident, Kolawole said the abductors had ordered the judge and his aides to lay face down, which they complied with. But having discovered that the armed orderly could constitute a threat to their operation, they

opened fire on the orderly, killing him on the spot. Obayomi was on his way to his office. Reports said the judge recently survived an accident and only resumed work on Monday last week after three months on hospital admission. When contacted yesterday, the Commander of Okene Area Command, Mr. Kehinde Kolawole, said the police had arrested the driver to help in their investi-

gation, adding that the driver being an eye witness, was likely to give them adequate information. The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah, who later visited the family of the kidnapped judge, urged his wife to let him know as soon as the kidnappers contacted any member of the family. Ajanah said every effort would be made to ensure the release of the abducted judge.

Jang creates 13 new districts, upgrades seven chiefdoms Musa Pam Jos

he Plateau State government yesterday said Governor Jonah Jang, in compliance with the provisions of section 3 of the Plateau State Chieftaincy Law,

has signed the legal notes on the creation of new districts and other related matters. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Infor mation and Communication, Abubakar Mohammed Badu and made available to newsmen

yesterday, said the government has created 13 districts as well as upgraded seven chiefdoms with 168 districts, among others. The statement reads in part: “Upon assumption of office, the Jang administration, in 2007, received complaints

from various traditional councils in the state on the grounds that they were not consulted on chieftaincy matters. Consequently, this administration set aside the creation of chiefdoms and districts that were created based on complaints from the

traditional councils that they were not informed nor consulted.” The statement further said a high powered committee headed by Nde Joshua Waklek, was set up to work with the traditional council on behalf of the governor.

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Court stops supply of N3.3m prepaid metres Tunde Oyesina ABUJA

Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has asked the Federal Ministry of Power to maintain status quo in the award of contract for the supply and installation of over three million electric prepaid metres.  The order was sequel to a request by a firm, Ziklagsis Networks Limited, seeking for an order of the court to stop the ministry from further

awarding the contract to other companies other than the firms it entered into a Tripartite Agreement with. The Federal Government and Ziklagsis entered into a contract for the production, supply, installation and maintenance of Prepaid Electricity Metres (PPM). Cited as defendants alongside Ministry of Power are Federal Government, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Debt Management Office and Skye Bank.   Before the order to maintain status quo antebellum was granted by the

court, the firm, through its counsel, Chief Wole Olanipenkun, SAN, asked the court to determine whether having regards to the letter of Award/Revalidation of Tripartite Agreement with FG for the supply of 3,315,820 electric prepaid metres the FG, Power Ministry and AGF, who are 1st to 3rd defendants in the matter are not estopped from changing, altering and resiling from the award/agreement after taking steps and incurred expenses on the supply of the prepaid metres.

BBOG condemns FG's silence on Sambisa operations   Yekeen Nurudeen Abuja

ith three days to the May 29 deadline given to the Federal Government to rescue the 219 secondary school girls abducted April last year in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists, the Bringbackourgirls (BBOG) advocacy group has condemned what it called continued silence of the government on the whereabout of the missing girls. In a press statement issued yester-

day at its daily sit-out at Unity Fountain, Abuja the BBOG said it condemned the insensitive silence of the Federal Government for not providing an update on the Sambisa forest operations, which it noted the National Security Adviser to the President, Col. Dasuki Sambo had promised would achieve the rescue of the girls before May 29. The group lamented that despite successes recorded in recent operations by the Military, in which 10 terrorists camps were sacked and 20 people were

rescued, no single Chibok girl was rescued. While demanding the release of the report of the Presidential Fact-finding Committee on the abduction of Chibok girls submitted over nine months ago to the outgoing administration, the BBOG said such transparency was one of the least actions expected of the government which earlier doubted the abduction of the girls. It said it was astonished at the cynical approach to public accountability despite huge resources deployed for the war.

Jet A1 scarcity: Sector loses N1bn daily to fuel scarcity Wole Shadare

he chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, has berated oil marketers for throwing the country into crisis, lamenting that airlines lost several billions of naira to disruption in flight services. The operators, agencies and concessionaires put the total loss of the industry at a conservative N1 billion daily. The loss is from the inability to collect five per cent tax on ticket, tax on

each litre of fuel dispensed into aircraft, low capacity operations by aviation ground handling firms and other concessionaires. He said loss is from projected revenue from ticket sales if flights are in full capacity, stressing that apart from the loss, operators are spending more to keep flight operations on going so as not to paralyse the economy. Onyema prayed the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, not to succumb to the blackmail of fuel marketers, who insist

on being paid the arrears of the subsidy.  According to him, the ploy by marketers to make the product scarce amounts to unpatriotic act, aimed at grinding the economy, urging Buhari to take urgent steps to address the issue. The airline chief said domestic airlines were the hardest hit as the scarcity of aviation fuel has led to disruption in flights as operators have to pay as much N200.00 per litre for aviation fuel that sold for less N100per litre last year.

FCT teachers begin indefinite strike Yekeen Nurudeen ABUJA

eachers in the public primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja yesterday began an indefinite strike over what they called failure of FCT administration to honour its agreement with them. The teachers are asking

for salary increment and payment of their housing allowances which they said the administration owe them for the past three years. Students who came to schools yesterday after weekend break were turned back after officials of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Abuja chapter were dispatched to schools to ensure full compliance with the strike directive.

Efforts made by our correspondent to reach out to the FCT Chairman of NUT, Suleiman Jibrin, were not fruitful as he did not answer calls to his mobile phone while SMS sent to him was not replied. When the FCT Education Secretariat was contacted, the Secretary for Education, Malam Kabiru Usman was said to be in a meeting with the FCT Minister at his Life Camp residence.

