6th June 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,517

MONDAY, 6 JUNE, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

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Nigerian Tribune

N150

As Atiku reignites restructuring talks...

By Taiwo Adisa

“

TRUE Federalism, Fiscal Federalism, Feeding bottle Federalism, Restructuring”- These are the words that have consistently trended on the nation’s political platform in contemporary years. They were part of the issues in pre-independence days as well. But from the collapse of the Second Republic, the question of a workable federalism has remained constant on the lips of politically-minded Nigerians.

The South-West was ahead in the campaign to institute federalism in the country, and then, the area demarcated

as Minorities, not classified into the South-South geopolitical zone was also comfortable with that political idea.

Canvassers of the federalism idea had not much to complain about during the First Republic (1960-1966). Those

NEWS ANALYSIS were the years regarded as the nation’s golden age of true federalism. The three and later four regions practiced federalism as many would want it today. They were semiautonomous political zones. They were free to explore sources of raising revenue and depended largely on ag-

ricultural endowments. They were also competitive as we would see in the developmental strides put in place by the leaders of the Northern, Western and Eastern regions at the time.

The coming of the military in 1966 broke all that and the golden years of federalism were gone. The soldiers subsequently dissolved the regions and created smaller units, which they thought would make for easier management and enthronement of the centralised control the military command structure permits.

Continues pg2

Buhari to see ear specialist in London •Begins 10 days vacation

—P35

Ramadan begins today —P5

From left, coordinator, Enterprise Sales, Globacom, Mr Folu Aderibigbe; outgoing President, Lagos Business School (LBS) Alumni Association, Mr Wole Oshin; incoming President, Mrs Bola Adesola and the Head, Corporate Sales, Globacom, Kamaldeen Shonibare, at the Glo– sponsored LBS Alumni Association President’s Dinner, at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos, at the weekend.

Blasphemy killing: CAN Oyo Labour leaders' detention: NLC, NUT demands open trial —P4 leaders arrive in Ibadan •Act criminal, unIslamic —Sultan —P30

2 news

Monday, 6 June, 2016

NEWS ANALYSIS: Dissecting Atiku’s restructuring Agenda

President Buhari Continued from front page

Following the collapse of the Second Republic some four years after it was inaugurated and the economic strains that heralded the return of the military, not a few Nigerians had started romanticising the idea of federalism. It had become clear in the wee days of the Second Republic that the states created by the military constituted drains on the system rather than emerge as a source of financial power. The idea of “feeding bottle federalism,” which became instituted with the coming of the military, became a notorious strain on the polity as the nation grew older into the unwholesome. States became clearly dependent on the Federation Account, but the largely-stable oil price in the world market gave false hopes to the military which kept creating new states.

As the oil market fluctuates between boom and doom, agitations for restructuring and true federalism got thrown up at instances. While many recognised the beauty of federalism, as practised in the First Republic, especially the growth it brought to bear on the regions, no one was ready to take the bull by the horns so to say. Not the eight years of General Ibrahim Babangida’s military presidency; not the five-year despotism of the late General Sani Abacha; not even the eight years of democratic rule by President Olusegun Obasanjo and the five years of Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

That is notwithstanding the fact that the agitations had attained higher decibels since 2005.

At the National Political Reforms Conference organised by the Obasanjo-led government in 2005, the Yoruba Agenda prepared by the South-West leaders, squarely rested on the idea of true Federalism. The idea was also on hand during the National Conference of 2014 under President Jonathan. Curiously, the consti-

Atiku Abubakar tution amendments of 2010 and 2015 failed to address the critical issue of state creation and restructuring of the polity. Even then, most of the submissions by stakeholders favoured creation of more states.

But the insolvency of the states, unfolded under the current administration, has again made the issue of Federalism a constant talking point. Right now, no fewer than 25 states owe backlog of salaries running into five to eight months. And that is despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to approve bail-out for the states on assumption of office in 2015.

Last week, one of the major actors in the polity, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar again made the issue of Federalism and restructuring resonate. In a paper he presented at the public presentation of the book, “We Are All Biafrans,” written by Chido Onumah, in Abuja, Atiku restated the need for restructuring of the polity along the lines of federalist presentations.

Atiku said: “As some of you may know, I have for a long time advocated the need to restructure our federation.

Our current structure and the practices it has encouraged have been a major impediment to the economic and political development of our country. In short, it has not served Nigeria well, and at the risk of reproach, it has not served my part of the country, the North, well.

The call for restructuring is even more relevant today in light of the governance and economic challenges facing us. And, the rising tide of agitations – some militant and violent – require a reset in our relationships as a united nation.”

He added: “We must refrain from the habit of assuming that anyone calling for the restructuring of our federation is working for the breakup of the country. An excessively powerful centre does not equate with national unity. If anything, it has made our unity more frag-

Chief Ayo Adebanjo ile, our government more unstable and our country more unsafe. We must renegotiate our union in order to make it stronger.”

He contended that Nigeria should remain a united entity, even when restructured, adding that the potentials of nationhood were far enormous than imagined. He, however, stated that no one should take the unity for granted under the present arrangement, which, according to him, could lead the nation “sleepwalking to disaster,” a phrase he picked from Onuma’s book.

Again, Atiku acknowledged that no federal system was set for all times, as there were always sources of tension around issues of power sharing, resources and responsibilities. He insisted that older democracies had shown examples in resolving such conflicts through negotiations and compromises.

In handling the subject, which won for him ample media space last week, Atiku delved into the historical, while also analysing the contemporary issues. For instance, he recognised key factors that led the nation to where it is currently as the distortions to federalism which made Nigeria rely solely on oil for foreign exchange. Besides, the Federal

Government has, also over the years, taken on more roles and crowded not just the federating units but also the private sector out of the productive ventures. The resultant effect, according to him, was the gloomy statistics painted by the nation’s human development index.

“As we became more dependent on oil revenues, we became lazier, more complacent and our leaders became ever more unaccountable. Among the most destructive impacts of our dependence on oil is, perhaps, the corruption that it has fostered in the oil industry and the society at large.

Some of you are familiar with published reports that highlight discrepancies and opacity in data relating to the allocation of oil blocs, as well as NNPC’s abuse of its duty as steward of our federation’s revenues.

“The result of all of this is that we have not made the needed investments in human capital development and the productive sectors of the economy. According to the Human Development Index, 70 per cent of our population live below the poverty line, compared to 21.4 per cent for Brazil, 40.5 per cent for Angola and 0 per cent for Norway, to mention a few comparable oil producing countries.

As we became more dependent on oil revenues, we became lazier, more complacent and our leaders became ever more unaccountable. Among the most destructive impacts of our dependence on oil is, perhaps, the corruption that it has fostered in the oil industry and the society at large.

Odigie-Oyegun “More critical is the distortion of our federal structure by our dependence on oil.

We now have the ridiculous situation where the Federal Government creates local governments, enshrines them in the constitution and allocates resources directly to them, with people even calling for more autonomy from state governments,” the former vice-president said.

He also chose not just to lament the situation, but proffer some ways out. He highlighted six options the nation could take as a way out. First, he recommended a leaner Federal Government with reduced responsibilities, a measure of autonomy for federating units and local governments to determine their development priorities; tax-centered revenue base; increased diversification of the economy; ending indigene-settler dichotomy and establishment of state police for willing states. While some of the measures demand constitution changes, others are only administrative measures.

While discussing the need for diversification, Atiku gave clear and unambiguous examples of oil producers around the world and their situations despite the huge slowdown in the price of the commodity. His examples show clearly the failure of policies in the past and the unenviable options Nigeria had taken in the past.

He said: “ The US, U.K., Canada, Malaysia, and UAE are all oil producers. But because they have diversified economies, oil does not dominate their government revenues and does not have the same distortionary effect it has on our own. Let’s compare Malaysia with Nigeria.

“Both countries were at a comparable level of development at independence, but now, Malaysia’s GDP per capita is $11,000 while Nigeria’s is $3,000. Malaysia has foreign reserves of $100 billion and a sovereign wealth fund of $41 billion.

In Malaysia, manufacturing accounts for 40 percent of GDP and the country is rated 14th most competitive economy in the world. In Nigeria, however, manufacturing accounts for a mere 10 percent of GDP, and only 12 per cent of the labour force. “ And Nigeria ranks 127th out of 144 in global competitiveness. Think about this for a moment: If the bulk of the revenues of our federal and state governments were dependent on the level of economic activities in the country, would we be shutting down the entire country or a state on election days, on census days and during environmental clean-up? I wish some of our researchers would calculate the resulting loss of productivity and incomes to individuals, families and the economy as a whole, and, therefore, potentially government revenues! ” He also has a word for the current holders of power who may think that the time is now for resolution of critical economic issues rather than matters of restructuring.

He stated: “Some may say that we are saddled with more urgent challenges, including the rebuilding of our battered economy, creating jobs, fighting corruption and securing our people from terrorism and other forms of serious crimes. I believe, however, that addressing the flaws in our federation will help us address some of those very economic and security challenges facing this country.”

The former vice-president concluded that restructuring the polity would not only expose the latent talents among the federating units, it would also engender progressive rivalries that would enhance development.

“It will promote healthy rivalries among the federating units and local authorities. It will help make us richer and stronger as a nation ,” he said.

But opinions are still diContinues pg34

3

Monday, 6 June, 2016

4 news Kano septugenarian’s killing: Trial must not be secret —Northern CAN Monday, 6 June, 2016

From Muhammad Sabiu, Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel

T

HE Northern branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has said the trial of the killers of 74-year-old woman, Madam Bridget Agbahime, who was murdered by a mob at Kofar Wambai market in Kano must not be done in a secret.

Speaking with newsmen in Kaduna, on Sunday, spokesperson of the Northern CAN, Reverend John Joseph Hayab, also wondered why the police which claimed to have saved the husband of the deceased from the mob, could not rescue the woman or arrest the perpetrators immediately.

CAN also wondered why people would just wake up and kill a fellow human being just because they were angry with such an individual.

“So, if your enemy is angry with you, the best thing to do is to raise false alarm using religion as a cover to kill you,” said CAN. He said: “Our religious leaders must come out and preach the true tenets of religion, because this arrogance is getting too much.”

CAN also appealed to the Kano State government to make deliberate policies aiming at stopping extremism, adding that “these issues are giving Kano State a bad name and image.”

CAN further appealed to Christians to be law-abiding, as well as offer persistent prayers for the unity and progress of the country.

It will be recalled that Madam Agbahime was lynched last week Thursday, at Kano market by mob, in presence of her husband, over an alleged blasphemous statement.

Killers must be brought to book —Dogara

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Sunday, condemned the brutal murder of the woman in Kano State, saying all Nigerians must rise against this grievous act of lawlessness and impunity.

He asserted that the perpetrators of the heinous crime must be fished out to face the full wrath of the law.

A statement issued by the spokesperson to the Speaker, Turaki Hassan, quoted him as saying that there must be justice for the victim, Agbaheme, who was allegedly killed by her fellow traders in a market over allegation of blasphemy.

“We live in a society governed by clearly stated rules and laws. When such crimes of high magnitude, or any

at all, are allowed to go unpunished for any reason, we risk descending into a state of lawlessness and anarchy, where anyone can assume the role of judge, jury and executioner.

“The rule of law must pre-

vail. I urge all security agencies to ensure that they carry out a thorough investigation into the events that led to her intimely death and ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to face the full wrath of the

law,” he stated.

JNI, MURIC condemn the murder The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), headed by the

Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar IV, has condemned the murder of Madam Agbahime.

Secretary-General of JNI, Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, described the killing as “criminal and unIslamic” in a

From left, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III; Zonal Commanding Officer, RS10, Sokoto, Olu-Mike Olagunju and the Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Bisi Kazeem, during a safety advocacy visit to the Sultan, recently.

N12m cash was stolen from my office —Saraki SENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Sunday, said only N12 million cash was stolen from his administrative office.

Saraki said it was not true that N300 million was stolen from his bedroom in his Ilorin, Kwara State home.

The position of Saraki came in reaction to a story by an online news medium that detectives of the Nige-

ria Police, in Ilorin, questioned and then released several domestic aides, as well as some of his security details in connection with the mysterious disappearance of N300 million from his bedroom.

Reacting on his Twitter handle around 11.00 a.m. on Sunday, when one of his followers asked about the story, Saraki said it was full of exaggeration.

He explained that his administrative office was broken into about two weeks ago and N12 million used to run charity was stolen.

Saraki wrote on his Twitter handle: “Story is full of Falsehood and exaggeration.

“The online tabloid lacks credibility and can go to any length.

“Administrative office was broken into about two weeks ago.

“N12 million used to run charity house was stolen.”

The report had claimed that the N300 million was in different foreign currencies and was provided to Saraki by the Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed.

It said this was to enable Saraki provide largesse to his supporters in Ilorin at the start of the Ramadan season.

...EFCC storms Kwara in search of fresh evidence Taiwo Adisa -Abuja OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), last week, stormed Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, in search of fresh evidence in pursuant of the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, sources said at the weekend.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed at the weekend that operatives of the commission arrived at Ilorin, last week Monday and combed the records of the state’s Ministry of Finance and the Office of the AccountantGeneral of the state.

Sources confirmed that the operatives worked in Kwara till last Wednesday, when they returned to Abuja, but also requested

the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Nurudeen Banu, as well as the Accountant-General, Alhaji Suleiman Ishola to report at the commission’s headquarters on Thursday.

It was gathered that while the duo reported in Abuja, they were not detained, but made to answer some questions on Thursday and allowed to return to Kwara on Friday.

It was gathered that the operatives were largely concerned about the accounts of the state from 2003 till 2011, while the officials were requested to provide certain documents.

A source in the know of the situation said: “With the way the trial at the Code of Conduct is going, it appears that the commission has the need for further evidence from the

Kwara angle. The trail has seen the need to ensure a water tight case especially on records of alleged payments to the former governor, Senator Saraki before he became the Senate President.

“It will be recalled that the EFCC had alleged that Saraki was still being paid his salary as governor when he had become a senator. The operatives combed the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General’s Office from Monday to Wednesday, last week and they later left for Abuja.

“I am also aware that the Finance Commissioner and the Accountant-General were summoned to Abuja, last Thursday and the duo appeared. The only thing is that they were not detained. They left for

Kwara on Friday.”

Though the spokesman of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren and the Senior Special Assistant to the governor of Kwara State on Media and Communication, Dr Muyideen Akorede, denied knowledge of the raids, sources close to the issue insisted that the Kwara officials were at the EFCC office in Abuja, on Thursday.

It was also confirmed that the operatives were in Kwara and combed the Ministry of Finance, as well as the office of the Accountant General between Monday and Wednesday last week.

While the spokesman of EFCC told the newspaper he was unaware of the raid, the SSA to the Governor on Media and Communication, Akorede, also said he was unaware.

statement issued in Kaduna.

JNI, which also condemned a similar incident in Niger State, said: “These ugly incidences utterly stand condemned and are regarded as criminal and unIslamic, perpetrated by miscreants and criminals.”

The Islamic group said “it is hardly believable that such dastardly act could happen in the name of religion, considering the various enlightenment programmes on interfaith and mutual co-existence being put in place by the Muslim scholars and the leadership.”

It commiserated with the family of the deceased over the incident and prayed God to grant her eternal rest.

Aliyu added that “the Sultan of Sokoto and the President-General, JNI calls on all to remain calm and avoid all actions that could lead to the breach of law and order.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states have also condemned the killing, saying it was barbaric and unacceptable.

Joseph Hayab, a reverend and the body’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), told TheCable that the allegations of blasphemy levelled against the deceased were not even true.

He said: “From the information we gathered, Bridget never committed blasphemy as claimed by those who killed her.

“Information reaching us revealed that one of her killers had been looking for her trouble very often and on that day he went to her shop and started his ablution at the entrance of her shop, she complained and argument ensued.”

According to him, the man, who was performing his ablution, started shouting “Allahu akbar” and a mob surrounded her shop and started attacking her.

Also, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the killing.

The group condemned the killing in a statement issued on Sunday. in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, made available to newsmen.

The statement quoted Akintola as saying “the beheading of a Christian woman by a mob in Wambai market, Kano, is barbaric and unIslamic.

“Islam frowns at any mob action, as there are laid down procedures for apprehending anyone who breaks the law of the land.

“Even where blasphemy is committed, the woman should have been taken to the police station instead of being brutally attacked.

“There is no jungle justice in Islam.”

5

ramadannews

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Muslims begin Ramadan fast today

N

IGERIANS will join their counterparts across the world to begin the month of Ramadan today as the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, announced the sighting of the moon on Sunday night.

Millions of Muslims around the world will mark the start of the holy month, a time marked by intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.

Saudi Arabia's state TV announced the new moon of Ramadan was spotted Sunday evening. Local media in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, also said Muslims there would begin fasting today.

Muslims follow a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting

methodology that can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.

During the day, Muslim faithful will abstain from eating and drinking as Prophet Muhammad did.

Pray for peace, security, Saraki tells Muslims SENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Sunday, urged Muslim faithful across the country to use the period of this year's Ramadan to pray for peace, security and God's intervention in tackling the myriad socio--economic challenges confronting the nation.

In a statement to mark the commencement of 2016 Ramadan fasting season signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olani-

yonu, Dr Saraki, thanked God for the grace to participate in another holy obligation as enjoined by the Holy Quran.

"We have entered into another season of rededication to the worship of God and service to humanity.

This is a major commandment to mankind and a season of sacrifice and forgiveness. I enjoin all Muslim faithful to rededicate themselves to the true ideals of Islam as a religion of peace,” he said.

Veteran journalists preach peace in Oyo THE League of Veteran Journalists, Oyo State ,has congratulated Muslims in the state for the divine favour they have to be alive to witness and participate in another holy month of Ramadan.

The league, in a statement signed by its chairman, Alhaji Wale Adele, enjoined Muslims to use the occasion of the Ramadan for self cleansing and purification to seek the favour of Allah for the country.

They also urged the Is-

lamic faithful to make Nigeria the central focus of their prayers during this month, regarded as most favoured month.

The statement urged the government and people of

Oyo State to use the opportunity of the holy month to strike a peace accord to end the ongoing face- off between the state government and the organised labour in the state.

THE Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, (MMPN) Oyo State chapter, has urged Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan to pray for divine Intervention in the fight against insurgency.

In a press release issued and signed by its chairman, Alhaji Wasiu Aliu and the secretary. Alhaja Rofia Animasahun, enjoined Muslims to be of good conduct during the Holy month.

MMPN tasks Muslims on prayer

Pray for divine intervention against insurgency, MMPN tells Muslims THE Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, (MMPN) Oyo State chapter, has urged Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan to pray for divine Intervention in fight against insurgency.

In a press released issued and signed by its chairman, Alhaji Wasiu Aliu and the secretary. Alhaja Rofia Animasahun, enjoined Muslims to be of good conduct during the Holy month.

“Holiness is the key to maximise the spiritual and physical benefits during Ramadan,” he said.

Observed that, Ramadan being one of the pillars of Islam, be used to seek Allah’s face in the fight against famine, epidemic and insecurity.

6

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lagos

Edited by

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Woman steals two babies, claims she gave birth to them as twins A Olalekan Olabulo

man, Saheed Akinwale and his wife, Zainab Salisu have been arrested by the police for allegedly abducting two babies.

Saheed and Zainab were accused of abducting 12-month-old Feyitola Lawal and seven-month-old Phillip in Abule Egba area.

Though the two arrested suspects were not legally married, it was gathered that Zainab had lied to Saheed that she was pregnant for him and that she needed some money to go and deliver the baby in the United States of America (USA).

Zainab was said to have collected the sun of N250, 000 from Saheed and disappeared only to return after some months with the two abducted babies, which she lied to her husband that they were twins she gave birth to.

Saheed then named the babies Taiwo and Kehinde.

The police had identified the woman through the footage of the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) at the Justrite Supermarket in Abule Egba, where she was last seen with the mother of one of the babies.

The woman however in-

sisted that she did not steal the baby. “Feyisola’s mother is my friend. I went to their house on May 14 and when she left to get something, I carried her baby and left.

They couldn’t reach me because I switched off my phone,” she said.

Zainab added that, “The other baby, Philip belongs to my uncle. The wife died and he wanted to give away the baby and I told him to give him to me so that I can raise him as my own. I was

arrested when the police picked Saheed.”

Saheed in his statement said, “Sometime in October, she called me that she was back from USA where she travelled to, to go and give birth and that she had delivered a set of twins for me. She told me she landed in Abuja and that she would bring them to Lagos to see me. Although I am married with kids, I kept Zainab as my other family.

I never knew they were not

our kids until the police arrested us yesterday.”

The mother of one of the babies, Mrs Damilola Lawal however denied ever being a friend to the woman, who abducted her baby. “I don’t know her from anywhere; rather she came to my shop claiming to be a supplier of eggs and would love to supply us with some. I agreed.

“Later, she claimed she was new in the area and thus needed a new place

of worship and my mother-in-law took her to our church (Christ Apostolic Church). After service she followed us home to use the convenience. She later stayed for lunch and then she said she wanted to buy some souvenirs. I took her to Justrite Stores at Agege but she ended up not buying. When we were leaving, she offered to assist in carrying my daughter. We boarded a bus and got to Abule Egba. We

Man confesses stealing N51, 000 from offering box Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin

An SUV involved in an accident with a commercial Bus on BRT lane on Ikorodu- Mile12 road. PHOTO: OVADJE ELLIOT

Again, robbers raid Vanguard Publisher’s home •Cart away money, valuables •10 arrested THE Anthony village, Lagos State home of the publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers, Sam Amuka was early Sunday invaded by robbers.

The robbers overpowered the security guards on duty in the house and subjected occupants to torture and threat.

However, 10 persons, including security men around the area have been arrested for interrogation by the police in the state.

The gunmen, who report-

entered a bike and when we got to the bus stop, her bike carried her down further.

By the time I walked down to that place she had disappeared.”

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmos, while speaking on the arrest, said that the woman and her husband were arrested through pure intelligence - driven surveillance.

edly stormed the house around 1:03am escaped with money and other valuables.

This is the second time in the last few years that armed robbers would attack Amuka’s house, after escaping with money and other valuables in the past.

Lagos Metro gathered that the robbers, numbering five had gained entrance into the premises, after scaling the fence.

It was further gathered that the robbers, who

were said to be speaking in Hausa accent threatened to kill the octogenarian, if he refused to bring out all the cash in the house and ransacked many of the rooms in the building.

One of the security men told the police that the robbers tied them and covered their faces, while the operation lasted, “I saw five young men moving from the wall close to the gate towards the house and accosted them

but they subdued me and my mate.

“They tied our hands and covered our faces while one of them kept watch over us at the gate, the rest went inside the house only to come out about 45 minutes later and ordered us to unlock the main gate. As soon as we obeyed them, they left the compound and we heard the screeching of tyres of a car zooming off.”

The state commissioner

of police, Fatai Owoseni, who visited the scene of the robbery, accompanied by the Assistant Commissioner of police in charge of operations in the state, Imohimi Edgar assured that the bandits would be arrested.

Before the arrival of the state police boss, the commander in charge of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Olatunji Disu had led a team of policemen to the scene but the robbers had escaped

A 24-year-old man, Osiobugie Larry, has admitted that he stole N51, 000 from a Catholic Church on Victoria Island.

Larry, who has no fixed address, was arraigned by the police from the Lagos Island Division before Magistrate H. O. Amos of an Igbosere Magistrate Court on a fivecount charge of breaking, entering and stealing.

The police accused him of committing the offence in the month of March and May at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church on 14B, Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island.

Prosecuting Sergeant Tubi Olajide said on March 30, around 2:00 a.m., the defendant broke into the church and stole N10, 000 cash from the church’s offertory box.

He alleged that Larry returned again on May 30, and stole N41, 000 cash from the same offertory box.

He added that Larry was apprehended by the church’s security guards and handed over to the police.

When the charge was read to the accused in English, he pleaded guilty.

Magistrate Amos adjourned the matter till June 13, for facts and sentencing.

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Monday, 6 June, 2016

metro

Abandoned children A day-old baby girl was abandoned at Oranyan Area, Ibadan, on May 14, 2014.

How robbers recruit destitute, homeless —Cable vandal Olalekan Olabulo

A suspected electricity cable vandal, Obaji Christopher has narrated how hoodlums, who sleep in the open, abandoned buildings and other places, form criminal gang.

Christopher 23, who was a few days ago arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), stated that gang leaders lure new entrants into the gang with “promising offer.”

Christopher and one other person, simply identified as Anago, now at large, had re-

Road damaged by erosion at Caaso, Alagbado. PHOTO : ADEMOLA ADENIYI

Makoko land-grabbers nabbed Says, ‘We didn’t know our activities were illegal’ Bola Badmus LAGOS State Task Force said it had arrested and charged to court a notorious land grabber and five other members of his gang at Makoko area of state.

Chairman of the Task Force, Saheed Egbeyemi, while parading Mr Olalekan Olaiya and his gang, disclosed that the Agency was bombarded with many petitions about illegal activities of notorious land grabbers around Makoko area of the state.

According to Egbeyemi, the gang leader, Olalekan Olaiya and his members have been terrorising land and property owners at Makoko area, asking them to come and re-purchase their respective properties with various prices ranging from N10 million to N50 million each, claiming that all landed properties around the area belong to their great-grand-fathers who leased them out in 1950s.

The Task Force boss claimed that Olaiya and his gang, including Mojeed Olaiya, Olusegun Olaiya, Ibrahim Bada, Abiodun Olaewe and Benson Filate were arrested by operatives of the Agency when they were wilfully and unlawfully removing the corrugated iron sheets of the roof of the property of Mrs Basirat Kosoko at 22, Olaiya Street, Makoko, Yaba.

Egbeyemi hinted that

the arrested six-man land grabbers’ gang illegally destroyed and stole properties worth N3 million at the above mentioned address at Makoko and confirmed that they had all been charged to Lagos State Special Offences Court.

Sergeant Anisere Taiwo and Mr Femi Alabi confirmed that they all pleaded not guilty and they were

given bail condition of N250,000 with 2 sureties admissible to be verified in like sum with the continuation of the case on June 26, 2016.

Olaiya and his gang however claimed that they never knew it was illegal to start destroying properties by removing their roofing sheet and damaging doors, including windows and de-

manding more money from respective owners.

He added they never inherited any legal document from their fore-fathers to back up their claims and that, “Justice should be tempered with mercy.”

They all promised to be law abiding and never terrorise any landed property owners around Makoko again.

3 arraigned for murder, rape cases Opeyemi Owoaseye THREE suspects, Olalekan Oni (27) a.k.a Oluso, Rafiu Adebayo (21) a.k.a Jayboys and Taiwo Balogun (21) a.k.a Pumbing, who allegedly committed a series of offences in July, 2015 at about 7:00 p.m. have appeared before an Ebute Metta court on Thursday, on 11 count charges.

The first and second defendants were charged for conspiring among themselves to commit felony to wit: murder and thereby committed an offence punishable under the law.

The first defendant, Olalekan Oni was charged for the murder of one Mr Mershack Ekpenyong, (26), by shooting him with a gun, on his stomach, leading to his death.

The first and second defendants were also charged for an offence of belonging to an unlawful society known

as Aiye Confraternity and were also charged for the offence of conducting themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by disrupting the peace of the area.

The third defendant Taiwo Balogun was charged for attempted murder of Mr Olalekan Oni, who happened to be one of the defendants (the first defendant) in the same time and place by shooting him on his back.

He was also charged for management of unlawful society known as Eiye Confraternity and for conducting himself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by disrupting the peace of the area.

The third defendant was also charged for an attempt to rape one Funke Agundeloye, a 15-year-old girl.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them The prosecutor Mrs Mar-

Nigerian Tribune

riam Dauda requested that the defendants be remanded in the prison for further advice from the DPP. The lawyer for the defendants objected to the request of the prosecutor on the ground that section 264 (1) empowers the court to make an inquiry about the case case, and that if the court is satisfied, that is when the defendant can be remanded.

They further asked the court to take judicial notice of the charges and applied that the defendants should be granted bail and not remanded.

The Magistrate, Mrs K.A Ariyo granted the second and third defendants Rafiu Adebayo and Taiwo Balogun a bail of N250, 000 with two sureties which must be blood relatives while the first defendant, Olalekan Oni was ordered remanded in prison and the case was adjourned till July 4, 2016.

portedly vandalised some cables around Ojota area of the state, when the policemen arrested him.

One of the RRS men who arrested the suspect but spoke on condition of anonymity explained that, “early on Saturday morning, during our daily patrol routine, we saw the suspect where he was vandalising the armoured cable meant to electrify Lagos at a very unsuspicious corner in Ojota.

“The cable was buried after it was laid. We saw him and his accomplice digging up the cable. He was using hoes to bring the cable to the surface while his friend had on him a broken saw, cutting some part in the cable. He was unable to take to his heels because we had already surrounded the whole area.”

In his confessional statement, the suspect said, “I arrived Lagos about two weeks ago and had nowhere to sleep so I started sleeping inside Ojota park. It was at this park that I met one guy, simply identified as Anago, who introduced me to this job. Anago told me that if I was able to go for two to three operations, I will have enough money to take care of myself.”

While confirming the arrest, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Dolapo Badmus, said that the state would not tolerate vandalism and sabotage of governments’ efforts.

