7th September, 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,584 WEDNESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER, 2016 www.tribuneonlineng.com

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TODAY'S SPECIAL

Why children should sleep early MAKING sure little ones get enough sleep might just be one of the best things one could do for their health, both now and later on, experts have said.

At a time communication gadgets are on the increase, with addiction taking sleep off most men, children should be spared, they must be encouraged to sleep early.

Scientists have long known that children who don't get enough sleep may be at an increased risk of obesity, among other health concerns.

A new study has even suggested that having a late bedtime is linked to a greater obesity risk later in life, too.

“This study adds to a body of research that demonstrates that young children benefit from having a regular bedtime and bedtime routine,” said Sarah Anderson, lead author of the study and associate professor of epidemiology at the College of Public Health, Ohio State University.

Continues pg6

Ondo APC primaries: Abraham makes U-turn, rejects result

—P37

25,000 police officers, 500 patrol vehicles for Edo poll •Buhari leads 10 APC govs to Edo for Obaseki •South-South govs strategise for Ize-Iyamu • WAEC relocates candidates to Ondo, Delta —P4

Olorogun Ibru dies at 86 —P6

Oyo Assembly members raise eyebrows over LCDA creation

Newly-wed dies in Lagos mudslide —P7 Scene of the mudslide which killed one person at Amara Olu Street, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday.

—P37

Nigeria will be great again —Buhari —P4

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25,000 officers, 550 patrol vehicles for Edo poll Chris Agbambu-Abuja

T

HE Inspector General of Police, Acting IGP Ibrahim Idris, has approved the deployment of additional 25,000 police personnel for the governorship election in Edo State this weekend.

The deployment comprise of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Counter Terrorism Units (CTU), the Anti bomb Squad (EOD), the Marine Police, Conventional policemen, the Armament Units, Personnel from Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department [FCIID], Force Intelligence Bureau [FIB] and the Sniffer Dog Section.

He has equally approved that Police Aerial Surveillance Helicopters and Gun

Boats, 10 additional Armoured Personnel Carriers and 550 patrol vehicles be deployed to cover all the polling units, rack centres, collating centres, Riverine areas and difficult terrains.

The IGP has already deployed a Deputy Inspector General of Police, assisted by an Assistant Inspector General of Police and three commissioners of Police to coordinate the security operations, supervise the deployment of security personnel and facilitate the electoral process throughout the state.

A statement from Force Headquarters which confirmed this noted that the steps were taken in order to ensure safety of life and property before, during and after the election.

The statement noted that as part of additional mea-

sures aimed at guaranteeing a credible election which outcome will be generally acceptable, the IGP will convene a peace accord meeting of all the political parties, candidates, INEC officials, election observers and other stakeholders before the date of the election in Benin City, Edo State to deliberate on the overall desirability of peace during the election and adherence to the rules of the game.

It noted that all police personnel and other complementing sister security agencies were under strict instructions to be professionally polite and civil but firm in the discharge of their statutory duties.

“They are to provide adequate security for the electorates, INEC officials, electoral materials, election observers and all

stakeholders throughout the period of the election,” the statement noted.

The statement further noted that, “political parties and their leaders, traditional rulers, community leaders, parents and guardians are advised to warn and prevail on their members, supporters, subjects, children and wards to be law abiding and not allow themselves to be used as canon folders to cause disturbance of the peace or disruption of the electoral process.

“The spirit and letters of the law will be fully applied on any person or group of persons found violating the Electoral Act. “The Inspector General of Police therefore wishes to assure the Edo electorates and all law abiding citizens of adequate secu-

rity throughout the elections. He enjoins them to cooperate with Police in the discharge of their du-

ties as the security personnel will operate within the framework of Democratic Policing.”

WAEC relocates candidates for Edo polls

By Laolu Harolds

CANDIDATES sitting the General Certificate in Education (GCE) in Edo State on Saturday have been relocated to centres in Ore, Ondo State and Agbor in Delta State, owing to the governorship election taking place that same day.

This was confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune by the Head, Public Affairs Unit of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Nigeria, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, on Tuesday.

He, however, explained that the relocation was not the idea of the council, but at the instance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies.

In a telephone conversation with the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, Mr Ojijeogu said the council wrote to INEC in Abuja, in the first week of August, notifying it that the Mathematics paper would take place on Saturday (the election day), and requested for an exemption from the restriction on movement that would be imposed on that day, for the examination officials and the candidates.

“The next thing we saw was a letter inviting us to a meeting in Benin, Edo State.

It was held in the office of the Commissioner of Police.

The DIG Operations, who happened to be in the state, chaired the meeting.

“Other security agencies were there. The Resident Electoral Commissioner was there. They asked us to postpone the examination; we told them we could not postpone the examinations because of its international nature and that the integrity of the examinations cannot be compromised,” he said.

That meeting, he said, took place on August 25.

“On August 29, we got a letter from INEC telling us categorically that they cannot grant our request for exemption from restriction of movement; that we should relocate the candidates to states that are contiguous to Edo State.

“So, if INEC and security agents have told you that you can’t hold the examinations in Edo State, what is left for the council to do?

We looked at the contiguous states (for centres) – Delta and Ondo.

“We’ve gone to Ore; we’ve been able to get centres there.

We went to Agbor in Delta State; we managed to get centres there, for candidates to relocate in order to write the examinations – still open, believing that INEC would shift ground, and that the state government would intervene and allow the candidates to write the examinations in Edo State,” he added.

South/South govs strategise for PDP President Muhammadu Buhari presenting the APC gubernatorial candidate, Godwin Obaseki (second left) and his running mate, Honourable Philip Shuaibu (second right), while the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole looks on, at the APC gubernatorial grand finale campaign rally, in Benin City, Edo State, on Tuesday.

Nigeria will be great again —Buhari PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria will be great again in spite of its current challenges.

Buhari made the statement at the grand finale of the All Progressives Congress Edo governorship election campaign in Benin, on Tuesday.

The president led governors of 10 APC states of Lagos, Kogi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Adamawa, Niger, Plateau, Kebbi, Jigawa and Edo to the rally.

He said that just as the country was almost out of its security challenges; it would surmount its current economic difficulties as well.

The president urged Nigerian youths to reflect on the statement he made 30 years ago that “Nigerians have no other country other than Nigeria.”

Earlier, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, who is also the Chairman of Edo Election Campaign Council, said the president’s presence in Edo was a pointer to the political and economic success recorded in the state.

Ambode said that Edo had witnessed developmental progress in the almost eight years of the administration of Gov Adams Oshiomhole.

He said that the Oshiomhole administration had been responsive and committed to the yearnings of the people of the state.

“In view of this, it is clear that continuity is the sure way to greater progress,” he said.

He also said that the APC candidate, Mr Godwin Obaseki, had the expertise to turn the state around

if elected in the election scheduled for Saturday.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said the giant strides and eco-

nomic growth recorded in Lagos in the last 16 years could be replicated in Edo if the people vote for continuity.

Banji Aluko -Benin City

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governors in South South are strategising in Benin City, Edo State, to ensure victory for the governorship candidate of the party in the Saturday’s election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

This was as Ize-Iyamu, on Tuesday, declared that he was contesting Saturday’s

Obaseki certificates: PDP heads for court Banji Aluko-Benin City

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State is seeking the disqualification of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Godwin Obaseki, for allegedly providing false claims and information on oath to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party in particular is asking the court for a declaration that Obaseki’s statement that he graduated from the University

of Ibadan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Studies in 1976, made under oath in INEC form CF001 at Part B, paragraph C dated July 11, 2016, is false.

In addition, the PDP is asking for a declaration disqualifying Obaseki from contesting Saturday’s Edo State governorship election on the grounds that he submitted false information on oath to the INEC in Form CF001.

Edo State PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, at a press conference in

Benin, said the move became necessary as the party was certain beyond doubts that the academic qualifications attested to

by Obaseki in an affidavit he swore to in June 2016, were false.

He added that Obaseki refused to clear the air by displaying the original of his certificates after he claimed they had been found in the United States, calling on voters in the state not to waste their votes on Obaseki because the APC has no candidate in the election.

election to win and be sworn into office as the next governor of the state.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, while addressing stakeholders of the party drawn from all the 18 local government areas of the state, in Benin City, assured voters that Pastor IzeIyamu would emerge as the next Edo governor on Saturday.

He charged party members in Edo State and leaders to be united, committed and resolved in seeking the victory, adding that “PDP is on ground in Edo, therefore, do not be intimidated.”

Also speaking, Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, said for too long, Edo State, which described as a twin brother to Delta, had lingered in pain for too long and it was time to give the state the leadership it deserved.

Deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Read Admiral John Jonah, said Saturday was the proper day to show the APC a final red card in the South-South.

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4.5 million dying of starvation in Nigeria’s North-East —UN

U

NITED Nations (UN), on Tuesday, said more than 4.5 million people are starving and in dire need of food aid in the Boko Haram plagued North-East of Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Reports by various UN agencies, including the

World Food Programme (WFP), revealed that this figure continued to double.

“All indications point to an extremely grave situation,” said Abdou Dieng, the UN agency’s Regional Director for West Africa.

“As the rains set in and the lean season deepens, and more areas are opened up

to access humanitarian aid, the full scale of hunger and devastation is likely to come to light,” he added.

According to reports, the number of people struggling with severe food shortage in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa has risen fourfold since March to exceed one million.

We won’t tolerate criminality in N/Delta, DHQ warns Chris Agbambu -Abuja THE Defence Headquarters, on Tuesday, warned that the Armed Forces of the country will not tolerate any form of criminality in Niger Delta region.

It alerted the general public of the disturbing spate of various militant groups springing up in the region, with each of them hiding under regional agitation to commit all manners of crimes and atrocities.

In a statement, the Defence Headquarters noted that the latest was the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM), which it said claimed responsibility for blowing up Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) oil pipeline a few days ago.

“The same group has come

out again, demanding residents living near oil and gas infrastructure to vacate their homes to avoid being caught in its next attacks,” the statement noted.

The Defence Headquarters said it wished to state, in clear terms, that no group or individual had the right to threaten or force residents in any part of Nigeria to abandon their homes in obeisance to certain group’s selfish and devilish interest.

The statement read: “It is more worrisome that despite the Federal Government’s olive branch to broker peace and proffer solution to the lingering Niger Delta problem, some groups are still fanning the ember of war.

“The military and other security agencies would remain focused, unintimidated and will display pro-

Army recovers 2 bodies of 4 drown soldiers in Bayelsa Austin Ebipade - Yenagoa BODIES of two of four soldiers drowned during ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ in Bayelsa waterways have been recovered.

The Nigerian Army has confirmed death of four soldiers in a boat mishap within Bayelsa waterways, saying that the remains of the four soldiers were yet to be found, but residents said two bodies had so far been recovered.

Four soldiers drowned during the ongoing military training exercise codenamed ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ after their boat capsized along Brass Water Front, Brass Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesman the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sani Usman, who confirmed the development on Tuesday, in Yenagoa, said four soldiers died in the incident, but added that their remains were yet to be accounted for.

Usman said that search was underway.

“I can confirm to you that there was a mishap yesterday involving death of four soldiers; on whether their bodies have been recovered, search is underway and we are yet to get detail on that,” he said on phone.

A resident of the area, Mr Jonah Kennedy, however, said two out of the four bodies had been recovered as of Tuesday evening by local

divers.

Bayelsa chairman of the Maritime Workers Union in Bayelsa, Mr Lloyd Sese, described the incident as unfortunate, urging the federal and state governments to improve emergency response along waterways in the state.

fessionalism in ensuring adequate security to lives and property.

“While the Armed Forces respect government’s negotiation with relevant stakeholders in the Niger Delta, the military exercise and operations in the area are not targeted at any group or meant to make lives difficult for the inhabitants.

“The ongoing exercise is geared towards enhancing civil-military relationship and building the confidence of the residents on the ability of the military to protect them. The exercise also demonstrates the strength of the troops to purge the region of criminals and economic saboteurs.

“The military and other security agencies wish to, therefore, reaffirm their total commitment to ensure security of lives and property, not only in the Niger Delta, but throughout the federation.

“We also solicit the cooperation of all the stakeholders, including the royal fathers, leaders and youths to achieve this feat.

“We urge public, especially those residing in the Niger Delta, to discountenance the threat and request innocent citizens and those domiciled therein to go about their legitimate businesses.”

It is also estimated that no fewer than 65,000 newly liberated people in inaccessible areas of Borno and Yobe states were facing “famine-like” conditions.

While some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are returning to their natural homes, they find them uninhabitable. Therefore, they are forced to stay in urban areas, again as IDPs. These families have to beg, get in debts or skip meals to survive. Many now eat only once a day.

Also, if the Nigeria’s economy continues to sink, this could push the number of people in need of food assistance in the northeast by another million by September.

WFP, in another food assessment, has warned of soaring prices in areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Meanwhile, the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) has said it has earmarked $30 million to improve education in the North-East.

The Agency’s Education Programme Manager, Ms Nafisa Ado, made this known on Tuesday, at a “Technology Enhance Learning for All Dissemination’’ workshop in Yola.

Ado said the programme was to support the already

damaged education system in the North-East due to the Boko Haram insurgency.

She added that under the programme, more than 20,000 vulnerable and internally displaced children would be taught through radio, reading camps, as well as a ‘feed and read’ programme.