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

Heat wave kills 500 in India A

t least 500 people are reported to have died in a heat wave sweeping India, with temperatures reaching 48C (118F) in some areas. Most deaths have taken place in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where more than 140 people have died since Saturday. Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded 48C while temperatures rose to above 44C (111F) in the capital, Delhi. Authorities have urged people to stay indoors and drink plenty of fluids. Heat wave conditions have been prevailing in the two worstaffected southern Indian states since mid-April,

but most of the deaths have happened in the past week. The worst-hit state has been Andhra Pradesh where 246 people have died from the high temperatures in the past week. State officials said 62 people died of sunstroke on Sunday. The majority of the victims are people who have been exposed to the sun directly, usually aged 50 and above and from the working classes," news agency AFP quoted P Tulsi Rani, special commissioner of Andhra Pradesh's disaster management department, as saying. "We are asking them to take precautions like using an umbrella,

using a cap, taking a huge quantity of liquids like water and buttermilk, and wearing cotton clothing," he added. The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said the heat wave had killed 186 people in 10 districts in neighbouring Telangana state, with 58 people dying since Saturday. The north-western desert state of Rajasthan has also recorded several deaths due to the heat, the PTI reported, including a woman who collapsed and died on a roadside in Bundi city. The meteorological department said the sweltering conditions were likely to continue for a few more days.

Young men swimming in a river to escape the heat in Gujarat.

Burkina Faso exhumes remains of former president Sankara in murder probe

uthorities in Burkina Faso began exhuming the remains of former president Thomas Sankara on Monday in a bid to establish responsibility for a murder that has dogged the West African nation since 1987. Sankara's relatives have for years pressed for his body to be tested, saying they suspect it may not be

that of the former president, who died in a coup that brought his former ally Blaise Compaore to power. Witnesses at the Daghnoen cemetery on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou said the exhumation of Sankara's body and those of 12 colleagues had begun with the families of the victims and lawyers

present. Compaore faced questions about Sankara's death throughout his presidency but attempts to mount a judicial investigation stalled. Compaore fled after a popular uprising against his rule in October last year and was replaced by an interim government led by Michel Kafando who promised to authorize an exhumation.

US military: Air France's flight escorted to New York after threat

n Air France flight from Paris was escorted by two US F-15 fighter jets to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday after an anonymous threat was made against the flight, according the US military. Flight 22 from Charles de Gaulle Airport landed safely in New York, an airport official said. Two US Air Force F-15

fighters were launched as precautionary measure to monitor the flight as it returned to New York, said Navy Lieutenant Commander Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for US North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command. The anonymous threatening call was made to a Maryland State Police barrack on Monday morning, police

said. "The caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation," Maryland State Police said in a statement. Citing an unnamed senior US official, ABC News said the caller made a chemical weapons threat on board the plane. ABC said the plane was to be taken to a secure area to be searched, and that the threat was not considered credible.

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY MAY 26, 2015

Sport News

International Sport

Basketball

DStv All Star MVP, Usman, dedicates award to teammates

Iheanacho lands in New Zealand

Keshi: I’ve no issues with Mikel

Ancelotti quits Real Madrid

Sport Ajibade Olusesan and Charles Ogundiya

x-internationals, Etim Esin and Emeka Ezeogu, have applauded the decision of Coach Stephen Keshi to drop Mikel Obi and Emmanuel Emenike from the squad that will confront Chad in an African Cup of Nations qualifying match next month. Esin said that the omission of these players should not generate controversy as it provides opportunity for other players to shine. He said Mikel might have his reason for opting out of the game and the midfielder should be allowed to enjoy his holiday as he knows that he might not give his best if he is featured in the match. “Mikel is an experienced player and no doubt he would have added something meaningful to the squad but when he is unwilling to play due to personal reasons then we have to allow him enjoy his holiday after a long season in Europe. However, this is an opportunity for other players who want to achieve as much as Mikel to shine. They have to prove they can be relied upon in the absence of the big stars. On Emenike, Esin said: “Some strikers are like that, they need to score goals to regain their confidence and I think that is what Emenike is passing through. He is a good striker who can rebuild

The Sport Team Adekunle Salami

That ever-present Chelsea’s captain, John Terry, was the only Premier League footballer that played every minute of 2014-15 season. This equals former Manchester United star, Gary Pallister’s record during 1992/93 season

Thumbs up for Keshi •over exclusion of Mikel, Emenike

his confidence but generally I think Keshi has players who can do the job against Chad. I must also add that we cannot ease these players out of the team yet, we need their experience and exposure especially at the Nations Cup,” he said. Similarly, Ezeogu applauded Keshi for having the confidence to drop Mikel. He said the Chelsea midfielder should concentrate more on his club football. “Mikel is not sound right now,” he said. “He is not in a good shape to be invited to the national team and for me Keshi did the right thing by omitting his name from the list. “He needs to get more playing time with his club before thinking of coming back to the national team.” He however said people should not start castigating the coach for inviting or ignoring some players to the team. According to him, Keshi has the right to invite players he believes can give him result in games. The former Abia Warriors coach said: “The buck stops at his feet and nobody should question his judgement. “Although I have my reservation about the list knowing full well the antecedents of the Nigeria Football Federation, but if truly Keshi was the one that drew up the list, then I am with him 100 per cent.”

Senzo Meyiwa during the orange AFCON, 2015 qualifier match between South Africa and Nigeria at Cape Town Stadium

French Open: Berdych in easy win, Lopez out

Emmanuel Tobi Assistant Editor, Sport

Ifeanyi Ibeh Sport Correspondent

Ajibade Olusesan Sport Correspondent

Did you know?