She also added that the suspect has been transferred to Special Anti Robbery Squad’s (SARS) office in Ikeja for further investigation.

Obaji with the vandalised cables

A three-month- old baby boy was rescued at Chesire Home, Ijokodo Ibadan, on May 20, 2016.

A four- day- old baby boy was abandoned at Atipe Area, Ibadan on July 3, 2014.

A two-week-old baby girl was abandoned at Sanyo Area, Ibadan

ANYBODY with useful information about parents or relatives of the above babies, should please, contact the Principal Social Welfare Officer, Ibadan/ Ibarapa Zonal Social Welfare Office, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

8 ramadannews

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Be steadfast, pray for Nigeria, Tinubu tells Muslim faithful NATIONAL leader of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, has enjoined all Muslim faithful to be steadfast in the days ahead in fasting and prayer for the nation.

In his Ramadan message to Muslim faithful, Tinubu said we cannot leave God out of politics ,hence, the need to offer prayers for the growth and develop-

ment of the nation.

"Nigeria is today challenged on many fronts but though, the storms gather, clear skies are ahead. Nigeria and its people will outlive the current challenges and Nigeria will see a new day.

It will be a gradual process that will need all of us to play a part. Without morality and competence, no nation will advance beyond a

Pray for peace, unity, Senator Buhari tells Muslims AS Nigerian Muslims join their counterparts worldwide to begin the Ramadan today, the senator representing Oyo North senatorial district of Oyo State, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, has enjoined them to pray for the peace and unity of the country.

In a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday, Senator Buhari said these indeed, were challenging times for the country, while he called on Muslim faithful to dedicate the period to pray for the nation.

In his Ramadan message, Buhari admonished Muslims not to deter in their faith in Allah, adding that with prayers and supplications to be offered during the Ramadan, he is sure better days are ahead for the people of the country.

He also called for the peaceful coexistence of people in the country and end to both insurgency in the North-East by Boko Haram and militancy in

Ambode congratulates Muslims Bola Badmus- Lagos

AS Muslims across the globe commenced Ramadan fast today, Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has congratulated Muslims, urging them to imbibe the lessons inherent in the blessed month.

Governor Ambode, who spoke at a pre-Ramadan lecture held at the Lagos State House, Alausa, Ikeja, to usher in the fasting month, charged Muslims in the state to continue to live peacefully with other non-Muslim residents as mandated by the teachings of the Holy Qur'an.

Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, said Ramadan was about piety and frequent remembrance of Allah where the rich and the poor would have to fast irrespective of their financial status as long they were healthy.

the Niger Delta.

"Ramadan, being one of the pillars of Islam, must be used to seek the face of Allah to end the scourge of insurgency and militancy against the country. We must all pray for a country where peace and justice reign," he said.

near state of anarchy, poverty and social discontent. On our part, we have embarked on a journey of ethical revolution and accountable governance. This is the way to go," he said.

Tinubu said as Nigerian Muslims join other faithful across the world during the Ramadan period, the desire for better world and a poverty-ridden world, will dominate the prayer list.

Monday, 6 June, 2016 9 news PDP crisis: Govs, BoT, Sheriff, Makarfi groups meet today

•Meeting mere proposal —Sheriff’s group JacobSegunOlatunjiandLeon Usigbe-Abuja

A

S part of efforts to resolve the crisis rocking the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its leaders will converge on Abuja today with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis.

According to a source at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, at the weekend, those being expected at the peace meeting are governors, Nation-

al Assembly caucus, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff group.

The source said all the parties to the crisis have been duly notified about the Abuja peace meeting and had indicated their willingness to attend It was gathered that the elders were also concerned about the early resolution of the crisis to enable the party to start the process

of picking its candidate for the forthcoming governorship in Edo State so as to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s deadline for the submission of the name of its standard-bearer for the poll.

The source said the meeting would take place at the Ondo State governor’s lodge located in Asokoro District Abuja.

When contacted on Sunday, the Director-General of PDP Governors’ Forum, Mr Osaro Onaiwu, said the

agenda of the meeting was to resolve the crisis rocking the party and that the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial election would be discussed.

According to him, “the leaders of the party, the Governors’ Forum, National Assembly caucus, BoT, Makarfi group and Sheriff group will meet tomorrow (today) to address the issue in the party. We want to resolve the crisis in our party once and for all. We want to find lasting solution to the crisis. All parties involved are invited

for this meeting. The forthcoming Edo election will also be addressed.”

Recalled that after the party’s national convention, held in Port Harcourt, on May 21, where Sheriff was sacked as the national chairman, the party constituted a caretaker committee, headed by former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, to head the party for a period of three months.

Dissatisfied with this development, Sheriff challenged the action of the

Ramadan: Corrupt persons not religious —Buhari Leon Usigbe -Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has observed that public officers who steal money kept in their trust only pay lip service to the religion they profess.

In his message to mark the beginning of the 30 days fasting period, made

available to the media in Abuja, on Sunday night by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, he also advised Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan as an opportunity to seek forgiveness and getting closer to Allah through worship (Ibadah)

and good deeds.

According to the president, a religion should serve as moral restraint from bad practices, while regretting that those stealing national resources were merely paying lip service to religion.

He advised that anybody holding position of trust

Osun govt, PTA disagree over alleged introduction of fees in public schools Oluwoel Ige-Osogbo

THE seeming peaceful atmosphere in Osun State public schools may be shattered as the government and the leadership of the Parents/Teachers Association (PTA) are heading for a showdown over alleged introduction of fees and extension of office hours.

Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that the development was coming against the backdrop of a letter sent by the leadership of the PTA to all public schools in the state, notifying them of the introduction

of additional two and half hours of extramural classes of which each student would pay a sum of N1,200 per term.

Though, details of the sharing of the proceeds from the payment could not be obtained, credible sources in some secondary schools in Osogbo, the state capital, hinted that teachers would only be entitled to 10 per cent of the proceeds, while the reamining goes to the PTA. Apparently miffed by the development, a counter directive from the Permanent Secretary, State Universal

Parents of hole-in-heart child appeal for help

By Biola Azeez

PARENTS of two-year, 11-month-old-girl, Sofiat Demilade Hambali, have called for assistance from well meaning Nigerians to help save their young child from life threatening congenital heart disease.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Ibadan, at the weekend, parents of Sofiat, said that medical experts at the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan had told them that the heart disease would require N3 million for open heart surgery if their child was to survive.

Parents of the girl, Mr Wahab Hambali, an artisan and his wife, Mrs Kafayat Hambali, a trader, said the little girl started to show symptoms of the disease about a year ago

when she got tired easily and breathless on exertion.

According to a letter signed by consultant paediatric cardiologist in the UCH, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ogunkunle, dated April 14, 2016, presented to the Nigerian Tribune, it said the facilities for open heart surgery were not routinely available in Nigeria at present time.

“I am informed that the cost of such surgery in India costs between N2.5 million and N3 million.

Open heart surgery, if and when performed in Nigeria costs around the same amount of money”, the letter read.

The telephone number of Mr. Wahab Hambali is 08056202224 and 08130933756, while his account number with the First Bank is 3003882130.

Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Fatai Kolawole, cautioned the principals to be conscious of the free education policy, which disallowed payment of any form of fees in public schools.

Kolawole, in a text message sent to all principals, categorically referred to the letter written by the PTA and subsequently ordered that no fee should be collected from any student, saying stringent disciplinary action awaited any principal that undermined the standing free education policy.

According to the text message, obtained by the Nigerian Tribune, “all principals of middle schools are, hereby, directed not to charge / collect any fee as directed by a letter issued by the PTA. Any principal who does so will be sanctioned.”

When contacted, the state chairman of the PTA, Mr Bisi Olaitan, argued that the payment of the N1,200 was not compulsory, saying the amount would be contributed by parents, regardless of the number of their children in public schools.

However, investigation indicated that apart from the letter from the PTA, and the counter directive from PS, SUBEB, the state Ministry of Education had remained silent on the issue.

One of the teachers in the middle school, who pleaded anonymity, said “this development raised our curiosity because such an order should not have emanated from the PTA. For now, we are complying, but most teachers are so curious about what is happening.”

should primarily remember that they would be accountable one day, either on earth or the hereafter.

He said the month of Ramadan was a time of spiritual reawakening, which demands not only abstention from food and drinks, but also all wrongdoing in their lives.

The president pointed out that he was disturbed when people seek to make brisk profits by hiking food prices as soon as the month of Ramadan started.

He called on Muslim traders, businessmen and

women, civil servants and political office holders to use the month of Ramadan to seek forgiveness of God by abandoning wrong practices for personal gains at the expense of others.

He also said the government was working towards bringing relief to their lives through palliative measures and faithful implementation of the 2016 national budget.

According to him, no elected government would intentionally want to make life difficult for the people that gave it the mandate to serve.

party, a situation that led to the party national secretariat to be sealed off by the police for days before it was reopened for staff and journalists last week.

However, a source close to Sheriff group told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, on Sunday, that the meeting was a mere proposal and that “the law will take its course”since the matter was already in court..

The source ruled out the possibility of the group attending the meeting in the first instance.

However, despite PDP’s BoT’s directive to all parties in the crisis to withdraw their cases from the courts in order to allow the party’s internal organs to resolve the problems, none had so far been known to have obeyed.

It is, therefore, not certain that Sheriff would agree to attend today’s meeting.

When the Nigerian Tribune reached his spokesman, Inuwa Bwala, on phone on Sunday, he said he was not aware of the meeting.

The coordinator of the PDP Governors Forum, Onaiwu Osaro, confirmed that the meeting would take place.

10

news

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

PHOTOS: ALABA IGBAROOLA

66TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF CHIEF ADEBAYO ALAO-AKALA, FORMER GOVERNOR OF OYO STATE

From left, General Brimo Yemi Yussuf, Part 4 Class Governor, Department of Local Government Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Olumide Igbaroola, presenting an award to the Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, former governor of Oyo State, for his contribution towards education and Nigeria, during the 66th birthday celebration of Chief Alao-Akala, at his Opadoyin Akala Lodge, Randa, Ogbomoso, on Friday.

From left,Chief (Mrs) Kemi Jaiyeoba, Chief Ayoade Adewuyi,Prince Dayo Lawal,General Brimo Yemi Yussuf, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala and Honourable Wumi Ladeji, cutting birthday cake.

From left, Pa Amos Ayoola Ajibesin, former Oyo State Attorney-General, Mr Aare Abdulsalam and Dr Dejo Akanni.

From left, the Bobagunwa Ijesaland, Chief Alege Oluseyi, Chief Ayoade Adewuyi and Mr Alabi Jacob Adebayo.

Chief Debo Gbadebo, APC leader, Ogbomoso North and the chairman, Yoruba community in Ghana, Mr Muritala Azeez.

Nigerian Tribune Monday, 6 June, 2016 11 businessnews Budget implementation: FG directs MDAs to submit priority project list Sanya Adejokun with agency report

T

HE Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to forward list of ongoing and new projects in order of priority for immediate funding.

The directive is contained in a circular from the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), made available on Sunday in Abuja.

According to the circular signed by Fatima Mede, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, all MDAs are to submit their project list to the ministry.

She said “ministers are expected to give necessary directives to their permanent secretaries to immediately commence procurement process as part of efforts toward ensuring effective implementation of the 2016 budget.

“In this regard, all ministries should forward the list of projects in order of priority that requires immediate funding to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. ``This is to enable us to process and thereafter send report to the Federal Ministry of Finance for release of funds.’’

Similarly, the circular from the SGF’s office, signed by Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, stated that the 2016 budget must be fully and effectively implemented.

To achieve this, the SGF ordered all MDAs to accelerate procurement activities for all new and ongoing projects and programmes indicated in the 2016 budget.

Lawal, however, stated that this must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

“MDAs are accordingly directed to comply with the six weeks advertisement period stipulated in

the procurement act to fast-track the implementation of the 2016 budget, particularly for new programmes and projects. In other words, prequalified evaluation process should not exceed 14 days, while financial evaluation process, notification of award and obtaining necessary approvals should not ex-

ceed 30 days altogether.

“Furthermore, MDAs are directed to advertise and invite bids for projects costing less than N100 million for goods and services and N300 million for works as such procurement do not require separate prequalification. This will reduce the average processing time for open

A new maritime industry report, which is set to be published by a leading audit firm in Nigeria has revealed that maritime concessionaires who took over operations of the nations seaports in 2006 invested about N200bn in-between 2006 to 2016, and have lost a whopping N58.9bn in earning over the same period to spiralling inflation and the declining value of the naira.

According to the audit report which is yet to be

in whatever form would not be tolerated.

He advised accounting officers to ensure strict compliance with the contents of the circular.

Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered from the Ministry of Finance that the Federal Government had commenced the release of funds to MDAs.

From left, Head, Human Resources, UAC of Nigeria Plc, Osa Osowa; Managing Director, Chemical & Allied Products (CAP) Plc, Omolara Elemide; the Presenter, Joe Mbulu and the Human Resources Manager, Chemical & Allied Products (CAP) Plc, Olumide Adediji during the presentation of the Great Place to Work Award to CAP Plc.

Over N48.81bn, $7.131bn looted funds frozen in Nigeria banks —FG Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

THE Federal Government has revealed that the Department of Security Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen huge amount of looted funds deposited in Nigerian banks in Naira, United States dollars, pound sterling and euros.

The frozen funds are as follows: N48,818,108,518.9, $7,131,595,974.69 and £605,647.55. Also, it said cash in bank under interim forfeiture amounted to: N8,384,802,453.33, $1,837,031,911.23, £3,800 and €113,399.17.

This was contained in government interim re-

port on financial and asset recoveries from May 29, 2015 to May 25, which was made available to newsmen by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed over the weekend.

The report further stated that from the cash recovered from the looters, the EFCC had N39.2 billion, $128.5 million, £2,355 and €11,250 as cash at hand.

It stated that N4.6 billion and $40.7 million were paid as royalties, taxes and payments to the Federal Government account with JP Morgans in New York.

According to the report, funds recovered in the accounts of Office of the National Security Adviser

Maritime concessionaires lost N58.9bn in 10 years —Audit report Tola Adenubi-Lagos

competitive bidding by at least 35 days and further accelerate implementation of the 2016 budget,’ he said.’

He further stated that MDAs that had not commenced the implementation of their 2016 procurement plans were directed to proceed immediately, threatening that slowness

published but was sighted by our Correspondent, the value of seaport terminal operators’ earnings eroded by about 238% (N58.9bn) over the past 10 years.

The report also identified insufficient power supply, dilapidated port access roads; traffic gridlock and uncertainty of policy direction, among others as some challenges hindering port operations in the country.

According to the report, the 2006 port concession had resulted in significant

improvement in port operations in the country.

“For example, there has been the emergence of larger vessels with improved cost effectiveness, improved cargo-handling technology and delivery speed as well as reduced unit freight cost.

“In addition, the concession has increased Nigeria’s port competitiveness, reduced waiting time for ships and enhanced movement of goods across international borders and offshore manufacturing,” it stated.

with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) totaled N5.7 billion and eight $8million while Value Added Tax (VAT) recovered from companies by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was N529.6 million.

Similarly, N19.3 billion and $435,253 were said to be in the EFCC recovered fund account with the CBN, while N5.5 billion and $5.5 million respectively were said to be with the Office of the Attorney-

General of the Federation.

In the report, the Independent Corrupt Practices (ICPC) revenue collection recovery in CBN was totaled at N869.9 million while its cash asset recovery was put at N2.6 billion.

According to the report, from the money stashed in foreign accounts by looters, $321 million is being awaited for repatriation from Switzerland, while £6.9 million pounds is expected from the UK.

Although, when Nigerian Tribune sought to contact Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, she was said to have travelled for an investment road show in London, United Kingdom. A source in the ministry pleading anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter said “they have started to release the money but they cannot release everything in one fell swoop.”

When pressed to mention some of the projects for which money had been released, the official could not mention any saying that Adeosun was scheduled to return from her trip and would address a press conference on Thursday this week, where details would be given.

Blaming spending ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs)for not being ready with due process procurement arrangements, the source alleged that Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal two weekends ago, issued a circular urging MDAs which were yet to perfect their papers to do so before the end of August.

According to the source, the circular also advised the procurement office to waive certain requirements in order to ensure speed processing of contract papers and further warned that ministers and permanent secretaries might be sanctioned if by the end of August, they were yet to award contracts.

The 2016 budget provides for 2000 kilometres of roads to be constructed and rehabilitated in addition to power projects, railway projects, aviation, water, housing, agriculture, education health and other important national priority projects.

Nigeria loses additional N1.3bn daily to attacks by Niger Delta Avengers TWO oil firms operating in Nigeria say they lose 140,000 barrels of crude daily due to recent attacks on their facilities by militants.

The attacks by a militant group, believed to be the Niger Delta Avengers, caused the loss, according to Eni and Aiteo from their oilfields in Bayelsa.

At about $48 per barrel, an estimated $6.72 million (N1.3 billion) daily is lost by the two operators due to the attacks.

Eni, the Italian energy firm and parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) said its production was cut by 65,000 barrels per day following Friday’s attack on its pipeline in Bayelsa.

Earlier attacks in the oilfield on May 18 and 24 had resulted in a shutdown of some 5,200 barrels of Eni’s

production.

An Eni Spokesperson confirmed the development in an email on Sunday.

“The total deferred production due to the attack is 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily “I can confirm that. There is no further impact on production, since all production from the swamp area has already been stopped days ago.,” the email from Eni’s Media Relations Unit said.

Also, Aiteo, operator of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, said the line was shut after it came under attack on May 28 by militants believed to be members of the Niger Delta Avengers.

The line conveys crude to the Bonny export terminal.

The spokesperson for Aiteo, Shola Omole, said

some 75,000 barrels daily production was deferred as the line remained shut.

Although figures from Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, could not be obtained for this report, the oil firm had placed its oil exports from Bonny export terminal under force majeure.

SPDC, which in 2014 sold the 100 km Nembe Creek Trunk Line to Aiteo, still relies on the line to lift crude produced from onshore oilfields in Bayelsa to the Bonny Terminal in Rivers.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, had said on Thursday that Nigeria was producing 1.6 million barrels per day which excludes further production outages due to attack on Agip, Chevron and Shell at the weekend.

12

businessnews

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Foreign airlines: FG released $200m —AON Shola Adekola - Lagos

I

NDICATIONS gave emerged that the Federal Government has released a total sum of $200 million to the foreign airlines between January and May, 2016. It will be recalled airlines had alleged that their revenues running to $591 million has been trapped in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This is just as the local carriers only got $10 million within the same period.

Out of the $10 billion the foreign carriers earn annually as revenue from ticket sales in the continent, $5 billion of the sum is earned from flying into Nigeria.

Speaking with some aviation journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, the Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Nogie Meggison, rebuked the foreign carriers for mounting pressures on the Federal Government through the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other international

bodies to release their blocked funds to them for repatriation.

Megisson attributed the non availability of forex in the country now to high demands for dollars by business organisations.

Still speaking on the foreign airlines’ trapped funds, Meggison explained that between September and December 2015, Federal Government had released $10 million to foreign carriers, while $2

million was released to local carriers within the same period.

According to him, out of the $200 million released in 2016, two foreign carriers got $14 million each, while the combined local

carriers within the period only assessed $10 million.

By last Monday, the total amount of funds belonging to foreign carriers trapped in Nigeria had grown to $591 million within the last seven months from the

From left, Tony Agenmonmen Ist Vice-President National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), Ganiyu Koledoye President and Chairman of Council National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), and Benson Evbuomwan Executive Director, Marketing Honeywell Flour Mills Plc during a visit of National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria to Honeywells Plc at Alausa Ikeja, Lagos. on thusday 2 june 2015 photo by Ovadje Elliot.

Ashaka’s operational hurdles over, as Lafarge extends consolidation offer Kehinde Akinseinde-JayeobaLagos

THE challenging state of the Nigerian economy has put a number of companies in quandary.

Foreign exchange crisis means most manufacturers scramble to get inputs from abroad, just as insecurity in some parts of the country plunges a number of corporate organisations into suboptimal operations.

Ashaka Cement plc is one of the manufacturing companies hard hit by insecurity, resulting from insurgency in the north-eastern Nigeria. Insurgency has led to factory shut-downs, loss of revenue and profits as well as lower share valuations in the Nigerian Stock Exchange for Ashaka. In the last financial year, shareholders merely took home 15k dividend per share.

The operational hurdles which impacted the last quarter (Q4) of 2015 result continued in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, cutting top-line by 21 per cent.

In fact, the SBG Securities, member of Standard Bank Group, did an analysis on Ashaka and recommended a SELL option for shareholders on limited upside of 2.6 per cent.

This shows all is not well with the cement maker’s valuation.

In order to expand investment and operations in the company while boosting returns for shareholders, Lafarge Africa,

which already owns 82.46 per cent of Ashaka, is offering minority investors of the Gombe State-based cement (who own 17.54 per cent shares) an opportunity to upgrade.

Lafarge Africa wants these shareholders to enjoy the benefits of being Ashaka and Lafarge Africa’s shareholders, such that they can become indirect shareholders of the Gombe-based cement firm.

According to Lafarge Africa, these minority shareholders stand to reap a number of dividends. First, there will be increased value for their investments.

As of the time Ashaka declared 15 kobo per share, Lafarge Africa declared N3. Without doubt, the capacity of the two companies are poles apart, as Lafarge Africa has 8.5 million metric tonnes (MT) capacity and will soon hit 12 million MT, while Ashaka only has 1 million MT. Second, Ashaka will have an increased capacity to borrow, as they can now get funds using Lafarge Africa’s balance sheet.

More so, with the state of insecurity across the country, especially in the north-east, it makes investment sense to diversify and get more returns. The minority shareholders, who are lucky to upgrade to Lafarge Africa’s status, will enjoy the returns from Lafarge Africa, Wapco Operations and Ashaka.

Again, there is currently

little liquidity in Ashaka shares, such that it is still difficult to sell them. The SBG Securities said Ashaka’s shares have lost 21 per cent following an unimpressive Q4 15 result, adding that “from current levels we do not see a meaningful catalyst supportive of a rerating of Ashaka’s shares.”

Lafarge believes this arrangement favours the minority shareholders and Ashaka in general.

“In this offer, you have 202 shares of Ashaka for 57 shares of Lafarge Africa,” Bruno Bayet, head of strategy for Lafarge Africa Plc, said.

“This translates to 3.54 shares of Ashaka to one share of Lafarge Africa. If you multiply 3.54 by 15k (last dividend), you probably get nearer to 50k, whereas that share in Lafarge would have handed you N3. This offer gives you 24 per cent upside in the value of your investment,” Bayet said.

“This is the time for an Ashaka shareholder to move to Lafarge level. We are giving him additional N2:00 for doing so. So if you own 2000 shares of Ashaka, you get an extra 4000,” he further said.

“With this arrangement, the management of Ashaka remains the way it is.

Ashaka will remain a legal entity and may no longer be listed on the stock exchange after some time.

“A key reason for considering this option is that Lafarge Africa is expanding

and has a bigger picture of what it wants to do in the nearest term in Nigeria.

“Apart from expanding capacity, the firm is a reference point on energy efficiency, already using biomass, a form of renewable energy, in its Wapco factory, located at Ewekoro, Ogun State.

The building materials giant also needs consolidation to compete better and roll out various innovative programmes in its cupboard. The company stands to be more profitable in the nearest future, as it prepared to introduce road cement and other innovative products.

initial $577 million as at March ending.

Megisson said the dwindling economy situation in Nigeria and some other oil producing nations was responsible for the scarcity of forex around the world just as the local carriers were also entangled in the forex crisis.

The Nigerian carriers in the last eight months have found it difficult to source forex for the maintenance of their aircraft, spare parts, simulation training and insurance among many others.

According to him, the only way out of the current crisis was for the government to re-address the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) it has with foreign carriers, stressing that the era of multiple entrance to foreign airlines should be a thing of the past by now.

“Aviation is an international business and irrespective of the environment an airline operates in we are all faced with the same challenges; but more so for Nigerian operators who have to also deal with many infrastructure challenges and inefficiencies in the system.

“We therefore call on Government to be proactive and extend the same level of support to Nigerian carriers by making significant amounts of forex available to them as extended to their foreign counterparts in an effort to forestall total collapse of the system and promote safety,” he said.

Ogoni clean-up will create 2,000 jobs in 3 months —Expert Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

THE expected clean-up of the degraded Ogoniland, which process was launched by the Federal Government, last Thursday, is capable of creating more than 2,000 jobs within three months.

Olabode Akinjide-Oladeji, Chief Executive Officer/ Chief Strategic Officer of OilOff Africa Limited, a technology-based oil cleanup recovery solution company, made this known while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, at the weekend.

Akinjide-Oladeji, whose company has a sole partnership with the UK-based Zafiro Absorbents Limited, said there abound several job and business opportunities associated with oil spill clean-up and recovery globally, adding that the case of Ogoniland was not an exemption, if properly harnessed.

He said he was bidding for the Ogoni clean-up ex-

ercise with the mindset to add value to shareholders, oil companies and the people of the affected communities by bringing in the latest technology to fast-track the exercise.

According to him, his company, if awarded the contract, planned to break the affected communities into between three and five processing lines, deploring human and technical equipment into the exercise.

“The interesting part of the exercise is that, because we engage a retinue of trucks and a retinue of equipment, activities of work in the local area is immediately vibrating.

“This is because where we have 200 trucks that are bringing materials from a particular area, there is a backward need for people that are going to provide food, shelters, diesel, water and a lot of different things. So, the economy of that particular area kicks off, almost immediately.

“That is different from the

120 to 150 people that are working within the plants to take care of the process in itself. Local indigenes are trained; welders are trained in how to work the equipment; people naturally in the area who have trucks to move material down are able to do that; people that have equipment were able to lease their equipment and the whole environment is engaged.

“We are able to employ within that particular area like that between 400 and 500 people at a particular point in time. Definitely, over that course of time, we are able to see over 2,000 that are being employed, doing different things”, he said.

Apart from the job opportunities that would be created, Akinjide-Oladeji, a trained and experienced civil engineer, also assured that the people of the oilimpacted Ogoni would, within a short period of time, have back their life, utilising their land for agricultural purposes.

13

editorial

T

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The mass sack in banks

HE gale of sack that has swept through the banking industry has swollen the army of out-of-job Nigerians. Altogether, no fewer than 5,000 bank workers have been shown the door. The trend runs contrary to the long-held belief that banking jobs are among the safest in the country. The sacking of bank workers which came on the heels of the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) report that 528,148 persons lost their jobs in the first quarter of the year, apart from the 15.2million youths who remain unemployed, underscores the precariousness of the economy. The banking industry serves as a barometer for measuring the wellness of an economy. If it shows signs of distress, it goes without saying that the economy is in a dire strait.

The development in the banking industry is a consequence of a number of factors. Before taking the route of disengaging their employees, many of the banks had given profit warnings, alerting their shareholders to the inevitability of their turning in poor results at the end of the 2015 financial year as well as the first quarter of the current year. The banks premised their submission on the state of the economy, among other factors. They claimed that non-performing loans, economic headwinds as well as a cocktail of hostile fiscal and monetary policies had led them down the poor profitability road. It is, therefore, not surprising that the banks opted to offload some of their workers to rescue the institutions from going under.

Although the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, last Friday, on behalf of the Federal Government, directed the banks and other financial service providers to discontinue the disengagement of their staff pending the outcome of the conciliatory meetings in the industry, we view this as a mere political statement that would not have the desired effect. The banks that have already made up their minds to let go of some staff will still go ahead with the plan and there is hardly anything the government can do about it. We are of the opinion that rather than giving directives that would be ignored, the Federal Government should address the situation that resulted in lower profitability for the lenders.

Since his assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari has left no one in doubt about his determination to protect the poor and the disadvantaged in the country.

This has informed most of his economic decisions. The

vacillation that caused the delay in deregulating the downstream of the petroleum sector for so long until the government was pushed to the wall was as a result of the president’s avowed desire to protect the poor. He had said during an interview that the poor would be badly affected by any increase in the price of petrol. Similarly, the tardiness that has been witnessed with respect to the liberalization of the foreign exchange market is a consequence of the president’s determination to shield the poor from the ill wind of inflation that the policy will blow their way. The combination of the two resulted in the contraction of the economy, which has put the country at the brink of a recession because many companies have had to scale down their operations or close down completely sequel to their inability to source forex to procure raw materials needed for their manufacturing activities. The contraction of the economy has had an adverse effect on the banking industry because banks do well when the economy thrives.

While we wholly support the president’s desire to protect the poor from the hostile consequences of some economic decisions, we are constrained to submit that having a contracted economy in a bid to protect the poor will be counterproductive for everyone. It amounts to holding the economy to ransom and is not in tandem with modern economic management. The cash transfer programmes already in the 2016 budget is a better way of safeguarding the interest of the poor. Neither the interest of the poor nor that of the rest would be served if the economy goes into recession.

What the government needs to do now is to have another look at its policies and come up with those which will not only encourage foreign investors, who fled the country as a result of the plethora of unfavourable policies, to return with their investments but will also enable local manufacturing companies that have either shut down completely or slowed down their operations to return full stream. It is when the economy is buoyant and vibrant that employers will not only keep those in their employ but will also be willing to take on new ones. Retrenchment does not cease in response to emotional government directives, it stops when there are favourable government policies.