She said “USAID has earmarked the sum of $30 million to support education in Nigeria and in the NorthEast in particular.

“In the North-East, we targeted over 20,000 orphans and children of IDPs under a special package: ‘Technology Enhance Literacy for All (TELA)’.”

She said that after obser-

vation, the progrmme was finally declared “successful’’ in supporting weakest learners.

Mr Saidu Komisiri, the Director of Quality Assurance, Adamawa Universal Basic Education Board, described the programme as resourceful.

Komisiri called for collaboration among the state governments, American University of Nigeria, Yola, and USAID to continue with the learning programme.

He said that presently, there were over 200,000 children out of school in the state that needed to be enrolled into the education learning system.

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Why children should sleep early Continued from front page

How bedtime may be linked to obesity It is a general belief that foods can cause obesity in children, but the study revealed that sleeping pattern and timing could be factors determining obesity.

For the study, which was published in the September edition of the Journal of Paediatrics, researchers analysed data on 977 children, who were part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.

The data, which tracked the children from pre-school age to adolescence, indicated at what time they went to bed when they were about 4½ years old, as well as their height, weight and body mass index when they were about 15.

Kids and Obesity After comparing the children’s bedtimes with their health as teenagers, the researchers found that only 10 per cent of the children who went to bed at 8.00 p.m. or earlier during their pre-school years were obese as teenagers. However, 23 per cent of the children who went to bed after 9.00 p.m. as pre-schoolers were obese as teenagers.

For the children who went to bed between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. as pre-schoolers, about 16 per cent were obese as teenagers.

“Pre-school age children with early weekday bedtimes were half as likely as children with late bedtimes to be obese as adolescents. This was true even after taking into account other factors that we know are related to risk for obesity,” Anderson said.

“Other research has shown benefits for children’s behaviour, cognitive development and attention.

“Regular bedtime routines, including an early bedtime, are also linked to fewer sleep problems, such as night time awakenings or difficulty falling asleep,” she said.

How exactly can sleep habits early in life be linked to health outcomes later in life?

There are a number of plausible potential mechanisms in this case, Anderson said.

“First, children who have a regular early bedtime are more likely to get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep can result in changes in the hormones controlling appetite and metabolism.

“Also, staying up later in the evening provides more opportunity for snacking and viewing television commercials that promote snacking.

“Recommending that preschool-aged children are in bed by 8.00 p.m. is a potentially modifiable household routine that may help to prevent obesity,” she added.

Early snooze benefits the brain, too While an early and full night’s sleep for children can benefit their bodies, it also can improve their brains.

“An early bedtime benefits a child’s physical health, as well as mood and mental health, because it allows time for restorative sleep, which is important for the repair and recovery of the brain and the body,” said Reut Gruber, researcher at McGill University in Canada and director of the Attention, Behaviour and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

What your sleep says about your health “Sleep deprivation impairs the physiological processes that allow for adaptive emotional regulation. Emotional regulation processes are dependent on a ‘dialogue’ or interactions between the parts of the brain called prefrontal cortex and the amygdala,” she said.

“These neural areas that govern emotional regulation are sensitive to sleep deprivation.

When people are sleep-deprived, the connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala is impaired, and this leads to an individual’s difficulty to regulate emotions.”

Additionally, “there is a vicious negative cycle, with sleep deprivation impairing emotional regulation and with impaired emotional regulation leading to increased stress and arousal, further interfering with sleep,” Gruber said.

A small three-week study published in the Journal of Paediatric Psychology in 2013 involved 32 children, between eight and 12 years old, who were instructed to go to sleep either one hour later or earlier than usual.

They were asked to complete tasks that measured emotional functioning, memory attention and math fluency at the end of each week, and the researchers found that going to sleep one hour later impaired children’s performance on the tasks.

A separate 2010 study published in the journal ‘Sleep’ found that adolescents with bedtimes set at 10.00 p.m. or earlier were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and to have suicidal thoughts.

The research involved analysing data from 15,659 students in grades seven to 12 who

participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which included their bedtimes, as well as their mental health.

Reasons for early bedtime “A variety of theories have been developed to explain why we need to sleep,” said Dr Sumit Bhargava, clinical associate professor of paediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Sleep physician at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

“Some of the reasons are energy conservation theory: We sleep to conserve energy so we can be functional during the day.

“Restorative theory suggests we sleep to ‘restore’ something that we lose while awake, with the body repairing and rejuvenating itself. Important hormones are secreted while we sleep and byproducts of the brain’s activity are cleared,” he said.

Bedtime advice for parents Therefore, a child’s bedtime is not nearly as important as the amount of sleep he or she is getting each night, Bhargava has said.

“An early bedtime per se, will not necessarily affect a child’s physical health or mood and mental health in a positive way. The goal should be, choose an age-appropriate bedtime that allows the individual child to get the hours of sleep the child needs,” he said.

“Set an appropriate bedtime based upon the amount of sleep your child needs to be functional and effective during the day.

Then, be consistent with it, even on weekends; sleep is just as important to human life as eating and breathing. We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping,” he added.

Culled from cnn.com

Pro-Buhari protesters deny# BringBackOurGirls demonstrators access to Villa

S

OME protesters believed to be supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, clashed with members of the #BringBackOurGirls group, as the campaigners made their way to the Presidential Villa.

The #BringBackOurGirls group is seeking the release of over 200 missing Chibok schoolgirls abducted in April 2014, by the extremist group, Boko Haram.

According to PREMIUM TIMES, an online report, members of the group had forced their way through a police cordon at the Three Arms Zone, as they sought a meeting with President Buhari.

But as they edged forward, a group urging an end to the demonstration, blocked their path, saying the presi-

dent is “a man of peace,” whose effort to “move the nation forward” should not be disrupted.

A spokesperson for the group, Idris King, described the #BringBackOurGirls group as a scam, sponsored to undermine the administration of the APC. “We are for peace. Buhari is a man of peace,” the group chanted.

A leader of #BringBackBackOurGirls group, Aisha Yesufu, said President Buhari appeared to be doing nothing to get the girls back.

“All we are saying is #BringBackOurGirls.

There is a fourth option which entails doing nothing, which seems like government’s option. That, we will not accept,” he said.

Earlier, security operatives had tried to stop members of the #Bring-

BackOurGirls group from going ahead with their planned rally to the Presidential Villa.

The new round of protest march began August 23, after Boko Haram released a video, indicating the girls were alive.

The terror group said it

would only exchange the girls for their members detained by the government across the country.

Although President Buhari said he would be willing to concede to the demand, the #BringBackOurGirls group said the government had not done

NINETEEN Northern States Pentecostal Forum has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to be afraid to get experts in economic matters to help his government to pull the country out of its present downturn.

After a closed door meeting with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on

Tuesday, chairman of the forum, Archbishop John Praise Daniel, told State House correspondents that they had come to offer advice to the government on the way to foster peace, unity and progress.

He said the forum congratulated the government for its successes against Boko Haram and also stressed the need for the nation to work together as one.

from Friday to Tuesday, but shortly after they began the walk, as usual from the Unity Fountain, venue of the #BringBackOurGirls daily sit-out, heading for the three arm zone, they were stopped by security men around the Ministry of Justice, Abuja.

Olorogun Michael Ibru dies at 86 Tunde Alao -Lagos THE patriarch of Ibru family, Olorogun Michael Ibru, is dead.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the business mogul died in the early hours of Tuesday, in the United States of America (USA) at the age of 86.

This was later confirmed in a statement from the family, on Tuesday.

Michael Ibru attended the famous Igbobi College, Lagos, between 1948 and 1951.

After graduating from the college, he secured a job in the United African Company (now UACN), as a manager-in-training.

He resigned from the UACN group in 1956 and founded the Ibru Organisation, with the establishment of a modest trading company then called Laib-

Get experts to help you, Northern Pentecostal Forum tells Buhari Leon Usigbe -Abuja

enough to rescue the girls.

After the release of the last video, the group vowed to march to the Presidential Villa every 72 hours, until the government made clear what steps it was taking to get the girls back.

The #BringBackOurGirls had postponed its rally

“We believe Nigeria is a great nation and we can foster together with our greatness, our commitment and our intellectual intelligence to move this nation forward.

“The government should not be afraid to look for economic experts. They should not stop to get who can help to help in our economic recovery to ensure everything goes on well, so that this country can bounce back

as a great nation that we have always been, to ensure this country becomes that great nation we have always dreamt and talked about,’ he said.

Arguing for unity for the country and noting that the country was in a bad shape due to past misrule, Archbishop Daniel said “we are a united nation and nobody should be thinking individually of making Nigeria great.”

ru Limited. La in the name stood for Jimmy Large, the former boss in UACN who assisted him during and after he resigned from UACN, while ibru is Michael Ibru.

The companies later became one of the largest wholly indigenous business conglomerates in the West Coast of Africa.

Aside being a member of the African Development Bank President’s RoundTable of Businessmen in Africa, Olorogun Ibru was also a member of the Business Advisory Council of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

His exploits in the field of business also afforded him opportunity to serve as council member of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nigeria-United States Business Council.

He was awarded Officer of the Order of the Federal

Republic (OFR) in 1981; Outstanding Businessman Award of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 1983; Honorary Doctor of Laws (Hon. LL.D.) of the University of Benin (1978) and University of Ibadan (1978), Doctor of Agriculture (Honoris Causa), University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, 2004.

Reacting to the death, Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, said Nigeria had lost one of its foremost industrialists.

“He will be sorely missed by all and sundry whose lives he affected in many several ways. I, therefore, urge all who mourn the demise of Olorogun Ibru to take solace in the fact that his was a life of great accomplishments,” the statement read.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Lagosmetro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

Man kills self over hunger Olalekan Olabulo There was confusion at Kamar Kazum Plaza, in Apapa area, as a yet-to-beidentified man jumped to death from the roof of a multiple- storey building in the area.

The deceased was said to have blamed hunger and his inability to take care of his family for his decision to cut short his life.

The police in the state confirmed the incident, adding that investigations had commenced into the

circumstances surrounding the death.

It was gathered that the man had secretly climbed to the roof top of the popular plaza and told people why he decided to end his life .

A man, who simply identified himself as Uduak, who said he arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, told Lagos Metro that " it was yesterday in the evening that the deceased decided to kill himself.

"He was said to have blamed his inability to provide food for his family

Herbalist, Islamic cleric arrested for murder Olayinka Olukoya Abeokuta A herbalist and an Islamic cleric, identified as Mr Tunde (surname withheld) and Nurudeen (surname withheld), respectively, have been arrested by the police in Ogun State, over the alleged killing of a 16-year-old girl, identified as Olayinka, in Ijebu-Igbo area of the state.

Also, one Tobi, believed to be an accomplice, was equally arrested in connection with the crime.

The accused were reported to have been arrested by a team of policemen attached to Ago-Iwoye and IjebuIgbo divisions, following a report by one Mrs Serifat Adebanjo, about the unknown whereabouts of the victim.

Lagos Metro gathered that the accused would have killed the girl for ritual purposes, as her breasts were said to have been severed.

Speaking with newsmen on the development, the acting Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the accomplice, Tobi, who probably lured the victim, was arrested in Imosan community, in Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state.

He was said to have confessed that Olayinka was in custody of Banjo in IjebuIgbo.

The police were said to have stormed Tunde's home and arrested him alongside Nurudeen (Alfa), and found in their possession two fresh hearts and a tortoise.

The herbalist, upon interrogation, was said to have confessed that Olayinka had been killed, her vital organs removed

and her remains thrown into Ogbere River, in Ijebu-East Local Government Area of the state.

"The police have arrested the accused in Ijebu-Igbo.

Tunde said they had killed the girl and her body dumped inside Ogbere river. The police are working to retrieve the corpse. Two human hearts and one live tortoise were also recovered from the suspects," Oyeyemi said.

on his decision to commit suicide," Uduak added.

He also stated that "the man shouted that he could not wait and see his children and wife die of hunger and he jumped down and died."

Dolapo Badmos, the image maker in charge of the state police command, while confirming the incident to Lagos Metro, said the police had begun investigations into the death.

Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) taking the corpse from the scene.

Woman dies in mudslide 2 weeks after marriage Akin Adewakun with Agency Reports

A

woman, who got married two weeks ago in Adamawa, Faisa Mohammed, was killed in Lagos, on Tuesday, when mudslide occurred in Agidingbi area.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said three persons, a male and

two females, including Faisa, aged 24, were trapped under the mud, but the other two were rescued alive.

General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele, said in his report that the agency received a distress call through the emergency toll free line 112/767 at about 10.54 a.m.

“The report was of mudslide on illegal shanties around Kuata Area by Amara

Olu Street, Mechanic Village, Agidingbi in Ikeja.

“Three persons were discovered trapped under the mud."

He stated that while three people were trapped in the mudslide on the shanties structures, two people were rescued alive, while one woman died in the rescue operation carried out by a combined team of the Agency's Emergency

Flooded Awolowo way, Ikeja, after a downpour on Tuesday. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa

Lagos communities protest non-compensation for Lekki Free Trade Zone lands Temitayo Ayetoto The Lekki Coast Area Development Association (Resettlement Committee), LCADA, have protested incomplete concession of the 750 hectares of land granted as compensation for approximately 7,500 hectares relinquished to the Lagos State government for the development of Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).