Group Sport Editor

Sport Correspondent

U-20 World Cup

Berdych

ourth seed Tomas Berdych had no trouble progressing to the second round of the French Open, beating qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 7-5 6-3. The Czech, 29, will next play compatriot Radek Stepanek. The biggest name to falter on day two so far is Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, with the 11th seed suffering a 6-3 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 defeat by Teymuraz Gabashvili.

In the women’s draw, Sabine Lisicki beat Monica Puig 6-3 6-2 while Roberta Vinci lost 4-6 6-4 6-1 to Alize Cornet. Japanese teenager Nishioka was unable to make an impact on the court with his tennis but the 19-year-old made an impression with his dapper shorts, sporting the sort of patterns usually seen on a golf course. Hoping for a first victory on the Parisian clay,

the qualifier was overwhelmed by his big-hitting opponent. Berdych secured the first set in 27 minutes and Nishioka’s resistance only slightly improved thereafter, giving the fourth seed his 10th victory on clay this year. The 2010 semifinalist won 82 percent of his first service points and will now prepare to face Stepanek, who beat Ivan Dodig 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-1.

Federer fumes over security breach at French Open

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Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

I’ve no problem with Mikel, says Keshi

uper Eagles Head coach Stephen Keshi has rejected talk of a rift with Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi. Keshi left the 28-yearold out of his squad for next month’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad. “It’s true that I couldn’t reach him when he was injured but that’s not the reason for his omission,” Keshi told BBC Sport.

“We’ve spoken and contrary to reports [in the local media] there is no problem between us at all.” Mikel has not played for Nigeria since November but Keshi insists the door remains open for the midfielder. “He’s an integral member of this team who brings a lot to it. Right now, we are only giving opportunities to some new players,” he added. Keshi, who won the

Nations Cup as a player with Nigeria in 1994 and coach in 2013, is confident he can revive the Super Eagles after their failure to qualify for the 2015 finals in Equatorial Guinea. “We have a big task ahead to rebuild this team and I am confident we are going to bounce back,” said Keshi. “The door is not shut on anyone; those invited must show they deserve it by giving their best.”

Access Bank UNICEF Charity Polo

Fifth Chukker wins Argentine Ambassador’s Cup Emmanuel Tobi

ifth Chukker on began their campaign on an impressive note on Sunday after winning the 2015 Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament in Kaduna . The Access Bank kitted side defeated Kangimi 3-2 in a closely fought second game of the opening day, to cart home the glittering Argentine Ambassador’s Cup. The Mohammed Babangida side boasting established names like Dikko Mangal, Leruix Hendricks and Manuel Crespo jumped into the lead from the blast of

the whistle and rallied to victory with goals from Babangida, Crespo and Mangal. The opening game of the tournament was decided after a brief colourful opening ceremony as DeeBee Farms created an upset against highly rated Akasma team 7-2 in the opening game of the UNICEF Cup series. Access Bank Manager Kaduna, Joseph Ikpaanyam said, “Our sponsorship is a reflection of our commitment to enriching the lives of Nigerians and an acknowledgement of the impact the initiative has had on the lives of the orphaned and vulnerable children in Kaduna State

Nigeria’s Mikel Obi (left) vying for the ball with France’s Paul Pogba at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

and its environ.” The competition enters its crucial stages Wednesday with the UNICEF Cup match between Titan and DeeBee Farms which is dedicated to celebrate the Nigerian child on the Children Day while Max Air team from Katsina clashes with Huwaei in the opening game of the Access Bank Cup category. UNICEF Country Representative, Jean Gough, who was part of the high profile crowd said, “We are hoping to get more children needing support for instance, children orphaned by HIV/ AIDS - especially the girl child into schools.”

…PAN donates Peugeot 301 for MVP

n its drive to contribute to the sports development in Nigeria, PAN Nigeria Limited, has joined the sponsors of this year’s Access BankUNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament by donating a Peugeot 301 Allure prestige worth N4.3million for the Most Valuable Player. PAN is also exhibiting various models of its brand, such as the elegant 508, the

adorable 4008 mini-SUV, the stylish 3008 cross over and the sleek 301. Also available during the period of the tournament, is test drive opportunities for the customers. Managing Director, PAN Nigeria Limited, Ibrahim Boyi, commended the organisers of the tournament for putting up the games. He praised the collaboration be-

tween Fifth Chukker, Access Bank and UNICEF charity initiative whereby certain percentage of the proceeds of the game, would go back to the support of children especially, orphans and vulnerable in the society. He also pledged the continual support of PAN Nigeria Limited in the areas of social responsibility and sports development in Nigeria.

The Peugeot 301 car donated by PAN Nigeria Limited on display during the opening ceremony of the Access Bank Unicef Charity Shield Polo Tournament at Kangimi Resort, Kaduna.

CBN Tennis champ, Ifidzhen, targets more honours Ifeanyi Ibeh

inner of the women’s singles title at the just concluded 37th Central Bank of Nigeria Tennis Open Men and Women’s Championship, Melissa Ifidzhen, has set her sights on claiming more honours after landing her maiden national title. The Russian-born player proved too strong for women’s defending champion and tournament top seed, Christy Agugbom, as she ran out with a 6-2, 6-4 straight sets victory to cart home winner’s trophy and the accompanying cash prize of N700,000. “I am very happy to have won,” said Ifidzhen who also combined with Sarah Adegoke to claim the women’s doubles title. “The tournament was a very tough one and it was much tougher than I expected, and I look forward to winning more titles.” The championship which

ended on Sunday at the National Stadium, Lagos, a day after rainfall disrupted the final day of the championship, with Thomas Otu winning the Men’s singles title. The finals of all the events had earlier been scheduled to take place on Saturday but the rains which started in the morning and lasted for most of the day ensured the courts were unplayable. Sunday was however very sunny and, in the men’s singles final, Otu came from a game down to defeat Michael Moses 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to emerge champion, while Albert Bikom and former Nigeria number one, Sunday Maku, emerged winners in the men’s doubles event. Number one seed Alex Adewale also defeated Jelili Ishola 6-0, 6-3 to emerge winner in the men’s wheelchair category while top seed Remi Basanya defeated Foluke Shittu 5-7, 6-7, 6-1 in the women’s category.