The way out of job losses in the banking industry as well as other sectors of the economy is to institute policies that will stimulate productivity and growth.

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Monday, 6 June, 2016

LETTERS TO THE

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FG, dialogue with Niger Delta militants

D

ESPITE the presence of soldiers in the Niger Delta creeks, the militants have not stopped destroying oil pipelines and installations. They actually began in Delta State, and they have since moved to Bayelsa, and if nothing is done by the Federal Government to bring them together in order to listen to their grievances, then we might actually experience the ‘zero oil output’ which they promised.

When the late President

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came up with the idea of amnesty for the Niger Delta militants, he saw something which many didn’t see; Yar’Adua knew that except the youth in that region were adequately engaged, then there would be no peace in the region.

Also, Nigeria’s naval force was ill-equipped to tackle these militants, and thus, the amnesty programme came into being.

After Yar’Adua passed on, President Goodluck Jonathan, a Niger Delta

indigene, continued with the amnesty programme, although some people claimed it was only giving lazy and unproductive youths free money.

Now, with President Muhammadu Buhari in power, the youth have returned to their militancy.

When the bombing of oil pipelines began a couple of months ago, what the Federal Government did was to deploy soldiers to the creeks to fish out the perpetrators, but after arresting a number of youths,

No to new national shipping company LAST week, the Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, hinted that the Federal Government would be coming up with another national shipping company, and I want to use this opportunity to say that if the government goes ahead with the plan, it will only amount to waste at the end of the day.

The government has no business with running corporate organisations. Have we ever heard of a company being run by the United States government?

Even the British Airways, which is one of the biggest airlines in the world, is not under the control of the British government.

All the airports in the United Kingdom are also owned by businessmen, and not the government.

In the past, we had the Nigeria Airways, the National Shipping Line, the Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL), Mobile Telecommunications (MTEL), among others, but where are they today?

If we truly want to make Nigeria work, then government should not dabble into running businesses.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan took a huge step in this regards by privatising the power sector, and I know that very soon, we will begin to experience uninterrupted power supply.

I, therefore, expect this current government to look at ways through which it can privatise the nation’s refineries.

I suspect the government is thinking along this line, but was surprised when members of the National Assembly asked the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to stop the proposed sale of the nation’s refineries.

No government enterprise has ever been a success in Nigeria, and I hope

Mr Amaechi will realise this before he commits taxpayers’ monies into another project that will also fail after a couple of years.

•Supo Oladele, Ile-Ife, Osun State. aexxy_life@gmail. com

the bombings have not stopped.

It has now gotten to a situation whereby the country’s oil output has been seriously reduced. We can only boast of 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day today compared to almost two million when President Buhari first got to power.

The solution now is simple; it is high time the Federal Government returned to a round-table dialogue with the militants.

It is so unfortunate that Nigeria’s armed forces have been so degraded that it cannot protect the country from internal attacks any longer. We can only imagine how many soldiers and civilians have died as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

So, amassing the military in the Niger Delta region will not bring about the solution to this crisis; I hope President Buhari can bring the region’s elders togethers in order to find a solu-

tion to this problem.

The situation in the Niger Delta should, therefore, teach Nigeria a lesson; the Federal Government is concerned because the largest percentage of government’s earnings is derived from region, but if we had diversified the economy, then these militants will not be able to hold us to ransom.

It is high time government relegated the oil

sector to the background in the country if we truly want to develop.

Nigeria is not at peace, and everything boils down to the oil wealth. Countries that have no oil are living more peacefully and comfortably than Nigeria, so it is also possible for Nigeria to build a brighter future without oil.

•Dr Taju Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

PDP, put your house in order THE ongoing crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should give every lover of democracy cause for concern in this country.

No matter how much we hate the party, it is important that it continues to thrive for the good of Nigerian politics.

If the ongoing problem in the party is not resolved, and it collapses, then it will be years before we find another mega party that will

be able to face the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the polls.

I want to suggest to the leaders of the PDP to allow new faces to lead the party into the 2019 general election.

In advanced democracies, whenever a party loses an election, those who are involved in that loss will either resign their positions, or go into political exile.

A loss at the polls, to politicians in the West, means that the public do not want them to lead the country, and they simply respect the wishes of their people.

A good example is the United Kingdom; during the last general election, David Miliband was the Labour Party leader, and after the losing that election to the Conservatives, under Prime Minister David Cameron, Miliband resigned as the leader of the party, and we now have Jeremy Corbyn as leader.

Miliband knew that those who didn’t vote for the Labour Party in the last election would also not do so in future elections with him as leader, and that was why he relinquished his position.

Leaders of the PDP should also realise that the party needs new faces; the party needs rebranding, and that can only be done with people who have unblemished political records.

•Joseph Atuma, Lokoja, Kogi State.

15

opinion

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Lasisi Olagunju Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053)

O

UR National Assembly wants UTME results to be valid for three years. Our Minister of Education wants Post UTME scrapped. He also does not want, anymore, computer-based admission examinations into Nigerian universities. There is also the insistence that 180 should be the magic mark for admission into some categories of universities in the country. A commentator summed up all these and suggested cynically that we should simply open the gates of our universities to all candidates who knock.

On Tuesday last week, I had an unplanned parking lot discussion with some senior lecturers of the University of Ibadan. The school has been closed to students now for several weeks because students protested lack of electricity and water in their hostels. I listened as the lecturers informally reviewed the state of things in their place of work. The revealing discussion moved back and forth, typical of an academic environment: students complained of lack of regular electricity on campus and would not be pacified. The school was closed down but some of these vociferous students have not left the campus because there is no electricity at home. Interesting.

I listened as discussions shifted to the fees payable by students. I asked whether they did not think the existing fee regime in public universities in Nigeria could not provide efficient service delivery anywhere. They agreed.

I told them of a first generation federal university in the South West where students pay N19,000 as tuition and N2,000 per session for accommodation. It did not shock any of them.

One of my hosts told a personal story: his uncle wanted to properly plan for his son’s admission into a federal university and so asked him for the financial implications. He asked him to hold on, not to worry but the uncle said he wanted the information that moment because he needed to plan within his means. When he insisted, the discussant continued, he told the uncle that “considering the various dues the boy would need to pay — departmental, faculty, health, sports,etc, — the dad should prepare about N15,000.”

“Fifteen thousand dollars.”

“No. Naira.” He laughed. But it wasn’t funny. The uncle has a child abroad. He also has friends who have children in private universities in Nigeria. He knows how much he pays on his child abroad and how much his friends pay into the coffers of private universities. He also remembers, in particular, how much he paid, every session, for this par-

Universities without money

ticular boy’s nursery/ primary and secondary education. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what was raging in the mind of this dad. How would that school, at that price, offer what he wanted for his kid? At what point should parents realise that paying N15,000 per session for a university degree in today’s Nigeria hurts the system?

I told my hosts it is the duty of the state to provide education for its citizens. I also told them it is the primary duty of we parents to provide education for our children.

I told my hosts we could not have a university system that would serve Nigeria and secure its future without money.

How that money would come has to be decided by all the stakeholders — school authorities, parents and the government. The public university system in Nigeria cannot work when governments treat universities as cows to be milked. It is interesting that all fees payable by students of federal universities now go into President Muhammadu Buhari’s TSA. If universities are consistently poorly funded and the little revenue they manage to raise from fees is mopped up by the Federal Government, where do we want them to turn to for survival?

I am not advocating the pricing of education beyond the capacity of parents. I am particularly not qualified to say that given my own story: I left the Polytechnic Ibadan in 1986 where I was paying N75 per session when I discovered that the total fee I would pay at the then University of Ife was N20. And, for the entire four years I was in Ife, the cumulative official fees paid were not up to N100. Accommodation? Yes. We paid N90

per session. At N2 to a dollar, that was the equivalent of $45. That amount was difficult to assemble by many parents, just as it was for mine. We had very resourceful, hardworking, cheerful lecturers who were poorly paid and we saw it in the lives they lived. “Power is stable. The taps are running,” was the welcome message we got at the halls of residence on our first day in school. But we thought things were bad because, just two years earlier, the military government of General Muhammadu Buhari had stopped subsidised meals in universities. What we met in 1986 were just the receding aroma of 50k whole chickens, ice cream and free fruits in cafeterias. Every generation has its challenges and every generation must learn to wade through those challenges. We lived through ours.

Now, we tell our children our story and we see in their eyes surprise, envy and a sense of loss. We felt exactly same way in the 80s when the story of the 60s and the 70s was told. Any country where the past is always better than the present is not a place to preserve and live.

We must destroy this failed temple and rebuild it for the sake of our future. Thirty years ago we felt things were not exactly as they should be and we waged wars against the Nigerian establishment. Today, our children are fighting the system because of the same problems. Do we need anyone to tell us that the system has failed us (or that we have failed the system)?Today, nothing has changed in the way we treat teachers of our children. We pay the most senior professor about N500,000 per month and give governors’ hangers-on higher pays. With TSA mopping up internally generated funds of federal universities and shortfalls drilling holes in the schools’ accounts, lecturers and other workers in the universities are no longer sure of the figures and when the month would end. Imagine hungry teachers teaching angry students. That is the combustible stuff we have today on our hands but unfortunately what solution have we?

With a National Assembly that wants marks obtained three years ago to rule admissions this year and a 21st century minister of education who does “not like” computer-based tests, what else do we need to prove that the future is troubled already? Let no president continue to see universities as cash cows. Let no parent think N2,000 per annum hostel will give his/her children 21st century comfort. Let no country think it can poorly fund its universities and march confidently to the future.

America’s 2016 election: Of race, gender and bigotry

By Adeolu Ademoyo THE surprises which the 2016 American elections have produced continue to confound. The structurally-hidden race and gender factors are part of this confounding experience.

Even when most Americans are aware of the structural existence of racism, xenophobia, hate and race violence in American society, a few years back, no one would have thought that a candidate would actually and consciously campaign on the basis of hatred. That candidate is Donald Trump of the Republican Party.

Surprisingly, on the left, while the democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders, did not campaign on the basis of xenophobia, hate and bigotry, his followers are less diverse. They are mainly White working and middle class. This is one obvious factor known to most Americans but which is less talked about.

For a country, which is yet to completely heal the greatest wound and evil ever unleashed on humankind – the transatlantic enslavement and racism against peoples of African descent, the xenophobia, bigotry, and White supremacist Ku Klux Klan-friendly platform of Donald Trump deserves close attention. For those who may be initially surprised at the xenophobia and bigotry movement built by Donald Trump, history may be a good source to look into to begin to make sense of Donald Trump’s own unapologetic politics of hatred and fear-mongering.

Some analysts have located the rise of both Donald Trump from the right and Bernie Sanders from the left to the angst of the White working and middle classes. Some – such as the

widely respected and amiable Tony Blair, the former British Labour prime minister – have pointed to wage disequilibrium in Western societies between the working and middle classes and the capitalist class as one of the reasons for their anger and populism in the 2016 American elections.

Yet, others have pointed to what basically amounts to the race resentment of White Americans against non-White Americans. The argument is that White America seems to resent the progress made under the administrations of the Democratic Party of the healing of racial strife among Americans of all racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

Resenting other races, White voters – both conservative and progressive – simply gravitate towards two candidates (Sanders and Trump) whose positions on race matters they are comfortable with. Such moves are also designed to pull back the progress made historically under the administrations of the Democratic Party in the past, and specifically under the presidency of Barack Obama.

The traditionally poor record of the Republican Party on race matters and the xenophobic and bigoted campaign platform of the party’s presumptive flag bearer, Donald Trump, may not shed light on this new trend of race resentment in the 2016 elections, as much as the campaign of the socialist Bernie Sanders. This is because no one is shocked at the racist and xenophobic platform of right wing candidates. But anyone will be surprised when socialist ideologues are blind to any form of disequilibrium. This is why the overlap of the White supporters of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump becomes an interesting one.

The emergence of Donald Trump on the platform of hate, xenophobia and bigotry as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party illustrates this best. But the contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the primaries of the Democratic Party illustrates differently the same aspect of the same race issue, which is otherwise structurally hidden. Hillary Clinton is far ahead of Bernie Sanders in the pledged delegates and popular votes. A developed and matured democracy is ordinarily about rules, procedures and numbers, which ought to make it obvious to anyone that Hillary Clinton, at this time of the primaries, is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. This is because she leads Bernie Sanders with a wide margin in the two factors that procedurally and democratically determine who the nominee will be.

But despite these obvious mathematical truth and political fact, Bernie Sanders is not satisfied. In complete violation of procedure (he bought into it at the beginning of the primaries when he decided to run under the platform of the Democratic Party), basic democratic norms, agency and votes of all Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton in the primaries, Sanders arrogantly says he should be the nominee of the Democratic Party, even when he can never meet up with Hillary Clinton in popular votes and delegates count! Why? The subtle race strife and negative gendering of America in the 2016 elections can, therefore, only be described as nauseating.

•Ademoyo is with the Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

16

Monday, 6 June, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

Why Buhari cannot wish away 2014 Confab report —Olajide Dr Kunle Olajide doubled as Publicity Secretary of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF) and Secretary of the South-West delegation to the 2014 National Conference. The chieftain of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) speaks with ABIODUN AWOLAJA on the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, President Muhammadu Buhari’s position on the 2014 Confab report and sundry issues.

Excerpts:

T

HE Niger Delta Avengers claimed to be responsible for the ceaseless bursting of oil pipelines, reducing Nigeria’s oil output to 800,000 from 2.2 million barrels per day, with serious implications for revenue.

How do you assess the situation?

My position is this: the only way open to them, in their own humble opinion, is to use force to get what they think they want. There has been dialogue in the last 20 or 30 years. In the South-West, we have been calling for restructuring, fiscal federalism. There have been series of conferences: we had one under the late General Sani Abacha; we had one under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and we had one in 2014. The 2014 Conference was the most comprehensive. For me, I do not think the time is appropriate for another conference to be convoked, because a thorough job was done at the 2014 Conference. In my humble opinion, that was the best conference we have had since the First Republic, under a democratic dispensation. It was no-holds-barred. We examined the structure of the country, the Constitution, the system of government. We interrogated ministers, and so on, and we adopted over 600 resolutions by consensus.

But the beneficiaries of the status quo decided that the report of the conference should be thrown in the dustbin.

So, for me, this is the time to revisit it. And perhaps I could make a comment on the remark of Mr President.

It is unfortunate. I believe the minders of Mr President are doing a great disservice to this country because there is no president in the world who does not have minders, those who are his closest advisers. That remark of Mr President, that money that should have been used to pay members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was used to convoke the conference, was most unfortunate, given the situation at hand, particularly in the Niger Delta. It was most insensitive. And in any case, for any president to say it in the public glare that he was ignoring the opinions of 500 of about the brightest and best in this country and throw it into the archives, is undemocratic and very dictatorial.

Why do you think so?

You read editorials in the newspapers; only about 10 or 15 people write the editorial, and a responsive government reacts and responds to editorials. So, to say that 500 of the brightest Nigerians wrote a report, no matter who convoked the conference, no matter the purpose for which it was convoked, and you will say you have not even read it and have put it in the archives, was most unfortunate. I think we should begin to really address the minders of Mr President and the members of the cabinet. He is not getting the best advice. His remarks were most unfortunate, particularly when there are agitations in the South-South, South-East, North-East, Middle Belt and the South-West. We have to go back to the resolutions of that conference.

Dr Olajide On the menace of herdsmen, a former Minister of Education and Petroleum Resources, Professor Ango Abdullahi, has just declared that herdsmen have a right to graze anywhere, and the Federal Government has also set aside N940 million for grazing reserves, while 11 states have earmarked land for the project. How would you react to this?

I am not surprised about Professor Ango Abdullahi has been unrepentant northern irredentist. Number one, what he has said is totally false. The land in Nigeria belongs to the states, and you do not go plundering people’s land under the guise of freedom of movement. It is absolutely untrue that anybody can graze anywhere. As far as we elders in Yorubaland are concerned, nomadic grazing in Yorubaland must be banned.

Some scholars have said that the problem of

For any president to say it in the public glare that he was ignoring the opinions of 500 of about the brightest and best in this country and throw it into the archives, is undemocratic and very dictatorial.

Nigeria is bad leadership, not restructuring, and that even if you restructure, many problem would still remain. Do you agree with this view?

That is not totally true. We have a combination of those factors. It is the structure of Nigeria and the system of government that produce the bad leadership. The moment anybody gets elected as president or governor in this country, give him a few months, the luxury of the office—because the office is over-padded with a lot of conveniences—gets him totally disconnected from those who elected him, and he begins to sing a different tune from the tune he sang during the campaigns. So, it is the structure of the country and the system of government that compel corruption and make it easy for leaders to become bad. I have had cause to say this before: if a saint gets elected into the office of the President of Nigeria or governor, within six months, the tendency is that he will become a devil, because a band of sycophants around him will completely insulate him from the people, and the luxury is so much that his first loyalty now goes to preserving that office for himself rather than serving the people.

How many governors have been bold and courageous enough to speak against the injustices perpetrated by the Federal Government in the last couple of months? They want to preserve their seats and please their masters in Abuja. Even in the South-West, only one or two governors have been bold to challenge what is going on. One of them is talking from both sides of the mouth on nomadic grazing. They are no longer aligning themselves with the wishes of the people because they are isolated. So, I don’t agree with the position of those scholars you mentioned.

If we restructure and reform the system along the lines we decided in the 2014 National Conference, it will be extremely difficult for anybody to be as corrupt as they were in the last administration. That is number one. Then, gradually, institutions will be built up, such that even if you think you are too smart and cheat the system, you will be apprehended. I have said it: human beings are the same all over the world. The tendency to commit crimes is the same in Nigeria as it is in the UK. But it is the system of government in the developed countries that makes it difficult to steal, though a few of them still beat the system. But in the end, the get apprehended.

It has been said that the economy is approaching recession, and many banks have been laying off thousands of their staff. What is it that we are not doing right?

Anybody who says we are approaching recession is not being truthful. We are absolutely in recession. And again, I go back to the structure of this country and the system of government. That is what has plunged us into this recession. In the last one year, for example, the body language of the president does not give the impression of austerity.

Why do you say so?

I was reliably informed by a senator that one of the ministers attended a meeting in Ibadan yesterday (Thursday) and had in his convoy about 14 vehicles. You see, that does not transmit the correct message of austerity to the people. And this is why I insist that those offices are too well cushioned, and as soon as people get there, their loyalty shifts from the people who elected them, to preserving their office. Again, members of the cabinet of President Buhari have not declared their assets and nobody is saying anything about it. And they are still parading the opulence that we had when the economy was buoyant.

These are the reasons for the recession. Again, we have not exploited and maximised the resources in the bowels of the earth in Nigeria, because of the oil doom. Until we restructure and put fiscal federalism in place, where each state is empowered to exploit its resources for the maximum benefits of its people and pay taxes to run the few services in the centre, this country will never get out of the mess it is in.

17

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju | 08055001708 | lanresulaimon@yahoo.com | @lanresulaimon

analysis

Uzoma Dozie, Diamond Bank MD

entrepreneuership

Charles Kie, Ecobank Nigeria MD

markets

leadership & management

Ladi Balogun, FCMB MD

Government helpless as massive job loss hit banking industry Chima Nwokoji -Lagos

S

EVERAL Deposit Money Banks (DMB) have recently thrown their staff into the labour market, as the economic challenges affecting the country continue to batter the financial services industry.

This recent development means that the number of unemployed and underemployed persons in Nigeria which surged to 22.45 million in the fourth quarter(Q4) of 2015, will only multiply as economic downturn persists.

It is in view of this challenging situation with its attendant consequences that the Federal Government, on Friday, directed banks, insurance and financial institutions to suspend on-going retrenchment in the sector.

A statement signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, and made available to newsmen in Abuja read in part: “Following spate of petitions and complaints from stakeholders in the banking, insurance and financial institutions, I hereby direct the suspension of the on-going retrenchment pending the outcome of the conciliatory meetings in the industry.

“This is as a result of the apprehension by my office of the various disputes in the sector in accordance and in compliance with the provisions of the labour laws of Nigeria,” it said.

The statement said that the decision was further predicated on the fact that the continued retrenchment and redundancy by the sector were jeopardising the outcome of the reconciliatory and mediatory processes undertaken by the ministry.

But stakeholders are worried that a mere directive from the government that on its own needs approximately $5billion to fund budget deficit in 2016, may not help the situation. Their worry is premised on the fact that the government cannot help and pay salaries for banks nor can it directly increase the profitability of any financial institution.

More so, there had been earlier predic-

tions late last year that DBMs in the country might be engulfed in retrenchment fever that will show about 11,600 employees the door, following Federal Government’s implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA).

Coupled with this is the submission of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, now emir of Kano that “people should realize that as banking gets more and more reliant on technology, what we are going to get is fewer and fewer banks’ staff involvement per transaction”.

The tsunami of retrenchment in the banking system, which analysts attribute to the affected banks’ need to stay afloat by cutting cost and outsourcing non-essential services, is still sweeping.

Though many of those that recorded sliding profits attribute the fall to bad loans, Naira volatility and other economic headwinds, experts say the trend is attributable to the over reliance of the banking system on government funds.

They argue that the implementation of the TSA policy by the Federal Government may have constricted operations of banks, noting that the trend may spell the end of ‘jumbo profits’ by banks in the years ahead.

Specifically, Ecobank International Incorporated, Union Bank Plc., First City Monument Bank Limited, Wema Bank Plc., Fidelity Bank Plc. and First Bank Plc.

Analysts are more concerned that this trend is coming at a time when the CBN has assured customers of deposit money banks and stakeholders that the banking industry remains strong.

posted a combined 80 per cent decline in their annual profits.

Most recent retrenchments Citing strategic plan to drive shareholders’ value, Diamond Bank Plc sacked about 200 members of its workforce last week.

A statement from the bank read, “Diamond Bank recently rightsized its workforce. The rightsizing was a core strategic exercise in line with the bank’s growth objective and the will to continue the drive to optimise cost and enhance value for the shareholders at the end of the business year.

“In the bank’s last appraisal, only 200 staff whose performance scorecards were adjudged to be lower than the minimum required to drive its strategic growth plan for the business year were relieved, with the opportunity to seek employment in other organisations where their respective skills set and individual performances could be enhanced and optimised.

“The yearly appraisal is a general industry standard and enables banks to prune their workforce and prudently allocate resources for optimum result. Diamond Bank is not an exception in the industry and therefore, had carried out its annual appraisal and found the performance of members of staff that were relieved to be below the required minimum performance level that would sustain them in the system. With its trimand-fit workforce, the bank is sure to meet its target for the current business year.”

Diamond Bank is not alone in this, as it was widely reported on April 29 that Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive officer of First Bank of Nigeria told Bloomberg in Lagos that,“We do not shy away from taking difficult decisions. We used to have above 8,000 people. We’ll push it down, gradually, to 7,000.” He said the bank expects to boost its return on equity (ROE) – a key measure of profitability – to between 11 percent and 14 percent in 2016 from 2015’s figure of 3 percent.

The bank’s net profit fell from N86 billion in 2014 to N15 billion in 2015, following rising impairments on Nigeria’s

economy, owing to falling crude oil prices.

The gale of job losses equally caught up with Ecobank Nigeria, which has sacked over 1,040 of its employees. Top officials of the pan-African lender confirmed that the initial list of those to be sacked had over 1,400 workers but was later reduced to “a little above 1,000.”

However, the lender said in a statement that it had converted over 200 outsourced personnel to permanent employees as part of its drive to attract and reward talent, while also repositioning for improved efficiency.

The rumour of staff retrenchment by Zenith Bank spread in Lagos recently as some online media organizations and a television station reported that the bank had sacked over 1,200 staff workers. The bank quickly debunked the rumour through text messages to some journalists and customers that there was nothing like that.

First City Monument Bank Limited (FCMB) was reported a few months ago to have closed down some of its branches and sacked staff of those branches.

It was gathered that the branches affected were those formerly owned by Finbank, which was acquired by the bank.

While the bank debunked rumours that it sacked 500, it admitted sacking 150 staff.

The News Agency of Nigeria had quoted an official, who preferred anonymity, as saying that those relieved of their duties represented five per cent of the bank’s 3,000 workforce.

Some analysts are more concerned that this trend is coming at a time when the CBN has assured customers of deposit money banks and stakeholders that the banking industry remains strong.

Why the trend may continue Managing Director,Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) Bismarck J. Rewane in his presentation at the June breakfast session of the Lagos Business School fears that with over 500,000 jobs lost in the economy in the first quarter (Q1) 2016, the situation might continue for a while because already, transactions volume and value have decreased and are expected to decrease further as the economy approaches a recession.

This is even as retail industry is expected to contract further in Q2’16 as consumers react to the imminent recession. All these, he believes, point to the fact that it is not the banking sector alone that is being affected.

According to Rewane, unemployment plus underemployment in Nigeria is now up to 31.2 per cent, and the Nigerian economy slid into a recession path in Q1’16, with a contraction of (-0.36%) which resulted from an evaporation of confidence and no new investments.

Rents are still stubbornly high but could be slipping and retail sales and mall traffic are sharply lower in urban Lagos,partly in response to the drop in disposable income.

Passenger load factors in May are down by over 20 per cent.

Also, there is “exchange rate effect and disposable income squeeze. Revenue generation both in the private and the public sectors has reduced. Nigeria recorded a negative trade balance of N184bn ($925m) in Q1’16, from a trade surplus of N364.6bn ($1.83bn) in Q4’15,” he said.

Continues on pg18

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Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Chima Nwokoji m:08032637535 e:chimatitus@yahoo.com

Skye Bank:

Stimulating SME growth in a challenging economic climate

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EVELOPMENT patterns across the globe show the primacy and pre-eminence of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in resource mobilization, deployment of resources for growth and development, and the emergence of an industrial economy.

In Asia, Europe and North America, SMEs have remained and continue to play significant roles in the growth, development and industrialization of many economies.

However, Nigeria remains an exception as SMEs have largely performed below expectation as a result of a plethora of factors; including lack of access to funds, lack of managerial skills, among others. Other factors are poor infrastructure, policy somersault, multiple taxes, environmental factors, marketing problems, and others.

The potential and opportunities for SMEs in Nigeria to rebound and playthe crucial role of engine of growth, development and industrialization, wealth creation, poverty reduction and employment creation are enormous. To achieve these lofty objectives, however, requires pragmatic steps towards solving the problems enunciated above.

While SMEs themselves need to change their attitude and habits relating to entrepreneurship development, the governments (local, state and federal) need to involve the SMEs in policy formulation and execution for maximum impact. There is also the dire need to introduce entrepreneurial studies in our Universities in addition to emphasizing science, practical and technological studies at all levels of our educational system.

Through financial intermediation, banks play a crucial role in mobilising deposit from surplus zones to areas of deficit, thereby creating jobs, reducing poverty and bringing about economic growth and development in

the country.

Many industry experts and economists opine that for any developing country to grow and develop economically, greater attention and emphasis must be paid to the SME sector. The SME sector is a viable and crucial channel of utilizing locally available resources to produce for local consumption and export trade.

Small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector constitute growth drivers and strong guarantees for sustainable food production, enhanced employment generation and for combating food shortage in developing countries.

One Nigerian bank that has deployed its resources to the nurturing and development of the SME sector is Skye Bank Plc, a bank that has carved a niche for itself in helping budding Nigerian businessmen to realise their aspirations of creating wealth and providing employment for the teeming unemployed people in the country. It has not only pro-

The bank’s foot prints are also visible in the healthcare sector where several pharmaceutical companies have either been revamped through credit lines or assisted to expand their production capacity and improve their operational and logistic resources.

vided the enabling environment for SMEs to thrive; it has also been in the fore front of extending credit to the real sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

The bank has been involved in the process of optimising value and benefits from the agricultural value chain by extending credit facilities to operators in the agro allied industry, ranging from cocoa processing, flour production, and animal husbandry, among others. These projects are located in the six geo political zones of the country. Some of these companies do not only produce for local consumption but also export to the rest of the world thereby earning foreign exchange.

The bank’s foot prints are also visible in the healthcare sector where several pharmaceutical companies have either been revamped through credit lines or assisted to expand their production capacity and improve their operational and logistic resources. The bank has also assisted many pharmaceutical firms to achieve certification by the World Health Organisation thereby placing some Nigerian drug makers among a crop of world-class drug companies that can bid for drug supplies globally.

Drug makers such as Evans, Chi and May & Baker became the latest companies to secure WHO GMP certification, after SwissPharma, which received its certification earlier this year.The certification means products from the four drug makers — now adjudged to be world-class — became eligible to be assessed and granted WHO pre-qualification.

Pre-qualification is a step toward enabling Nigeria’s local drug companies compete for drug supplies on an international scale.

Consumer goods Skye Bank has provided part-financing of one of the largest integrated plant in Sub -Saharan Africa for the production of flour,

Timothy Oguntayo, GMD, SkyeBank pasta, noodles and feed meal. The bank is the major financier in the development of one of the biggest confectionery companies in the West African sub region which produces one of the best cream crackers. The company is currently installing its fifth production line and discussions are on – going with the equipment manufacturers for the sixth line. The new line has increased the customer’s capacity to produce 30,250 metric tonnes annually.