The community lamented that after two years of formal concession of the land, physical possession of the land had not been feasible as the aboriginal owners of the land were yet to receive adequate compensation to evacuate the proposed resettlement .

In June 2014, the government presented Certificate of Occupancy for 750 hectares of land to

communities recognised under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on LFTZ. The memorandum signed was alongside the IbejuLekki Local Government, the Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited and host communities, including Idasho, Idotun, Ilege, Imobido, itoke, Okunraiye, Ilekuru, Tiye, and ImagbonSegun, all under the umbrella

body of LFTZ. In a statement presented at a briefing by the Executive Director, Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC), Felix Morka, on behalf of the association, the government had breached the terms of the memorandum by its failure to fulfil its obligation to the host community, now displaced from their ancestral home with no recourse.

Response Team, men of the Nigerian Police from Alausa Division, RRS, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), NEMA and the State Commissioner, Ministry of Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare.

The LASEMA boss, however, reiterated the state government's caution to residents of the state staying in flood-prone area to vacate such areas to avert loss of lives during rainy season.

“The agency’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) were able to rescue two people (a male and a female), while one adult female lost her life and the body was recovered,’’ the report said.

“The ERT and men of the Nigeria Police from Alausa Division, Rapid Response Squad and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence, LASAMBUS, NEMA, were on ground for the recovery operation.’’

The general manager said the area was a wetland and a buffer zone which was not habitable for human settlement.

“The Lagos State government has been sensitising people staying in flood-prone and wetlands to vacate such areas to avert loss of lives, especially during this rainy season,’’ Akindele said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the Commissioner, Ministry of the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, and the Commandant, NSCDC Lagos State command, Mr Tajudeen Balogun, were also at the scene for rescue operation.

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editorial

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Economy: Emergency powers for the president?

M

UCH as the state of the Nigerian economy has bothered Nigerians, the touted request for emergency powers for the president to deal with the situation as he deems fit without restraint of any kind seems to have even worsened their anxiety. Such emergency powers would, for instance, have the president selling off the country’s assets without recourse to the legislature. Thankfully, the retraction from Mr Laolu Akande, the Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media, who stated that the proposal had not even reached the Federal Executive Council (FEC), soothed frayed nerves.

The consternation of the citizenry no doubt derived from the cynicism about the country’s antecedents in such matters when former presidents had been egged on by their coterie of self-serving inner caucuses to get more powers with which they only failed abysmally. The fact that it took the current administration well over six months to put a cabinet together only increased their doubts. It may not be easy for it to convince anyone that it is actually in a hurry to improve the economy. Indeed, what plans or policies in the form of bills from the Presidency have ever been rejected by the National Assembly since the inception of this administration to warrant a request for emergency powers? Has the National Assembly ever constituted any kind of impediment to the president on any known score that is considered beneficial to the country’s economic interests?

The overwhelming victory with which the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) rode to power showed the confidence which the people reposed in the party. The economic challenges were expected but the people also expected the party to run a government that would confront these economic challenges with policies and creative ideas, not some extra powers that would suspend the constitution.

The request for emergency powers for the president therefore hinted at some furtive, dark and sinister motives since there was nothing in the offing that the constitution did not already empower the president to do to turn the prostrate economy around within the shortest possible time.

Nothing, for instance, recommends emergency powers

like a war situation. But even then, the constitution accords the power of recognition of the war situation to the National Assembly and the president will need the assent of two thirds of its membership for his declaration of a war to be valid. Has the situation with the country’s economy aggravated beyond a war situation that some people feel compelled to prod the president to seek emergency powers?

Truth told, Nigerians are frightened about granting emergency powers to a president who affects trust issues with the National Assembly and does not feel comfortable with exploring all the democratic options and institutions in tackling his challenges. We are persuaded that the president does not actually require emergency powers to function effectively, especially in Nigeria where many observers are of the view that the Nigerian president has been given awesome and immense powers by the constitution already.

If the emergency powers being sought for the president will make him take unitary decisions like disposing the estimated $55 billion national assets to whomsoever he pleases, will it also allow him to suspend the activities of establishments like the Due Process office? Such establishments emanated from the efforts by previous administrations geared towards protecting public funds, which emergency powers for the president will automatically trash without any evidence that they are no longer useful. Meanwhile, there is absolute mutual distrust amongst the entities in the polity, which will threaten the country’s stability if emergency powers for the president are given. Many countries have waded through economic recession and even depression without suspending their democratic institutions.

We believe that the country’s current economic challenges can still be surmounted without the rather drastic option of giving emergency powers to a president who already is constitutionally one of the most powerful presidents in the world. It is frightening that this was even mulled at all in the first place considering its dire implications, but we are relieved that it has not even reached the level of the FEC. Let it remain in the wild imaginations of the awful dreamers.

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14 LETTERS TO THE

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

editor

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by the full name and address of the writer.

OOU lecturers, call off your strike

I

recall reading about members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Olabisi Onabanjo University chapter (ASUU-OOU) when they declared an industrial action, claiming that the Ogun State government owed them salaries for 16 months. One of the lecturers pilloried the union for deceiving the public with the wild allegation of salary arrears. By the time the dust settled, it turned out that the Ogun State government did not actually owe the workers one month salary, let alone 16 months as claimed by the union. I waited in vain to read an apology in the press by the union for such a deliberate misinformation.

As was later discovered, the union went on strike because of the Earned Academic Allowances, an agreement it negotiated with the Federal Government, which gets 54 per cent of the monthly Federal Allocation. I have no evidence that the state government was in a posi-

tion to pay such, or that it actually paid. But everyone was happy that the strike was called off. That was in December, 2015.

It seems we are back to where we were in 2015.

ASUU-OOU is once more on strike, but this time round, it seems the issues are more confusing. In one breath, we hear the union is accusing the government of not paying subventions to the institution. In another, there is a claim that government owes them salaries for three months.

But reports in the media indicate that the union went on strike in the first week of August, alleging non-payment of July salary by the management of the institution. This last point has been confirmed.

It, therefore, follows that the current strike, just like others in recent years, is hasty and insensitive, especially at a time when governments across Nigeria are confronted with financial crisis.

This is not an attempt to speak for the state govern-

ment. As a matter of fact, one should emphasise that labourers deserve their wages. And so when you pay salaries, you are simply fulfilling your obligations. But given the current situation in the land, any government that is able to pay its workers necessarily deserves to be praised, because there are a thousand

and one reasons why it is difficult to pay these days.

There are pressures everywhere. Workers constitute less than two per cent of the population of every state in the country, but the governors will have to cater for the balance of 88 per cent as well. This point should not be lost on any union.

Since delay or non-payment of salary has never been an issue in the last five years of the Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s administration, the most considerate action expected from ASUU over the one-week delay in payment of July salary should have been some engagement with the management of the institu-

tion and the state government through the OOU Governing Council. Going on strike at the drop of a hat is certainly not the way to go.

Therefore, OOU lecturers should call off their strike action because it is clearly unwarranted.

•Pade Oladayo, Ijebu Ode.

Nigeria police need body cameras CONSIDERING the efforts being made by the present administration to restructure the Nigeria police, particularly in curbing the activities of ‘rotten’ police personnel, I want to suggest the use of body cameras for all police personnel on duty.

With the police hierarchy insisting that it would not resuscitate illegal road blocks, some policemen still mount road blocks in order to extort from members of the public. Members of the public have, on several occasions, reported these ‘criminal’ policemen,

but how many do we report?

The age we are in is so advanced that, with technology, we can monitor the activities of our policemen. The effectiveness of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and the compulsory SIM registration of telecommunication subscribers have proved that we can record success with technology.

As a result, it will be appropriate if the police hierarchy can procure body cameras for policemen in the country. These cameras help record the activities

of the wearers, and with this, it will help a central administration office know what each policeman wearing the camera is doing, or facing.

These body cameras are being used in the United States of America, and they are assisting in effectively policing the country.

I believe when the cameras are approved for our policemen, it will go a long away in checkmating policemen who demand for bribe, or those who are involved in other crimes while on their duty post.

•Seun Folaranmi, Ibadan.

Still on Nigeria’s restructuring WHAT we are hearing concerning how politicians mismanage our commonwealth is really giving Nigerians cause for concern. Nigerian politics is too attractive, and that is why people struggle to attain political offices at all cost.

We, therefore, need to cut the number of political positions in the country.

In actual fact, what members of the state and Federal Assemblies are doing can be done on part-time basis. Since they don’t sit on a daily basis, then nothing stops them from being part-time legislators.

Most of those who go into politics today do not really have the interest of the people at heart, but what they will gain from the positions they hold.

That is why we have governors who had served two terms of eight years still going to the Senate. After being governors for eight years, what zeal do they have left to debate motions in the Senate? People have been calling for a political restructuring of the country for some time now, and it is high time something was done about it.

•Samson Tonge, Badagry, Lagos State.

Kudos to FG on OyoOgbomoso-Ilorin Road I want to thank the Federal Government for flaggingoff the construction of the Oyo-Ogbomos-Ilorin Expressway .

The immediate past administration had completed the Ibadan-Oyo Expressway, and this went a long way in reducing road accidents in the country.

The Oyo-Ogbomoso Road is one of the most dangerous in the country, and that was why many people were calling on the government to do something by starting the sec-

ond phase of the project which the previous administration began.

I am happy that this government did not say it was not it that began the project, but it is actually completing all the projects of the past administration.

This is how governance should be.

I, therefore, hope that the road will be completed in record time.

•Olu Ajibola, jibolaolu66@gmail. com

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opinion

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

PDP’s self-destructive quarrels and growing irrelevance

By Ayo Olukotun

N

IGERIA presents itself to the world in fascinating contrasts and as a study in unrealised expectations and beckoning greatness frustrated by adversity and self-inflicted wounds.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, alluded on an optimistic note, to one dimension of the Nigerian paradox when he told a workshop in Lagos last Wednesday that despite the biting economic hardship “after being here, there is no way that this place (Nigeria), doesn’t end up shaping the way things get done around the world.”

It does not appear that Zuckerberg was merely speaking to please his growing clientele in Nigeria; rather, he seemed earnest, echoing statements which several world leaders have made about Nigeria’s manifest destiny. If the country will eventually transit from the current wilderness of deferred greatness to the world stage however, it must get among other things its democratic governance right, by alternating power smoothly between its major parties in free and fair elections.

It is in this context that we worry about the looming erasure from the country’s political map of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Of course, it is easy to say good riddance if the PDP expires as a result of external pressure and ongoing bickering, considering its many blemishes. In fact, several politicians and sympathisers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are already gloating at the travails of the PDP if for no other reason than that it would mean that a major rival has gone into extinction. It is difficult nonetheless for a true democrat to rejoice at the probable emergence of a one-party state, however virtuous that one party is. As this writer suggested in his article, “PDP: An opposition party absent from duty” , democracy is the better and healthier for it when it is served by two major parties, each with roughly equal chances of winning or losing general elections. True, and as some politicians are already strategising, another party may rise up from the ashes of the PDP, but will such a party have the spread and the forte of the imploding PDP? As known, the gravity of the current fractionalisation

of the party is evident in the holding of rival primaries by the two major factions for the forthcoming Ondo State election, suggesting that the schisms are deep and hard to reconcile. Similarly, the crisis has thrown up a plethora of court cases and rival court rulings to the extent that it will be almost impossible to hold a National Convention without one side obtaining an injunction to abort it.

The unravelling of what was once proclaimed as Africa’s largest party, projected to govern the country for 60 years, carries with it a hint of tragedy mutating into farce as one observes the combatants displaying fervour at tackling their opponents without a trace of embarrassment or awareness that both parties in the fray are sealing the doom of their party. This blissful or pretended ignorance reminds one of Prof. Larry Diamond’s comment in his seminal book on Nigeria’s First Republic that when actors driving on a narrow lane show no awareness of the fragile terrain in which they are acting, they provoke a Samson option in which all contending parties face destruction. It is possible of course as some have speculated that one of the disputing parties is merely playing the spoiler with instigation from the ruling party, becoming defiant in order to bring about a mutually assured destruction of the PDP.

It will be unfortunate if the PDP lapses and pushes itself off the national stage because of real and contrived problems. Tensions and conflicts are to be expected in all organisations — large or small; the larger, the more likely they will incubate conflicts. Indeed, some conflicts can be creative if they lead to organisational renewal or bring about an important reformulation of strategies, goals and tactics. There is no hint, however, that the conflicts in the PDP, denaturing and festering, have anything to do with noble visions or ideals that can restart the party. Hence, at a time when Nigerians are in need of an effective opposition to both act as a check on the ruling party and to sign post better days to come, the PDP, or some of its leaders regale themselves with tactical victories obtained at the cost of pushing their party more and more into ruins.

Ordinarily, the statement credited to the Director, New Media of the PDP, Deji Adeyanju, last Thursday to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari should pay close attention to the economy or resign should have attracted some mileage. But if Buhari wants to be cynical, his spokespersons can ask Adeyanju whether he is speaking for the Ahmed Makarfi faction or the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the party. In other words, nobody can take seriously a party so divided and which has made political differences of combatants a priority issue. It is possible that the PDP wary of the consequences of their collective abasement and their impact on our fragile democracy will allow common sense to prevail and build bridges across the current divides. If this happens quickly enough, the party may yet be rescued from its current suicidal journey from irrelevance to extinction.