NCC gets commendation for boosting tennis League Ajibade Olusesan

ational Sports Commission and Nigeria Tennis Federation have applauded the Nigeria Communication Communications for supporting sports with the introduction of Tennis League into the sporting calendar. Top dignitaries in sports and telecoms industries were present at the launch of the Nigeria Tennis Cup at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday. Leading the praise for the sponsors of the competition, was the Director General of the NSC, Alhasaan Yakmut, who said the telecoms regulator had broken new grounds in the country and urged other corporate companies to emulate the NCC. “We are very happy with what NCC has done. This championship is the first of its kind in tennis in this country and we are happy

NCC is behind this. We are using this platform to call on other companies to partner with us to take sports to another level,” he said. NTF President, Sani Ndanusa, said the federation was impressed with what the NCC has brought and declared that the competition has come to stay. “This is a lifeline for our players. For 30 weeks they will play tennis, they have not seen something like this before and this was made possible by the NCC and we are grateful to them for this. I can assure you that this is not going to be a one-off thing, the tournament will stay for many years to come,” he said. About three exhibition matches were played but the star among them was the one involving former Super Eagles captain, Austin Okocha, who surprisingly dazzled on the court.

International Sport

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY MAY 26, 2015

Ancelotti quits Real Madrid R eal Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has confir med that he intends to take a year out of the game for health reasons. “I have to have an operation because of my cervical stenosis,” the 55-yearold told Il Giornale. “For some time, it has been affecting my hands and if I lose any more time, it could pass

Ancelotti

orwich City have ear ned their place back in the Premier League after beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in the playoff final at Wembley on Monday. All the damage was done in the first half as far as Alex Neil’s men were concerned, having found the net twice early on to leave the Smoggies facing an almighty task. Despite improving in the second half, Boro ultimately failed to create enough clear-cut chances, meaning a return to the top flight for the Canaries following just a 12-month absence. The contest got off to a storming start as both sides rattled the crossbar inside the opening 10 minutes. Bradley Johnson, who has 15 goals to his name this campaign, was first to be denied as he rifled in a superb shot from the edge of the box, while Jelle Vossen did like-

into legs, so I have an appointment for surgery. “And, frankly, I do not know how long I have to be physically stopped, in terms of the post-operative phase and the subsequent rehabilitation. “I will have the operation in Vancouver, Canada, where I have already got a house with my wife. “I will rest, between Madrid and Canada.

Because the two years at Real have been very tough, believe me. “Nobody can imagine how much training Real takes out of you, in terms of physical and nervous energy. “Then, I will return home for another event: in a month, my grandson will be born. That’s something that I cannot and do not want to miss.”

Norwich win promotion to the EPL

Federer fumes over security breach at French Open • Second incident in two days

Norwich players celebrating on Monday

wise up the other end just 32 seconds later. It was Norwich who claimed first blood, though, as Cameron Jerome made light work of the division’s strongest defence to waltz through and tuck the ball beyond

Dimi Konstantopolous. Boro, whose prematch preparations got off to a bad start when they arrived at the ground less than an hour before kickoff, then found themselves two down with just 15

minutes on the clock. Nathan Redmond, lively throughout the opening stages, rounded off a fine passing move by controlling Steven Whittaker’s pass and blasting home a low finish across goal.

Russia to use prison labour to cut World Cup costs ussian authorities are keen to use prison labour to drive down the costs of holding the 2018 World Cup. The Russian prison service is backing a bid by Alexander Khinshtein, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia

Federer (right)

Party, to allow prisoners to be taken to work at factories, with a focus on driving down the costs of building materials for World Cup projects. Khinshtein tells the Associated Press that the convicts would provide cheap labour, meaning World Cup projects would

have “the opportunity to acquire building materials for a lower price, lower than what is obtained currently in the market.” Russian prison labour schemes have faced allegations that prisoners are routinely underpaid or forced to work long Khinshtein hours.

s Roger Federer finished an interview after his first-round French Open victory Sunday, an overzealous fan left his seat and approached the 17-time major champion right there on the main stadium court in search of the most modern of mementos - a cellphone selfie. At first, Federer seemed startled. Then he looked uncomfortable, trying to brush away the unexpected guest, who appeared to be in his teens, before a guard led the spectator away. And in the end, Federer was angry at what he considered a serious lapse in security. ‘’I’m not happy about it. Obviously, not (for) one second (am I) happy about it,’’ Federer said, adding that something similar happened a day earlier, when several kids interrupted his practice session at Roland Garros. ‘’Normally I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation, I think I can speak on behalf of all the players - that that’s where you do your job, that’s where you want to feel safe.’’ Tournament director Gilbert Ysern headed to

the locker room to offer a personal apology and also spoke to Federer’s wife, Mirka, in the players’ lounge. Ysern called it ‘’embarrassing’’ and acknowledged Federer ‘’has good grounds for being unhappy,’’ but chalked the whole thing up to ‘’lack of judgment’’ on the part of the security staff that let the intruder get by. ‘’Honestly,’’ Ysern said at a news conference, ‘’at this stage, there is no reason for us to change the security procedures.’’ Ysern noted that tennis security was beefed up worldwide after thenNo. 1 Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by someone who came out of the stands during a changeover at a tournament in Germany in 1993. “Given what happened with Seles and ... (that) we live in a civilization that has gone a bit mad, it’s clear that we absolutely owe it to the players to allow them to play on the court,’’ Ysern said. ‘’Fortunately, our sport doesn’t have fences and barbed wire around the courts. There’s not that physical separation that isn’t very pleasant.’’