Such significant project financing by Skye Bank will enable the consumer goods firm expand operations and increase market share while at the same time aiding it tap into the Nigeria’s large population and rising middle class that crave for consumption.

According to a recent report by McKinsey and co., a global consumer and retail firm, annual sales in Nigeria’s consumer goods sector could more than triple to $1.4 trillion by 2030 from $388 billion currently.

Others Other funding interventions of the bank are in the steel, fertiliser and power sectors where it has provided credit lines under syndicated loan arrangement.

SkyeBank alongside six other lenders, participated in the funding of the acquisition and rehabilitation of the 500,000 MT urea plant in an asset purchase transaction.

Since the transaction was consummated, it has continued to support the Onne based plant to ensure it remains the biggest producer of fertilizer in Nigeria and the west coast.

The bank is also a development partner to many other SME firms across the length and breadth of the country, supporting their growth aspirations and taking them from infancy to the level where they are currently big players in the Nigerian economy.

Government helpless as massive job losses hit banking industry Continues from pg17

Similarly, former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr. Ralph Osayameh, said the banks were caught in the mess because they had abandoned other banking services and relied on public sector funds, a trend which largely exposed them to the volatility of crude oil prices, which calls the shots in the Nigerian economy.

Said he: “In those days, to do banking, you had to solicit for low cost savings so that you can have a better margin when you lend. But these days, many banks rely on public sector funds, but as those things evaporated, we now see what has become of them.”

He argued that the good angle to the crisis was that it

would lead to creativity in the banking system, adding, “but, fortunately once the budget implementation begins and funds are disbursed, quite a number of inflows would come into the banks, and then they can start all over again.

And I think they would have learnt a lesson for the future.”

Unemployment/Under-employment According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), unemployment is the proportion of those in the labour force (not in the entire economic active population, nor the entire Nigerian population) who were actively looking for work but could not find work for at least 20 hours during the reference period, to the total current active labour force population.

Accordingly,” you are unemployed if you did absolutely nothing at all or did something but not for up to 20 hours in a week,” it stated.

Underemployment, according to NBS, occurs if “you work less than full time hours, which is 40 hours in a week, but work at least 20 hours on average a week and /or if you work full time but are engaged in an activity that underutilises your skills, time and educational qualifications.”

The development in the labour sector reflects the landmark declines recorded in key economic indices since last year, with the gross domestic product, GDP, on steady decline hitting a three-year low of 2.1 percent in Q4,2015 while a steady inflationary pressure had pushed the headline rate to 11.4 percent in February.

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business

IGERIA enjoyed an unprecedented long streak of oil boom between 2010 and 2014 when the commodity sold for an average $100 per barrel. This turned into a burst however, when activities of shale oil producers in Canada and United States as well as oversupply by some other members and non -members of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). By the time that Mr. Godwin Emefiele took office on June 3, 2014, signs of market saturation were already apparent. Just 48 hours after Mr. Godwin Emefiele assumed office precisely on June 5, 2014, he addressed his maiden press briefing where he unveiled what could be described as his manifesto. Forty-Eight hours after his assumption of office, Mr. Emefiele unveiled his vision for the Nigerian financial sector, which is summarized as follows: • To pursue a gradual reduction in key interest rates, and include the unemployment rate in monetary policy decisions; • Maintain exchange rate stability and aggressively shore up foreign exchange reserves; • Strengthen risk-based supervision mechanism of Nigerian banks to ensure overall health and banking system stability; • Build sector-specific expertise in banking supervision to reflect loan concentration of the banking industry; • In view of inadequate trigger thresholds from a macro-prudential perspective, consider and announce measures to effectively address this anomaly; • Abolish fees associated with limits on deposits and reconsider ongoing practice in which all fees associated with limits on withdrawals accrue to banks alone; • Introduce a broad spectrum of financial instruments to boost specific enterprise areas in agriculture, manufacturing, health, and oil and gas; • Establish Secured Transaction and National Collateral Registry as well as establish a National Credit Scoring System that will improve access to information on borrowers and assist lenders to make good credit decisions; • Build resilient financial infrastructure that serves the needs of the lower end of the market, especially those without collateral; • Renew vigorous advocacy for the creation of commercial courts for quick adjudications on loan and related offences.

Declaring “We must, by now, have been tired of hearing people talk about the “potentials” of Nigeria. Now is the time to live that dream. I truly believe that working together, we can achieve our goals and give Nigerians the chance to live longer, better and more fulfilled lives.” To him, while the Bank’s policies have been successful in recent years in anchoring expectations and creating policy certainty, “there exists much room for improvement”.

He stated that “price stability can rarely be adjudged a goal in itself except cast against the ultimate objective of improvement in the quality of life”. Two years down the line, CBN has been able to weave its traditional roles of macroeconomic stability and development agenda into reflating the economy thereby preventing total collapse in an era where government finances have greatly dwindled.

Effective management of monetary policy through active duties such as managing interest rates, setting the reserve requirement and acting as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of crises is the primary function of central banks. They also have supervisory powers intended to prevent bank runs and to reduce the risk that commercial banks and other financial institutions engage in reckless or fraudulent behaviour. CBN has performed these roles over the years.

Two years down the line however, many objective observers agree that the Bank has combined its traditional functions and the duty of supporting fiscal authorities in the efforts to increase productivity. He had declared the multiple mandate of the Bank as including the pursuit of “both price and

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Two years of Emefiele: CBN policy interventions bailout Nigerian economy The Nigerian economy has suffered tremendously since the third quarter of 2014 when crude prices began to nosedive leading to attendant consequences. In this special report, Senior Deputy Editor, SANYA ADEJOKUN, looks at how the Central Bank of Nigeria has deployed its various instruments to cushioning the negative effects of this economic slowdown and how these have greatly complemented government efforts since June 3, 2014 when Mr. Godwin Emefiele assumed office as governor.

financial system stability as well as provide complementary developmental functions by creating an environment for Nigerians to live better and more fulfilled lives. Rather than being competing goals, as some may argue, these mandates are truly complementary.

“In fact, price stability can rarely be adjudged a goal in itself except cast against the ultimate objective of improvement in the quality of life. Price stability, therefore, remains a cardinal contribution, indeed a cornerstone, to the ultimate goal of economic development. I believe that reasonably stable prices provide a catalyst for rational consumption and investment decisions and for orderly economic progress. That is why throughout most of economic history, periods of price and financial system stability have coincided with economic growth and development”.

Through its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), CBN has set the important benchmark rates of monetary policy, cash reserve ratio, liquidity ratio and asymmetric window to moderate flow of cash, inflation, soundness of the banking system and foreign exchange.

These duties have become much more tedious since the nosedive of the economy towards the end of 2014 when the current burst cycle of the oil industry commenced.

As attested by Director of Monetary Policy of the Bank, Moses Tule, it is important for political authorities and monetary authorities to always work together in order to grow the economy for citizens to realise maximum

benefits. In a situation whereby monetary policy, fiscal policy and budgetary policy are each functioning independently without synergy, the economy will be in shambles.

Thus, for several years, CBN has consistently warned of negative consequences of certain fiscal directions but unfortunately, such warnings were rarely heeded. It is on record for instance the Bank warned of the possible negative consequences of wholesale and unbridled importation of petroleum products, which incidentally are more expensive than crude petroleum that the country exports. CBN also advised government to tinker with its policy on fuel subsidy. However, even though political authorities failed to heed those experience-driven warnings of bureaucrats, the Bank was eventually left with the responsibility of dealing with the negative consequences particularly in managing foreign reserves that have become very scarce as Nigeria relied mainly on crude export which price fell to a quarter of its price at a time but was not careful in its management when there was plenty.

As early as September 2015, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele warned of a looming recession because by then economy had failed to grow for two consecutive months. According to him, “Having seen two consecutive quarters of slow growth, the Committee (MPC) recognized that the economy could slip into recession in 2016 if proactive steps were not taken to revive growth in key sectors of the economy.” Briefing the media on the outcome

of 103rd MPC meeting, Emefiele declared “In the face of prevailing circumstances, the Committee acknowledged that synergy between monetary and fiscal policies remained the most potent option to sustainable growth. The Committee further observed that the impact of the persistent decline in global crude oil prices on the fiscal position of government continues to reflect in rising credit to government.

“The Committee noted that the overall macroeconomic environment remained fragile.

The economy further slowed in the second quarter of the year, making it the second consecutive quarterly less-than expected performance. The Committee noted that growth had come under severe strains arising from declining private and public expenditures.

In particular, it noted the impact of non-payment of salaries at the state and local government levels as a key dampening factor on consumer demand. Year-on-year headline inflation continued to trend upwards, although the month-on-month measure moderated.

Demand pressure in the foreign exchange market remained significant as oil prices continued to decline.

“Arising from these developments, there were indications that some of the banking sector performance indicators could be stressed if conditions worsen further. Specifically, the Committee noted that liquidity withdrawals following the implementation of the TSA, elongation of the tenure of Continues from pg 20

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Monday, 6 June, 2016

Intervention policy: How CBN stimulates Nigeria’s economy and controlled inflation rate in the economy through the conduct of Open Market Operations (OMO) on need basis to mop up excess liquidity in the banking system.

Furthermore, the Bank, through its Monetary Policy Department, is among other issues, strategizing to lower cost of funds in Nigeria and accelerating financial inclusion in Nigeria. The Bank has also completed the construction of a world-class dealing room, which is now fully operational with a total of 20 dealers and two Chief dealers.

Continues from pg19

state government loans as well as loans to the oil and gas sectors could aggravate liquidity conditions in banks and impair their financial intermediation role, thus affecting economic growth, unless some actions were immediately taken to ease liquidity conditions in the markets.”

Despite these warnings, the executive and legislative arms of government engaged in a long drawn battle over the 2016 budget such that President Muhammad Buhari only signed the Appropriation Bill into law on May 7. The real implication of this action was that the economy did not grow for five consecutive quarters. According to figures released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the first quarter of 2016, domestic output contracted by 0.36 per cent, indicating the first negative growth in almost 20 years. This represents a drop of 2.47 percentage points in output from the 2.11 per cent reported in the last quarter of 2015, and 4.32 percentage point lower than the 3.96 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2015. Aggregate output contracted in almost all sectors of the economy, with the non-oil sector declining by about 0.18 per cent during the period, compared with 3.14 per cent expansion in the preceding quarter. Only agriculture and trade grew by 0.68 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively, while industry, construction and services recorded negative growth of -0.93, -0.26 and -0.08 percentage point, respectively.

This happened despite efforts by CBN’s spirited efforts. In September 2015, Emefiele had said “in consideration of the underlying fundamentals of the economy, particularly the declining output growth, rising unemployment, evolving international economic environment as well as the need to properly position the economy on a sustainable growth path, the MPC decided by a vote of 7 out of 10 members present to reduce the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) from 31 per cent to 25 per cent. By a unanimous vote, the MPC voted to retain the MPR at 13 per cent.

Also in its role of supervising and regulating banks, CBN has over the years, taken some critical decisions to ensure the soundness of the sector. At a time, there were about 90 banks in Nigeria, with their combined size smaller than one single bank in South Africa. Through the banking consolidation exercise, CBN was able to create Nigerian banks that are now some of the biggest in Africa and the world.

This is in addition to enhancing the emergence of other types of institutions like the non-interest banks and even the African Finance Corporation (AFC) that is now actively involved in providing development finance in many African countries.

Financial System Stability Financial System Stability refers to a state in which the financial system functions properly and participants such as firms and individuals have confidence in the system. It guarantees stable financial system in which financial intermediaries, markets and market infrastructure facilitates the smooth flow of funds between savers and investors, ultimately promoting growth in economic activity. The CBN has in the last two years, strived to achieve this through a number of activities including: Financial Policy Within the past two years, the CBN has regulated the operations of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) to check rent-seeking among operators, depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves, unauthorised financial transactions, dollarising the economy, the unwieldy number of the BDCs and the unenviable position of Nigeria as the largest importer of dollars in the world.

From left: Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Mr Godwin Emefiele and Deputy Governor, CBN, Dr Sarah Alade at the disbursement of Nigerian Electricity Stabilisation Facility Out of 130 BDCs sampled based on volume of purchase from banks, as at the time of the reforms, the Bank found 121 BDCs, representing 93%, to be in breach of the objectives and provisions of the Guidelines.

When it became apparent that bureau de change (BDC)operators were not playing according to the rules, the Bank regulated their operations (BDCs) as a way of preserving dwindling reserves. Some other steps taken to maintain the integrity of the naira and preserve reserves include fixing the rate at which banks can buy dollars from International Oil Companies (IOCs) at not more than N2 spread to its clearing rate.

At a point, Emefiele loudly at “What then can a Central Bank do to react to such a situation of falling reserves and pressurised exchange rates? One course of action would be to continue to deplete the foreign exchange reserves in trying to keep the official rate at a stable level. But there are several difficulties with this option.” The Bank also excluded some 41 items, which would no longer be imported through officially sourced foreign exchange.

There was however, a consensus that certain individuals along with foreign collaborators appear ben on seeing the continuous fall in the value of the currency. Many of these individuals have mopped up enough foreign currencies in preparation to swoop upon the market once an official devaluation was announced. Counter arguments were however, that being an import dependent economy, prices of basic goods and services are likely to get beyond the reach of more citizens while inflation will further skyrocket.

Supervision of Banks Towards achieving the Bank’s mandate of ensuring the safety and soundness of the financial system, CBN conducted Risk-Based examinations of all banks with High and Above Average Composite Risk Rating as well as those with Moderate and Low Composite Risk Rating several times since June 2014.

Among other examinations, the Bank also carried out the Foreign Exchange Examination of all banks as well as the routine examination of all discount houses and financial holding companies. It also carried out the Risk Asset Examination of 24 banks.

In the period under review, the Bank commenced the implementation of the BASEL II Accord aimed at promoting financial system stability by ensuring that banks are adequately capitalized and have enhanced risk management systems.

Consumer Protection Within this period, Bank facilitated the re-

fund of a total sum of N4,011,814,097 to bank customers based on the complaints resolved and directives communicated to them following the Consumer Compliance Examinations and a spot-check conducted on the banks.

This is in addition to a full deployment of the Consumer Complaint Management System (CCMS) with the migration of all banks to the live –platform of the system.

Supervision of Other Financial Institutions The reform of the BDC segment of the Foreign Exchange Market was concluded on 31st July, 2014, which resulted in 2,501 BDCs with caution deposits and capital base of N35 million each.

It issued a final licence to the National Mortgage and Refinancing Company (NMRC) to commence operation in 2015 under the Housing Fund Programme (NHFP) The Bank carried out further reforms of Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs). Thirty-two PMBs had fully capitalized as at June 30, 2014 while 10 were given up to December 31, 2014 to shore up their capital. Licences of 21 PMBs, which failed to recapitalize or had remained technically insolvent were revoked on November 12, 2014 Partnering with Federal Government and Development Partners, CBN midwifed the Development Bank of Nigeria that is envisaged to address the paucity of low interest and long-term funding for MSMEs in Nigeria.

Banking and Payments System For many years, there have been public outcry over a propensity of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to maintain multiple accounts, many of which are alleged to be secret and fueling corruption. There was also tendency for government to borrow its own money at exorbitant interests from banks. To curb this, CBN worked in conjunction with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to finally commence e-collection element of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on March 1, 2015.

Some benefits of the TSA include enthroning transparency and accountability in management of government receivables by ensuring real time remittance of government receipts directly into the Consolidated Revenue Fund Account (CRF). It also promotes effective monetary policy and reduce cost of liquidity management borne by the Bank. In the course of time, MDAs under the TSA platform has increased from 340 to over 700.

In continuation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for banks customers, enrollment increased from 15,000 as at June 3, 2014 to over 20,000,000 as at the end of 2015 As promised by Emefiele in his inaugural media briefing, CBN removed charges on

cash deposits to encourage flow of deposits to deposit money banks (DMBs).

Other innovations by the Bank are extension of Cash-less Project to all parts of the country on July 1, 2015 to support use of echannels of payment, reduce cost to serve, increase tax collection, reduce leakages, greater financial inclusion and engender economic growth; introduction of Agent Banking to increase financial inclusion; introduction of Electronic Payments Incentive Scheme (EPIS) to encourage adoption of e-payment by incentivizing merchants, cardholders and sales persons and; removal of Commissions on Turnover (CoT) by banks.

Reserve Management Following the sharp decline in global oil prices and the resultant fall in the country’s foreign exchange earnings, the Bank observed a widening margin between the rates in the interbank and the rDAS window, thus engendering undesirable practices including round-tripping, speculative demand, rentseeking, spurious demand, and inefficient use of scarce foreign exchange resources by economic agents.

The CBN closed the rDAS/wDAS foreign exchange window at the Bank in order to check further pressure on the country’s foreign exchange, avert the emergence of a multiple exchange rate regime and preserve the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The CBN further reviewed the guidelines regulating the operations of BDCs due to the avalanche of rent-seeking operators interested only in widening margins and profits from the foreign exchange market, regardless of prevailing official and interbank rates.

The bank also issued a statement halting the increasing dollarisation of the economy and has been working at ensuring compliance.

The highpoint of CBN’s policy has been the introduction of flexible foreign exchange regime, which abolished any fixed rate for the naira. At its 107th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in May, 2016, members unanimously voted to adopt a floating currency regime. The bold step by the CBN is aimed at ensuring that Nigerian jobs are not exported and that we stop the practice of importing those items we are capable of producing locally.

Monetary Policy In line with the policy focus in Mr. Emefiele’s maiden remarks, the Bank has taken proactive measures to protect Nigeria’s Reserves buffer to safeguard the Naira and ensure stability in the banking system. In spite of the huge drop in the price of crude oil, the Bank, through sound monetary policies, ensured stability in the exchange rate.

The Bank has also promoted price stability

Flexible Exchange Rate Regime Between February 2011 and May 2014 when current Governor of the CBN took office, crude oil sold for an average of $100/ barrel and Nigeria produced over two million barrels per day. It was easier for the Bank to manage and allocate foreign exchange because the size of reserve was quite robust.

Incidentally, due largely to oversupply situations, price began to plummet from August 2014 and as a result, there was decline in the foreign reserves thus putting pressure on the naira.

In order to manage the mounting pressure, avert the emergence of a multiple exchange rate regime and preserve the country’s foreign exchange reserves, CBN shut the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) foreign exchange window. The Bank also proposed to abolish fees associated with limits on deposits and reconsider ongoing practice in which all fees associated with limits on withdrawals accrue to banks alone.

At its 107th meeting in May 2016, MPC voted unanimously to introduce greater flexibility in exchange rate management.

According to Emefiele, “the Committee expressed concern over sustained pressure in the foreign exchange market and the necessity of implementing reforms to engender greater flexibility of rate and transparency in the operation of the inter-bank foreign exchange market. Accordingly, the Committee noted that it was time to introduce greater flexibility in the management of the foreign exchange market. The Committee reaffirmed commitment towards maintenance of price stability and reiterated the need to reappraise the coordination mechanism between monetary and fiscal policy and initiate reforms, for the purpose of more efficient policy synchronization and management.”

A floating exchange rate or fluctuating exchange rate is a type of exchange-rate regime in which a currency’s value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign-exchange market mechanisms and such a currency is known as floating currency. Historically, naira has been fixed with its value is tied to a basket of international convertible currencies like dollar, pound sterling and others.

Henceforth therefore, CBN will no longer have a fixed rate for the naira as the market will now determine the exchange rate at any point in time. Nonetheless, the Bank has resolved to give exemptions whenever necessary as incentive to industries with potentials to produce exportable items.

By this there is likely to be less pressure on the Bank in determining the best ways to allocate the scarce reserves. Allegations of underhand dealings will also minimise as there will no longer be official exchange rate.

Market will now determine the exchange rate. Nonetheless, unless and until Nigerians begin to produce more for export and temper their taste for foreign products, naira will always remain under pressure.

focusing on low inflation will eventually lead to greater growth, increase in employment generating activities, and poverty reduction.

He noted however, that early and recent evidence of central banking in places such as the United States, England, Japan, and France indicate that supporting selected economic sectors using “direct methods” of intervention have been essential tasks of their central banks. Quoting Epstein (2005) Emefiele said this encapsulates, “virtually all central banks, including the Bank of England (BOE) and the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) have used direct means to support economic sectors. And this has not simply been a matter of historical aberration, but rather, it has been an essential aspect of their structures and behaviour for decades on end.

“In particular, a crucial role for both the BOE and the Fed has been to promote the financial sectors of their economies, and especially, to support the international role of their financial services industries. They have done this by using subsidized interest rates, legal restrictions, directed credit and moral suasion to promote particular markets and institutions. Moreover, at times, they have even oriented their overall monetary policy toward promoting the development of this particular economic sector.

“As I have shown in the section on recent macroeconomic developments, Nigeria has witnessed impressive GDP growth rates over the past seven years. Yet, there is an absence of a corresponding reduction in the unemployment rate in Nigeria, which has risen to 23.9 per cent in 2012 relative to 13.9 per cent in 2000”, he declared. In fact, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in May, 2016 gave unemployment figures to be 31.2 percent on March 31, 2016 based on methodology it used until 2014.

The Governor lamented the worrisome rate of youth unemployment, which he described as unacceptably high. He promised to work with the fiscal authorities in reducing other structural distortions to productive growth, as this will enhance access to credit, as well as stimulate growth and employment generation. The Governor promised that the Bank’s developmental functions will include credit allocations and direct interventions in key sectors of the economy such as power, agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), oil & gas, and health. While playing an active developmental role, promised that CBN will not only operate within the law and its mandate but will also be transparent about what it believes as strategic and appropriate interventions.

This position tallies with that of International Labour Organisation (ILO), which in 2007, espoused its position regarding the role of central banks in controlling inflation and promoting job creation. The organisation observed “despite alarming levels of un-

employment and underemployment in the developing world, many central banks no longer consider employment creation as part of their mandate. Rather, monetary policy is limited to restraining inflation to the low single digits…The IMF encourages countries to adopt inflation targeting by providing technical assistance, and in some instances, by making the adoption of inflation targeting a condition for borrowing.

“Yet limiting monetary policy solely to price stabilization cannot guarantee that economic growth will improve since low inflation does not necessarily lead to high and stable economic growth. For this reason, the UN World Summit in 2005 and the ECOSOG Ministerial Declaration of 2006 stressed the need to place productive employment and decent work into economic policy making, recognizing that employment can no longer be considered a derivative of economic policies.”

In a nutshell, the strategic intent of the CBN Governor, as espoused in his maiden remarks two years ago, seeks to reposition the developmental financing initiatives of the bank along the following concepts: Introduction of a broad-based spectrum of financial instruments to boost specific enterprise areas in agriculture, manufacturing, health, oil and gas; Establishment of a Secured Transaction and National Collateral Registry as well as the establishment of a National Credit Scoring System that will improve access to the information on borrowers and assist lenders to make good credit decision; and Build resilient financial infrastructure that serves the needs of the lower end of the market, especially those without collateral.

Under Emefiele’s leadership, the Bank, is acting as a financial catalyst in specific sectors of the economy particularly agriculture, in a bold effort to create jobs on a mass scale, improve local food production, and conserve scarce foreign reserves. New schemes and interventions introduced to complement the existing ones include the following: Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP) launched in March 2016 in furtherance of the CBN’s intervention in the real sector of the economy and job creation effort. The pilot phase of the programme targets 10,000 youths in productive activities within the next four years.

Under the scheme, a credit line of up to N3 million would be made available to each eligible youth, while recipients who made good utilization of the funds would be encouraged to migrate to other CBN intervention schemes that would enable them access more funds The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) launched by President Muhammadu Buhari aims at creating economic linkages between over 600,000 smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors with a view to

Development Finance Interventions In his mission statement enunciated in June 2014, Mr. Godwin Emefiele observed that for some time, the dominant school of CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele at the launch of Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship thought regarding central banking was that Development Programme (YIEDP).

increasing agricultural output and significantly improving capacity utilization of integrated mills. Under the programme, the sum of N40 billion has been set aside from the N 220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9 per cent.

N300 Billion Real Sector Support Fund (RSSF) established as part of the efforts to unlock the potential of the real sector to engender output growth, value added productivity and job creation. N152 billion has been approved for five projects under the RSSF. N213 Billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility (NEMSF). This is aimed at settling certain outstanding debts in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Under the fund, the sum of N56.68 billion has been disbursed to five generating companies and five distribution companies.

Health Sector Initiatives. Consultations are on with stakeholders on the development of one Wellness and Diagnostic Centre (WDC) in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.

These additions are running alongside existing schemes and intervention programmes that include: Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) was established to provide credit guarantees on facilities extended to farmers by banks up to 75 per cent of the amount in default net of any security realized. In the period under review, there has been an increase of loan limits for unsecured lending from N20,000 to N 50,000. There has also been an increase of loan limits for secured lending to corporate bodies under the ACGS from N 10 million to N 50 million.

Agricultural Credit Support Scheme (ACSS) is aimed at developing the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy by providing credit facilities to farmers at single digit interest rate to enable large scale farmers exploit the untapped potentials of the sector.

Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS). Since June 2014, 60 per cent of CACS funds have been dedicated to six focal commodities (rice, wheat, cotton, sugar, dairy products and fish), which have been utilizing huge resources from the dwindling foreign reserves.

During the period under review, CBN has reviewed CACS Guidelines such that DMBs now assess the fund at 2 per cent from the CBN and lend at an all-inclusive interest rate of 9 per cent with a spread of 7 per cent. Of the N38.65 billion disbursed to 113 projects, N24.91 billion, representing 64.45 per cent of disbursements were to focal commodities (rice, fish and sugar). So far, N76.40 billion CACS loans have been repaid by beneficiaries, while a total 17,792 jobs were created by projects financed under the scheme.

Having met its objectives, with indigenous promoters keying into the scheme, the expiration of CACS has been extended from 2016 to 2025.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF). The disbursement of funds under the scheme was formally flagged-off in 2014. Over N43.57 billion has been disbursed to State Governments, Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), MFBs and Finance Cooperatives from the fund with 61.6% of beneficiaries are women. About 292 People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) have also accessed N30.31 million under the fund.

National Collateral Registry (NCR). The NCR Bill has been exposed to stakeholders in three zones and has been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), for review and consideration.

Financial Inclusion. The Bank within the period has established a Governance structure for National Financial Inclusion StratContinues on pg22

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CBN and development finance interventions Continues from pg21

egy. The Bank has also completed the geo-spatial mapping survey of all financial access points across the country. It has also engaged seven State Governments on the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and ensured the gradual reduction in percentage of financially excluded adults from 46.3% in 2010 to 39.5%

by December, 2014.

Other schemes include the Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF), Capacity Building programmes through the existing Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) and the CBN/NYSC Entrepreneurship Training held in four centres.

Agricultural Interventions In September 2015, Mr. Emefiele reiterated his concern over the country’s position as a net importer of agricultural produce with import above N630 billion annually.

Food product imports include wheat, rice, flour, fish, tomato paste, textile and sugar.

In a keynote address at a training workshop on innovative agricultural insurance products the Governor pointed out that Nigeria was confronted with a wide range of development challenges, especially with the dwindling global crude oil prices and dependence on it as its major source of revenue. He then stressed the need to diversify the mono-cultural tendencies of the economy by developing other sectors. He recalled that before the oil boom, the economy was sustained by agriculture, contributing up to 60 per cent of GDP and was the most important in terms of contribution to domestic production, employment and foreign exchange earnings.

“But now, we import most of the agricultural commodities that we can produce because of the neglect of the sector in addition to rural migration to cities in search of white collar jobs. The agricultural sector provides up to 70 per cent of employment in Nigeria and accounts for about 42 per cent of the country’s GDP. In Nigeria today, rural farmers contribute to about 70 per cent of the food produced which they do mainly by subsistence farming. These farmers with their small land holdings of 1 to 3 hectares are producing sub-optimally due to lack of adequate inputs, insufficient exposure to good agronomic practices and limited access to finance and credit”, he noted.

Over the years, CBN has launched various finance initiatives to support government’s agricultural policies.

Anchor Borrowers’ Programme Creates 500,000 Jobs Nigeria’s agricultural and food import bill averaged over N1 trillion between 2013 and 2015. Food products like wheat, sugar, milk, rice and fish accounted for N901 billion or 93.5 percent and N788 billion or 88.71 percent of this total in 2013 and 2014, respectively. These figures are exclusive of smuggling activities. These huge amounts were expended on items that the country has the potential to produce locally with the attendant loss of employment generation and wealth creation opportunities Furthermore, the allocation of foreign exchange to the importation of these items has continually depleted foreign exchange reserve, which has been on a steady decline in recent times.

Current effort of the CBN to stimulate local production of the commodities is largely due to the adverse effect of their importation on foreign exchange reserves.

Such efforts have started to yield desired results as import bill on agricultural commodities is declining.

The CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme

From right: President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Godwin Emefiele and Minister, Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, at the launch of Anchor Borrowers Programme. is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria and is aimed at creating an ecosystem to link small-holder farmers to local processors, increase banks’ financing to the agricultural sector, enhance capacity utilization of agricultural firms involved in the production of identified commodities and as well as the productivity of incomes of farmers.

While launching the CBN initiated Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) on Tuesday, November 17, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed high hopes that the scheme would lift thousands of small farmers out of poverty and generate millions of jobs for unemployed Nigerians.