In the unlikely event that the party overcomes its current troubles, it will wobble on as an inconsequential player in the scheme of things. However that goes, our democracy needs a vibrant opposition party to move the country to the next stage of democratic consolidation.

•Olukotun is a professor of political communication.

Complementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

By Fola Tayo

YEAR 2000 was an exciting year in contemporary history. It was that year during which many felt a certain sense of accomplishment in witnessing a transition not from one decade or century to another, but indeed from one millennium to another. Transition into Y2K, as that year had come to be referred, was hallmarked by fears of a possible global crash of computer systems, a fear that turned out, to the relief of the world, to be without basis.

Instructively, the new magical year of 2000 also witnessed the coming together of some 189 countries across the world to assess the present and make projections for a better future for mankind. The excitement of the new millennium notwithstanding, the outlook of the world at the time was not pretty. The world was plagued with natural disasters such as famines and drought and other problems such as poverty and disease. Whilst some of the problems were of course, inevitable, it was clear that their impact could be less devastating on humankind. The world had the capacity to produce enough food to ensure that no-one was left hungry, but somehow, severe hunger pervaded much of the world.

It was the search for a reversal of these fortunes that led leaders of these 189 countries to conceive and collectively adopt a set of eight goals that they believed if pursued aggressively on a global scale, would among others, help considerably rid the world of hunger and poverty by 2015. Those goals came to be known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs may not have met their ambitious targets by 2015. They were, however, very successful in redressing to a considerable extent, the problems they sought to combat. There are reports that the MDGs may have succeeded in reducing extreme poverty by up to half. MDGs also succeeded in impacting global awareness on the essence of enrolling children in

schools and globally by 2015, more children were in school than at any previous period in history, while infant and child mortality had also reduced considerably.

The successes of the MDGs, though rather far from the ambitious targets set at the beginning of the millennium, have spurred the world to adopt a new set of goals that build on these accomplishments. Known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this new set of goals aims to among others, end hunger and poverty by 2030. Like the MDGs, the SDGs build on the premise that by working together on a pre-agreed mission, the world stands a better chance of meeting the aspirations of its citizens for peace, prosperity and progress.

A most pivotal among the Sustainable Development Goals is good health and the promotion of wellbeing for all and at all ages.

It would appear that by some fortuitous coincidence of sorts, Pharmacy, that profession whose role has traditionally been to manufacture and provide medicines, has sequel to an evolution in scope over the years, attuned itself to keying more seamlessly into the Sustainable Development Goals.

Over the last six decades for instance, the focus of pharmacy practice has gradually shifted. Whereas the focus used to be on the medicines that pharmacists manufacture and distribute, today, the focus has shifted to the patient, the clinical equivalent of what

other professions refer to as customer or client. The profession would appear to have adopted the counsel of famed Harvard marketing professor, Theodore Levitt, who in his iconic 1960 article, “Marketing Myopia,” canvassed that an industry (replace that with profession) “is a customer-satisfying process, not a goodsproducing process.” An industry, Levitt said, “begins with the customer (patient in this case) and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill.”

Today, across most of the world, especially in developed economies, the patient has become the focal point of pharmaceutical practice. Increasingly, the pharmacist is taking direct responsibility for ensuring that only those medicines that are most appropriate for a particular condition; that are optimally cost-effective as well as safe and convenient for the patient, are taken. The new shift in focus, therefore, implies that rather than work largely in isolation of other clinical health care practitioners like his doctor and nurse counterparts, pharmacists now play a key role in clinical settings, helping to ensure that patients only take medicines that are best suited to their situations.

The new trend in pharmacy practise speaks to the emphasis that the SDGs place on people, their health and general wellbeing. The new trend in pharmacy also speaks to the emphasis that the SDGs place on responsible consumption and production. It acknowledges that because medicines are essentially poisons with a potential to wreak untold harm and havoc on people and subject them to inconvenience and even further pauperise people if the most affordable or cost-effective options are not painstakingly selected, it is critical that in the war against diseases, pharmacists must increasingly play the critical role of intercessor for the patient. Very importantly, the new trend is very much in line with the SDGs which emphasise partnerships and collaboration towards the attainment of the goals.

•Professor Tayo is General Secretary of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

tribune cartoons

Adeeko Olusegun adeeko.olusegun@yahoo.com 0811 695 4638

GIANT IN THE TROPIC OF AFRICA

Oba Otudeko • Dr. Ayoola Obafunke

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He is a native of Odogbolu in Ogun State, Nigeria.

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Oba Otudeko, an alumni of Havard Business School, is the chairman of Honeywell Group, Airtel Nigeria, and Fan Milk of Nigeria Plc. Otudeko retired as the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Plc after 12 years on its board. He also served on the boards of Central Bank of Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).

Between September 2006 and August 2009, he was the 16th President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He was the Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State from 2001 to 2010.

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He is currently rated 24th richest man in Africa by Forbes Magazine.

SEGELUULU

CHURCH BOY

FUNOLOGY

Otudeko was born on August 18, 1943.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

THERE ARE 10 DIFFERENCES IN THE CARTOONS BELOW. THE DIFFERENCES SHOULD BE MARKED IN B

A

B

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

inside

nigerdelta

State creation: Delta celebrates 25yrs with common sense Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

I

F there is anything Delta State has celebrated at the 25th anniversary of its creation, it is peace and unity that now prevail among the ethnic groups.

Gone were the years when ethnic groups, especially those in the creek, were at war. For quite a number of years in the political dispensation, there were maimings and wanton destruction of lives and property in various communities, but all that is now history.

So as the people gathered in Asaba, the state capital, to take a retrospective look at the beginning of the journey in 1991, the last page indicated that peace has truly returned.

Although there are misgivings about the adulthood of the state, there is no gainsaying the fact that it has made some significant strides in various sectors of human endeavour.

DESTMA tackles menace of tankers drivers in Warri Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri IN a bid to reduce traffic gridlock on the high way as well as loss of lives and encourage vast economic activities, the Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA) has called on commercial and private petroleum tanker owners to remove all stationary trucks and tank off the ever-busy NPA expressway in Warri.

The tankers, in recent times, have caused numerous accidents which have resulted in the loss of lives, damages to vehicles and long traffic gridlocks on the high way.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting held at Government House Annexe in Warri, the Director General of DESTMA, Mr Stephen Dieseruve, pleaded with independent oil marketers and Warri Refineries Petroleum Company (WRPC) to halt parking their vehicles on the sides of the dual lanes on the NPA expressway and environs in order to avert further loss of lives and property.

He urged independent marketers to provide possible means to address the issue of tankers parking on the sides of the expressway, Also speaking at the meeting, the Director General on Delta State Security Matters, Honourable David Tonwe, said government was trying its best to acquire a land for the tankers as park in order to ease the double lane parking which is hazardous to people accessing the expressway on a daily basis.

He said in no distance time, the issue of parking would be settled, adding that marketers should partner with the state government to maintain a friendly environment.

The DESTMA boss assured every individual that in no distance time, tankers would be off the roads.

“There is an agreement to the fact that those tankers would be taken away from the roads in no distance time.

“A tanker park would be built, and when ready, all tankers that arrive the state would be registered, and we would thoroughly checkmate them.

Apart from parading arrays of media and banking executives, it has made foray into the oil and gas, sports and entertainment.

There are three polytechnics, a university with two satellite campuses, a teaching hospital, two colleges of education, three schools of nursing, two schools of midwifery, a college of physical education, school of health technology and a school of marine technology and over 66 general hospitals among others.

The state has more major urban centres compared to some states. They include, Asaba, Agbor, Warri, Ughelli, Kwalle, Ozoro, Oghara and Sapele etc.

However, as regretted by the first Executive Governor of the state, Chief Felix Ibru before his death recently, the master plan of Asaba, the state capital, is yet to be implemented as people became reckless and built on water channels, mapped out markets and parks etc.

Despite that, Asaba has sprawled to neighbouring communities to become one of the fastest growing capitals of states created in 1991 with streets adorned with lightings.

The abysmal economic position in the country notwithstanding, the state government rolled out drums for the celebration, which turned out to be the best in recent years. The celebration, according to the Governor of the state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was done with common sense.

Caged in financial doldrums, the administration proved a point that a friend in need is a friend in deed by appealing to the private sector to support the celebration.

In the process, some companies, including banks, oil and gas outfits and individuals donated over N165million out of the N250million earlier budgeted for the celebration.

Okowa appreciated the gesture and was quick to add that the state government did not spend a dime.

At the cultural carnival, the 25 local governments showcased their best. Okowa led the people from Delta North, while his deputy, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, led the south troops and speaker of the House of Assembly was in charge of those from central district round some streets in Asaba before they all converged on the Cenotaph. All the groups were winners, but attention was shifted to the maidens who featured from Ethiope West (Oghara) with their bare tops exposing God’s precious gift.

Addressing the mammoth crowd, Okowa used the occasion to admonish the people to remain resolute to uphold peace which is a panacea for investment and harmonious living.

“We are strong willed and by God’s grace, we are not depressed.

“We have a lot of work to do, the strength of love can conquer any challenge we have.

“The peace we seek has come and I hope

it will be sustained”.

The governor was quick to explain at every forum, including the economic and investment summit, details of the state income since assuming office in 2015, saying, “compared to two years ago when the state was getting about N20billion as allocation, what comes to the state for the past four months was between N3b to N5b.

A cross section of traditional rulers.

From right, Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adiosun; Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibekachukwu (behind); Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Chiedu Ebie and others, during the exhibition of localy made goods at the Economic Summit to mark the 25th anniversary of Delta State.

Corps member distributes drugs, mosquito nets to IDPs in Yenagoa Austin Ebipade-Yenagoa A Youth Corps member serving in Yenagoa has brought succour to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp at the Samson Siasia stadium with donation of drugs and treated mosquito nets.

The drugs and items worth one million naira were part of the Community Development Project of the corps member.

Dr Iniabasi Bassey, a youth corps member with the joint military force in Yenagoa, said her visit to the camp early this year was to see what she could do to assist the women and children suffering in the camp.

Bassey, who addressed the beneficiaries, said she was moved with the deplorable situation at the camp and took it upon herself as part of her primary assignment to put smiles on their faces.

“When I visited the camp early this year, it was a horrible situation and I took it upon myself to render the little assistance I could to alleviate the suffering of the people medically because health is wealth.” she said.

She, therefore, advised them to make judicious use of the drugs and the treated mosquito nets, saying they should not fail to go for medical help where necessary.

Accepting the items from Dr. Iniabasi, Chief Noel Meshack, Chairman of the (IDPs) in Bayelsa, thanked Bassey for her kind gesture and promised to make good use of the items donated to them.

He also used the opportunity to call on other donor agencies to come to their aides to complement the efforts of the government.

Director of Sports in Bayelsa, Mr Ayerite Judgenut, who represented the Commissioner for Sports, Mr Igbete Dasime, NYSC Local Government Inspector Yenagoa, officials of the joint force amongst others attended the ceremony.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

By Wale Ojo-Lanre 0803 349 0986 waleojolanre@gmail.com

let them reason that certain things must be done for the people, that they might not be aware of, but when they know, it becomes a problem. But if you have five or 10 of them at the managerial level, they will call the people and let them know the situation that is why the government need to help us and we will also need to help them.

We supported the port as we hope it will be a prosperous investment in Badagry.

Badagry Convention & Visitors Bureau a clearing house for investors

—Ashamu Fadipe , MD

Ashamu Fadipe, a retired Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Culture and Tourism is the Managing Director of Badagry Convention and Visitors Bureau, an outfit formed to incubate the cultural – tourism business opportunities of Badagry. He spoke with WALE OJO-LANRE on this and other issues. Excerpts:

W

hat is the essence of Badagry Festival?

The essence of Badagry Festival is to create awareness in Badagry, to sell Badagry as a destination and to also attract Africans in Diaspora and visitors to Badagry.

When was the programme initiated?

It was initiated in 2001, it started with the Black Heritage Festival organised by Lagos State government.

When Lagos State government stopped sponsoring, the indigenes resuscitated the festival again.

For how many years was the Black Heritage celebrated here before Badagry people took over?

The Black Heritage festival was celebrated two times at the beginning, then the indigenes took over the year after. In 2010, the state government came back again and it was not being celebrated as it used to be. They only brought one or two programmes here and shifted others to another location that is why the people of Badagry continued with this programme.

So, who is sponsoring the programme?

Nobody. We usually have a sponsor that is steady which is the MTN, since then, they have been doing something even now that they have crisis, they still do little. At least, we got 15 per cent of what they used to give us before this year, it is just unfortunate.

So, the rest is being taken over by the Badagry

communities...

Yes, it is by the community.

People hearing about Badagry Festival expect something bigger than this Yes, it used to be bigger, but now, the paucity of fund makes it unnoticed, but I want to tell you, that you will see more of it next Saturday which is the grand finale.

When it started like this, it’s always very low. We have series of programmes for instance, on Monday, market women, are involved, they will assemble at the point of no return with the Baale offering prayers in his palace, then they will cross the water and move to the market.

Is it the traditional system or you are just creating a myth?

Festival is about creation. It doesn’t happen without creation, so it comes with the idea of an all inclusive event so that people can be involved in participating in the festival more so when we don’t have money to give them.

Is it that people are not enlightened on the import of things coming to Badagry?