Barca dominate La Liga Team of the Season

Messi

our Barcelona players topped the list of the best 11 La Liga footballers in the 2014-15 season, as chosen by the editors of the Union of European Football Associations website. The Catalan team, which won the title, decorated the all-star squad with Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, defenders Dani Alves and Gerard Pique, and Argentine striker Lionel Messi,

LA LIGA’S BEST 11 Goalkeeper: Claudio Bravo (Barcelona). Defenders: Alves, Pique (Barcelona), Otamendi, Gaya (Valencia). Midfielders: Parejo (Valencia), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Krychowiak (Sevilla). Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Messi (Barcelona), Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

reports Efe. (Barcelona Much Better Than Real Madrid: Luis Enrique) Valencia was the second team with the highest number of all-star players based on UEFA’s preference with defenders Nicolas Otamendi and Jose Luis Gaya, and midfielder Daniel Parejo. Colombia’s James Rodriguez and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid were included in the team, which was finished off with French forward Antoine Griezmann, from Atletico Madrid, and Polish Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak. (Barcelona Look Almost Unbeatable: Buffon)

L-R: Captain of the Rochas Okorocha Foundation College football team, Master Chimaobi Obi; Director General, National Sports Commission, Mallam Alhassan Yakmut; General Manager Gas, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Ubaka Emelumadu; and Public Affairs Officer, Nigeria Petroleum Investment Management Services, Mrs. Bunmi Lawson, during the presentation of trophy to the winner of the 2015 NNPC-Shell Cup at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos... on Sunday.

Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 NEW TELEGRAPH

FIFA U-20 World Cup special

Iheanacho lands in New Zealand • Tipped to succeed Lampard at Man City

F Iheanacho

Ghana beat Colombia in final warm-up game

hana defeated Colombia 2-0 in their final preparatory game ahead of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup kicking off on May 30. After going blanks in the first half, the Black Satellites, who lost by a lone goal to Portugal in their previous game, went ahead in the 56th minute through Red Bull Salzburg midfielder David Atanga. Lanky forward Benjamin Tetteh put the game beyond the South Americans with Ghana’s

lying Eagles star, Kelechi Iheanacho, on Monday became the first Flying Eagles player to land in New Zealand ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Injury stopped the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup from the recent African U-20 Championship in Senegal. Flying Eagles team secretary Aliyu Auwal Ibrahim confirmed Iheanacho ‘s arrival in Auckland. “Kelechi is already in Auckland and waiting for us,” said the official. The main squad of 18 play-

ers are due in Auckland on Tuesday afternoon before they connect to their tournament base in New Plymouth. The African champions are drawn against Brazil, North Korea and Hungary in Group E. Meanwhile, head coach of the Flying Eagles, Manu Garba, says Iheanacho can fill the void created by the departure of Frank Lampard from Manchester City if given the chance. The former Nigeria junior international was quoted as saying in an interview with Soccer Laduna: “To be honest I’m not surprised at his

Flying Eagles now much stronger – Coach

second, nine minutes from time. The Black Satellites thus won four of their five pre-tournament friendlies ahead of the start of the New Zealand World Cup set to span from May 30 to June 20. The Ghanaians are expected to touch base at Group B host city, Wellington on May 29 - a day before the World Cup opener against Austria. Argentina and Panama complete Ghana’s group at the U-20 World Cup. Both face Ghana on June 2 and 5 respectively.

ith only a few days before their opening game at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has posited that his side is much stronger now than it was at the African U-20 Championship in Senegal earlier in the year. The Flying Eagles are due to arrive in New Zealand on Tuesday after a three-week training tour of Germany, where they won tune-up games against the U-23 teams of TSG Hoffenheim, Freiburg and Nurnberg.

Manu said: “We are very, very optimistic that as African champions and with the strength in depth in this team, we’re much stronger than the side that played at the African U-20 Championship in Senegal. “A player like Kingsley Sokari was not there (in Senegal), a player like (Kelechi) Iheanacho was not there, a player like (Isaac) Success was not there, (Simon) Moses was not there, Wilfred Ndidi was not there and (Kelechi) Nwakali wasn’t there.

Basketball Flakes

DStv All Star MVP, Usman, dedicates award to teammates

ano Pillars guardforward, Abubakar Usman, has dedicated the Most Valuable Player award he won at the end of last Saturday’s DStv All Star Game to his teammates. Usman, who is also the reigning two-time MVP of the Nigerian Premier League, on Saturday scored 31 points to clinch the All Star Game’s MVP award, as he led the Savannah Conference to a 102-66 rout of their Atlantic Conference counterparts. Twenty-one of the Nigerian national team star’s points came from beyond the arc and for his efforts the Kano Pillars guard-forward went home with the MVP trophy and a DStv Explora decoder. “I am very happy to have done it again,” said an elated Usman. “Winning it once was great but winning it back-toback is remarkable and I want to dedicate this award to my teammates who made it possible. “We all did our best to

give the fans a good show and since basketball is a team sport I am dedicating this award to everyone in the Savannah Conference All Star team.” Usman’s Kano Pillars teammate, Ibrahim Yusuf, added 18 points, including four from beyond the arc, while Mark Mentors’ Azuoma Dike, who in previous seasons stared for the Atlantic Conference team, added nine points from the bench with a perfect three-from-three from three-point range. His Mark Mentors teammates Stan-

performances for Manchester City youth teams as I have said it before – he can play for any team in the world, as a matter of fact they will do well to use him as a replacement for Frank Lampard. “He shares similar style of play with the outgoing legend. They can both create and score goals from midfield with late runs into the 18-yard box hardly spotted by opposition defenders.” However, the coach advised Iheanacho to keep working hard especially if he is included in the club’s pre-season activities ahead of next season.