At the flag-off of the 2015 dry season farming season in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, Buhari frowned at the huge sums spent by Nigeria on the importation of food items that could be produced locally, stressing that the N1 trillion importation bill was not sustainable. He recalled the pride of place that agriculture enjoyed within the economy, the President said the current reality in the global oil market left Nigeria with no option than to diversify into other productive sectors.

The President, who also emphasized the implication of falling oil prices to Nigeria’s foreign reserve, said the situation underscored the need for Nigeria and Nigerians to diversify the productive and revenue base of the country’s economy and conserve her foreign reserve by curbing the appetite for imported goods that can easily be produced locally.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele who also spoke at the event said the Bank was concerned about the huge foreign exchange spent by Nigeria importing food items that could be produced locally. He explained that the huge allocation of foreign exchange to the importation of items such as rice, wheat, milk and fish, among others, had contributed greatly to the depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves, especially in the face of low oil revenue resulting from falling oil prices. The Bank Governor disclosed that the rising unemployment and escalating food imports prompted the Bank, under his leadership, to shift from concentrating only on price, monetary, and financial system stability to act as a financial catalyst in specific sectors of the economy particularly agriculture, in an effort to create jobs on a mass scale, improve local food production, and conserve scarce foreign reserves.

He said the ABP aims at creating economic linkages between over 600,000 smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors with a view to increasing agricultural output and significantly improving capacity utilization of integrated mills. This, he noted, would close the gap between the levels of local rice production and domestic consumption, as well as complement the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme of the Federal

Ministry of Agriculture by graduating GES farmers from subsistence farming to commercial production Accordingly, he said the CBN had set aside N40 billion from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9 per cent.

When he returned to the farms in April this year, Emefiele who was in company of Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh and the Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu gave the assurance that the Bank would continue its intervention schemes towards making agriculture the bedrock of genuine economic growth in Nigeria. A visibly impressed CBN Governor lauded the Kebbi State Governor and the farmers for their determination and commitment, noting that success attained with the pilot project in the State had underscored the fact that local production of rice, wheat and grains remained attainable with provision of essential farm inputs.

Each farmer got a grant of N210, 000 to cultivate a hectare of rice while 78,581 farmers were mobilized in the state under the programme. The farmers are expecting to harvest a million metric ton of rice in 2016 while over 500,000 direct jobs had been created and saved with the multiplier effects. There was also timely supply of inputs to about 73,001 farmers, even as 70,871 rural farmers now own and operate Bank accounts, which have all been captured under the Bank Verification Number (BVN) biometric project.

Also speaking, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, commended the intervention of the CBN, through the ABP, as well as the commitment of the farmers and Government of Kebbi State. He noted that the level of activities in the rural areas visited by the team pointed to the fact that, with Kebbi State alone targeting one million tons of rice out of the projected seven million required by the entire country, self-sufficiency in rice production was very much in sight. He further disclosed that 12 States in the country had been identified as rice producing belts and would be made to reinvent agricultural practice into profitable business ventures.

According to the minister, rural areas remained the catalyst for a viable economy development and as such deliberate efforts were being currently directed at opening up the rural areas just like what was witnessed in Kebbi State.

In his remarks, the Kebbi Sate Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu said that farmers in the state had been adequately mobilized towards the attainment of the one million tons of paddy by providing them with necessary inputs. He also noted that with assurance of availability of market for the produce, farmers in the state were already looking forward to the repayment of the loan facility extended to them at the beginning of the farming season.

Among the rice farms visited were those in Suru, Augie, Bunza and Argungu Local Gov-

Nigerian Tribune

ernment Areas of Kebbi State.

CBN Boosts Power Sector with N120bn There is a general consensus between Nigerians and the international community that lack of adequate electricity supply is one major factor that has arrested the country’s development over the years. In arriving at this conclusion, economic analysts looked at entrepreneurial spirit of the average Nigerian and the fact that even with the provision of less than 5,000 megawatts of electricity for over 185 million people, Nigeria still emerged the largest economy in Africa and 26th in the world.

The CBN apparently believes in this notion as it is working with government to ensure a boost in generation and supply of electricity.

Worried that despite privatisation, very little improvement has happened in the sector, CBN established the N213bn Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility (NEMSF) to address the liquidity and funding challenges facing the sector. So far, the Bank has disbursed a total of N120.2 billion to different electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), power generating companies (GENCOs), service providers and gas companies.

During disbursement N55.5bn to 24 industry participants including three DISCOs, 14 GENCOs, one service provider and six gas companies marking the 4th tranche in Lagos on Friday, May 20, 2016, Governor Emefiele expressed the commitment of the Bank to support the power sector in order to solve the electricity supply challenges of the country. He explained that the 4th tranche disbursement marked a major milestone in the effort of the Bank, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to achieve a contract based electricity market. The event featured the signing of power purchase agreements by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) to signal activation of industry contracts for power generation under a contract based market.

The first disbursement under the NEMSF scheme was effected on February 12, 2015 to different players in the sector. That intervention resulted in the restoration of a total of 905MW of power into the national grid among other impacts.

Investigations revealed that so far, Gencos have deployed the funds to execute of capacity recovery programmes in three hydro power stations including intake under water repair project, overhaul of Unit 4 and compliant metering and supplementary protection at Shiroro Dam; overhaul of 2G6 at Jebba Hydro and rehabilitation of three units at Kainji Dam under permitted utilizations of the facility. A total of 300MW capacity increase was reported as a result of fund utilization towards rehabilitation of both plants.

Others were rehabilitation of seven gas turbines at three major thermal power plants namely Geregu, Transcorp Ughelli, and Ibom Power.

In addition, the intervention has also enabled DISCOs to provide bank guarantees to the Nigerian Electricity Bulk Trader (NEBT); purchase of over 171,071 units of meters comprising both maximum demand and single phase meters; rehabilitation of over 332kms of 11KV lines and 130km of 0.45KV lines; 70,310 No 500 KVA transformers procurement; and construction of 34 new distribution substations and acquisition of one mobile injection substation under confirmed permitted utilization by the initiative.

Speaking during the fourth disbursement in Lagos, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, commended the CBN for its intervention to help resolve the issues in the power sector. He also called on those involved in the vandalism of gas pipelines to desist from such as it was neither in the interest of the country nor in the interest of oil producing communities because of spillage, pollution and other consequences that would result.

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INSIDE PAGE 20

The 60-second

business coach

PAGE 20

Leaders’

forum

PAGE 20

Leaders, problems and prospects

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

A

myriad of factors distinguish great leadership from the pedestrian but it seems the greatest of these is their handling of problems. While ordinary leaders are so engrossed in current challenges that they allow themselves to be hemmed in by the problems, great leaders do no such thing. While they do not ignore current problems, they also never allow the issues at hand to swallow the dreams and visions they have for their organizations because they know that there will be life after the problem. So, while they deploy their energies and resources into tackling the current problem, they don’t do that to the detriment of the organizational vision; they keep the original goal in view at all times.

They are guided by the dictum that the future is more important than the present.

This is not so for poor leaders.

They put everything on hold as they try to sort out the problem.

Consequently, productivity de-

clines, morale goes down, revenue generation heads south and the organization is enmeshed in a crisis that may eventually submerge it.

The undoing of less than great leadership is that they see a problem as an end in itself. But problems are not a blind alley; a problem is a road that leads to greater prospects. When problems are viewed as ends in and of themselves, they become humongous, take on the form of a terrifying Goliath, and are isolated from the overriding goals and objectives of the organizations. But the reality is that how a challenge is handled is often the defining moment of a leadership. A leader either rises to the occasion or bows to it in failure. What keeps the leader above the problem is the ability to focus on the vision. When he is able to ensure that the big picture remains the focus all the time, the problem becomes smaller and turns out to be a stepping stone to the desired future.

Continues on pg24

Paul Oki, Company Secretary, Nigerian Airspace

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How leaders turn problems to

thing is not possible, his mind is shut to the possibility of that act being done. By choosing to see a problem as a stepping stone rather than an inhibiting mountain, the leader tasks his subconscious mind to explore diverse ways of turning his thought into his experience.

The process goes on until the solution is found and the leader shouts ‘Eureka!’ This explains why when different leaders face the same situation they come out with different results. This is traceable to their perspective about the situation.

For the leader who thinks that it is a stepping stone to something bigger and better, it will turn out just like that. But for the leader who thinks the task cannot be done, nothing gets done.

Apart from this, if a leader believes that the solution to a problem is beyond him, he will not give his best to it and, of course, that will affect the resolution of the problem.

Continued from pg 23

Leaders and problems Problem is the food of leaders; they have it for breakfast, lunch and supper. Leadership, especially at the top, is synonymous with problem management. Leaders are employed to provide solutions to problems, not occasionally but every time. Problems are a daily occurrence. They may appear in different forms but they happen all the time and the leader must provide solutions to them. The more problems a leader solves, the more adept he becomes and the more he justifies his retention on the job. So, great leaders don’t surrender to problems, they do not allow problems to overwhelm them but they get so accustomed to problem that they can sniff it a thousand miles away. They know that the end of a problem is the beginning of another. So, they prime themselves always to tackle any problem that may surface in the Osagie Okunbor, Country Chair, Shell Companies course of their duties.

A common denominator of great to being a prospect. The solution to a problem is its leaders is that they learn how to an- inherent opportunity. ticipate problems. They do this by Jennifer Cutrona studying the trend in their indusJennifer Cutrona lives in Texas, in the United States try. Understanding the trend gives them an edge over others and they of America. In April, last year, while she was jogging, are able to anticipate and identify a man accosted her. She felt defenceless and vulnerproblems before they become com- able but she managed to escape. In her words, “My mon knowledge. Leaders don’t wait world of rainbows and butterflies was crushed. So, for problems to escalate; rather they that day, I went home and sewed a knife sheath into take the initiative and confront ev- my sports bra.”

The bra holds a small knife - it’s reinforced so the ery budding problem head-on. So, wearer doesn’t get poked. The knife is, however, while poor leaders expend their sharp enough to cut the assailant so they let go of days and nights as well as assets and their victim. Having tried it and seeing its success, liabilities on tackling a problem, she decided to do same for other women. great leaders look around, beneath “It’s a V-shape and there’s a magnet so it snaps in. I and beyond the problem itself. They can do ten cartwheels and it’s not coming out. A few are not as bothered about the prob- women said ‘that scares me, a knife,’ so I came up lem as they are motivated by the op- with the pepper spray option,” Jennifer explains. portunities it avails them.

She later got a patent for it and went into production.

Truth about problems She has also expanded the line, making bras that Problems may appear in different hold pepper spray, as well as yoga pants and sleeves garbs or emerge in different shapes for both men and women — all with special, hidden and sizes but they are basically the same. Problems may don the garment of process issues, marketing difficulties, adverse government BOOK policies or illiquidity but problems are the same in that inherent in every problem is the solution and fresh opportunities. Those who get weighed down by the magnitude or shape of the problem never get to see the solutions or the opportunities. That is why they get stuck in it and have a ring run round them by the problem.

Leaders face diverse problems every time but it behooves them to either be overwhelmed or see same as prospects disguised as problems.

The solution to every problem is the opportunity therein. Problems linger when they are continually seen as such. The solution to a problem begins to manifest the moment the leader is able to change his perspective about it from being a problem

Toyin Olakanpo, Founder, CSRChildren compartments to fit a knife, pepper spray or whatever tiny, self defense object the customer may prefer.

Now, Jennifer’s booby trap bra is a money spinner.

But Jennifer never thought of becoming an entrepreneur; it was the assault she experienced that turned her into one. Not only did she solve the problem of likely assault, she also turned it into an opportunity to improve her lot.

How leaders turn problems to prospects Outstanding leaders are never content with merely solving a problem but go a step further to turn same into prospects. They do so by taking some steps.

Here are some of them.

They think possibility Everybody is a product of his thought. The thought that is allowed by an individual eventually becomes the person’s reality. Although motivational speakers have conferred magical powers on positive thinking, there is absolutely nothing magical about it. The way positive thinking works is that when a person believes something is possible, his subconscious mind goes to work to find ways of making the thought a reality. Conversely, when a person believes that some-

By Warren Bennis

Challenges throw up new opportunities Great leaders believe that problems and opportunities are two sides of a coin; you can’t have one without the other. So, while tackling the problem, they do not lose sight of the opportunities. They embrace the problem with expectations. They keep searching until they find out where the opportunities in the problem are buried.

They never stop turning around the situation until the opportunities turn up. With this attitude, they are never weighed down by the situation. They go about trying to solve the problem with the conviction that the situation will birth new opportunities for them.

Focus on creating opportunities for customers Most organizations that have turned problems into prospects are those that are motivated by a desire to improve the life and liv-

On becoming a

On Becoming a Leader is about how we can make leadership a personal habit. It arose out of more in-depth dialogue with a smaller number of people including director Sydney Pollack, feminist author Betty Friedan, and musician and A&M records founder Herb Alpert.

What is a leader?

The book provides many fine insights.

Perhaps the key one is that true leaders are not interested in proving themselves; they want above all to be able to express themselves fully. Proving oneself implies a limited or static view of the self, whereas the leader, by continually seeking his or her fullest expression, must

be willing to engage in periodic reinvention. For Bennis’s leaders, life is not a competition, but a flowering. Structured education and society often get in the way of leadership. Real learning is the process of remembering what is important to us, and becoming a leader is therefore the act of becoming more and more yourself.

Becoming a leader involves: •Continuous learning and never-dying curiosity; •A compelling vision; leaders first define their reality (what they believe is possible), then set about ‘managing their dream’; •Developing the ability to communicate that vision and inspire others to follow it; •Tolerating uncertainty and taking on

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prospects

“There is only one way to avoid criticism; do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”

—Aristotle

THE 60-SECOND business coach

7 leadership skills most managers lack

By Liz Ryan

Abiodun Ajifowobaje, MD, Ikeja Disco ing experiences of their customers.

Those who make the most impact in life are those who premise their activities on improving the lot of others, not just their own. Hence, the motto of Rotary International, he profits most, he who serves best is very apt. A water-bearing pipe never suffers dryness.

The strength of Google is that it is focused on creating opportunities for others not itself but doing so has made it richer than most companies in the world. If Jennifer had been consumed about solving her own problem without sparing a thought for others, she would have placed herself in a position to ward off likely assailants but she would never have made money out of that experience.

Move beyond the past Many leaders romanticize the past; they keep going back to what worked in the past so they find it difficult to move to new opportunities. When they are faced with problems they go back to the strategy which once worked for them forgetting that strategies have expiry dates.

leader

As observed by Albert Einstein, a problem cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created it. Every problem is a consequence of the prevailing thinking. Solving it requires new thinking, until the thinking is altered, the result cannot be different.

Having the right people Professor Jim Collins’s exceptionally great book, Good to Great can be summarized in two sentences. To be great, a company must get out the wrong people and bring in the right ones. Then, the right personnel must be properly positioned.

As simple as this appears, it is critical to the success of any organization.

The performance of an organization is the aggregate of its people’s competence. To ascend new heights, an organization must have the right people. Being right has to do with having the right competencies and attitude. No company can get stuck in any problem if it is peopled by persons with the appropriate competencies and attitudes.

risk - a degree of daring; •Personal integrity: self-knowledge, candour, maturity, welcoming criticism; •Being a one-off, an original. “Leaders learn from others, but are not made by others”, Bennis notes; •Reinvention. To create new things sometimes involves re-creating ourselves. We may be influenced by our genes and environment, but the leader takes all his or her influences and makes something unique; •Taking time off to think and reflect, which brings answers and produces resolutions; •Passion for the promises of life; a belief in the best, for ourselves and others; •Seeing success in small, everyday increments and joys, not waiting years for

IN this new millennium, the old management tools like carrots and sticks — rewards and punishments, that is — are almost useless. People aren’t motivated by carrots and sticks anymore. They want a piece of whatever win their department or their organisation is shooting for.

That’s only reasonable!

People want to be included and respected at work, and who can blame them?

Here are seven leadership skills most managers lack.

Perspective-taking A good manager can take another person’s perspective, whether the other person is a customer, the manager’s boss, or an employee on the manager’s team. Strong managers can see the world through someone else’s eyes. Unless managers talk through situations and gain perspective on them, they will not easily grow this skill on their own.

Allowing The skill of allowing is the ability not to react in the moment when you hear bad or startling news, but to keep breathing and give the situation time to unfold. Too many new and even experienced man-

the Big Success to arrive; •Using the context of your life, rather than surrendering to it.

What does the last point mean? Bennis believes that late 20th century business life was mostly about managing rather than leading, with people and organizations focusing on small matters and short-term results. His message is, stop being a product of your context, of your particular place and time.

We can see our context as the backdrop for our particular genius to develop, or we can let it enslave our minds. In many ways the path of a `driven’ person is an easy one, since it does not require much thought. The leader’s path is consciously taken, may be more challenging, but has infinitely

agers freak out whenever they hear something they don’t like. That is not a trait that strong leaders possess.

Real leaders allow people to be who they are, and they allow all the good things and bad things that happen in any workplace to happen because they know that they and their teammates can solve any problem if they keep their cool and resist the urge to place blame.

Intellectual curiosity Curiosity is one of the most important skills for a leader to cultivate. Curiosity requires us to ask questions. Instead of saying, “That’s not the policy” or “I hate that idea” or “That’s not your decision to make!” a strong leader will say, “Tell me more. I want to understand your thought process!”

Critical thinking Critical thinking means thinking beyond what we’ve been taught. It means looking at situations from all angles. We don’t teach kids much about critical thinking in school — we test them to see whether they’ve memorized a bunch of information that we’ve pumped into their heads instead.

Critical thinking is important for everyone, and

greater potential and satisfaction, not to mention better health. To lead, we have to make a declaration of independence against the estimation of others, the culture, the age. We have to decide to live in the world, but outside existing conceptions of it.

Leaders do not just ‘do well’ by the terms of their culture; they create new contexts, new things, new ways of doing and being.

A world of leaders Bennis’ conviction is that we badly need leaders. He wrote On Becoming a Leader when American economic leadership was being seriously challenged - we forget now, but in the late 1980s, it did seem for a while that Japan

it’s especially important for people who are put in charge of teams!

Connecting the dots Connecting the dots means working out problems in time and space.

Chess players connect the dots better than most of us when they plan their possible moves three, four and five steps ahead. We all need to connect the dots at work, rather than seeing issues and problems as equations to solve.

Humility It is tempting as a manger to pick up the hammer and exert your authority whenever something goes wrong at work, or when you just want things to go your way.

Strong managers resist the urge to use force and power to get things done.

They are humble. They don’t believe that they have all the answers or that they are smarter than the employees on their teams.

Coaching Skills Coaching is not the same as supervision. Coaching doesn’t involve telling employees what they need to start doing and stop doing.

Coaching is all about listening and empathizing.

Strong managers focus on the coaching side of their job more than the giving-orders part.

was surpassing the US in production, wealth and innovation. It only regained the ascendancy through obsession with innovation and quality and the realization that firms get ahead by assisting their employees to be all they can be.

It took someone of the stature of Bennis to highlight the link between self-knowledge and business success, but this is now almost accepted. The new type of leader is not satisfied with ‘doing a job’ or ‘running a company’, but is compelled to find an outlet for his or her personal vision of the world.

Now, the only way many companies can attract and keep the best people is by offering them more than just money or prestige - they offer them the chance to make history.

26

W

HAT has been your drive to become an entrepreneur?

It has always been my passion right from my university days to meet needs and add values to the society. I have tried my hands on a lot of things which added value to my life as well as made me to be independent. I ran the best bookshop when I was in the university.

As a student, I also open a branch in Ibadan, Oyo State, though I managed it for someone. I decided to stay back in Ife when I graduated, having discovered that it was a peaceful and beautiful place to settle, but people are not used to buying quality things. So, that was how I came up with the idea of cooperate wears with a vision of dressing people with quality and as God will have it we have remained the best and leading boutique in the State.

We have a credit this; we have been crowned the best boutique in Ile-Ife and Osun State at large three times. I would say that is both an inborn and what I am trained for. I noticed that I have an entrepreneur spirit. I also read a lot of books to train myself.

How were you able to overtake those you met in the fashion industry, especially in your terrain?

I have discovered that it those not take too long to shine, especially when one has a great vision and one stays with it. I came up with the vision of quality; most of them are not in that line. So, it didn’t take me many years to overtake them. So far, this has helped me set a standard for others to follow suit. In fact, the brand has spoken good volume of itself. This initiative has open many doors for me, because I have dressed up many high and might within and outside the state. I have also made the lower class tasteful too.

As an established brand in your industry, do you have any plans for expansion?

This is one of my main priorities and my set goals. It is clear that I already have a brand and also established myself in the industry, but I am not relenting in my oars to spread my tentacles. At King’s Place Boutique, we do different kinds of fabrics or designs for both male and female. I also make shoes. I recently made a shoe for Ooni which he cherished so much. Plans are in the pipeline to expand from my three workshops located in Ife to all the South-West states. Not only that, I have been able to diversify by business. I recently ventured into car services where I engage in car hire services which I named King’s Cab Services and it has been inspiring and profitable.

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

NTREPRE ‘How I turned N45,000 business to N10m in 6 yrs’

Award-winning entrepreneur, Michael Oluwaseun Kolade, is the CEO of the King’s Place Group, which deals in fashion and car services. The graduate of Economics from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), in this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, speaks on his drive and vision.

How have you been able to manage your boutique and car services without any clash?

I have been able to build a structure. I have some people that manage the boutique. All I do is to monitor and stock. At present, I am facing the King’s Cab because it is a new business outfit and most importantly unique. It is the first executive car hire in the city. We do different kind of car services both cooperate and individuals. Several cooperate companies have been patronising us.

The door is also opened for students.

We also do tourist, this is an idea that became a reality since the new Ooni of Ife came. Because many people have been visiting Osun State since his instalment; we do tour for people to visit the entire city and its tourist attraction with a pocket friendly price.

I urge youths to wake up and stop relying on the government... we cannot continue to wait for their promises.

The risk involve in car business has discouraged many from venturing into it, but this is what you have developed passion for, why did you took such risk?

I seized the opportunity because it is the first of its kind in Ile-Ife. I ventured into it to meet a need. In fact, barely two weeks after I started the business, many people have sent in words of encouragements, prayer via social media to me. This made me discovered that the idea is long overdue. Thank God I took a step to make it a reality. Now, we have strategised to give comfort to people. We have positioned our cars at major locations, especially at relaxation centres. The vision of this idea is beyond Osun State. We have begun to spread it to other SouthWest states.

As a successful entrepreneur, what is your advice for the Nigerian youth?

I urge youths to wake up and stop relying on the government. We are aware that they have not done enough, but we cannot continue to wait for their promises. Let us all have something doing that will bring food to our table. Graduates should not be bent to feed on white collar job. I remember that I started my boutique in my small room with just N45,000 on Julu 17, 2010 and we thank God that we have grown to N10 million worth. It is realistic to start a business with no or little

Ways messaging will transform

By Peter Friedman

Mark Essien, CEO, Hotelsng

MESSAGING is about to transform marketing -- but maybe not in the ways you expect. In a culture obsessed with technology, messaging apps are poised to take marketing back to the basics of commerce and relationship management.

Over the past few years messaging apps have exploded in popularity; now these social networks are about to have their big moment. Whether you’re one of Facebook Messenger’s 900 million monthly active users, or your family and friends are logging into Snapchat, Kik, and WhatsApp, messaging apps are already part of

your life. But now smart marketers are taking notice: messaging apps are growing into platforms that will transform the way brands manage e-commerce, information, advertising and customer service.

Messaging is marketing’s real-time responsive, media-rich future that simultaneously harkens back to a pre-digital -- pre-Sears catalogue, even -- era when commerce and customer relationships were rooted in conversation. Messaging takes the most powerful form of marketing, a dialogue with a salesperson, makes it scalable and gives everyone immediate access. There’s no place in messaging for anything short of a real conversation, if customers don’t

27

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

ENEURSHIP

...Pioneer,entrepreneuriship,SMEsreportinginNigerianmedia

capital; even God started the whole world with just two people which as transformed to over seven billion. Many people don’t understand that the primary thing to start a business with is an idea not money. When the idea is established the money will come. For me, I did not allow the idea of selling eggs in the university die as a result of no capital. The idea paved way for money.

I started with two crates of eggs and I later turned to a merchant in the business. All the businesses I did in school then helped me to build a business structure which is helping me today.

What is your advice to the government?

Firstly, I want to acknowledge them because they are trying, but I want to urge them to encourage the youths more and fulfil their campaigns promises. They should not give people fish, but teach them how to fish and supervise them continuously. Just as the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who recently launched an initiative for youths to engage in various vocational skills; he also provided over 200 hundred acres of land for people to farm for free within Ife. He has just spent less than 180 days on the throne and he has affected people’s lives positively, especially the youth. Honestly, he was the one that inspired me to use the car services to expand my entrepreneurship skills. You only need a focused and inspiring leader to be successful in life. So, he is a worthy leader to emulate in Ile-Ife and Yorubaland.

He has brought life to the city and we are taking a cue from him.

Access to funds limits scope of business expansion —Alli On a small scale, an entrepreneur looking at exporting one container of cashew nut can start with about N9 million.

Olumide Yakub Alli, the Chief Executive officer of Debronx Global Farms Limited in Oyo state, in this interview with YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, speaks on the challenges of going into business in Nigeria, effects of inflation on business, challenges of funding and sundry issues.

HOW easy is it to be an entrepreneur at this period when the economy in Nigeria seems to be on a downward trend?

It is not an easy ride but there really is no alternative than to be focused and determined. The reason for this is because government alone cannot proffer solution to our problems; the government is our major problem so it cannot really give any solution. Therefore an entrepreneur as a matter of compulsion has to look inwards no matter the position he finds himself and determine first his objective and how to tackle his obstacles, those are the frightful things one sees when he allows his eyes to slip off set goals. I will only advise that one stays focused and set firm goals because success consists of a series of daily little efforts.

Considering the scarcity of foreign exchange, how easy is it for you to export goods?

The present scarcity of foreign exchange has more effect on goods importation and less direct effect on exportation because most of export transaction is done in the local currency.

How has funding affected your business?

Access to funds has been a challenge and has limited our scope for expansion. Interest rates of banks are unfriendly, government bureaucracy in accessing special dedicated funds for such businesses have also hampered growth rate.

What is your mainstay as an entrepreneur considering the harsh economic realities and the risk involved in starting out on your own?

My mainstay as an entrepreneur in the agricultural sector is the assurance that my produce will at all times be exchange with money and also because I know that there is high demand for whatever produce comes out of my farm.

a bean shape.

To start such an export business, how much capital is needed?

The capital requirements depend greatly on the volume involved.

The volume determines the size of the warehouse for storage, equipments, number of personnel etc.

What are the factors that encouraged you to start a business rather than go for a salary job?

As a young man, I made up my mind to be an entrepreneur because I wanted to have financial independence, I wanted to grow and watch my business grow and expand. And I had always wanted to have control of my time because I have always known that an employee can’t be as

chatr m is offer an opportunity for engagement on matters that help entrepreneurial growth and

marketing

Marketers will get personal, not just personalised.

Over 100 years ago, the Sears catalogue ushered in a new era of shopping. While it provided more choice than a trip to the general store, shopping at home failed to provide the same emotional experience and personal connection. The 20th century saw the rise of major retail with shopping malls, department stores, chain stores, and big box retailers providing more human contact than catalogue shopping. Big retail also offered consumers savings due to global manufacturing capabilities.

What has been your experience as a businessman in Nigeria?

I have found out that the business environment in Nigeria is very competitive and an entrepreneur needs to understand the economic storms and deal with the fear of uncertainty, develop his investment strategy, be proactive and know how to balance the risk and rewards. The system is corrupt and compromised and this slows down the process of achieving results when dealing with government agencies and ministries. An entrepreneur has to be on top of his game in other to remain relevant in his business circles. He needs to learn how to swim with the sharks without being consumed.

Would you say it is easier or better being on your own than working for someone?

I am of the school of thought which supports being an entrepreneur to being an employee. An entrepreneur has the potentials to do better than an employee in many ways; time management, financial independence, ability development, talent expression, creativity. Lastly, success seems to be connected ted with action, successful people keep moving, they make mistakes but don’t quit. The movers of this society are business owners and not workers.

the

Hi, What products do you exWelcome to The port?

Chatroom.

I export Cashew nut; that is the What The Chatseed from the cashew fruit that has room basically does

care about what you’re saying, or feel slighted by your brand’s mis-use of bots, they’ll leave and may never return. It’s time to let go of everything we believed about marketing, or rather get back to age old basics. But how will messaging transform your business?

opulent as his employer.

But these businesses still didn’t compare to the personal shopping experience consumers found with local merchants.

Now and in the very near future, mobile, social and messaging apps will converge and combine the best of online and offline shopping, enabling brands to engage customers in one-on-one conversations via smartphone and act as personal, on-demand, smart shopping assistants.

Marketers will embrace their brand’s human side Broadcast advertising was marketing’s keystone for decades. In the age of messaging apps, creative concepts will give way to the art of conversation.

Although clever copy, graphics, and video can reinforce your message, the future of marketing lies in brands’ ability to have contextual conversations to sell products and build long-term relationships on customers’ terms.