My people don’t understand. I am trying my best. I even met with the company manager and I told him that I was not there to quarrel but to assist him and urge him to look at raising professionals among the youths so that it will not turn to another Niger Delta crisis. We sat together with some of the Baales whose land were among the ones that were taken over by the government for the Port. I told them that we are not quarrelling, but trying to

Indian tourism minister bans women in short dresses AN Indian tourism minister has sparked controversy after he suggested that female tourists should not wear short dresses and skirts.

Tourism minister, Maresh Sharma backpedalled on the comments this week.

Sharma said on Sunday in Agra, “For their own safety,

women foreign visitors should not wear short dresses and skirts. Indian culture is different from western culture.”

Facing a backlash, he said he wanted to advise tourists to be discreet when visiting temples and a full ban would be ‘unimaginable’.

As one of the best brains in Tourism industry in Nigeria, having worked with the Lagos State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, involved in promotion of tourism in Nigeria, don’t you think it is an opportunity for people here in Badagry that a port is being planted?

Yes, on my own part, I told you that we should be doing something the port is going to annex, it is going to help tourism industry, more people will come, but if only we are ready, when people are trained in tour guiding, operation and so on, they turn the opportunity to gold.

Particularly the absence of four or five star hotels that can handle the capacity...

The issue is not five or four star hotels. How many people can even afford that, let us have maximum three stars - hotels. If we have many two star hotels, I think it is enough and where a room is not more than N5,000, people afford it, but when it is 15 or 20 thousand naira or more, you will see that it will be a classic thing. We must encourage visitors to visit. This was why we came up with the idea of Badagry Convention and Visitors Bureau which I am the MD, today.

What is the Bureau all about?

It is to sell Badagry as a destination.

Does it have a government backing or support?

Yes, the local government has interest in it. We signed a MoU with the local government to market, source for investors, promote Badagry as a destination. The council has made the Bureau its contact and facilitation agent for showcasing and marketing of Badagry. This was achieved through a rigorous elucidation of the benefits of having the bureau in Badagry. I had to sit with my people and enlighten them. It took me about five months to get them enlightened and we have signed it now.

Does the local government realise the essence of having the bureau?

I sat down with them, before they could understand it took them some time, but they’ve understood now.

Is it true that foreign investors are coming around in search of where they will establish their businesses based on government’s decision?

Yes, some have been coming. We have been entertaining inquiries from members of the private sector, multi – national corporations on the investible areas. We have some hospitality industries that are springing up. We are not short of hotels in Badagry, if we have 500 visitors in Badagry today, we have where to accommodate them.

As an investor coming to Badagry, who should I talk to?

Talk to the Badagry Convention and Visitors Bureau.

This is the main reason why we are created. Investors and corporate entities must have a platform of trust with government cover to deal with. We are inaugurated to serve as a go – between agent between investors, the local government, the people and business community in Badagry. When an environment is undergoing a spontaneous transformation from a rustic town to a cosmopolitan city, there is tendency for fraudulent organisations competing and pretending to be what they are not and thereby ripping off people and damaging the image of Badagry or whoever. This bureau is government interface for transparency and credible transaction. We are founded to inject credibility, guarantee authenticity and fair play. Badagry Convention and Visitors Bureau is the clearing house of trust which genuine investors are expected to deal with.

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tourism

By Tunde Busari

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IGHT life of the residents of Anaye, Oke Oni tea axis of Osogbo is not the same since August 2015 when Blue and White Hotel and Suite was commissioned.

Aside an increase in traffic of quality people, the illumination at night is making the area more attractive to would-be tenants.

It is, therefore, not a surprise that the hotel is gradually becoming an household name at Obafemi Awolowo Way and Ring Road sections of Osogbo.

It is easily accessible for guests on a first visit to the capital city. The expanse car park is the first point of attraction as one drives into the hotel premises, instantly allaying fear of parking car at owners risk.

With very dutiful security guards who usher guests in with assuring smile, a stay at Blue and White Hotel and Suite is a worthwhile experience to relax and savour what makes Osogbo one of the best destinations for such purpose.

The rooms which are categorised into Delux, Suites, Special double and presidential, are a beauty to behold, in terms of luxury and comfort. They are architectural masterpiece providing another home away from home.

Equipped with simple but functional facilities, the rooms are always maintained to give guests real value for their hard earned money. Each room has access to the reception and other sections of the hotel via the intercom which effectiveness is never in doubt.

Also, the mini-conference hall as well as the event centre is an attestation to the taste of the management which targets a decent category of the society. Same goes to the open space bar which has since played host to events such as birthday party, bachelors eve and even church seminar programme.

Natural ventilation that pervades the bar makes it a choice of guests who have experienced it. It is an innovation and a departure from the conventional indoor bar where guests contend with heat despite air conditioner as a result of congestion.

The strong point of the hotel is its uncompromising stance on maintenance of the above facilities. The internet facilities are often serviced by a team of competent computer engineers who don’t wait until called to check the functionality of the facilities.

Therefore, the internet wireless service in rooms is very effective round the clock.

The General Manager of the hotel, Omotola Ojudaye said the management is strict with maintenance of the facilities having realised that lack of it has spelt doom for

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Blue and White Hotel, Osogbo: Hospitality in excellent service

some failed hotels in the country. “We know the importance of regular maintenance and don’t joke with it.

“We understand that many hospitality businesses fail to survive owing to failure to maintain them properly. On monthly basis, our maintenance department goes round and fixes whatever needs to be replaced and repairs those in need of it,” she said.

Ojudaye is coping hard with the challenges associated with the running of hospitality enterprise in a gasping economy. While she is enjoying the job, according to her, the state of the nation’s economy is giving her goose pimples.

For instance, the epileptic electricity supply is an albatross capable of forcing hoteliers out of business. In order to satisfy customers’ need, the hotel, she said, has to rely on the use of diesel to power its generator.

This has impacted on the running cost and shed heavy load on the management.

“It is so bad that we have to cope by fire by force to win confidence of our customers.

It is also demoralising when one takes stock and realise the amount we spend on diesel.

We are not spending less than N300,000 on monthly basis to buy diesel. But we have no choice because we cannot afford to lose our customers,” she stated.

What she called multiple taxation, as corroborated by the representative of the chairman of the hotel, Alhaji Muftau Olaoluwa, is also a clog in the wheel of the hotel, saying

Family trips are on the rise —ITB Berlin IPK International and ITB Berlin examine trends in family trips abroad – steady growth despite declining birth rates in many countries – Spain is the most popular destination for families Berlin, 25 August 2016 – Despite declining birth rates, family trips are on the rise. In 2015, around 78 million Europeans went on family vacation abroad and spent a total of 640 million nights on these trips. This is the result of a special

NCPC boss urges Nigerian youths to be patriotic THE Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Rev. Tor Uja, has urged Nigerian youths to be patriotic and take a stand for Nigeria in order to bring change and revival to the nation. He said this in Nazareth while addressing the youths participating in the

2016 Youth and Family pilgrimage.

The NCPC boss stressed that the greatest strength of our country is the youth and as such encouraged them to rise to the clarion call of making Nigeria a great nation as instituted by God. He intimated that the idea of youth pil-

that government should rather be interested in how business grows rather than suffocating it with taxation, which is not better than legitimate extortion.

“We have engaged our lawyer to challenge another tax they call consumption tax.

Why are they making things difficult? They should make the state attractive to investors instead of discouraging them,” the general manager said.

grimage was to include the youths in the pilgrimage programmes of the commission in order to empower them in skills acquisition, especially in the area of agriculture and expose them to important Holy Sites that would positively transform their lives.

Reverend Uja explained that Israel is a blessed nation with many lessons Nigeria can learn from. According to him: "I want to see a changed Nigeria, a Nigeria that is working; and Israel is a place we can draw inspiration from".

He encouraged the youths not to depend on government to provide jobs, but rather use their young minds to create great ideas especially in the area of agriculture so that in no time Nigeria would be able to produce enough food for its citizens and the international market.

About 70 Nigerian youths are participating in this year's youth pilgrimage programme. Youths will visit different Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Reverend Tor Uja (middle in native) with some Nigeria Youths agricultural farms as well as Holy sites as part of their pilgrimage exercise. at the Church of Annunciation in Galilee during the ongoing 2016 Youth and Family Pilgrimage to Israel.

evaluation of the World Travel Monitor®, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

Over the last 10 years, the annual average growth rate of holiday trips with children (aged under 15) has been around two percent, which corresponds to the growth rate for all holiday trips undertaken by Europeans. For family trips, Europe is the preferred destination as 90 percent spend their holidays there. The most popular destination for families is Spain, where around 15 percent spend their holidays, followed by France. In recent years, Germany has registered high growth in this segment. As in 2007 it was still ranked sixth behind Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Turkey, Germany is now ranked on the third place and the number of family tourists there has almost doubled. Outside Europe, the most popular destinations for families are the USA, followed by Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Thailand. The three source markets with the highest demand for family trips are Germany, the UK and France, which altogether account for more than one-third of European family tourists.

Off to the beach Beach holidays are the most popular type of family holidays, with two in five spent on lakes or by the sea. The main motivation for families is to relax, while sunbathing and swimming as well as good food and drinks are also very important. Although having been on the rise in recent years, with 17 percent, city breaks follow beach holidays by far in popularity. The focus here is on sightseeing and experiencing a city’s atmosphere.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

with Doyin Adeoye

m:08038000394 e:doyinadeoye@tribuneonlineng.com t:@kreatif_ink

It isn’t pollution that is harming the environment. It is the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.

— Dan Quayle

ecoscope ecofact

Census figures reveal African elephant population declining UNITED Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Deputy Head, Ibrahim Thiaw has reacted to the results of the Great Elephant Census, which showed African Savanna elephant populations declined by 30 per cent, that is 144,000 elephants, between 2007 and 2014.

“The findings of the Great Elephant Census show clearly that poaching is still decimating elephant herds across Africa. This practice makes no sense on any level: moral, economic or political.

“Elephants are already locally extinct in my own country, Mauritania, and I do not want to see this happen anywhere else, an imminent possibility in Cameroon and Mali, and further down the line in other countries, unless we accelerate action.

“There is reason for hope. Populations in some African nations are declining only slightly or even increasing. And support for tackling the crisis is increasingly backed by a growing public, political and private sector force for change, such as the Wild For Life campaign.

“Across Africa, nations are starting to see that wildlife is worth more alive than dead, and that it can generate revenue, through tourism for example, to fund the education, healthcare and infrastructure that will improve human well-being and drive economic growth.

“As depressing as these numbers are, I hope they act as a further spark for action and change. We know how to solve the crisis. The Great Elephant Census tells us we must act, and now,” he said.

World Water Week:

Water central in actualising 2030 SDG Agenda P ARTICIPANTS at the World Water Week, which was held last week in Stockholm, Sweden, have concluded that water must be recognised as the enabler of successful implementation of the entire 2030 Agenda, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement.

Themed ‘Water for Sustainable Growth,’ the Water Week 2016, had in attendance 3,100 participants from over 120 countries, with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the goal on water, as one of the key issues discussed by high-level policy makers, development and water professionals, researchers, civil society and private sector representatives.

“Water, the lifeline of our planet will be needed to achieve nearly every Sustainable Development Goal, and to face the challenges that climate change presents,” Director of World Water Week at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Karin Lexen said.

Throughout the week, there was a focus on implementation and action, particularly on local and city level, marking a transition from the global discussions and negotiations that led to the adoption of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

“In order to achieve the SDGs, cities and local leaderships are crucial; that is where we will find the drive. It is also important that civil society, businesses and social entrepreneurs are engaged, to learn from each other to create smart, viable and sustainable partnerships. Water is too important to keep inside the water community. Water is a central part of the entire society,” SIWI’s Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren said.

This was underlined by Sweden’s Environment Minister, Karolina Skog, who said “Water is a shared resource and a shared responsibility.

The private sector has an important part to play.

It has the competence, the technology and the ability to invest. Responsible water usage is an economical advantage and will pay off both for sustainable business models and for new innovations.”

According to a press release, this year, World Water Week offered an opportunity for key actors to meet and take stock of progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, from a water perspective.

The week also welcomed representatives of the High Level Panel on Water, which was established earlier this year by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Kim, with the aim of furthering the water-related SDGs. The Panel representatives used the week to get input from the wider water and development community.

“We must continue to focus on water as a carrier to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and to push for better integration of water into the global climate agenda,” said Lexen.

Abdeladim Lhafi, High Commissioner for the upcoming the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention (COP22) and High Commissioner for Water, Forestry and Fight Against Desertification in Morocco, told the closing session that COP21 in Paris was “a historical turning point, a diplomatic success, it was a COP of decisions. COP22 will be the conference of implementation.”

“Climate change is the challenge of our generation. There is a great need to identify risks and vulnerabilities. Preventive measures are much more cost-efficient than re-active ones. Smart water proofed climate investments will give payback in several ways,” Skog said.

During the Week, climate was also discussed in relation to alleviating hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Malin Falkenmark, SIWI,

called Africa’s climate its “Achille’s Heel”, and said that rainwater harvesting and other green water management methods are necessary to alleviate hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and meeting the SDGs. Together with other water and climate experts, she called for a Green Water Initiative in Africa.

UNEP’s Munang becomes Africa Environmental Hero

pion of protecting Africa’s environment to overcome the region’s social and economic challenges.

He has over time, demonstrated how climate action can improve food security, create jobs and boost economic growth.