ley Gumut and Victor ‘Koko’Anthony scored 11 and 12 points respectively. Anthony also added 10 rebounds and three blocks to complete the blowout win for the Savannah Conference All Stars. In the Slam Dunk contest, magical Lagos Islanders forward, William Ndoumbe, emerged victorious, while Mark Mentors Timothy Kwaor shoved off the stiff challenge of teammate Dike and Lagos Islanders’ Sola Alayande to retain his three-point shooting contest trophy.

with Ifeanyi Ibeh 08054175662

Steph Curry in action

Curry sets NBA three-point record

S Abubakar Usman receiving his MVP trophy from NBBF boss Tijjani Umar

“These are players who can play for any team any day once they are fit. The team is much stronger than we had (in Senegal).” The former Nigeria junior international added: “I believe many people will be working with the team they saw in Senegal, but they will be surprised to see different players, who are much better in terms of technique and exposure.” “When they pick up, this team will be unstoppable throughout the championship.”

tephen Curry has set an NBA record for most three-pointers scored in a postseason as the Golden State Warriors extended their Western Conference Finals lead with a 115-80 win at Toyota Centre in Houston. While Curry became the best three-point shooter to date, the Warriors are just one win away from their first Championships Finals since 1975. Curry outplayed a number

of Rockets defenders coming his way to finish with a gamehigh 40 points, seven assists in 34 minutes. The 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player, had his third 40 point plus point-playoff game. He now has 64 three-pointers in 13 playoff games. He hit seven three-pointers, passing former Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Reggie Miller, who made 58 in 22 playoff games during the 2000 postseason.

Special Features

NEW TELEGRAPH TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Dear Mr. President-elect C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 6

Dowden, Director of Africa Royal Society, London, who was invited as our Guest Speaker on our 51st Independence Anniversary, Abuja & Prof. Itse Sagay, our renowned legal luminary) that Nigerian politicians & leaders are the highest paid in the world. What the politicians earn is not in the public domain! This is source of corruption! Corruption and the do-or-die politics we see in the inter and intra- party rivalries will be greatly reduced if we make political offices less attractive by way of remunerations. Can the political parties or politicians fighting or wishing to fight corruption legislate that the salaries and allowances combined for the highest political office holder should not go above what a professor takes home or should not go above level 17 in the Civil Service? Those fighting corruption should start from here because we want those who wish to lead us to offer themselves as sacrificial lambs for selfless service, and not to come and serve their pockets! Can the political parties also direct their Assembly members (National or States) to legislate that the legislature should be parttime and no one should be paid salaries, but just mere allowances for the period of attendance? Can we also legislate to merge the bicameral to unicameral legislature, to reduce the cost of governance? Theses are some of the campaign strategies we want to hear from all the political parties and politicians. This is the proper and right way to fight corruption. If this cannot be done, they should please spare us on talks on fighting corruption.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister

Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC boss

• Insist on strong and independent institutions such as: Judiciary Legislature INEC EFCC/ICPC Audit Police etc • Insist on reducing the bloated bureaucracy

Back to some other causes of corruption: Oil and Gas The discovery of oil is expected to be source of blessing to the citizens of Nigeria, especially to the people of the Niger Delta Region. But this has since turned to curse and tragedy. This is so because of non-investment for future generations, and because oil is seen or taken as free for all. The oil is a source of corruption. If we take away oil from the Nigerian space, corruption is likely to be reduced by 60-80 per cent. Oil is a tragedy because of pollution and eventual destruction of the Niger Delta environment, lives and property. Apart from this environmental devastation, the Niger Delta Region is under-developed. Oloibiri, where oil was first struck in commercial quantities in 1956, is a good example of abandonment after sucking out the oil in its bowels! This is the height of political corruption. Politicians and political parties should start from the Niger Delta, and quickly develop the Niger Delta Region just as Abuja was developed from virgin forest to its present state. Repair and development of the Niger Delta Region should be the major concern of any occupant in Aso Rock. This is the way to right the political wrong. • Lack of accountability and transparency Accountability and transparency are essential ingredients in the fight against corruption. Are we showing such character in our polity? • Non declaration of assets This is major ingredient in the fight against corruption. How many of our political leaders declared their assets? If so, was it done in the open, for people to raise queries, if any? Declaration of assets should rightly be done before, during, and after the tenure of office. • Practice of unitary system The institutionalization of a system that

The advantages of restructuring are obvious. The infighting to take power will be greatly reduced; there will be greater and healthy competition among the zones or regions, with less profligacy. Oil as a source of corruption will be taken away from the equation, and more people will guard and defend the resources from their own domain! • Insist on conducting free and fair elections without violence, using Justice Uwais Recommendations. The campaign and desire to fight corruption should reflect on how the political parties and politicians are fighting electoral corruption in their various parties. Imposition of candidates and God-fatherism, intimidation and violence, outright purchase of delegates etc are all elements of pre-election rigging. No party can fight corruption when the emergence of their candidates is soaked in corruption. Conducting rig-free elections is very important to eliminate undesirable elements from assuming power. If we sow the seed of rigging, we will reap the fruit of corruption, poverty, under-development and economic collapse.