Ruth Olurounbi

0811 695 4637 (sms only) e:ruth.olurounbi@tribune.com.ng t:@Olurounbi

sustainable business.

We will cover all topics that relate to your journey as an entrepreneur, and offer real life solutions to issues that concern you.

The Chatroom allows for interaction between the readers and the writer, thus we anticipate feedback from our esteemed readers.

We anticipate suggestions on issues that you want addressed on this platform, as we welcome you to an exciting journey to growth and progress.

Meanwhile, remember that small business owners can now tell their start-up story on Entrepreneurship+. The aim is that through your

stories, you can motivate others who are on the same journey with you.

To get your story published, your content must not be more than 250 words and your story must tell what solution you’re providing, your business motivation, the challenges and how you’re overcoming them. A high resolution picture of the founder is required, not of your product.

Note: priority will be given to female founders.

Send in your stories to: ruth.olurounbi@ tribuneonlineng. com, with the subject: #MyStartupStory.

Cheers, Ruth.

28

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

CAP Plc wins 2016 GPTW award CHEMICAL and Allied Products (CAP) Plc, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc. (UACN), manufacturers of Dulux paint has been named among the best companies to work in Nigeria at this year’s Great Place To Work Award, held in Lagos recently.

At the award, organized by the Great Place To Work (GPTW) Institute, CAP Plc

was rated among the top eight companies in the Best Companies to Work in Nigeria Category’.

Other companies that made the list include: EMC Information System Nigeria Limited, Courteville Business Solutions Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, SC Johnson & Son Nigeria Limited, Microsoft Nigeria, Poise Nigeria and

Konga Online Shopping Limited.

Presenting the award to CAP Plc, the Chairman, Great Place To Work, Nigeria, Mr Ghandi Olaoye disclosed that the company emerged as one of the winners of the award having exhibited and maintained global best practices in work place excellence and people management practices.

BRANDS &

In her response, the Managing Director, CAP Plc, Mrs Omolara Elemide, described the award as very inspiring, adding that the company would be dedicating it to the company’s employees, whose selfless service and commitment had continued to propel management to adopt people-oriented policies and culture.

with Akin Adewakun

MARK TING m:08054683584 e:akadewakun@yahoo.co.uk

Why I participated in Sunlight’s Alarambara Radio Programme —Mosun Filani-Oduoye

Nollywood actress, Mosun Filani-Oduoye, was a prominent character in the justconcluded women enlightenment Radio drama programme, Alarambara, sponsored by the Sunlight brand. In this interview with AKIN ADEWAKUN, the actress speaks on her experiences and what really informed her decision to be involved in the drama series.

Y

OU were a key figure in the recently-concluded Sunlight’s Radio programme, Alarambara, but many still want to know how you actually got involved in the series?

Well, it’s quite interesting. Initially, when I was contacted for a voice audition, I wondered what it could be for.

But what I did was to go into the studio and do my thing. I was later called for a meeting and briefed about Alarambara.

My interest in the programme peaked immediately I got the first script and saw its relevance to the daily life of every woman. The first season ended last year and the second season which we recently wrapped up was even bigger.

With your Alarambara journey more than a year now and the second season just ended, how would you describe the programme?

The programme means a lot to me. As

Marketing Edge to hold stakeholders summit, award ONE of the nation’s frontline brands and marketing magazines, Marketing Edge Publications, has concluded plans to hold the 2016 edition of its two-in-one annual event, the National Marketing Stakeholders Summit and Brands and Advertising Excellence Award, to celebrate practitioners in the marketing and advertising professions.

Both events, scheduled to hold in Lagos, in the month of June, will have their thematic thrust woven around Brand Positioning in a Digital Age: Challenges in a Developing Market.

According to the publisher of the marketing publication, Mr John Ajayi, the theme for this year’s summit has become

very imperative; since brands must be properly positioned to maximise the benefits of digitalisation to make the most of their Return On Investment (ROI).

Specifically, the publisher said “the digital age has heralded a new dawn for all. Today’s market is daily defined and determined by the various dynamics in the social media and brands must, of necessity, tap into the limitless opportunities in the new media.’

While former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Seni Adetu, will deliver the lead address as the the event’s guest speaker, another high-profile marketing practitioner, scheduled to speak

at the highly cerebral event is the Managing Partner of Market Space, Mr George Thorpe.

Renowned advertising professional and Executive Chairman of STB-McCann, Sir Steve Bamidele Omojafor will be the Chairman of the occasion.

Besides, some of those that would be receiving awards on that day include: Mr Udeme Ufot- Brand Personality of the Decade, Mrs Iquo Ukoh Marketing Personality of the Decade, John Momoh- Outstanding Media Entrepreneur of the Decade, Chief Akin Odunsi- Lifetime Advertising Achievement Award and Multichoice- Outstanding Digital Satellite TV Brand of the Decade.

we all know, the importance of women in the society cannot be overemphasised. They carry a lot on their shoulders; child-bearing and rearing, homemaking and sometimes, bread-winning.

I believe this informed Unilever’s decision to educate women on maintaining that balance in their daily lives, while entertaining them with true-to-life episodes of Alarambara.

What exactly is its core message of Alarambara epicodes ?

The programme treats general issues about women personal development, homemaking, building social relationships and navigating the ups and downs of marriage, among many other important topics that could help every woman become a “Sunlight” woman. The core message is how women can maintain a balance in their homes and careers and also keep their relationships strong. It also emphasises the importance of neatness and freshness which is what the new improved Sunlight detergent helps everyone achieve.

One of the hallmarks of the programme is the true-to-life scenarios depicted in each episode. How has this shaped its perception and reception?

In fact, this is what makes Sunlight detergent’s Alarambara different from all other radio dramas around. This is because it treats the reality of every modern day women and offers many things people can learn from. I think the fact that people can relate with the storylines makes reception much easier.

There is a lot of drama on Alarambara, but there is also an obvious connection between you and the other actresses who form the core of the drama series. What was the common ground?

Firstly, all the characters of Sunlight detergent’s Alarambara radio drama

are professionals. Secondly, we are all married. These two facts give us deeper insight into the scripts and make it much easier for us to interpret our roles and play the characters, expected of us, convincingly.

To what extent would you say the Alarambara Owambe party, held recently by the Sunlight brand for its customers, has been able to achieve its primary aim of bonding the brand with these customers?

The last Sunlight Detergent’s Alarambara Owambe was the second one held so far by the brand. We usually hold the event to end the radio drama series. The party is an opportunity for Sunlight detergent’s customers and distributors to network in a relaxed “traditional” party atmosphere.

This year’s Alarambara Owambe also featured the unveiling of the new improved Sunlight detergent to customers in Ibadan. I think it has gone a long way to take the brand to the customers. It was an opportunity for them to know the brand better, while it also gave the brand the opportunity to appreciate these customers.

With the successfully conclusion of Season 2, what are your plans for the next season?

For me, I believe Sunlight detergent’s Alarambara has come to stay, that is why I am convinced that Season 3 of Alarambara will be much better. Like I always say, Sunlight detergent did not start the Radio drama series only abandon it midway. The brand will want to build on the obvious success of the past ones so as to make the next one more interesting. I believe Season 3 will be an improvement on the just-concluded one, my only advice is that fans can always like and follow it on all social media platforms, to enable them keep track of updates on the Sunlight brand and the radio drama series.

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Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Union bank reiterates commitment to dividend payment Story By Kehinde Akinseinde-jayeoba - Lagos THE board and management of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc have has once again assured shareholders of the bank that recent and ongoing strategic initiatives would lead to improved returns in the current business year.

At the annual general meeting yesterday in Lagos, directors of the bank variously assured shareholders that the bank would optimise its new business model and continue to ensure effective cost management in its operations in order to increase shareholders’ value in 2016.

Reassuring shareholders on dividend payment, Chief executive

officer, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Mr Emeka Emuwa said the bank would focus on growing its deposit base, transactional income and client base, managing its liquidity and effectively utilising its capital while reducing operational costs with a view to delivering better results in the years ahead.

He added that the bank would focus on trade and retail businesses, growing its public sector business in light of the opportunities created by the government as well as drive more value chain synergies across its businesses in Nigeria and United Kingdom.

In his address, chairman, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Mr Cyril Odu, assured shareholders that the board and manage-

ment of the bank are committed to delivering consistent growth in earnings to ensure that the bank can resume paying dividends to shareholders in the near future.

He pointed out that the improving quality of the bank’s earnings underscored the success of its transformation programme.

Reviewing the bank’s 2015 performance, Odu noted that gross earnings for the bank increased by eight per cent from N109.8 billion in 2014 to N118.4 billion in 2015, including N3.6 billion one-off gain on disposal of subsidiaries as the bank continued the implementation of its divestment programme in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulation.

with Kehinde Akinseyinde-Jayeoba

m: 08057336640 e: kehinde_07@yahoo.com

Future looks bright for Ashaka with Lafarge Africa’s consolidation offer

T

HE challenging state of the Nigerian economy has put a number of companies in quandary.

Foreign exchange crisis means most manufacturers scramble to get inputs from abroad, just as insecurity in some parts of the country plunges a number of corporate organisations into suboptimal operations.

Ashaka Cement plc is one of the manufacturing companies hard hit by insecurity, resulting from insurgency in the north-eastern Nigeria. Insurgency has led to factory shut-downs, loss of revenue and profits as well as lower share valuations in the Nigerian Stock Exchange for Ashaka. In the last financial year, shareholders merely took home 15k dividend per share.

The operational hurdles which impacted the last quarter (Q4) of 2015 result continued in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, cutting top-line by 21 per cent.

In fact, the SBG Securities, member of Standard Bank Group, did an analysis on Ashaka and recommended a SELL option for shareholders on limited upside of 2.6 per cent. This shows all is not well with the cement maker’s valuation.

In order to expand investment and operations in the company while boosting returns for shareholders, Lafarge Africa, which already owns 82.46 per cent of Ashaka, is offering minority investors of the Gombe State-based cement (who own 17.54 per cent shares) an opportunity to upgrade.

Lafarge Africa wants these shareholders to enjoy the benefits of being Ashaka and Lafarge Africa’s shareholders, such that they can become indirect shareholders of the Gombe-based cement firm.

According to Lafarge Africa, these minority shareholders stand to reap a number of dividends. First, there will be in-

creased value for their investments. As of the time Ashaka declared 15 kobo per share, Lafarge Africa declared N3. Without doubt, the capacity of the two companies are poles apart, as Lafarge Africa has 8.5 million metric tonnes (MT) capacity and will soon hit 12 million MT, while Ashaka only has 1 million MT. Second, Ashaka will have an increased capacity to borrow, as they can now get funds using Lafarge Africa’s balance sheet.

More so, with the state of insecurity across the country, especially in the north-east, it makes investment sense to diversify and get more returns. The minority shareholders, who are lucky to upgrade to Lafarge Africa’s status, will enjoy the returns from Lafarge Africa, Wapco Operations and Ashaka.

Again, there is currently little liquidity in Ashaka shares, such that it is still difficult to sell them. The SBG Securities said Ashaka’s shares have lost 21 per cent following an unimpressive Q4 15 result, adding that “from current levels we do not see a meaningful catalyst supportive of a re-rating of Ashaka’s shares.” Lafarge believes this arrangement favours the minority shareholders and Ashaka in general.

“In this offer, you have 202 shares of Ashaka for 57 shares of Lafarge Africa,” Bruno Bayet, head of strategy for Lafarge Africa Plc, said.

“This translates to 3.54 shares of Ashaka to one share of Lafarge Africa. If you multiply 3.54 by 15k (last dividend), you probably get nearer to 50k, whereas that share in Lafarge would have handed you N3. This offer gives you 24 per cent upside in the value of your investment,” Bayet said.

“This is the time for an Ashaka shareholder to move to Lafarge level. We are

Bolaji Balogun, Chairman Lafarge giving him additional N2:00 for doing so.

So if you own 2000 shares of Ashaka, you get an extra 4000,” he further said.

“With this arrangement, the management of Ashaka remains the way it is.

Ashaka will remain a legal entity and may no longer be listed on the stock exchange after some time.

“A key reason for considering this option is that Lafarge Africa is expanding and has a bigger picture of what it wants to do in the nearest term in Nigeria.

“Apart from expanding capacity, the firm is a reference point on energy efficiency, already using biomass, a form of renewable energy, in its Wapco factory, located at Ewekoro, Ogun State.

The building materials giant also needs consolidation to compete better and roll out various innovative programmes in its cupboard. The company stands to be more profitable in the nearest future, as it prepared to introduce road cement and other innovative products.

Recently, Lafarge Africa acquired an additional 50 per cent stake in the United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem), having earlier acquired 35 per cent equity in the Cross River-based cement company.

At the conclusion of the transaction, Lafarge Africa will own an indirect interest of 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Unicem.

To a Lafarge Africa stakeholder, this shows ambition and the company’s confidence in the Nigerian economy.

“Lafarge shareholders will now be more confident that they are part of the whole process and we can support it with our balance sheet,” said Bayet.

Analysts at SBG Securities see this as a good deal for minority shareholders.

According to SBG Securities, “it appears to be a good deal. We doubt implied valuations will be realised any other way.

Based on our analysis, we expect minority holders in Ashaka to accept this offer. On our estimate, implied valuation (N23.8/s) suggests FY16E Enterprise Value (EV)/ Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 16.6x and a P/E of 20.7x which we don’t see as attainable in the medium term. Relative to the average multiples of Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa, the implied valuation indicates a 70 percent and 30 percent premium on a FY16E EV/EBITDA and PE basis respectively,” SBG Securities said.

30

news

Monday, 6 June, 2016

NLC/NUT national leaders arrive Ibadan over detention of Oyo Labour leaders

By Wale Akinselure

N

ATIONAL president, Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr Micheal Olukoya, principal officers of the NUT and the national leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) will, today in

Ibadan, lend their voices to the ongoing battle between the Labour movement and the state government over the involvement of individuals, alumni and missionaries in the management of public secondary schools.

President, Oyo State

chapter of the NUT, Mr Samuel Akano, confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune, Sunday evening, that 13 national officers of NUT and five national officers would be on ground to examine the ongoing impasse, especially the

continued detention of five Labour leaders, since last Friday.

Among the mission of the national officers is meeting with state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, while also seeing to the perfection of the bail granted

the Labour leaders by the magistrates’ court sitting on Friday, at Iyaganku, Ibadan.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the NUT, Oyo State wing has expressed disgust at the reported dissociation of leader of the

Renovation of over 4,000 primary schools in Kaduna to gulp N60bn —el-Rufa’i KADUNA State governor, Nasiru el-Rufa’i, on Sunday, said the renovation of 4,000 primary schools across the state would gulp N60 billion.

He made the disclosure at the 50th anniversary of Nuhu Baturen Makaranta Primary School at Anguwan Kahu, Samaru, in ZariaCity, Kaduna State.

He said government had so far spent N6 billion in renovating some selected 400 primary schools in the state.

El-Rufa’i added that the state government was considering the possibility of converting all primary schools into storey buildings so as to accommodate more pupils.

Commenting on the ongoing primary school breakfast programme in the state, the governor said government was looking at the possibility of incorporating nursery pupils into the system to give them a sense of belonging.

The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera (right), presenting a horse to the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode (middle) during the governor’s visit to the emirate in Argungu, Kebbi State, on Sunday. With them is Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi (second left). PHOTO: NAN

Biafra: MASSOB pledges allegiance to Niger Delta Avengers Jude Ossai -Enugu THE Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB ) has pledged its total allegiance to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other proBiafran groups from the Niger Delta region, saying the militant groups had been consistent in their fight against injustice in the region.

In a statement issued at the weekend and signed

by the national leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu, the Igbo group stated that they were overwhelmed by the support they had been receiving from the NDA in the struggle for the liberation of Biafra.

“The consistency, selflessness and pragmatism of these Biafra warriors gladdens our hearts. It shows and proves the positiveness and acceptability of Biafra by our brethren across the Niger. It also

Glo commends LBS Alumni on contribution to economy JUNE 4 was a memorable night for members of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association as it held its annual President’s Dinner sponsored by next generation telecommunications network, Globacom.

Globacom’s Coordinator, Enterprise Sales, Mr Folu Aderibigbe, eulogised members of the association for the contributions they had made to the national building through professionalism and excellence in their various business engagements.

“The Lagos Business School has produced exceptional business leaders that have engineered and shaped the business and economic landscape of the country.

Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), Mr Ogundiran Olusola, from the ongoing struggle of the state’s Labour movement against the state government and the management of public secondary schools.

The union, in a statement signed by Assistant State Secretary, Mr Oyediran Abiodun, held that Ogundiran’s statement was “misguided and purposed to cause ripples within the ranks of the Labour movement in the state.”

NUT described as “mischievous and fraudulent,” the decision of Ogundiran to dissociate himself from the ongoing battle between the state government and the Labour movement, especially noting that a leader of the JNC, Mr Oparinde Kehinde, was also one of those Labour leaders presently detained at Agodi prison.

The union regarded Ogundiran’s position as “his personal view and expression” and not that of the NUT and any affiliate member of JNC.

You all have contributed in one way or another to the nation’s development and added value to its economy,” he said.

He said Globacom was proud and happy to be associated with the association and would continue to give its unflinching support to the association in every way it could.

In his welcome address, the outgoing president of the association, Mr Wole Oshin, who handed over to Mrs Bola Adesola, extolled Globacom’s pivotal stance in the nation’s telecommunication industry and the role it had played in making telephony affordable and accessible to many Nigerians across the country.

He also commended the company’s drive in supporting and promoting sports and entertainment in Nigeria, while thanking it for its magnanimity in sponsoring the dinner.

Mr Oshin enumerated the achievements of his administration while in office, including the training of all Lagos State High Court judges on digital economy.

He also pointed out that for the first time, women were elected into several top positions in the association in an election conducted by his administration.

Chief Executive Officer of Swift Networks, Charles Anudu, was presented with the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award.

rubbished the earlier diversionary, cowardice, stupid and negative comments/statements and position of some leaders of ethnic nationalities of the South-South, who had been brainwashed by Hausa /Fulani /Yoruba oligarchies against Biafra,” he said.

The group lamented that the Nigerian government and the international human rights organisations, as well as the Western world “seemed to have turned blind eyes over atrocities being committed against Biafrans, who are agitating for self-autonomy, but posited that time shall come when the Nigerian government will beg Biafrans and the detained Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of

Biafra (IPOB).

“These extra judicial killings of non-violent, unarmed Biafra agitators had gone unchecked

by Nigerian government and international watchdogs against human rights abuses, brutalities, genocides and pogroms, including the United Nation.

“The Western world seems not to react against the ethnic cleansing of our people because of economic and diplomatic interest in Biafra natural treasures, which they aligned with Nigeria and kept their hypocritical eyes closed against the fate of over 60 millions Biafrans.

“Our comrades from Niger Delta who are more united and focused than

groups from Igbo based hinterland should not relent as the knees of our oppressors shall bow soon.

They will beg Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others,” the separatists concluded.

NDA launches new website The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has launched a new website, www.nigerdeltaavengers.org.

The militant group had, in the last one month, promoted its attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta, using its website, Facebook page and Twitter handle, @NDAvengers.

The group, Sunday afternoon, stated via its Twitter handle that its old website was never shutdown, but underwent maintenance.

Boko Haram: ICRC reunites 23 families THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said it had reunited 23 families who were separated as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

Head of the Sub-delegation of the organisation, Ignacio San Roman, stated this on Sunday, in Yola, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

San Roman said the fami-

lies were reunited following several contacts made by the organisation through telephones, photos and other available means.

“We have so far reunited 23 families from northeastern Nigeria after they were separated and lost contact due to Boko Haram conflict.

“And among them, three are cross-border cases,” San Roman said.

He explained that the

three cross-border families reunited included one from Chad and two others from Cameroon.

San Roman explained that the link-up family project was for unaccompanied minors or parents looking for their children and vulnerable adults.

He said that very soon the organisation would organise more cross-border reunification from Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

31

southwest

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Poly Ibadan Faculty of Science, national conference begins today

Collapsed building:

Adebutu identifies with victim's family

OlayinkaOlukoya-Abeokuta A member, representing Remo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, has identified with the family of late Noheemat Sikiru, who lost her life in a collapsed building at Itoku area of Abeokuta.

Adebutu described the incident as unfortunate and urged the state government to probe into the remote and immediate cause of the incident.

It will be recalled that a four storey market building under construction, a project of the state government, collapsed leading to the death of the 27- year -old mother of two.

The lawmaker said he, on behalf of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), could not but identify with the deceased family.

"It is important to share and show compassion with fellow human beings. The situation was very unfortunate. It was a bad accident; I think in due course, we should rationalise how this accident came about.

"But what is most important is that we should show humanity in all things we do as a people, as a nation.

We must show compassion to one another. When I actually learnt this family has been bereaved in this way, we found it necessary on behalf of PDP and my good self to share some fellowship with them, which we have done."

He expressed displeasure that government had not done enough to monitor projects.

From left, Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose; Speaker, state House of Assembly, Pastor Kola Oluwawole; his wife, Funmilayo and the chairman of the Assembly Committee on Health, Dr Samuel Omotoso, during a thanksgiving service marking the first anniversary of the fifth Assembly, at the Government House Chapel, Ado Ekiti, on Sunday.

Take census of lawyers, judge tells NBA HakeemGbadamosi-Akure

T

HE leadership of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has been charged

to have a register that would contain the names of all practicing legal practitioners in the country.

An Ondo State High Court judge, Justice Olabode Ad-

egbehingbe, gave the charge in Akure, the state capital, during the inauguration of the new executive members of Akure chapter of NBA, at the weekend.

We'll use education levy to rehabilitate schools —Fayose Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti EKITI State government will use whatever it has so far got from the education levy to rehabilitate schools across the three senatorial districts soon, the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said.

In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, on Sunday, by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, stated this at a meeting with tipper drivers and suppliers at the Government House.

"The state government will soon make public what has so far been raised through

the education levy and then we will embark on the rehabilitation of schools across the three senatorial districts of the state. We have been transparent in the handling of the finances of the state and that is why we are calling for more support and understanding from our people.

"There is economic recession in the country and that calls for prudent management of resources. The education levy was part of the outcome of the education summit we held last year. It is like the N500 you people are paying on a tipper-load

of sand that we all agreed to.

"You can see that we have worked on Ado-Afao Road, a major axis where you people get your sand.

Though some people want to sabotage our revenuegeneration effort by printing fake receipts, we are evolving strategies to block loopholes," he said.

The governor, who used the occasion to comment on the strike embarked upon by civil servants in the state, said all stakeholders must understand the tough economic climate in the country.

Return of school to owners: Akinfenwa commends Oyo govt's initiative

By Tolu Olamiriki BISHOP of Ibadan Diocese, Anglican Communion, Right Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa, at the weekend, lauded the vision and mission of Oyo State government on the initiative taken targeted at returning and ceding some schools to interested missionaries, communities, as well as relevant stakeholders for the improvement of education sector.

Akinfenwa gave the commendation during a sermon delivered at the burial service for the father of the founder of the Lead City University, Chief Jackson Folorunso Owoeye, at The Cathedral of St. James The Great, Oke-Bola, Ibadan.

While saying that missionaries are ready to collaborate with the state

government and other relevant agencies in the move towards improving standard of education, he said that there is the need to commend the courage and pragmatic efforts of the Governor Abiola Ajimobiled administration at improving the standard of the education in the state.

The cleric, who condemned those who are opposed to the move, said that there is no sentiment to the step taken but rather, for the betterment of the people of the state and future generation.

He said that the decayed state of education sector called for its repositioning for improved service delivery and condemned some union leaders who invaded the venue of a recent forum organised by the state government on June, 1 on the issue by acting negatively to

the progress of the state.

He said that the initiatives will allow private sector to collaborate with the public sector in improving education, adding that government alone could not effectively handle the sector bearing in mind its crucial role to the Nigerian economy.

Akainfenwa, had in his sermon, described Chief Owoeye as a great enigma, who impacted positively on those who came across him in life.

“Our body has expiry date. We have come to say goodbye to a great man whose body has expired” he said.

A day like this, reminds us that success can be achieved through righteousness. You do not need to commit fraud or change figures before you

can make it in life. Character won respect for individual, he said.

According to him, the registration of the lawyers became imperative in order to check impostors and quacks, who have entered into the law profession with a view to destroying it.

Justice Adegbehingbe noted that the quality of papers being filed at various courts in the land did not represent the quality of the training of lawyers in the country.

He, however, charged the Adetunji Oso- led NBA executive to “have a deliberate census of legal practitioners within the jurisdiction to the extent of ensuring that we are all-in Fact-enrolled as such.”

The judge explained that the law profession can be repositioned by the leadership of NBA only when the rules of the professional conduct are strictly adhered to.

The newly elected members of the executive included Oso, who is the chairman, Busuyi Bankole, vice chairman, Olawale Daniel, secretary, Akinrinsola Olalekan, assistant secretary, Mrs Oyin Olatubosun, PRO, Mrs Aderosoye, treasurer, Familusi Olamuyiwa, social secretary, Ademola Babalola, and Dauda Abdulkadir, financial secretary.

Police arrest 6 pipeline vandals in Ogun OlayinkaOlukoya-Abeokuta SIX pipeline vandals, who have been responsible for vandalism at Arepo area of Ogun State, have been arrested by a special operation coordinated by the state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, last Friday and Saturday, respectively.

In a statement by the command's image maker, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the criminals, were arrested at different locations in the state, while carrying out the act of economic sabotage.

Four of the vandals were said to be responsible for

killings and damaging at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines at Arepo over the years, while two other suspects were arrested at the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, on the LagosIbadan Expressway.

The suspects were Pere Ugbozuwa, Audu Tony, Ifeanyi Eze, Ojogo Ezekiel while Olamilekan Akinyemi and Ramon Mudashiru, were arrested with a Ford bus marked LAGOS MUS 887 XF, loaded with petrol in fourteen 200 litre drums and several jerry cans.

THE 5th National Conference of the Faculty of Science, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, begins today with an opening ceremony billed for the Assembly Hall, North Campus of the institution, at 10:00 am.

The 2016 conference tagged: 'Science and Technology for economic survival,' will have Professor Rabiu Babatunde of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Kogi State University, Anyigba, as the lead speaker, while the vice chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Professor Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi, will be the chairman.

The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Olasupo Adetunji , is expected to be the royal father of the day, while the rector, of the institution, Professor Olatunde Fawole, will be the chief host and the Dean, Faculty of Science, Mrs Olaide Salawu, will be the host.

NBA, Ibadan branch, gets new exco NEW executives have been elected for the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch, for a period of two years.

At the election held over the weekend, Akeem Agbaje, emerged as the chairman while Adeleola Kareem became the vice chairman.

Other elected officers are: Yakubu Fadare, secretary; Temitope Ogunrinde, treasurer; Ronke Ige, social secretary; Damilola Onabanjo, welfare secretary; Ibukun Famoriyo, ssistant secretary and Bola Alabi, publicity secretary.

In a press release issued and signed by the publicity secretary, Mr Alabi, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, the chairman, in his post-election speech, promised to reposition the bar.

We'll return to power in Oyo in 2019 —PDP group

By Nurudeen Alimi

A group, Oyo Arise for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that nothing will stop the PDP from taking over the mantle of leadership in Oyo State in 2019, even at the federal level.

A member of the group, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoenia, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, on behalf of others, shortly after the inaugural meeting of the group, which has Chief Michael Adetoro and the former speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Honourable Asimiyu Alarape, as chairman and secretary respectively, in Ibadan, noted that it became imperative for PDP to return to power in 2019.

32

south-westnews

Monday, 6 June, 2016

We need money not solidarity strike, Ekiti workers tell Fayose Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti

W

ORKERS in Ekiti State on Sunday reacted to a “solidarity strike” the state governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, said he was embarking on and said what they needed was money not sympathy.

The labour in the state maintained that what the workers needed “is at least payment of three months salary to actually authenti-

cate the sincerity of the selfimposed strike declared by Governor Fayose.”

The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the state, Mr Odunayo Adesoye, who spoke with newsmen in Ado Ekiti, said “the level of poverty among the civil servants has become burdensome and unbearable to the extent that they have become beggars.

“We appreciate the governor for sharing from our

pains and anguish. But the workers will appreciate and commend him the more if he can pay at least two or three months salaries out of five months owed.

“Our situation has gone beyond the governor declaring mere solidarity strike.

We need more of actions now than talks because our situation is gradually becoming hopeless.

“Some of us have the intention of going to work, but no

money to pay for transport fare. Some of us could not take two meals a day. Some could not cook soup with ordinary fish, so our situation has gone beyond what anyone could trivialise.

“But I want to say that we are resolute to fight on, because it is an issue that borders on our welfare, careers and prosperity.

“We appeal to the workers to be law-abiding. We want them to be civil, even in the

face of provocation. By the grace of God, we shall all rejoice in the end,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Fayose has replied the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, attributing the state’s inability to pay workers salary regularly to the current downturn in the nation’s economy and the heavy loan burden left by his predecessor.

The governor, in his response to the NLC president’s letter on the ongoing workers strike in the state, called on the NLC to join the advocacy for fiscal restructuring in Nigeria with a view to reviewing the federation allocation formula in favour of states, towards a lasting solution to the palpable indigent status of most states.