“Richard Munang’s leadership on climate action as a way of addressing Africa’s socio-economic development priorities is a fresh way of looking at climate change on the continent. Africa cannot afford to act on climate change in separation from its development needs and objectives.

By joining the two areas with his pioneering work, Dr Munang has become a true Africa Environmental Hero,” Convener of the Environmental Roundtable, Dr. Gregory Clem said.

While receiving the award which was presented by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Munang reaffirmed his commitment to environmental sustainability.

“I can only accept this award in the context of the many of you who are committed to and actively participating in putting poverty on the run, and prosperity in the cockpit of each and every home in the 54 countries on our continent.

I salute you.

“Your commitment to policy and action to unlock Africa’s potential in sustainable agriculture and clean energy will Richard Munang (left) receives the Africa Environmental Hero Award from the Minister of State set the continent on track to make Africa the bread basket for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril. of the globe,” Munang said.

UNITED Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Africa Regional Climate Change Programme Coordinator, Dr Richard Munang, last week in Abuja received the prestigious African Environmental Hero Award, conferred by the International Environmental Roundtable for Africa.

Awarded for his leadership on environmental policies across the continent, Munang who has been serving as UNEP’s Climate Change Coordinator for Africa since July 2013, has been a cham-

US, China ratify climate agreement THE United States and China over the weekend each submitted their plans to reduce carbon emissions to the United Nations, officially ratifying an agreement forged last year in Paris meant to curb climate change.

The ratification on by the world’s top two emitters of greenhouse gases has brought its rapid entry into force a big step closer.

Observers also say that the two nations have set a model for other countries, both developed and developing around the world to follow.

“I would like today to thank China and the United States for ratifying this landmark agreement, an agreement on which rests the opportunity for a sustainable future for every nation and every person,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“The earlier that Paris is ratified and implemented in full, the more secure that future will become,” she added.

The Paris Agreement enters into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 per cent of total global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the UN Depositary, in New York.

Saturday’s announcement by President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping, in which both countries have announced they have deposited their instruments of ratification with the UN Secretary-General, puts the balance at just over 39 per cent of the global total, based on the information from countries provided to the UN in accordance with the decision related to entry into force of the Paris Agreement.

“Bringing the Paris Agreement into force underlines that the momentum and international solidarity witnessed in 2015 continues into 2016 among big and small nations and

among rich and poorer countries,” said Ms Espinosa.

“The UN Secretary General’s special event in New York on 21 September offers a further, focused opportunity for others to join this wave of ambition and optimism towards a better and sustainable world,” she added.

THANKS to an increase in available habitat, the population of the giant panda rose 17 per cent from 2004 to 2014, so now it has been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable.

Here are some facts about the giant panda: • The life span of giant pandas in the wild is approximately 20 years.

• Giant pandas are on the brink of extinction, with just over 1,000 pandas left in the world. Scientists are hoping to increase the wild panda population to 5,000 by 2025.

• Pandas have lived on earth for two to three million years.

• Female pandas ovulate only once a year. They are fertile only two or three days of the year.c • A panda fur is worth between

$60,000 and $100,000 on the illegal trade market.

• Giant pandas have 42 teeth.

Like humans, giant pandas have two sets of teeth in their lifetime.

• Pandas are omnivores, but while they will occasionally eat small animals and fish, bamboo counts for 99 per cent of their diet.

• Baby pandas are born pink and measure about 15cm. They are also born blind and only open their eyes six to eight weeks after birth.

‘Nearly 15% of earth’s land now protected’ NEARLY 15 per cent of land on earth is now protected, though some key areas needed to preserve biodiversity have been left out, according to a new report.

Scientists behind the report, released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), say the globe now has more than 200,000 protected areas that cover 7.7 million square miles. These areas are sprinkled across the globe but most concentrated in South and Central America, particularly in the Amazon rainforest.

Despite progress, the report shows that four out of five regions most crucial to protecting global biodiversity, known as key biodiversity areas remain unprotected.

These sites contain several endangered species, species that live only in a very small area or highly threatened habitats.

Biodiversity, a measure of the number of different plant and animal species living in a given area, plays an important role in a number of functions that support human life including pollination, pest control and keeping climate-change-causing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. A recent study in the journal Science found that human activity has driven away 15 per cent of the species that would have been present in various locations.

The most rapid growth in protected areas has come from the

proliferation of protected marine areas. The total protected area has close to quadrupled in the last decade to 6.5 million sq. mi. today.

President Obama added to that total with the creation of the world’s largest ocean reserve off the coast

of Hawaii last week. The newly expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument protects more than 7,000 marine species, including many found only in that region, in an area twice the size of Texas.

Pope urges faithful to save planet from ‘debris, desolation, filth’ “GOD gave us a bountiful garden, but we have turned it into a polluted wasteland of debris, desolation and filth,” Francis said in a document released last week.

Pope Francis in the statement, called for concerted action against environmental degradation and climate change, renewing a fierce attack on consumerism and financial greed which, he said, were threatening the planet.

A year after publishing the first papal document dedicated to the environment, the pope urged Christians to make the defence of nature a core part of their faith, adding it to the seven “works of mercy” they are meant to perform.

“God gave us a bountiful garden, but we have turned it into a polluted wasteland of debris, desolation and filth,” Francis said in a document released to coincide with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

“It is obviously a rare thing to add to the acts of mercy, but things change. This shows the movement of the church through time. We

need new calls for responsibility,” he told Reuters.

Born in Argentina, Francis is the first pope from a developing nation and has placed environmental causes at the heart of his papacy, denouncing what he sees as a throwaway consumer culture and rampant, market-driven economies.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Tunde Dodondawa m:08029370304 e:mrdodondawa@yahoo.com

When former NNPC GMDs expressed concern over rots in corporation Stories by Olatunde Dodondawa

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HEN former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) met at a one-day meeting with the current Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru, and the current Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, one thing was on their mind; that the rots in the Corporation have become a major source of concern, which they want the government to act fast on.

Held on Saturday September 3, 2016 at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Dr Baru during the meeting presented the status of the Corporation and the oil and gas industry, while also presenting his 12 Business Focus Areas towards putting the Corporation on the path of growth and profitability.

The GMD and the former GMDs jointly reviewed the current state of Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry, deliberated on ways to resolve issues militating against the progress of the sector and recommended measures to move the sector forward.

During the brainstorming session, they expressed serious concerns on the declining production level and its attendant consequences on the environment and the nation’s revenue.

They further agreed that if the current situation remains unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the Corporation and the nation’s oil and gas sector, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

Following their deliberations, the former GMDs identified some key challenges including insecurity, reputation of the NNPC, state of the refineries, products supply, joint venture funding, frontier exploration services, pension, revenue base and the Corporation’s debt profile.

It was agreed that insecurity is threatening production and damaging the Niger Delta environment. They argued that there is the urgent need for government and security agencies to refocus as well as engage the various host communities as well as established social and traditional structures to develop an actionable partnership framework toward finding a last-

ing solution to the present unrest.

They expressed concerned about the increasing negative perception of the Corporation by Nigerians, especially in terms of opaqueness and accountability. They therefore called on the Corporation to educate Nigerians on NNPC activities as a commercial entity managing the nation’s assets in trust.

The former GMDs advised that the refineries should be rejuvenated using the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Also, the refineries must be restructured to operate as an Incorporated Joint venture (IJV) similar to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model with credible partners having requisite

technical and financial capabilities.

They, however, commended the NNPC for resolving the fuel supply crisis and urged the Corporation to emplace measures that would ensure sustenance of seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide. They also noted that the PMS price cap of N145/litre is not congruent with the liberalisation policy especially with the Foreign Exchange rate and other price determining components such as crude cost, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charges etc, remaining uncapped.

The former GMDs also advised that funding of JV Operations should be the first line charge to oil

revenue to ensure sustainable production and reserve growth. They endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari’s steer for sustaining exploration activities in the frontier basins particularly the ongoing efforts in Chad Basin and the Benue Trough. They therefore advised the GMD to pay priority attention to the Chad Basin where promising prospects are recorded.

They also noted that for effective functioning of any National Oil company (NOC), the technical components of the country’s Exploration & Production (E & P) must be integrated as part of the country’s NOC. They therefore posited that NAPIMS being the technical component of Nigeria’s

E & P, and not just an investment vehicle, must remain with and managed by NNPC. Taking NAPIMS out will make NNPC an ineffective NOC. On the current Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which proposed the incorporation of NAPIMS and taking it out of the NNPC, they jointly posited that such action will inhibit the effective functioning of the NNPC as a National Oil Company (NOC). This will make NNPC to operate at a different level compared to its peers in other OPEC Member Countries. While the former GMDs have no issues with incorporation, they strongly advise against taking NAPIMS out of NNPC.

2.8 million Nigerians need prepaid metres —Sahara Group A total of 2.8 million electricity consumers in Nigeria have no prepaid meters, the Business Leader (Distribution), Sahara Group, the firm with majority stakes in Ikeja Electric, Rotimi Onanuga, has said.

The figure represents about 54.15 per cent of 5, 172, 979, the total number of power consumers in the country.

Onanuga, who spoke at the 2016 Huawei Connect conference in Shanghai, China, also said manufacturing and trade enterprises as well as private homes spent an average of N3.5 trillion (about $21.9 billion) annually on diesel and petrol for power generation.

He added that the huge amount was due to the unstable power supply in the country. He said that the IKEDC had been able to

distribute 61,000 meters within its area of coverage, but stated that the target was to distribute at least 300,000 meters on or before April 2017.

Onanuga listed some challenges facing power generation and the quick deployment meters to include high-line loss rate and serious electricity theft.

“The line loss rate can reach up to 40 per cent, which is much higher than that of European and American countries, pegged at eight per cent. Twenty per cent of consumers committed electricity theft and difficulties exist in supervision and regulation,” he said.

He expressed regret about the energy crisis in Nigeria “given that it is the most populous country in Africa, boasting a population of

173 million, which accounts for 16 per cent of the total population of Africa.”

“Despite rich energy reserves, the enactment of the Power Reform Act, and continual government investments, Nigeria’s power supply still faces serious challenges with the fast development of the social economy.

“As the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria vigorously develops its infrastructures and invests primarily in four fields: energy generation, power transmission, power distribution, and renewable energy.

“Yet due to the unstable power supply, manufacturing enterprises, trade enterprises and common families spend an annual average of N3.5 trillion to purchase diesel and gasoline for power gen-

eration,” he said.

The Sahara Group business leader also listed the difficulties in electricity fee collection as another challenge being faced by the IKEDC, saying that the payment period was often as long as three to four months, thereby delaying capital withdrawal.

Meanwhile, the Sahara Group said that it had contracted Huawei Technologies for its Internet of Things solution, which would aid the IKEDC to improve its performance in area of power supply and metering.

Onanuga said, “$1.4 million has been paid to Huawei, spanning over a period of over two years, from January 2015 to April 2017, to enable it to set up its IoT solution in solving our power problems.”

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

How Russia, OPEC partnership may push crude price to $80/barrel Olatunde Dodondawa with Agency Reports

I

N August, when members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) floated the idea of meeting once again to discuss the possibility of a production freeze, oil prices skyrocketed, ending the bear market that had just formed. WTI and Brent subsequently jumped more than 20 per cent in a few weeks, kicking off a bull market.

Still, oil analysts dismissed the meeting as more of a bluster.

Having seen OPEC try and fail to reach an agreement for more than a year, and the dynamics between OPEC members not having appreciably changed from the last time they tried to negotiate, the prospects of a deal seemed slim to nil.

And right on cue, after oil prices jumped on the news that OPEC and Russia would meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria at the end of September, several representatives from OPEC nations seemed to back off from the notion of a freeze.

Iraq’s oil minister said that Iraq still had much more room to grow production and wouldn’t be interested in a deal. Iran stuck to its line that it needed to reach presanctions levels. Saudi Arabia said that market intervention was not necessary. Russia also said that a freeze deal was not needed.

However, all parties involved seem to have changed their minds a bit, or at least their tone, since oil prices began falling again in late August. Crude fell back before hitting $50 per barrel, trading back down to the mid-$40s. Oil traders were calling OPEC’s bluff, having been burned too many times by rumours that they would seek coordinated action to prop up prices only to see nothing come from the talk.

But the array of comments from OPEC and Russian officials over the past week could signal that a real effort might be underway to reach a deal on freezing production. The Iraqi Prime Minister said his country would support a deal; Iran will attend the meeting; and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said that his country should sign onto a deal. And on Friday, the potential for an OPEC deal received an endorsement from a surprising source, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, threw his weight behind a production freeze.

“From the viewpoint of economic sense and logic, then it would be correct to find some sort of compromise,” Putin said in an interview Bloomberg reported.

“I am confident that everyone understands that. We believe that this is the right decision for world energy,” he added.

Putin’s voice may come as a surprise, but he insists that Russia supported a freeze deal back in April.

“Our Saudi partners at the last moment changed their view,” he said.

“We didn’t reject the idea of freezing output. Our position hasn’t changed.”

And crucially, Putin suggested

that Iran should be granted a bit of flexibility with the freeze, allowing it to boost output further as it continues to recover from years of international sanctions.

“Iran is starting from a very low position, connected with the wellknown sanctions in relation to this country,” Putin said.

“It would be unfair to leave it on this sanctioned level.”