• Insist on reducing cost of governance The number of ministers can be reduced to twenty or so, compared to the present number of forty or more, with further duplications. Unicameral legislature will serve Nigeria better than the bicameral we are operating now. Elimination of ghost workers both in the public and private sectors should be pursued with vigour.

Mahmud Mohammed, Chief Justice of Nigeria

Solomon Arase, IGP

is Federal in name but unitary in practice is one of the contributory causes of corruption. This concentrates power at the centre, and is bound to lead to infighting, corruption, desperation to be in charge of affairs and violence. The corruption attendant in the desperation to attain power at the centre can be greatly reduced if we restructure the country along True Federalism, dividing the country into six geopolitical zones. Each zone sourcing its resources, and paying taxes to the centre. This is likely to usher in peace and stability. Unfortunately, the National Conference held recently could not summon up the courage necessary to do the right thing! It is even doubtful if some other positive recommendations will ever see the light of the Day!

How do we fight the corruption in Nigeria? Let me put on record and drop a “bombshell” here. What the writer is going to say now will “shock” many, but this is the unvarnished truth! The way we fight corruption in Nigeria is very faulty. But the fault is not coming from the President or Governors or any politician or political parties! Not even from the police, EFCC or ICPC or what have you! Even if we bring Angels from heaven to run the Nigerian state as presently constituted today, the problems of corruption will not abate, but keep multiplying. This is because the fault is not in individuals but in the system. The problem is systemic. There is need to sanitize the system, then everything will fall in place. The architectural design of the Nigerian Foundation is faulty, and this is the crux of the matter! And until we are ready to tackle the structural defects, all our efforts to combat corruption and political imbalance in Nigeria will not yield fruitful results. The politicians and political parties should direct their energies and campaigns to the following strategies of “cutting off” the malignant tentacles of the giant Octopus:

• Insist on amending Section 308 immunity clause. The immunity clause covers the President and Vice President, the Governors and their Deputies. The idea behind this is to shield them from litigations that can serve as unnecessary distractions. But it also promotes element of corruption. Anti-corruption crusaders are advocating total abolition of the Immunity Clause. The middle way is to allow immunity for civil cases only, and not for criminal cases.

• Changing our mindset on corruption, emphasizing hard work and honesty, starting with our children and wards in our homes, schools, churches and mosques. Introduction of anti-corruption studies in the schools curriculum is essential. • Restructuring the country along True Federalism. This is a must for attaining peace, stability and reducing corruption to the barest minimum.

• Independent Judiciary The fight against corruption cannot succeed if the judiciary is also corrupt. Corrupt judges should be flushed out and prosecuted, and those engaged in unnecessary injunctions or conflicting political judgments should be removed from the system, and prosecuted as well.

Bloated bureaucracy This is contributing to the high level of corruption in the system. We need to revisit it in order to block the wastages and corruption. Absence of public expenditure tracking The good old days of the auditors should be brought back. The institution of Audit should be made independent. The Audit should also incorporate Public Expenditure Tracking. This will entail specially trained Auditors to continuously track and monitor huge funds allocated for projects. Culture of sharing and not saving This encourages corruption, as we are neck–deep in sharing the “oil proceeds” i.e the national cake, without baking it!

• Assets declaration This is a necessity for all aspiring leaders. Those who want to fight corruption must come to equity with clean hands. • Effective deterrence This is one of the most important tools for fighting corruption. There shouldn’t be any sacred cows. All those found guilty should face the “music”. The “music” should not be a pat on the back, such as plea bargaining. The offence committed should be commensurate with the punishment. We can legislate that in addition to refund of stolen money, those convicted for stealing in hundreds of millions and billions should be given life sentence.

• Sonny Briggs sent this piece from Abuja.

On Marble

Sanctity of Truth

Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom draw to their full extent.

World Record

The largest human currency symbol consisted of 300 people and was achieved by the bank ME by TMB (Thailand) as part of their project "Wake up your money with ME", in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 2, 2014.

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

– Horace Walpole

N150

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Public arena : the column you write

Dear Mr. President-elect Governments. Happily, Transparency International (TI) and other global watch dogs have come up consistently with statistics that can not be contradicted. Let us look at Nigeria’s performance on the accompanying TI table, showing the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores, from 1996 to 2014 CPI scores from 1996 to 2005 showed Nigeria as the most corrupt or second most corrupt or within the bottom ten most corrupt countries in the world. Our CPI scores from 2006 to 2014 ranged from 22 to 27 out of maximum of 100. The maximum score of 27 out of 100 was recorded in the years 2008, 2012 and 2014.

Daminabo Sonny Briggs

wish to join all other meaning Nigerians to congratulate you on your success in the last general elections. I wish you a successful tenure. I am emboldened to write this letter to you because of your good intentions in fighting the hydra-headed monster, octopus called “corruption” in Nigeria. You have stated quite correctly the right steps you would want to take to fight this monster: appointing men and women of integrity in your cabinet, reducing the bloated bureaucracy, initiating some probes etc, etc. All the above and many are outlined in the book I wrote in 2011 “HOW TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA”. Full details of the contents of the book can be read online www.amazon.com. Type Daminabo Sonny Briggs. Sir, fighting corruption is not an easy job. Corruption can be taken as a giant octopus, with many malignant tentacles. Since killing corruption outrightly is not possible, killing the octopus is also not possible. But we can immobilize the octopus by cutting off many, if not all the tentacles. I wish to state or summarize the various methods or tools you need to cut off the tentacles as stated. Though corruption is a global phenomenon, it is endemic and systemic in Nigeria. Corruption has done incalculable damage to our society. It is the major obstacle to our growth and development. In fact, it is the root cause of the insecurity and violence we see now manifesting in the country. It destroys the socio-politicoeconomic environment and democracy. It robs us of creating wealth, and, thus employment opportunities for our teeming jobless graduates. It robs us of direct foreign investments, it robs us of opportunities that tourism can offer! Corruption leads to drastic reduction in budgetary allocations to education, health care, energy & power, transport etc with the attendant negative indices. Corruption breeds poverty, disease and death. Corruption devalues our naira, which is plunging to all time low of one dollar to One Hundred and Eighty Two Naira (contrast this to one dollar to sixtysix kobo in the 70’s). The negative effects of corruption can not all be discussed here, but our country can be treated as a Pariah State in the comity of Nations, and can even lead to economic collapse and disintegration. The irony or paradox here is that all these are happening in a country that has been the sixth producer of crude oil over the decades. This is so because of corruption and non-investment for future generations! What is corruption, you may ask? Corruption is not only stealing of public funds, taking or giving bribes, kickbacks, embezzlement etc. It goes beyond all these.