Aregbesola tasks insurance brokers on recovery of economy Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and the Head of Giesi Family, Professor Adeoye Ogunmola (second left) with Alhaji Bayo Busari, Yinka Ajibike and Sola Adebiyi, during a courtesy visit to the palace.

Constitute cabinet, conduct LG poll, Osun PDP tells Aregbesola Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

OSUN State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, appealed to Governor Rauf Aregbesola to constitute the state cabinet and conduct local government election without further delay.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Prince Diran Odeyemi, in Osogbo, the party said it was democratically faulty that almost half way into the life span of the present administration, the state cabinet is yet to be constituted, while administrative secretaries were put in charge of local government areas.

According to the statement, “the decision not to appoint commissioners by Governor Aregbesola was partly responsible for several of his mistakes and inefficiency,” adding that even if he was not going to take advice and contribution from them, the governor should be prevailed upon by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to set up the state cabinet.

The party said the illegality of not having a state cabinet

since November 2014 was encouraged by the Federal Government, which it accused of granting Osun bailout without State Executive Council resolution on the matter as necessary condition for the release of the fund.

The statement reads in part: “It would surely surprise the whole world that Osun State has no state cabinet, even when those gover-

nors elected in 2015 have set up cabinet as demanded by the constitution.

“Our Ogbeni has been the governor, the commissioner for works and the sole administrator which conflicts with the dictates of genuine democracy and the constitution he swore to protect.

“While PDP is never interested in whatever crises the issue of who makes the list is causing within APC fold, our

interest remains the good people of Osun State who always suffer the consequences of APC internal wrangling and off track administration of Governor Aregbesola. We believe Governor Aregbesola’s mistakes and undue muscle flexing against the workers and the people can be checked, if state cabinet made up of true Osun indigene is formed.”

Returning schools to original owners will create crises, old students warn Oyo gov

By Kehinde Adio

THE President, Baptist Secondary School, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, Old Students Association 95set, Mr Tomiwa Oyerinde, has appealed to Oyo State government to stop the move to return missionary schools in the state to their original owners.

Mr Oyerinde made the appeal on Thursday, at the official commissioning of a borehole donated to the school by the set as part of contributions to the development of the school.

According to him, there is no justification for the de-

cision as its disadvantages will override its advantages, saying that there is no reason for the present administration under the leadership of Senator Abiola Ajimobi to disrupt the already established peace in the state.

Speaking further, he said: “My alma mater comprises of Christians, Muslims and other religions’ faithful. So, if the Baptist should take over the school, some policies might be introduced, which some students from other religions would not be able to cope with.

“There is no how the state government can hands off

from education because of the needy in the society whose children must not be denied access to basic education. While the old students will not relent in their efforts to revamp quality education in the public schools, state government should not withdraw its educational services in the state.”

Speaking in the same vein, the chairman of the school’s Parent Teacher Association, Pastor Adeleke Adeneye, described the move as a non welcome development in the education sector in the state.

GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has said that insurance brokers have crucial roles to play in the efforts to revamp Nigeria’s ailing economy.

He made this disclosure while declaring open the 2016 Chief Executive Officers’ retreat of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), at Zenababs Half Moon Resort, Ilo Aiyegunle, Ilesa.

Represented by his Chiefof-Staff, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, Aregbesola tasked the professional body to work out a modality that will rescue Nigeria from its present economic challenges.

The governor suggested that the ways to liberate the country from its present state was for the professional bodies to institutionalise strategies and as well map-out realistic economic policies to mitigate the situation.

Aregbesola further decried the mono-economic nature of Nigeria’s economy, saying all hands must be on deck to find possible solutions to the nation’s socio-economic, political and cultural challenges.

Earlier in his remark, the president of NCRIB, Mr Emmanuel Kayode Okunoren, had commended Governor Aregbesola for living up to the expectation in both human and infrastructural developments.

Nigerian Tribune

Pay electricity bills, Ondo CP directs police barracks AS distribution companies (discos) in the country intensify efforts at collecting debts owed by military formations, Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Mrs Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison, has summoned all Area Commanders within her command to a meeting on how to map out modalities for the immediate payment of electricity bills by residents of police barracks in the state.

The CP dropped this hint during a courtesy visit by the Chief State Head, Ondo/ Ekiti State, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC), Mr Ernest Edgar, in Akure, Ondo State capital.

In a statement signed by Benin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC) Chief Corporate Services Officer, Mrs Kunbi Labiyi, Edgar confirmed that the Force headquarters had been duly advised and that payment would commence soon.

Mrs Ibifuro-Harrison said the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government must start from every individual and that the Nigerian Police must be seen as leading from the front.

Mr Edgar commended the command for the timely arraignment of two vandals with conviction and sentencing of one of them to two years imprisonment by the Odigbo Magistrates’ Court.

Ashi community commends DPO THE newly transferred Divisional Police Officer to Bodija Ashi Police Station, Mrs Juliana Kemi Ajao, has been commended for her efforts in tackling the menace of robbers in the Bodija Ashi area of lbadan since assumption of duty three weeks ago.

In a press release signed on behalf of the Ashi community by Elder Ipadeola Kassim, prior to Mrs Ajao’s transfer to the area, many residents had to abandon their houses due to constant attacks by robbers.

According to him, the new DPO has been very pro active in dislodging robbers by constant patrol and prompt response to distress calls.

Elder Kassim said the DPO, on many occasions, personally led her officers to patrol in the middle of the night which led to the arrest of suspected robbers.

He then advised the new DPO not to relent on her efforts until the community is cleared of robbers and miscreants.

33

Monday, 6 June, 2016 I, Bala Emmanuel am the same person bearing Bala Makama Emmanuel.

Henceforth, I want to be called and addressed as BALA MAKAMA EMMANUEL. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

GTBank Plc, FCMB Plc and general public take note.

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I, Alaro Abdul Suraj am the same person bearing Alaro Suraj Abdulahi. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as ALARO ABDUL SURAJ. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Skye Bank Plc., Diamond Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, Victor Adetola Odufale am the same person as Adetola Olusegun Odufale. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as VICTOR ADETOLA ODUFALE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

I, formerly Boniface Anna Janet am the same person bearing OCHONYE BONIFACE ANNA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

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General public take note.

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I, Abolarin Timothy Ayodele confirmed that my name was mistakenly written as Ayodele Joseph Timothy instead of Abolarin Timothy Ayodele. Now, I reinstate that my correct name is ABOLARIN TIMOTHY AYODELE and my date of birth is 21/1/1978. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Christianah Opeyemi Oladimeji now MRS CHRISTIANAH OPEYEMI OLANIPEKUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ibikunle Grace Oluwatosin now MRS. AKANBI GRACE OLUWATOSIN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Abass Ademola Olayinka now ABASS WASIU ADEMOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, Olaide Oluwadamilola Omobolanle am the same person as Olaide Oluwadamilola Rukayat and Olaide Oluwadamilola Omo. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as OLAIDE OLUWADAMILOLA OMOBOLANLE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria Plc., GTBank Plc., INEC and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH

I, Adebayo Idowu Ganiyu, my name was mistakenly written as Adebayo Idowu Olarewaju instead of ADEBAYO IDOWU GANIYU. My correct date of birth 04/04/1984 not 04/04/1986.

All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Bayonle Saheed now LAMIDI SAHEED BIODUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Idaya Olajide now LAWAL JEMILA DASOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ige Esther Olubunmi now IGE BUNMI ESTHER. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Adeyoju Taiwo Toyin now MRS EBI MARTINS TAIWO TOYIN. All former documents remain valid. OAUTHC, Ile-Ife and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Mmuoghara Immaculate Chinyeaka now MRS AGBODE IMMACULATE CHINYEAKA not Mrs Agbode Immaculate Chinye. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Yusuff Abdulateef Kehinde am the same person as Yusuffu Lateef Kehinde. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as YUSUFF ABDULATEEF KEHINDE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. GTBank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Aina Olajide Tunji now JONES OLATUNJI AKANNI. All former documents remain valid.

Zenith Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ugwuala Chinyere Francisca now OPARAFRANK CHINYERE FRANCISCA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Oluwole Mary Oluwaseun now MRS. HAMMED MARY OLUWASEUN. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State TESCOM, GTBank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mr. Raheem Azeez Yusuf now MR. RAIMI AZEEZ YUSUF. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Adebayo Bukola now BAMIDELE BUNMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Taiwo Oluwayemisi Tolulope now MRS. UMEZURIKE OLUWAYEMISI TOLULOPE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adeyemi Adenike Oluwabukola now MRS OYEDIRAN ADENIKE OLUWABUKOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Osifuwa Yetunde Oluwakemi now MISS OSIFUWA YETUNDE ADERONKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Busari Suara Akanji now SUBERU MUDASIRU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Makun Rebecca Arinola now ARIYO REBECCA ARINOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Oludare Sina Abiodun now MR OLUDARE OLUSINA ABIODUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

I, Orisajimi Taiwo Morisola my name was mistakenly written as Orijimi Kehinde. My correct name is ORISAJIMI TAIWO MORISOLA. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ilesanmi Lanre Pamilerin now ILESANMI LANRE OWOLABI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Lawal Abimbola Temitope, Femi-Adepeko Abimbola Temitope now ADEPEKO ABIMBOLA TEMITOPE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Nusirat Remi Adedeji now MRS. NUSIRAT REMI ODUNLAMI. All former documents remain valid.

Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan, First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Omole Dolapo Monisola now OGUNLEYE DOLAPO MONILOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Olayiwola Ajamu Lawal am the same person bearing Olayiwola Ajamu. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as OLAYIWOLA AJAMU LAWAL. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Skye Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Gbadegesin Olufemi now ADEGOKE SULAIMON OLUFEMI. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc., First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Babatunde Cecilia now MRS. MATHEW KEHINDE CECILIA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mijinyawa Adamu now MUHAMMAD ADAMU MIJINYAWA. All former documents remain valid.

Nigeria Air Force Detachment, Abake Estate, Akobo, Ibadan.

EcoBank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Toyin Wahab Elegbede now ANIFOWOSE TOYIN FELICIA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Hussein Rukayat Omolade now OSENI RUKAYAT OMOLADE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Mrs. Sadiq Oluwakemi Selimat now MRS. SADIQ THERESA OLUWATOSIN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Omotunde Foluso Fakuole my correct name is OMOTUNDE FOLUSO FAKUOLE not Ajimati Abiodun Sunday. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, MRS. JIMOH JELILAT am the same person as MRS IGHODALO MARY JELILAT. All documents bearing these names remain valid. First Bank Plc., Wema Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oladepo Olukemi Lolade now MRS. ADEDOKUN OLUKEMI LOLADE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olafisoye Ronke Blessing now MRS. AKINOLA RONKE BLESSING. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

34 news

Monday, 6 June, 2016

NEWS ANALYSIS: Dissecting Atiku’s restructuring Agenda Continued from pg2

vided among the political class as to the way to go. Like the former vice-president identified, the current holders of political power could argue that restructuring should take the back seat at the moment since they are preoccupied with tackling immediate issues of the economy and insecurity. While Atiku’s piece appears popular among political commentators and the civil society, the political class is taking it with suspicion.

Socio-political organisations, including the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere and the pan Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have also spoken in favour of Atiku’s submissions, which amounted, more or less to reaffirmation of the groups’ positions overtime. For instance, the Afenifere has been a champion for true federalism since the days of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which saw off the regime of military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida in 1993.

A constant voice in the quest for federalism, who is also a chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has constantly restated that true federalism is the only political antidote to Nigeria’s woes, adding that the federalism being practiced currently is “awkward.”

He said in a recent interview: “The awkward position we are in this country today was created as a result of the coup of 1966.

After the coup, the country was restructured in the sense that the military was now ruling the country on decrees. And that is why by the time the military went and Abacha was forced out by NADECO, Afenifere and NADECO were insisting that there should be a restructuring. The structure of this nation has been destructured, and so, there is need for urgent restructuring if we must get things right. You cannot be talking of restructuring if there is no structure.”

In another interview conducted ahead the 2015 election, Chief Adebanjo restated the position of Afenifere thus: “The Constitution the colonialists gave us at independence was jettisoned after the 1966 coup. And that is

why you saw arbitrary creation of states and local government areas because the people there were Northerners.

“And we said we don’t want the country to separate; for us all to live in peace, let us all sit down and restructure the country on the principle of federalism. Federalism is the system whereby the various ethnic nationalities that formed the country can grow at their own space and then still keep the country as one, that was what we insisted upon.”

While reacting to Atiku’s position on restructuring , Chief Adebanjo stated that the former vice-president was on point.

He said: “Atiku’s view is a welcoming view. He has been consistent on the call for the need for the country to restructure. He wrote an opinion article during the national confab, stating that there was the need for the restructuring of the country.”

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, was, however, on hand to put a note of caution on Atiku’s submissions when he said on Saturday that the incumbent government could not toy with the idea of restructuring for now.

Oyegun declared that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was preoccupied with rebuilding the economy, tackling insecurity and poverty, as well as creating jobs, and as such, could not handle restructuring at the moment.

He said: “To bring this additional issue (restructuring) – is not the wisest thing for a nation that is struggling to stabilise to go into an unnecessary diversion at this point.”

“Nothing is wrong with the idea, but at this time, it is best for us to concentrate on our priorities. As a party, our priority right now is to rebuild the economy, create jobs and deal with the security problems at hand.”

“And with what is happening in the Niger Delta, you can see that there is so much to do. We must get our priority right, some day we will come to that.”

But the Pro- National Conference Organisation (PRONACO), in a statement on Sun-

day, hailed Atiku’s position on the need for restructuring, adding that the development had reignited hope that the nation would one day be restructured.

In a statement by its Media Assistant, Mr Olubori Obafemi, which quoted its spokesman, Olawale Okunniyi, PRONACO noted that the idea of restructuring was becoming inevitable in Nigeria, adding that the idea was not only popular, but held the key to Nigeria’s survival as a cohesive political entity.

The group said: “The snag that has previously hindered a valid national restructuring in Nigeria is the genuine fear of every past leader of the country not to preside over an unintended consequence of such initiative like the breakup of the country among others” “And President Buhari too, given his military training to defend the unity of Nigeria, may also be cautious and reticent except he is able to get visible cooperation and firm impetus from the political class as they are currently doing, as well as practicable blue print and roadmap for a sustainable restructuring.”

The group also called on the incumbent government to immediately adopt the needed resolutions to enhance restructuring, adding that it was convinced that “the difference between President Buhari and other past leaders is his profound belief in the masses and principle of popular collective change.”

In separate interviews last week, the Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo hailed Atiku’s submission as something of a restatement of their position over the years. General Secretary of Afenifere, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa, who spoke in a media interview, advised President Buhari to implement the report of the national conference as a way forward.

He said: “The sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo, said we have to restructure the country, but as we are now, we don’t have a true federalism to favour any geographical region.

“In a true federal structure, every component that makes up the federation will be al-

lowed to exist at its own pace, which is not what is happening now. We have always preached what will make every component to be free, proud, develop and be ready to innovate.”

He added: “We have been calling on the present government to pick up the report of the 2014 confab, but it does not have the courage to pick it up. I don’t know why the President is not acting on the report and government is supposed to be a continuum.

“If he continues to do certain things that are good, why doesn’t he do this? We are not saying he should implement everything but, at least, he would see some solutions in the confab report such that he would not need to set up committees for everything.”

The President-General. Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Enwo Igariwey, also said in a media interview that the group welcomed Atiku’s position, adding that it canvassed the restructuring of the polity during the 2014 national constitutional conference.

He said: “That (restructuring) was our position during the last national constitutional conference. We have been calling for restructuring, we believe it is in the best interest of the country.”

Discourses on federalism in Nigeria have always been interesting. At the moment, no one seems to disagree on the lofty ideals of federalism and restructuring; especially going by the state of bankruptcy of the federating units. There is, however, no consensus as to the timeline. The current National Assembly could take a cue from this and ensure that the ongoing constitution amendment process addresses the issue of restructuring once and for all. Incidentally the incumbent Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has severally decried the evils of “feeding bottle federalism.”

His description of Nigeria’s governance is playing key roles in the constitution amendment process. Hopefully, soon, the nation would put the question of its awkward federalism behind.

Nigeria to have Diaspora research centre soon —Dabiri-Erewa Cultists sack police station, NIGERIA will soon establish a diaspora resource and research centre, the first of its kind and to be hosted by the University of Ibadan (UI).

This was disclosed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa, when Dr Senayon Olaoluwa, Head of Diaspora and Transnational Studies in the Institute of African Studies,UI, visited her in Abuja.

Olaoluwa, who is the coordinator for the proposed centre, said the world class centre was being facilitated

by Honourable Dabiri-Erewa to aid research on diaspora development.

He said the centre, which would be knowledge-driven and research-oriented for Diaspora development, would complement the department which is the first of its kind in Africa.

Olaoluwa said there was the need to put in place modalities that would enhance the repatriation of resources of the Diaspora for the development of the nation.

According to him, it is high time countries began to look

at a relationship between home country like Nigeria, and what the nation could get out of the relationship.

Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that Nigeria is working on a National Diaspora Policy

guideline geared towards regulating all engagements with the Diaspora.

She explained that the policy when in place, would allow Nigerians in Diaspora to make inputs into policies

and programmes of the government.

She noted that nothing much could be achieved without a workable policy framework to engage Nigerians in Diaspora.

Implementation of amnesty programme not in line with its aims, presidential committee admits Chris Agbambu -Abuja THE presidential committee on small arms and light weapons, at the weekend, said although the amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants was a right move, its execution did not align with the spirit and letter of its initiators.

Chairman of the committee, Ambassador Emmanuel Imohe, who spoke during an inter-ministerial roundtable in Nigeria, organised in collaboration with West African Action Network on Small Arms and Light Weapons (WAANSA) and Control Arms Coalition, also raised the alarm over the quantum of small and light weapons in the country.

He said the militants might have returned obso-

lete weapons during the early phase of the programme in exchange for funds which some of them used to purchase more sophisticated arms for the current attacks on oil installations in the region.

He stated that anybody who wishes to resolve the security situation in the country must first of all mop up weapons, so that the groups did not have access to them any longer.

“Something is wrong with the implementation of the amnesty programme so that the spirit does not tally with the letter of the programme.

“There is no congruence in the two and I pray that as things stand in the Niger Delta, government does not allow the crisis to degenerate further.

“The country is awash with small arms and light weapons. It is important for us as a country to put up a system that can help mop up the weapons in circulation,” he said.

kill 11 in Rivers community Dapo Falade -Port Harcourt

GUNMEN suspected to be cultists, again, struck in the early hours of Sunday, sacking a police station and killing about 11 people in three communities in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The cultists, said to have invaded Rumuji, Ovogo and Rumuewhuo, were said to have earlier attacked the Rumuji divisional police headquarters, shooting heavily and allegedly

NAFDAC to rid Nigeria of sub-standard, counterfeit medical products, food —Acting DG Acting Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Mrs. Yetunde Oni, has stressed the determination of the agency to rid the country of spurious, substandard, falsified and falsely-labelled and counterfeit medical products and food.

She disclosed this at the weekend, during a cour-

tesy visit to the Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

According to her, the visit was part of efforts to enrich the existing relationship between the agency and its stakeholders in the state, adding that “the task of safeguarding the health of the nation, which is the key mandate of NAFFDAC, is one task that NAFDAC cannot accomplish alone.”

chased away officers on night duty before setting free all the detainees in the cell.

The hoodlums also carted away guns and other weapons from the police armoury, even as a source said the police station was overran by the angry bandits.

A source in the area, who simply gave his name as Mr Michael, said seven people were killed in Ovogo community, while two others were shot dead in Rumuji and Rumuewhuo communities, respectively.

“Residents of Ovogo community woke up this morning to see a lot of dead bodies. There was much shooting last night. The entire Ovogo, Rumuewhuo and Rumuji communities have been deserted by residents because of fear,” he said.

When contacted, spokesman of the state police command, Ahmad Muhammad, confirmed the incident but added that “there was something like that but no casualties on either sides.”

35

news

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Disclosing names of looters will discourage further discoveries —Presidency

By Wale Akinselure

THE Presidency, on Sunday, said President Buhari did not disclose names of looters alongside the recent loot disclosure so as not to discourage further recoveries of looted funds.

Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina speaking on Channels television programme, noted that Buhari also heeded to legal opinions that disclosing the names of looters was premature and would amount to several suits if such named persons were found to be innocent.

In what was described as threading the path of caution, Adesina rejected insinuations that the bulk of the recoveries were from the Abacha loot, noting that the released figures were fresh loot covering May 29, 2015 to May 25, 2016.

He laid claim to the integrity quotient and trust of the Buhari-led government as showing that Nigerians believed the figures so far released were not conjectures.

“If you look at one category of those funds, you have interim forfeiture. Now, do you begin to mention names of people under that category when the courts may say they are guilty or not guilty? If the courts say they are not guilty, you have law suits on your hands which will be distraction to

the government.

“When you begin to mention names at this stage, it will also discourage a lot of people who have funds to return from bringing those funds. They will say that their names are published, even after surrendering these funds. At the end of the day, we lose possibly money in billions and trillions, monies which would have been recoverable for the country but because the country has been precipitate in mentioning names

and such funds will not be come into the coffers again.

“It is either you trust your government or you do not. And how do you trust your government? It depends on the integrity quotient of that government. If it was a government that we do not trust that was giving us figures, we would have been insisting that they must bring the names along with the figures because we do not trust them. But we know that this government is

one with high quotient of integrity. It is government that Nigerians willingly elected and they trust.

And so they believe these figures because they know that this government cannot trifle with their trust.

So, a lot of Nigerians know that whatever this government tells them, they can take to the bank, and so, they believe the figures.

“Well, the president said he will mention names. But even if he erred, it is better to err on the side of cau-

Newly-elected chairman, National Union of Medical Herbal Practitioners of Nigeria, Oyo State chapter, Chief (Dr) Ibraheem Oyeniran Oloyede (left), exchanging pleasantries with the vice chairman, Chief (Dr) Fatai Oyedun, during the inauguration of the new executive, at the Cultural Centre, Mokola, Ibadan, recently.

Buhari to see ear specialist in London Leon Usigbe -Abuja

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja today for a 10-day vacation in London, during which he will seek medical attention for his ailing ear.

The president has an infection in his left ear.

The infection, is believed, may be related to Meniere’s disease.

The ear infection has caused him to drastically reduce his official engagements recently.

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes episodes making one to feel as if spinning (vertigo), and fluctuating hearing loss with a progressive, ultimately permanent loss of hearing, ringing in the ear (tinnitus) and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear. In most cases, Meniere’s disease affects only one ear.

Meniere’s disease can occur at any age, but it usually starts between the ages of 20 and 50. It’s considered a chronic condition, but various treatments can help relieve symptoms and

tion because it came up and legal opinion was that it was premature to mention those names. I think it is a demonstration of strength for the president in that he did not mention those names again, contrary to what he had said earlier. It shows that he buys into the opinions of other people because legal minds urged the president not to mention those names yet, as it would have legal implications and he bought into it,” he said.

minimise the long-term impact.

The president, it will be recalled, had abruptly cancelled planned trips to Edo, Lagos and Rivers states recently, with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo drafted to represent him.

According to a statement issued by his Special Assis-

tant on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in Abuja, on Sunday night, the president would see an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist before resting in London.

“President Muhammadu Buhari will take 10 days off and travel to London on Monday to rest.

•Begins 10 days leave

“During the holiday, he will see an E.N.T. specialist for a persistent ear infection. The president was examined by his personal physician and an E.N.T specialist in Abuja and was treated. Both Nigerian doctors recommended further evaluation purely as a precaution,” the statement

read.

Against reports of ill health, Adesina had previously maintained the president was “fit as a fiddle.”

The president had, in February, officially handed over to Vice-President Osinbajo as he proceeded on a five-day leave, also in London.

Scrapping of post-UTME calamitous mistake —Afe Babalola Sam Nwaoko -Ado Ekiti

FOREMOST lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola,, has decried the scrapping of postUnified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Federal Government and described the action as a “calamitous mistake.”

Chief Babalola, in a statement, said he was also “more than shocked by the announcement that the Post-UTME, as part of the qualifying procedure for admission into Nigerian universities, has now been cancelled.”

According to him, “this, to me, is nothing but a most

calamitous mistake which poses danger and an irreversible adverse effect on the quality of education in this country.”

The legal icon added in the statement that he was “surprised and worried that such a far-reaching decision could be taken without due and adequate consideration for how the concept of the Post UTME came into being.”

He recalled that the postUTME came about in Nigeria, in 2003, because of the discovery by university administrators that “many of the students admitted into Nigerian universities through JAMB were not only academically deficient they could not justify the high marks scored

in Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations.”

Chief Babalola said: “Cases abound whereby JAMB examination papers were being openly compromised and sold to students at examination centres while some examination centres, mischievously dubbed miracle centres, were openly but unofficially designed to guarantee high marks for some candidates.

“The most pathetic aspect of this perfidy is that we later found out that most of these students with such high marks were unable to cope academically upon their being admitted to the universities.”

He said “it was at this point of this national embarrassment that the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities under my chairmanship, met in Abuja, x-rayed the cankerworm and recommended to former President Olusegun Obasanjo that JAMB should be scrapped because the integrity of its examinations has been called to question.”

He said it wasn’t the Committee of Pro-Chancellors alone that decided on the introduction of post-UTME, pointing out that “the matter was thrown open with contributions from stakeholders and interested and concerned members of the different strata of the society.”

Nigerian Tribune

FG grants 4 new private colleges operational certificates Clement Idoko -Abuja

THE Federal Government has granted provisional approval to four new private colleges of education to commence operation as part of efforts to increase access to teacher education in Nigeria.

Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor Monday Joshua, made this known during the weekend, in Abuja, while presenting accreditation certificates to some successful colleges of education.

He said all the newly approved colleges met minimum standards and requirements set by the commission.

He listed the colleges as: Oswald Waller College of Education, Shendam, Plateau State; Pan African College of Education, Offa, Kwara State; Diamond College of Education, Aba, Abia State and Bilyaminu College of Education, Dass, Bauchi State.

He also disclosed that the ongoing programmes accreditation of Colleges of Education in the country was on course, adding that 11 colleges have so far scaled the commission’s accreditation hurdle and were accordingly issued with accreditation certificates.

He recalled that when he assumed office, one year ago, one of the greatest challenges in the system was that a lot of programmes in the NCE-awarding institutions were unaccredited for about a decade.

He, however, disclosed that out of the 12 colleges of education visited for the accreditation so far, one has been closed down by the commission for having obtained Denied Accreditation in nine programmes.

He explained that the affected college was running 10 programmes and unfortunately only one of the programmes obtained Interim Accreditation, saying the institution lacked basic teaching and learning infrastructure as well as inadequate qualified teachers to teach the programmes it claimed to have offered.

Professor Joshua also disclosed that a total of 64,432 backlog of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) certificates have been released to students who graduated long time from some of the colleges but were unable to get their certificates.

36

communitynews

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Oyo Assembly calls for investigation into tremor in Saki By wale akinselure

T

HE Oyo State House of Assembly has charged the nation’s meteorological agency, among other relevant government agencies and departments, to investigate the recent tremor in Saki area of the state.

Medina, Balako, Abimbola Layout, Veterinary and Salam-Salam areas in Saki were reportedly affected in a

recent earth tremor.

This was the resolution of the assembly following a call for urgent intervention in the matter by the Deputy Speaker of the assembly, Honourable Abdulwasi Musah.

Elucidating his position, Musah noted the apprehension and anxiety of Saki indigenes as a result of intermittent earth tremor in the area.

The assembly also honoured the basketball team

of Yejide Girls’ Grammar School, Kudeti, Ibadan, for its successes in national basketball competitions over the past decade.

In view of the forthcoming national basketball competition scheduled to

hold in Asaba, Delta State, the assembly also called on the state’s Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that the well-being of the basketball team is catered for throughout the duration of the competition.

The team, in its presentation, decried poor funding and lack of motivation for members, calling for assistance from the state’s legislators, well-meaning individuals, and the state government.

It will be recalled that the need to honour the team was promoted by the member representing Ibadan South-East II, Honourable Ademola Ige and the Speaker, Honourable Micheal Adeyemo.

NGO trains female youths on skill acquisition by tunde adegbola

A non-government organisation (NGO), Centre for Initiatives Against Destitution and Crime (CIADEC), has trained some indigent female youths of Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State and environs, on how to become self-reliant through the skill acquisition programme organised for jobless youths in the area.

This was disclosed at the graduation ceremony of the trainees, held at the CIADEC headquarters in Ojoo, Moniya Road, Ibadan.

Speaking at the event, the President of CIADEC, Mr Abdulfatai Abdulaziz, who was represented by his vice, Mr Ademola Adedeji, said the NGO was established over a decade ago with the aim of assisting indigent youths of the area to be self-reliant, through skill acquisition scheme which includes computer training, website designing, event decoration, fashion designing, among others.

He advised the beneficiaries of the free training programme not to misuse the opportunity but to use it to develop others around them.

The guest lecturer, Mr Badru Isiaq, congratu-

lated the beneficiaries of the programme and urged them to be trustworthy in their future endeavours.

One of the beneficiaries, Miss Temitope Agboade, who was trained as fashion designer, thanked CIADEC for giving hope to the hopeless and advised other youths in the area to be more focused and determined to excel in their chosen careers.