Putin reportedly also said that he would meet with Saudi Arabia’s powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in China at the G20 summit in a few days and recommend that they agree to those terms.

“He is a very reliable partner with whom you can reach agreements,

and can be certain that those agreements will be honored,” Putin said of the prince.

Of course, as has been pointed out ad nauseam, the freeze deal would do little in addressing the glut of global oil production. Just about all the participants in the potential freeze are producing at their limits, with several of them having ratcheted up production this year. Capping output at record levels does very little to restrain output. Nobody is actually considering a cut.

Yet, oil prices will move anyway.

Just as OPEC managed to spark an oil price rally in February when they floated the idea of freeze negotiations to be held Doha, OPEC

could be interested in talking up another price rally. After all, discussion of the Algeria meeting sparked a 20 percent rally in crude prices last month. OPEC might see the upside of agreeing to a deal, even if (or especially if), it has no teeth. The psychological impact on the oil markets could lead to further price increases while not actually requiring any sacrifice.

All participants seem to be coming around to that idea, which suggests that the chances of a successful agreement are not as much of a long shot as many oil analysts thought just a few weeks ago.

Nigeria, Venezuela are the worst hit as crude price hovers below $50 per barrel. Both countries’

economies have dipped into recession and the government of Nigeria is looking for how to revive the economy and comes out of the recession as soon as possible.

Oil prices have fallen from over $120 per barrel in June 2014 to less than $25 per barrel in January 2016. It began to rise from March 2016 but it hasn’t reached a high of $70 per barrel which many analysts had predicted would save many producers from economic recession.

Meanwhile, expectations for the success of the upcoming OPEC meeting in Algeria continue to seesaw, with comments from top officials from member countries continuing to alter oil market sentiment.

As recently as a week ago the prospects for a deal looked slim.

But the favourable comments from several OPEC nations may have cracked open the door to deal just a bit. Earlier this week Iraq’s Prime Minister said that his nation would support a production freeze in Algeria. Separately, Iran said that it would attend the meeting, and although it has not yet deviated from its longstanding position that it would not sign on to a deal until it reached its pre-sanctions production levels, its attendance was seen as a positive sign.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most influential member, also boosted the odds of a deal when its foreign minister said that OPEC members were moving closer to an agreement. “I think there is a move toward a common position, toward a common effort,” Adel al-Jubeir said at a conference in Tokyo, according to Reuters. “If other producers were to agree it is reasonable to accept Saudi Arabia to go along with it.”

New NLNG boss promises to retain market share Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos The new Managing Director of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Tony Attah, has promised that retaining Nigeria’s market share will be his priority. He stated this shortly after taking over from Babs Omotowa, immediate past Managing Director of the company.

Attah stated that although the current instability in the global oil industry was a huge challenge to be considered by the company, it however has no choice but to continue to grow its values and competitiveness in the global LNG market.

According to him, “supplies from the United States and Australia have resulted in Nigeria working hard to keep its market share in destinations such as Indonesia that were its traditional market strongholds.”

While stating that he will rely on the board of the company for support, Attah said the profitability streaks the NLNG recorded in the last four years were possible from Omotowa’s practical leadership.

According to the 2016 facts and

figures report of the NLNG, plans for building Train-7 which will lift the total production capacity of the plant to 30 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG are currently progressing with some preliminary early site preparation work initiated and further work on an FID from the shareholders.

“I have just received the key, that key will unlock Train-7.

Train-7 will be real,” he said.

He further stated while analysing the current status of the global oil industry and its impact on LNG market: “We are right in the middle of the turbulence. Gas supply is down, assets are about 18 to 20 years old if you add the construction phase meaning the asset is aging. So we are also beginning the second half almost the same way we started the first half.

“These are tough times and by far the toughest impact on this business today is the price of gas in the market. Most people do not understand the linkage between gas and oil, but more importantly, demand is slowing, and supply is doubling.

“With the Americans who used

to import now exporting, Australia capturing the Indonesian market where we used to cream off, it is no longer a kid’s play to lead a company like this. We have a lot to do but we have no choice, we have to win and to win, you have to win this second half,” Attah stated.

He said on his request for support from the company’s board: “In football, it is said the first half is for the players, the second is for the coach. My coaches are the board and I look to them for inspiration, support and even greater than we saw in the first half.

“I am confident in my colleagues because we have done it before and we will do it again, we will deliver on the vision of this company to be the global LNG company that has done Nigeria proud.”

Omotowa in a documentary on his stewardship at the NLNG, stated that the company generated $40 billion from which $22 billion was paid to the government, and $12 billion to the stakeholders.

“No single dollar is missing, we have had no issues with contract-

ing, we have no issues with employment because as a leader, I have been able to show that you don’t have to do anything unethical despite the pressures you get from across the country,” Omotowa said.

He also advocated at the ceremony the need for Nigeria to continue to ensure that the NLNG remained competitive.

According to him, “It is important that Nigeria continues to drive for competitive business environment so that the business communities that create jobs will add value to Nigeria.

“The NLNG is an inspiration and has been telling the narratives about Nigeria. All hands in the country must work to make sure that this jewel is made to continue on Train-7.”

NLNG’s board chair, Osobonye Long-John stated in his earlier remarks that the board was pleased with Omotowa’s accomplishments for the company, especially his approach to the company’s corporate social responsibilities. He also said the board was comfortable with Attah and will support him and his team.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

L

AST Saturday’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 10 election was indeed one of the major battles the party has witnessed lately.

The various power blocs in the party deployed all their arsenal to the crucial battle for supremacy, with the attendant anxiety of likely implosion at the end of the contest. The result of the intra-party election in terms of the individual performance of the leading contenders only attested to the keenness of the race. While the ripples generated by the exercise persist, the outcome has sent many bookmakers back to the drawing board.

This is because of the likely far-reaching implications of the result of the election on the governorship poll proper, taking cognizance of certain factors that apparently swayed delegates to the path of its winner. In the opinion of some observers, APC leaders at all levels lived up to their promise to conduct a free, fair and transparent primary election. The emergence of a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), did not come easy, as he was closely trailed by Dr Olusegun Abraham, and Chief Olusola Oke. The dust raised by a purported endorsement of Dr Abraham by the APC National Leader, Chief Bola Tinubu, had created schism among the contestants who claimed it was another ploy to impose a candidate on the party. But for the assurance from the party leadership and the Presidency which waded into the crisis, all the 24 aspirants agreed to test their prowess and popularity through the ballot. The shifting of the APC primary about two times by the national headquarters of the party aggravated tension in the party, while some members declared war with the state chairman of the party and vowed to resist any attempt at imposition. This was probably responsible for the large number of security operatives drafted to the venue of the primary.

Before the election, the aspirants made frantic efforts to outwit one another and the moves became intensified 48 hours to the election. Some aspirants camped their delegates away from the prying eyes of others in order to ensure that they did not slip away from them. But despite the treatment of the delegates to a two-week funfair by the aspirants, some delegates were allegedly hijacked on the eve of the election. One of the stakeholders condemned the alleged monetisation of the process.

However, the election produced the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2012 governorship election, Akeredolu, who won with 669, beating Abraham, the anointed candidate, with just 34 votes at the end of the over 17-hour election. The former National legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and candidate of the party in 2012, Oke, scored 583 votes to come third, while the lawmaker representing Ondo senatorial district at the Senate, Senator Boroffice, scored 461 votes.

Analysts had predicted that any of the

Oke

Akeredolu

Abraham

Ondo APC gov primary:

The unending intrigues

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI writes on some intrigues that played out at the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State.

four aspirants could pick the ticket. Akeredolu’s victory did not however come as a surprise, as the former NBA chairman was said to have paid his dues. Many factors reportedly contributed to his success.

He was said to have aligned with the sena-

This contest has raised a lot of dust and when the dust settles, we must all come together to work toward a common goal by producing the next government in the state, a government that will re-position the state.

tor representing the Ondo Central senatorial district at the last minute when it was noticed that the pendulum was swinging in the way of Abraham. The duo left the venue of the election to re-strategise, with Alasoadura instructing his delegates to vote for Akeredolu. He was said to have benefitted from the division between Boroffice and Abraham who hails from the Akoko axis of the Northern senatorial district of the state. It was said that Borroffice would have struck an alliance with Abraham for the area to produce an Akoko governor, but he was not comfortable with the open endorsement of Abraham by Tinubu.

The two gladiators from Akoko walked their different ways, believing they could win the election without any alliance.

He was also said to have benefitted from his past goodwill to some party members and delegates. He appreciated them for their role during his first coming about four years ago. Akeredolu was handpicked by the ACN leadership then but he still deemed it fit to come back home to pacify all the delegates. But he would have suffered an electoral setback if the chairman of the party, Isaacs Kekemeke, had not challenged Oke’s political relevance in the Southern senatorial district.

A source within the party said Kekemeke had assured Tinubu of delivering the area for Abraham. But most of the delegates from the South gave their votes to Oke. He played on the advantage of being the only aspirant from the district while his popularity and political relevance swayed votes for him and dominated the area.

Some observers claimed that one factor, which affected Abraham was that he was seen to be surrounded by mostly politicians without structures. Most of them only fell in line immediately Tinubu made his pronouncement on Abraham. Though Tinubu’s endorsement helped to sway votes for Abraham, the uproar that trailed his endorsement became an issue in his camp. A source in the party claimed that “Abraham was able to gather those votes because of Tinubu’s influence, but it came rather too late. Most of the delegates had pledged their loyalty to the two other aspirants. Despite spending less money in the election, he was able to give Akeredolu a good fight.”

However, less than 48 hours after the primary election, some aggrieved party members submitted a petition to the Election Appeal Committee of the APC beContinued on pg26

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politics&policy

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Nigeria’s economic woes, not Buhari’s fault —Speaker, Edo Assembly

Right Honourable (Dr) Justin Okonoboh is the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly. He speaks with KEHINDE OYETIMI on the peculiarities of state legislature, the September 10 election, how Edo has evolved in the past 25 years, among other issues. Excerpts:

S

INCE you assumed position as speaker, what has constituted your major challenges in bringing the house together?

First, it was to stabilise the house. You know usually after any impeachment, the house is divided. We are 24 members of the house and I have been working to unite the house.

What are some of the far-reaching implications of the September 10 election for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and for Nigeria?

Edo State used to be called a civil service state.

All the time the PDP was in power, there was really no development, as it were, which everyone is aware of – this is not campaigning – until Governor Adams Oshiomhole came on board.

Since he came into power, there has been a lot of development. For instance, there is no bank that doesn’t have a branch in Edo State, which is a pointer to the fact that commerce is thriving. There have also been many interventions in terms of investment, and even providing a home for those who had to move out of the Niger Delta. There have also been a lot of efforts in terms of infrastructural development. The farreaching implication is that we either continue with this progress or go back to Egypt, that is, back to where we are coming from, which no person in Edo will want to go back to again.

Since the President Muhammadu Buhari administration came on board, there have been complaints, with many people stating that the current state of things was not what was expected. As Edo prepares for the election, don’t you think it will affect the APC’s campaign?

It’s actually affecting and that’s the fulcrum of our campaign, that whatever is happening now is not the fault of the President Buhari administration, rather it was the state he met the country. In trying to move things forward, things seem a bit difficult because of the activities of militants blowing up pipelines, as well as the oil price that continues to plummet. We have been trying to let people understand that, for change to take place, there must be some sort of rearrangement.

It’s like when one wants to renovate a house.

Things may get moved from one place to the other and there may even be some scattering.

But when the renovation is completed, things will become better. This administration has just spent one year. It’s too early to assess the Federal Government in one year. That one year is to plan and strategise. I would just tell people to be patient. Take the Treasury Single Account for instance, there has been much savings. However, the money could not be spent so soon because it wasn’t yet appropriated. The budget was just passed three months ago. In time, we will see the expected change. Although the opposition has used the current state of the economy to campaign against the APC in the state, we are still coping and God knows the truth.

Before you were sworn in as Speaker, the house was in disarray and there are insinuations that the governor must have had a hand in resolving the crisis and the process that saw you emerge as Speaker. How would you react to this?

The governor had no hand in it. The house

were not terrorists. We can’t do that in the creeks. We should dialogue with them.

How can we reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria?

If we make it less attractive, we could reduce cost.

What is budget padding?

I don’t think there is anything like budget padding. People have this misconception that the houses of assembly don’t have the right to increase or decrease the budget. First, know that the legislators are the voice of the people; they represent the whole country. When the executive brings a budget, the house may look into aspects of the budget, depending on the economy or what obtains in other climes, and the house can increase or decrease, according to the constitution. There is nothing like padding. The house has the right to increase or decrease before the president accepts.

What is your message to Edo people come September 10?

They should look at where we are coming from, what is on ground now, and should vote their consciences. We should know that it is better to continue in this path of progress than go back to Egypt.

Okonoboh wasn’t in disarray. In the house, the Speaker is just first among equals. People can decide that they don’t want you as Speaker anymore.

What the law stipulates is that there must be a majority consensus. At that time, it was 16 out of 24 people. The governor had no hand in the process. We can only say that, probably, the governor did not move against it. When you see five out of twenty-something people impeaching a speaker, then you know there was probably some influence. There was no crisis in the house at all. In fact, when what we did caused a dislocation of political positions in the state, we corrected it and that was what resulted in my emergence as Speaker, and you can see that it was a very peaceful process; that’s the first of its kind in this country.