Buhari

The fact that we profess to run a Federal System of Government, while in actual fact we practise a quasy-unitary system is, itself, corruption. The fact that we spend 70 to 80 per cent of our annual budget on recurrent expenditure, leaving little or nothing for capital projects is corruption personified. The fact that few individuals, our leaders, earn millions of Naira per month, while majority of the people are jobless, and workers live with N18,000.00 minimum wage is corruption in high places. The fact that we have skewed distribution of States and Local Government Areas in the Federation is corruption multiplied. All these are acts of Political Corruption which the politicians and political parties in Nigeria are not ready to discuss or resolve! How are we fighting corruption or how do we want to fight corruption when the above mentioned acts of corruption are the main issues, and crux of the corruption matter? Corruption can not be fought successfully without resolution of the above issues. Corruption can easily be divided into Political, Bureaucratic, Electoral Corruption, and others. Political Corruption is the mother of all corruption. And what is Political Corruption? This occurs when politicians and political decision- makers, who are entitled to formulate, establish and implement laws in the name and welfare of the people, are themselves corrupt. It also occurs when policy formulation and legislation are tailored to benefit politicians, legislators and their cronies and ethnic regions. The magnitude of corruption in Nigeria is so gargantuan that it is difficult to get the true picture. Our National Assembly came up with statistics some years ago that Nigeria loses about Three Trillion Naira annually to corruption through the Federal Civil Service, States, and Local

YEAR

CPI SCORE OUT OF 100

NIGERIA’S POSITION

1996

6.9

54 out of 54

1997

17.6

52 out of 52

1998

81 out of 85

1999

98 out of 99

2000

90 out of 90

2001

90 out of 91

2002

101 out of 102

2003

132 out of 133

2004

144 out of 145

2005

152 out of 159

2006

142 out of 163

2007

147 out of 179

2008

121 out of 180

2009

130 out of 180

2010

134 out of 178

2011

143 out of 183

2012

139 out of 176

2013

144 out of 177

2014

136 out of 174

The slight improvements, though promising, on the CPI scores in 2008, 2012 and 2014 were not statistically significant. However, it should be noted that countries having CPI scores less than 50 out 100 have serious corruption problems. So Nigeria’s maximum of 27 out of 100 shows that we are deep in the bottom group of most corrupt countries. The gloomy picture from TI is replicated by other reports from: • Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2010 by World Economic Forum, ranked Nigeria 127th out 133 countries, relying on criteria such as electricity supply, infrastructure deficit, accountability, macroeconomy, health/education, technological readiness and business sophistication innovation. In 2012 / 2012 GCI ranked Nigeria 115th out of 144 countries • The 2011 Human Development Index (HDI) released by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) placed Nigeria

156th out of 187 countries. This ranking was based on education, income and life expectancy. In 2012, HDI, Nigeria was placed 153rd out of 187 countries. In 2014 HDI Nigeria was ranked 152nd out of 187 countries • MO Ibrahim Index of African Governance showcases Nigeria’s gloomy picture more vividly amongst African countries. The index relies on four categories of governance: Safety & Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. In 2010, this survey ranked Nigeria 40th out of 53 African countries In 2011, Nigeria was ranked 41st out of 53 In 2012 Nigeria was ranked 43rd out of 52 In 2013 Nigeria was ranked 41st out of 52 In 2014 Nigeria was ranked 37th out of 52 African countries It is important to look at the possible causes of corruption and know where to lay the blame • Weak or Absent Traditional Moral Values This is due to defective upbringing of our children and wards. Here we are all guilty, and thus we should not point accusing fingers at government functionaries. If we are to fight corruption from source, this is where we should direct all our efforts on changing the mindsets of our children and wards as they grow up. We, as parents, should show good examples, and not to encourage our children to cheat in examinations, and in fact go all out to pay others to write such examinations for our children. • Greed This is a major cause of corruption. The get-rich-syndrome is embedded in many of us. We are obsessed with materialism, and always looking for dubious shortcuts to affluence without hard work! • Will to Fight Corruption The will to fight corruption is not lacking but it is feeble, and it is not translated to the reduction of corruption in the society, thereby promoting impunity. • Attitude of Condoning Corruption This is one major impetus for the rising level of corruption in Nigeria. There is worrying trend of the glorification of ill-gotten wealth, as we enjoy praise-singing and giving chieftaincy and national awards to those perceived to be corrupt. • Extreme poverty, poor remuneration, disparity in salaries and allowances and unfairness in distribution of resources can all lead to corruption Unusually high and unjustifiable salaries and allowances paid to politicians and their appointees lead to high level of corruption, poverty and underdevelopment, do-or-die politics, violence, politics of bitterness, and sometimes political assassinations we see in the polity. It has been variously stated by international and national figures (Richard C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 5 5

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