Residents of Iletitun-Alafara in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, during the protest , on Thursday. PHOTO: NURUDEEN ALIMI

Iletitun-Alafara residents protest blockage of access road by nurudeen alimi

R

ESIDENTS of Iletitun-Alafara, on Thursday, staged a peaceful protest against what they described as the continued closure of the access road leading to the community by the management of the National Horticultural Institute for Research and Training (NIHORT), IdiIshin, Ibadan.

Speaking on behalf of other residents, the Secretary of Iletitun-Alafara

Community Development Association, Mr Olufemi Ogunfowora, stated that the community had been at loggerheads with the management of the institute over what he called unreasonable closure of the access road to the community and Eleyele area of Ibadan.

He noted that the closure of the road had brought untold hardship to members of NIHORT’S host communities and others like Apata, Gbekuba, Ologuneru, Apete, Ido

Traditional ruler counsels Yoruba on cultural revival by gbenga olumide THE Olukoyi of Ikoyi land, Oba Yisau Bantale Oyetunji Otunla Kodaolu I, has appealed to the Osun State government, and stakeholders in traditional institutions, not to relent in their efforts to revive and promote Yoruba cultures and traditions.

The Olukoyi made the appeal while addressing the crowd during this year’s annual Egungun Festival in the community.

He said anything that

has to do with Yoruba cultures and traditions should not be taken with levity adding that: “We have to continue to work towards enhancing and promoting our cultures in the entire Yoruba land.”

He declared that the advantages of the ongoing Egungun Festival in the community were enormous, adding that “during this period, there are always solutions to problems such as barrenness, sicknesses, joblessness among others. While all bad and untoward things in the community are also washed away.”

The traditional ruler, however, commended the effort of the state governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, in promoting Yoruba cultures and traditions since he assumed office.

Also in their separate speeches at the event, the traditional chiefs were of the opinion that the Yoruba race has rich cultural values which are being considered as one of the best in the world.

They added that the Yoruba tradition, mode of dressing, festivals, moral values and others were deep and meaningful.

and environs.

Ogunfowora further held that series of appeal both written and verbal had been made to the management of NIHORT to rescind its decision, but none had yielded positive result.

“At a point, we wrote a letter to the Oyo State Ministry of Environment to seek government intervention on the matter but there was no positive response.

“The major reason we are staging this peaceful protest is to let the management of NIHORT understand the fact that it has to take its host communities into consideration when taking decisions that will affect them.

“The restriction of access is unwaranted. It has made life difficult for members of the host communities. We cannot continue to live under the tyranny of NIHORT’s management. It is time NIHORT emulated great institutions like the University of Ibadan, The Polytechnic, Ibadan and the I.A R &T that provide access roads to their host communities like Adabeji, Oluyole Estate Extension, Apete and Ajibode, among others.

“We also want to urge the Oyo State government to look at the possibility of making NIHORT-Eleyele

Road a permanent access route because of the huge number of people it serves. This will no doubt reduce the hardship faced by residents of the communities,” he said.

When approached for comment on the matter, the Executive Director, NIHORT, Dr. Adenike Olufolaji, said:”I do not have any comment.”

The situation at the scene of the protest, however, went rowdy when a team of security men led by the Chief Security Officer of the institute whose name could not be ascertained as of press time, interrupted the interview session with the secretary of IletitunAlafara Community Development Association.

Animal care gives back to Ogere community IN its resolve to give back to its host community, the management of Animal Care Services Konsult Limited (ACSK), under the leadership of its chairman, Dr Olatunde Agbato, recently donated infrastructural facilities to three schools in Ogere community.

They are toilet facilities, potable water and a fence.

The beneficiaries are Wesley Primary School, Christ Church School and Community High School.

Speaking at the commissioning of the projects, Dr Agbato disclosed that his company decided to give back to the host community as a result of support it enjoys from the community.

“Having benefited from the continous support of our community, we believe we also have a responsiblity to give back to the society.

Today’s commissioning is a significant milestone for certain reasons. First, these facilities will ensure accessibilty to good sanitation and potable water supply in a secure environment. Secondly, it represents the first publicised Animal Care Services Konsult’s Corporate Social Responsibilty projects.Our strategy is clear; which is giving back to the community where we operate. Animal Care Services Konsult Limited started out as a veterinary service company, but overtime, with support from the community, government, financial institutions, committed and industrious indigenes of Ogere and environs, who work in the company and the wonderful consumers, who buy our products, we have evolved into a life-impacting organisation,” he stated.

37

Monday, 6 June, 2016

foreig naffairs 081169

with seyi gesinde foreignn54632 ewseditor@gmail.com

Muslims worldwide observe holy month of Ramadan

M

ANY muslims around the world have begun to observe the holy month of Ramadan.

The faithful are expected to spend the month fasting during daylight hours, eschewing even water, and spending more time in prayer and study of the Quran. They are supposed to avoid bad habits and indulgences, such as smoking and sex.

Cultural differences and even geography have led to differences in the ways Muslims observe the holy month, VOA reported.

Fasting during daylight hours has proven difficult

for people living near polar regions during the long days of the summer.

Muslim clerics have in the past few years issued fatwas allowing Muslims in regions where the sun does not set in summer -- or, when Ramadan falls in winter, where the sun does not rise -- to follow the sunrise and sunset times of Mecca.

Like their fellow worshippers around the world, Muslims in the United States are watching the skies and preparing for the holiest month.

Jibril Hough, spokesman for the Islamic Centre of Charlotte, North Carolina, says Ramadan is different in the United States than in

A Palestinian boy takes photos of traditional Ramadan lanterns marking the holy month of Ramadan at main market in Gaza City. PHOTO: AP countries with larger Muslim populations.

Hough says because there are fewer Muslims in the United States, Ramadan is a

time to gather at the mosque with fellow believers, rather than at home, as the faithful might do elsewhere.

Iraqis drown while fleeing fighting in Fallujah

Rescue team looking for drowning Iraqis. PHOTO: EPA

SEVERAL Iraqi civilians fleeing fighting in the city of Fallujah have drowned in the Euphrates River while attempting to cross to safety into government-controlled

areas.

Thousands of civilians are caught in the crossfire in and around Fallujah, controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) group, as govern-

ment forces and allied militias are trying to recapture the city.

Hundreds of Iraqi families were reportedly trying to cross the river into the government-held city of Amiriyat al-Fallujah, about 50km south of Fallujah.

In the absence of organised help by the government, many of the people fleeing have been using makeshift boats.

The UNHCR confirmed that several people, including children, had drowned while trying to flee the city.

The route is one of “safe

corridors” provided by the Iraqi army out of the city.

Two other passages into government-controlled territory are not being used by civilians due to safety concerns.

Caroline Gluck, senior public information officer of UNHCR, said around 12,000 people have fled the conflict area since May 23 when the government offensive started.

“Many of them are desperate and travelled long journeys trying to avoid detection by ISIL with nothing but clothes they wear.

otherNEWS Afghanistan’s MP killed in Kabul bomb blast An Afghan lawmaker and at least three other people have been killed in a bomb explosion in the capital, Kabul, local media say.

They say MP Sher Wali Wardak was injured in the blast outside his house and died on the way to hospital.

No group has so far admitted carrying out the attack, BBC revealed.

Separately, at least seven people were killed and more than 20 injured when Taliban gunmen stormed a court in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.

The attack happened in Puli Alam, the capital of Logar province. The gunmen reportedly wore police uniform.

The militant group said the attack was in response to the government’s

execution ofsix Taliban prisoners last month.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has pledged a tougher response to the Taliban after an attack in Kabul in April left 64 people dead.

Peace efforts stalled this year after the Taliban refused to participate in new talks with the Afghan government until foreign forces had left the country.

The militants have been waging an insurgency against the Afghan government since being ousted in 2001.

Nato ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December 2014, leaving a 13,000-strong residual force used for training and counter-terrorism operations, including 9,800 US troops.

Aleppo has borne the brunt of deadly bombardments despite a ceasefire that was agreed in February. PHOTO:AFP

Kerry warns China against South China Sea air defence zone HEADING into high-level talks aimed at expanding cooperation with China, United States Secretary of State John Kerry is urging China not to “unilaterally” announce an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over portions of the South China Sea. “We will consider an ADIZ over portions of the SCS as a provocative and destabilizing act,” said Kerry Sunday during a news conference after his meeting with Mongolian Foreign Minister Lundeg Purevsuren in Ulaan-

United States Secretary of States, John Kerry. PHOTO: US DEPARTEMENT OF STATES

baatar.

VOA revealed that an ADIZ requires all incoming aircraft, including ci-

vilian planes, to register with Chinese authority to fly in the air route.

China announced an

ADIZ in the East China Sea two years ago, which caused grave concerns by the United States.

UK: John Major attacks deceit in vote to leave EU BRITISH former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, has hit out at the “squalid” and “deceitful” campaign to get Britain out of the European Union.

He told Andrew Marr he was “angry about the way the British people are being misled” by fellow Conservative Boris Johnson and Vote Leave.

He urged Mr Johnson to stop putting out information on immigration and the NHS which he knew to be false.

Mr Johnson stood by Vote Leave’s figures and called for an end to “blue-on-blue” conflict.

Sir John - a leading member of the Remain campaign

- described Mr Johnson as a “court jester,” who he suggested might not have the loyalty of Conservative MPs if he went on to become leader of a party he had “divided”.

He insisted he was not making a personal attack on the former London mayor but on the Vote Leave campaign as a whole, saying: “They are misleading people to an extraordinary extent”.

“They are feeding out to the British people a whole galaxy of inaccurate and frankly untrue information.

“And what they have not done is tell us what would be the position if we were to vote to leave,” he told Andrew

Marr.

He said Vote Leave had lost the economic argument and were now “veering” towards immigration, where “their campaign is verging on the squalid.”

Boris Johnson

Syria conflict: Air strikes,

missiles hit Aleppo SYRIAN government war planes have launched dozens of air strikes on rebel-held areas in and around Aleppo, activists say.

The United Kingdom (UK)-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the government also used helicopters to drop barrel bombs on Syria’s second city.

Rescue workers were quoted as saying at least 20 bodies had been pulled from the rubble in several locations.

Syrian state media said government-held areas were hit by rebel missiles.

They reported several casualties and scores of injured people. They also said at least 24 people had been killed in similar attacks on Saturday.

Aleppo has been divided for years between rebel groups and government forces.

The northern city has borne the brunt of deadly bombardments despite a ceasefire that was agreed in February.

38

Monday, 6 June, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Ogunbote pilots 3SC to 3-0 win over Akwa Utd

By Olawale Olaniyan SHOOTING Stars Sports Club (3SC) began the second round of the Nigeria Professional Football League on a good note as it defeated Akwa United 3-0 in a match day 19 game played on Sunday at the Lekan Salami stadium, Ibadan.

It was the first win for the Oluyole Warriors under returnee coach, Gbenga Ogunbote who replaced Kadiri Ikhana.

Sunday Adetunji opened the scoring in the 16th minute of the game with a header off Ajani Ibrahim’s cross.

Ajani doubled the Lead in the 43rd minute of the encounter after he received Ad-

Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy after his victory over Andy Murray. PHOTO:REUTERS

Djokovic beats Murray to 2016 French Open title

W

ORLD number one Novak Djokovic beat Britain’s Andy Murray to win his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam.The Serb, 29, won 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 to win his 12th major title and become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at once.Murray had hoped to secure the third leg of his own career Slam, having already won Wimbledon and the US Open.

The Scot, 29, was Britain’s first male finalist in Paris since 1937.

Second seed Murray

played superbly to win the first set but could not convert a break point early in the second, and Djokovic took control to win in three hours.

He becomes only the eighth man in history to have won all four of the sport’s major singles prizes - and could yet match Laver’s achievement of winning all four in a calendar year.

Djokovic fell back on the clay in delight and relief after requiring two breaks of serve and four match points in a desperately tense end to the final.

With three-time cham-

pion Gustavo Kuerten watching from the stands, Djokovic then emulated the Brazilian by drawing a heart in the clay with his racquet.

“It’s a very special moment, the biggest of my career,” said Djokovic. “I felt today something that I never felt before at Roland Garros, I felt the love of the crowd.

“I drew the heart on the court, like Guga, which he gave me permission to do.

My heart will always be with you on this court.”

Murray, who has now lost five Grand Slam finals to Djokovic, had looked capable of causing an upset with

Ayefele to sponsor football tournaments among media practitioners, pupils

By Nurudeen Alimi IBADAN popular gospel singer, Yinka Ayefele, has described football as a true unifying factor, hence his resolve to sponsor two football tournaments among school pupils and media practitioners in Oyo State.

He made this known while speaking with newsmen after a friendly football match played over the weekend on the football pitch of Lead City University sports complex between Radio Nigeria,

Ibadan Network Centre and Fresh FM, Ibadan as part of activities marking the first anniversary of Fresh FM. Ayefele who went down memory lane said the match was of big significance to him because he started his broadcasting career at the FRCN Ibadan and he used to play from the outside left during his days with the FRCN football team.

He however vowed to institute a Fresh Cup where all the media houses in Oyo State would have the oppor-

tunity of participating and win prizes, while he also intends to introduce the Ayefele Juvenile Cup for pupils to showcase their talents and earn scholarship through the tourney.

“I chose soccer because it is actually a globally acclaimed most popular sport and a very good unifying factor, Most especially in Nigeria. It is only when our national teams are playing that we always see ourselves as one irrespective of our tribes”, the musician noted.

an aggressive display in the opening set.

However, Djokovic turned the match around early in the second set and Murray, who had played five hours’ more tennis in reaching the final, could not keep pace.

“To Novak, this is his day,” said Murray. “What he’s achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal; winning all the Grand Slams in one year is an amazing achievement.

“It’s so rare in tennis, and for me personally, it sucks to lose the match, but I’m proud to have been part of today.”

Muhammad Ali Continued from BP

“I think that summed up Muhammad, he was a great personality but really a kind person, with tremendous feeling of sympathy for people.”Lieberman said Ali had been supported by his family throughout his illness.“His Parkinson’s got worse but he had a very devoted family who really treasured him and gave him as much quality of life as you could have,” he said.

Former boxer Joe Bugner, who fought Ali twice, was also a guest on Sportsweek and the 66-year-old, speaking from his home in Australia, said: “He and I became one of the closest friends in the boxing world.“He was unique, not only was a great, great boxer and athlete but also very intelligent and nobody could outwit him as far as the words were concerned.”

etunji’s pass as he Jabbed the ball past Akwa United goalkeeper, Bassey Akpan.

Adetunji made it 3-0 in the 59th minute with a brilliant finish where he outwitted his opponent in the 18 yard box before he shot the ball beyond the reach of Akpan.

3SC feeder’s team product, Fawaz Otun was given his first start by Coach Ogunbote and he received accolades from the fans after his substitution later in the second half for his brilliant performance.

Speaking after the match, Ogunbote said he ascribed the victory to God for winning his debut game on his return to 3SC from Giwa FC.

He said the team will do everything humanly possible to win all their remaining home games and pick points at away in other to survive relegation.

Ogunbote, though lamented after the match that “We don’t have a team yet as you can see, we only had four players on the bench but hopefully we will get things right before the close of transfer market.”

Meanwhile, Akwa United chief coach, Ere Dokubo blamed the defeat on his defenders.

“I didn’t expect us to lose this match as our aspiration was to beat 3SC here, but our defenders did not live up to my expectations.

National Stadium Swimming pool ready—Perm Sec

THE Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Christian Chinyeaka Ohaa has confirmed that the ultramodern Olympicsized swimming pool at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos is ready for use.

Mr Ohaa who had a final inspection of the facility on Friday, was taken around the pool arena alongside the Director of Facilities and Stadium Management and Development, Dr Ibrahim Shehu and other top management staff of the ministry by the project contractor, Mr. Joseph Odobeatu.

The changing rooms and toilets were all wearing a new look while the water treatment plant as well as the pumping machines were all replaced with new ones. New seats were also in place at the arena.

While fielding questions from journalists , Mr Ohaa expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation done in the past three months.

“We are happy that the contractor has done a good job despite the paucity of funds. He is trying his best to finish his job as scheduled.”

Ohaa recalled that the contractor,Mr Odobeatu told the Honorable Minister during his last visit in April that the project was about 85% done. The permanent Secretary applauded the contractor for improving on the job as he confirmed that the project is now 92% ready.

“There are a few things left to be done and he is going to finish it soon. We will try our best to do something for him too, so that he will fast-track it.

The swimming pool is set to be commissioned any moment from now.

Osogbo Tennis Club wins maiden Open Championship

BY Niyi Alebiosu OSOGBO Tennis Club has emerged champions of the maiden edition of the Osogbo Tennis Club Open Championship held at the club’spremises on Saturday.

The host club defeated Ondo State Senior Service Club by three straight set in the final witnessed by mammoth crowd which included the former Speaker, OsunState House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Bello Adejare.

Ilorin Tennis Club and Ibadan tennis club settled for the third and fourth position respectively.

Speaking shortly after the presentation of the overall shield to the champions, captain of the club, Abiola

Oni, having expressed appreciation to the participated clubs informed that the next edition of the club’s tennis championship will be bigger and better,adding that it will involve more clubs in the country.

He also informed that his team will put in more effort to ensure that it retain the title during the next edition, and that more innovations will be included to make it more attractive.

“I want to appreciate the clubs that participated in this event and promise that the next edition will be better and more interesting so as to attract more participation from other tennis clubs in the country”. Oni told Tribunesport.

39

sport

Monday, 6 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Day Eto’o, Moyes, Okocha, others honoured Yobo in Garden City

Joseph Yobo (left) receiving the Super Eagles replica shirt from the officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), before his testimonial in Port Harcourt.

By Nurudeen Alimi

T

HE city of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria, on Friday, May 27, 2016, played host to the creme de la creme of football celebrities from within and outside the country.

Their purpose of visit to the Garden City was to feature in a testimonial in honour of one of them, former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo who represented Nigeria in both competitive and non-competitive matches a record 101 times.

Ex-international, Waheed Akanni, headed the committee which organised the testimonial which was supported by the Rivers State government.

For the sake of record, Yobo was a member of the Flying Eagles squad which lost to Mali in the quarter-final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup tagged Nigeria ‘99.

After his senior international debut on March 24, 2001 against Zambia, Yobo became the first player to play 100 games for the Super Eagles. His 101th game was the round of 16 clash with France at Brazil 2014 World Cup as he announced his retirement shortly after.

The venue of the match, the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, since the early hours of the day became agog as football fans as well as vendors began to arrive to sell one item or the other.

Many fans could not hide their joy of having the opportunity to see their dream football stars both active and retired live in the Garden City. Some of them even attempted to take photographs with these famous footballers, but the heavy presence of government and private security personnel around the players aborted their dream.

One of the football personalities who drew the attention of many spectators at the stadium was the former Everton coach, David Moyes, who came in from England to honour one of his former captains while in charge of the Toffees.

Unarguably, five-time African Footballer of the Year, Samuel Eto’o was the cynosure of all eyes before the game as he

was hailed endlessly from the terrace on his arrival. Ghanaian stars, Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari were also on hand to feature in the testimonial.

Members of the Super Eagles golden generation of 1994, Austin Okocha, Austin Eguavoen, Kanu Nwankwo, Samson Siasia, Ben Iroha, Uche Okechukwu and Mutiu Adepoju were all present to honour Yobo. Former Eagles goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu, Vincent Enyeama, Joel Obi, Efe Ambrose, Dele Aiyenugba, Danny Shittu, Chidi Ordia, Emmanuel Emenike and Godfrey Oboabona, among others equally featured in the testimonial.

All efforts deployed by the organisers to ensure that the game starts at 4pm as scheduled did not materialise. In fact, the Rivers State governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike, who was to perform the official kick-off had to wait for over an hour before the match officials and the players could step on to the pitch.

At some point, an obviously worried Wike on his seat at the state box looked at his wristwatch and signalled to one of his aides that he might have to leave the stadium if the kick-off was further delayed.

Tribunesport gathered that the kick-off was delayed owing to the late arrival of the jerseys to be used by both teams.

One of the organisers later told Tribunesport that the traffic gridlock was responsible for the late arrival of the jerseys.

Yobo, before the kick off led the team called Team World which had the likes of Muntari, Appiah, goalkeeper Dele Ayenugba, Kanu Nwankwo’s younger brother, Ogbonna and a host of others.

In what served as an appetiser, Wike after the ceremonial kick off took a penalty kick with Enyeama in goal, but the governor’s superb kick was stopped by the woodworks even though the former Su-

Former Everton manager, David Moyes (first right) on the bench during the testimonial.

Hat-trick hero, Emmanuel Emenike outwits goalkeeper Dele Ayenugba in one of his goals for Team Nigeria during the testimonial.

per Eagles keeper was unable to move from the spot.

Yobo was also presented with a replica Eagles shirt with inscription ‘Yobo 101’ by the second vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Shehu Dikko in a short ceremony also witnessed by the chairman, technical and development committee of NFF, Barrister Chris Green, among others.

However, during the game, former Super Eagles captain, Okocha swept football fans off their feet with his sublime skills which made many fans to call for his return to active football.

Okocha set up two goals for Team Nigeria with incredible passes from the midfield which left everyone in the stadium stunned by his exceptional football prowess.

At a time, Eto’o begged Okocha to leave the pitch as he was giving Team World a headache with his football artistry.

Emenike opened the scoring for Team Nigeria before Muntari equalised two minutes later. Joel Obi restored lead for Team Nigeria when he finished off from Efe’s cross.

Eto’o in the 20th minute also equalised for Team World as he scored Enyeama at close range. The drama which greeted the goal was a delight to watch as Enyeama began to run after the Cameroonian for a few seconds before both stopped to hug each other.

Two minutes later, Emenike put his side ahead again. The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner and Goal King of the tournament barely a minute after the goal also cashed in on Okocha’s magnificent pass to score his hat-trick of the day.

Yobo was also on song before half time to make the score 4-3 in favour of Team Nigeria. In the last half, Yobo crossed over to play for Team Nigeria.

Nollywood actor, Osita Iheme a.k.a Pawpaw and ace comedian, Ayo Makun ‘AY’ were also part of the show as they both featured for Yobo and Friends called Team World.

Yobo also scored to make it five for Team Nigeria after his first penalty kick had been saved by Ayenugba.

Unmarked ‘Pawpaw’ whose presence added fun to the testimonial scored what turned out to be the last goal of the day to make the final score 5-4 in favour of Team Nigeria.

President General, Nigeria Football and other sports Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Ladipo led members of the club to add glamour to the testimonial.

Ladipo described Yobo as a partriotic Nigerian who has served his country meritoriously saying “We will miss him a lot, and I on behalf of other members of the supporters club wish Yobo the best of luck in his future endeavours”.

Meanwhile, the match almost got awry at half-time as some overzealous spectators trooped to the pitch when popular musician, Duncan Mighty was entertaining the spectators and guests at the stadium.

SIDELINES

NO 16, 517

N150

MONDAY, 6 JUNE, 2016

L

ET me forerun this writing with a forepiece that you may drop or discard if it does not motivate you.

But if you must run through it and the entire column, you must immerse deeply the contents without qualms after purging your thoughts of doubts and positions and attitudes that you set forth in full throttle before your adventuring mind decided to encounter this column today.

I am writing with a heavy heart, a heavily heavy heart. If I had my way, you certainly would not be reading me now, and for a couple of weeks. My heart is heavily heavy, and heavily heavy. You will know why someday, some not distant day from now. Believe and believe me, yours very sincerely. Meantime, I must do my duty as duty compels me to do and in obedience to the World Spirit of Consciousness that abides in us all.

In deep contemplation in another shore very , very far away from home and familiar shores, I see President Muhammadu Buhari dwelling on his first full presidential year. My mind bleeds as he mouths “floating exchange rate or fluctuating exchange rate in which a currency’s value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign exchange mechanisms and such a currency is known as floating currency.” I am not certain that I am quoting the retired general, who is not tired, verbatim. Or perhaps I should state that the quotation that you have just espied comes from the bolt of a conscientious Nigerian Tribune reporter/ analyst of Buhari’s Monday, May 29, 2016 address to his bondage-minded Nigerians, compatriots, countrymen and countrywomen in our warehouse of bondage called Nigeria perhaps the biggest warehouse of bondage in Africa.

Cry, my beleaguered brothers and sisters, weep, my beleaguered countrymen and countrywomen in our warehouse of villeinage.

Oh! oh! oh! What is “floating exchange rate” or “fluctuating exchange rate” but a specious name for a currency’s devaluation?

If Nigerians don’t float or fluctuate to death today or tomorrow, they certainly will do so pretty soon. Our economic and political

Perhaps for a better Nigeria, it is good to begin to embrace the late legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali’s recommendation in the making of a champion, as he said: “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

in&out with Tony Afejuku 08055213059

The next governor of Edo is... beleaguerers are clearly on the verge of beleaguering us to the land of belladonna.

Our naira has already been floated and fluctuated to belladonna land; what else remains for the masses?

A significant deadly nightshade discerned on “Democracy Day”: Only students studying sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics will benefit from Nigeria’s Education Grant Scheme.

The arts and humanities, including literature, history, philosophy, religion, theatre, the fine arts, linguistics, sociology, criminology, journalism, communication, economics, education, all disciplines that lay solid foundation for human capital development for generations upon generations of men and women anywhere in the world, are jettisoned, cut off, cut out of our president’s “Democracy Day” broadcast. Phew!

My mind is dull. It is crying and weeping, and weeping and crying. My mind is hurt with pain and agony.

My mind, the connoisseur of contemplation, is gloomy. It is dispirited and depressed. It is arousing no sensibility, no interest, no curiosity in any enterprise any longer as our country floats and fluctuates to where we never wished or prayed or voted for.

As I bend on a writing table, my two hands holding intensely the two sides of my alert head, sensations shower in

My mind is dull. It is crying and weeping, and weeping and crying me, sensations un-yearned for. I behold, perceive a phosphorescence of prophecy - un-bargained for, un-prepared for. It streams in the manner of obtuse poetry but not bereft of spiritual insight: “Behold the Master in charge Of Katsupari Monastery, TEMPLE OF GOLDEN WISDOM In Northern Tibet...

Behold my presence and see My pronouncement as fulfillment of duty...”

What the hell is going on? This I utter to myself inaudibly...

“Squash your doubts... hush them...

I have chosen... we have endorsed Him to succeed

Adams, I and the Vi-Guru and other Masters have chosen, anointed him: Godwin Obaseki the chosen one HUUUUUUUU!!!”

Everything happened bewilderingly so fast, bewilderingly so sudden that I was left spiritually perplexed. The intimation continued: “Announce my announcement And let those doubt who will doubt: They chase shadows who Enter the ring with the anointed And are on his side not: They are on the brink Of triumph that collapses.”

Before the apparition retired, I dared it: “What is HUUUUUUUU!? “The holy name of God,” the obtruding spectre intoned warmly. Now I seemed to enjoy the strange perplexity. As a perspicacious one observant of spiritual customs, I encouraged myself to dare to quiz the floating phantom further: “What can the Master dangle for me to dangle to Nigerians concerning President’s Buhari’s presidency now or not immediately now?”

There was no immediate answer as the phantasm made an obscure retreat. But I know it will appear to me again. When or where I cannot tell for now.

•Post Script: The columnist is still at large. Kindly un-try to reach him.

Muhammad Ali’s last one year was tough—Doctor MUHAMMAD Ali’s doctor says the iconic boxer had been “having a tough time in the last year” before his death.

The three-time world heavyweight champion, who had Parkinson’s disease for 32 years, died aged 74 from “septic shock due to unspecified natural causes” according to his family.

“The last week has been particularly tough,” said Abraham Lieberman, who was with Ali only hours before he died.

“It became apparent God wanted him and we all became reconciled to it.”

Lieberman told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek: “Everyone in the back of their minds expected something bad was going to happen but you always hope you will beat the odds because he

is someone who always beat the odds he is not an ordinary person.

“He stood up for his beliefs and what he thought was right. He treated everybody from the humblest person to the biggest celebrity the same - which was fair.

“You could not believe how nice he was outside the ring compared to the way he was inside the ring. I lost a great friend.”

Lieberman, a director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Arizona, rejected suggestions that boxing was solely responsible for Ali’s illness.

“I don’t think it helped but I think he developed it slowly over a number of years,” he said.

“People that develop Dementia Pugilistica are usually dead within three or four years - he’s had Parkinson’s for over 30 years.

“It started on one side, his brain looked relatively good on MRI scan, I can’t tell you boxing didn’t have a role but I think he had regular Parkinson’s disease.”

The doctor recalled a story from many years ago when Ali visited an elderly man in a nursing home, who mistook him for another great boxer, Joe Louis.

“Muhammad said: ‘If it gave that old man pleasure to think he met Joe Louis - then I’m Louis.’,” he said.

Continues on pg 38

NPFL RESULTS El-Kanemi 2 Warri Wolves 0 Pillars 1 Plateau Utd 0 Heartland 1 Rangers 2 Ikorodu Utd 0 Wikki 1 Sunshine 1 Abia Warriors 1 3SC 3 Akwa Utd 0 Rivers Utd 1 Lobi 0 Nasarawa Utd 2 Enyimba 1 Tornadoes 2 IfeanyiUbah 1

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