State houses of assembly have been accused of being mere rubber stamps of their government. Is this not true?

It’s not true. There are different arms of government. If there is harmony between two arms, it means they are both doing their jobs well. If there is conflict between both, it means one isn’t doing the right thing and

They should look at where we are coming from, what is on ground now, and should vote their consciences. We should know that it is better to continue in this path of progress than go back to Egypt.

the other is simply pointing that out. Just last week, we passed two bills. If we sent it to the governor and he appended his signature, that’s not rubber stamp. If it also happens otherwise and we decided to use two-third majority to sign it, the important thing is that it benefits the people.

There have been accusations that the APC was involved in imposition of candidates for the forthcoming state election. How true or otherwise are these accusations?

I’ll say it’s not true. There were about 18 candidates in the beginning. Don’t forget that each person would have interests. Towards the end, if it is found out that the candidate presented may not win, such person may step down or look for the next possible candidate to support. Don’t forget too that because of the influence a governor has, when the governor has a candidate who can perform, he can push the person through. Towards the end, we find some other candidates, underground, offering to work with that candidate, The primaries, as you saw, was very transparent, free and fair. But that before the primaries, the governor had much influence, you can’t take that away from him.

Edo State is the gateway into the Niger Delta. How do we resolve the problem of the Niger Delta Avengers, especially as it is giving your party at the federal level a major challenge?

It is the Yar’Adua formula that works, that is, dialogue with them. Our soldiers, airforce personnel can’t easily operate in the creeks without affecting the people of that area, especially as they operate in the creeks. You can’t bomb everybody. See the Odi incident.

We had succeeded with dialogue but I think there was a misunderstanding or misconception that it was Boko Haram that made Jonathan’s administration unsuccessful, and so when a Northerner came on board, they wanted to retaliate. For Boko Haram, we could use air strikes, but even at that, we heard that some people’s lives were lost who

In June 2016, while you were deputy Speaker, you raised concerns that many eligible voters were yet to get their voter cards, as at the time more than 400,000 cards remained uncollected. With the election a few days away, would you say you’re satisfied with INEC’s preparation?

I’m not. When you look at the spate of inconclusive elections in Nigeria, something needs to be done. Elections should be conclusive. Also, Permanent Voter Cards (PVSs) shouldn’t be distributed at this time. They should have arrived months earlier. These are desperate times, and it is unnecessary for people to be shedding blood to collect PVCs. As a medical doctor and a politician, how do you reconcile both?

In my time, there wasn’t career counselling per se. All our parents knew then was medicine, law and engineering. I don’t have the character to study medicine. In my final year, I realised that medicine would be boring for me, but I had to finish. I had to specialise in public health so that I could work with the World Health Organisation because I’m the kind of person who loves to be on the move and that’s not the life of a doctor. When my local government was created, I was invited and became the first chairman of the local government area. By the time I settled in politics, I knew this was it. I also want to advise on how to know what you’re called for. Anything you do that, even when you’re not paid, you enjoy it or sometimes, you even have to pay to do it, and you still enjoy it, that’s your calling. I have a calling somewhere around politics.

Edo is 25 this year. How would you say the state has evolved?

Wonderfully. At first, under the military, nothing really happened; that’s why we were called a civil service state. Then, the PDP took over and they drew us back somehow. But since Governor Oshiomhole came in, you can see the spate of development. There has been peace, even with the turmoil in the Niger Delta.

People go from Benin to work in Warri. And now we’re preparing for another election, and with Godwin Obaseki, who is an investor and is also committed to development. He is also looking at developing agriculture. That is the path Edo State should tread so that it will be progress all through.

politics&policy

26

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

I’ll create upset in Edo—PPA gov candidate

Thomas Sadoh, a journalist, is the governorship candidate of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) in Saturday’s election in Edo State. He speaks with BANJI ALUKO on his chance, plans for the state, among other issues. Excerpts:

hunger to the people.

What is your assessment of the present government in Edo State?

I think the governor has done is own and is about to leave office. I think things could become better. If he was really excellent so to say, I don’t think we will have the number of complaints that we are seeing today. I think if he is very popular, I will not have the huge number of people who are following me now. He has done his part, it is now left for people like me to pick it up from where he will be stopping.

What are the key components of your manifestos?

If you ask some candidates, they will tell you they have seven-point agenda, two-point agenda, and so on. I only have one agenda, which is to ensure that the lives of the Edo people are transformed for the better. I want to ensure that Edo man smiles. This could be done in different ways, but the point is to ensure a better life for Edo people. I want to start with the women.

I want to bring them to the system instead of the men telling what the system entails. Women empowerment, as it is being done now, cannot really take our women anywhere.

I also want to get the youths off the streets into better ventures. It is not about putting youths in Ring Road and the parks that you are creating jobs; job creation is not about cutting tickets at Ring Road or New Benin. I want to train and empower the youths so that they can contribute to the development of the state.

H

OW do you hope to overrun the big parties such as the APC and the PDP? Are you in this game for real?

People have asked me these questions and I want to say that I’m in this game for real. People have asked if I will collapse my structure for another candidate. Why should I collapse my structure for anyone? Journalism is my immediate constituency and I have many friends there. Instead of collapsing my structure for anyone, I rather will call my friends in the media and inform them that I am withdrawing from the race. The so-called big candidates are my friends and I have friends in their parties. If they think they can tie my relationship with them to anything, I’m sorry then. I’m here for real business and I’m not going to join forces with anybody.

To answer your question about how I will contend with the so-called big parties, I want you to know that the size of the party will not determine the outcome of the election. We, on our side, are not looking at their sizes and we have not seen anything big about the big parties. The only thing we are praying for is that INEC, as they promised, should give us a level-playing field. Once that is done, many people will be surprised about the results of the election.

What structure has your party to challenge some of the established parties in Edo? The ordinary man on the street is part of my structure.

That civil servant, who has not received his salary for some months, is part of my structure. Those worker in Egor Local Government Area, who have not received salary in about 18 months, are all parts of my structure. The market women and unemployed youths are my structure too. Watch out, the so-called big parties will be shocked on Saturday.

Is it not correct to say that those components of your political structure that you talked about are not your exclusive preserve as some other candidates are also talking about them?

Sadoh

Women empowerment, as it is being done now, cannot really take our women anywhere. I also want to get the youths off the streets into better ventures.

The faces you see in the so-called big parties have been there a long time ago. It is only in Nigeria that someone will write that he is a politician when asked to write his profession. Our people are tired of these people and they need a change, the real and positive change. That is what I stand for. I’m not talking about the kind of change that has brought

What is your motivation for contesting this election; as a practicing journalist, did you just wake up one day and felt like the next thing to do was to contest for a governorship election?

I have interviewed the big names in the political system and I have since realised that they only make unrealistic promises; talking for talking sake. I’m a young man and I know what youths are going through. When it is time for elections, they are called youths and after elections they are called thugs. I am not comfortable with that. I know the pains of the youths, hence I’m interested in giving them quality lives.

It appears you do not believe in zoning since you are from the Edo and the outgoing governor is from the Edo North too?

This is one area I keep faulting the judgment of some people. The most important thing is what the candidate has to offer. We shouldn’t sacrifice meritocracy on the altar of zoning; it is not going to do us any good.

The claims and counter-claims

Kekemeke

Olabimtan Continued from pg 24

cause of perceived lapses in the conduct of the exercise that produced Akeredolu.

They are demanding a fresh exercise through the petition submitted by the APC Central senatorial chairman, Mr Adegboyega Adedipe, the Ondo East chairman, Mr Akintunde Samuel and the chairman

of the party in Ondo West, Mr Adeola Ademulegun. Part of it read: “A strange delegate list was introduced on the night of the election after everybody has gone to sleep only for us to wake up in the morning of the election to see a massively corrupted delegate list.

“Names of 47 per cent of the delegates in Ondo East were either deleted or substi-

tuted with people who are unknown to the party as executive members. Some of the injected names are not even aware of the development and so did not come for the primary election.

“We wrote a petition to the primary Election Committee Chairman on the morning of the election and it reiterated that only people that had been voting in previous primaries would be allowed to vote with a promise to stand down the voting process for Ondo East and West Local Government Areas. We were shocked that the committee never honoured the pledge.

“In all, a total number of 64 names were injected into the delegate list. The names were unknown to the party. For instance, somebody, who never contested any election, and some even unknown to the party suddenly became ward chairmen in wards four, six, two and seven of Ondo East Local Government.

“Our total valid delegates are 135 out of which 64 were disenfranchised, meaning 47 of the delegates on the unlawful list were illicit voters. The absence of many legitimate voters paved the way for ‘see and buy’ voters that were eventually used to further corrupt the process. Many voters were recruited from the roadside, including okada riders, bread-sellers, street hawkers and others who were not party members but just loitering around the venue of the primary election.”

Fallout Akeredolu still has a great hurdle to scale and he can only achieve this with the collective efforts of all the stakeholders, as some party members and aspirants are crying wolf over his emergence. But the APC candidate has stressed the need to work together so as to win the November governorship election.

He said: “ I cannot do this alone, I need your support and I want to point out that in this election of ours, there is no loser or winner. But let’s come together to work for the success of the party in the election.

This contest has raised a lot of dust and when the dust settles, we must all come together to work toward a common goal by producing the next government in the state, a government that will re-position the state.”

Be that as it may, the chairman of the Election Committee and Jigawa State governor, Muhammed Badaru, commended the delegates for their comportment and for their cooperation during and after the voting. He urged all other aspirants to rally support and mobilise for the candidate in order to win the state. Though the APC candidate has emerged, there is a need to reconcile all aggrieved members in order to move the party forward and scale the great hurdle of winning the governorship election in November.

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features

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

SOS: We deserve federal presence,

Osogbo/Olorunda/Orolu constituents beg FG

A dilapidated block of classrooms in one of the schools scheduled for government attention in the constituency.

Constituents of Osogbo/Olorunda/ Orolu/Irepodun Federal Constituency, which is represented by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Honourable Lasun Yusuff, recently threw their weights behind the lawmaker and sent an SOS appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari on projects for the four local governments, reports MOSES ALAO.

“

The colonial bridge on River Erinle on the Osogbo-Ilobu-Ogbomoso road awarded for construction in the 2016 budget.

T

AKE the Ojutu Bridge on the Osogbo-Ilobu-Ifon-Ogbomoso road for instance; that bridge is a colonial bridge built around 1901. It can only take a vehicle at a time and a lot of accidents have occurred at that place. The road itself is the only one that connects Osun State and indeed a large part of the South-West zone to the North. We were excited when we learnt that the construction of that bridge and the rehabilitation of the road are in the 2016 budget. We plead with the president to give the projects an urgent attention and ensure their speedy completion,” these were the words of Alhaji Mufutau Oladapo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State, while speaking with Nigerian Tribune on the 2016 budget provisions for Osogbo/Olorunda/Orolu/Irepodun Federal Constituency.

For quite some time now, there has been controversy over the 2016 budget following an allegation that some principal officers of the House ‘padded’ the budget.

While Nigerians have continued to speak against and in defence of the House leadership, the constituents of Osogbo/Olorunda/Orolu/Irepodun Federal Constituency of Osun State have maintained that it would be wrong to cast aspersions on their representative without knowing the importance of some of the projects in the 2016 budget to the people of the constituency, Osun State and even Nigeria.

A look at the 2016 budget document showed that some of the projects meant for the four local governments include: rehabilitation of Osogbo-Ilobu-Ifon-Ogbomoso road; design and construction of a bridge in place of the colonial bridge on the Erinle River in Ilobu; construction of Comprehensive Health Centre in Ilobu; Construction of Primary Health Centre in Osogbo; rehabilitation of Primary Health Centres in Irepodun, Olorunda, Orolu and Osogbo

local governments; construction of blocks of classrooms with staff office, Information Communication Technology centre and toilet at Ansar-ud-Deen Grammar School, Erin-Osun, Ogidan High School, Osogbo and Islahudeen High School, Oke Onitea, Osogbo; rehabilitation and furnishing of schools in Osogbo and Oba-Ile and job creation through agriculture and skills acquisition schemes, among others.

These projects, several constituents informed Nigerian Tribune, were ones that will satisfy the yearning and aspirations of the people in the four local governments and beyond, noting that they were products of consultations and thoughtfulness.”

Sitting on a large expanse of land that encompasses the Osun State capital,Osogbo, which has two local governments and Ilobu; Ifon; Oba-Ile; Erin-Osun, among other rural communities under Orolu and Irepodun local governments, the federal constituency is an admixture of the hustles and bustles of city life and the rusticity of the smaller settlements. But something far more impor-

tant than the dichotomy of rural-urban lives connects all the communities in the federal constituency—the Osogbo-Ilobu-Ifon-Ogbomoso road, through which agricultural produce are said to be transported to the state capital.

Dr Aderemi Suleiman Ajala, who is of the Department of Anthropology, University of Ibadan, while speaking with Nigerian Tribune in Ilobu, said that from studies, the Ojutu Bridge was one of the few remaining bridges built by the colonial masters around early1900s and that the road was last rehabilitated 17 years while several fatal accidents had been recorded on the bridge. He maintained that the road and the bridge had accounted for losses of pregnancies, valuables and agricultural produce, noting that though the road is economically important to the residents of Osun State as well as commuters from Edo and Ondo States who want to connect the Northern part of the country, it had remained neglected for too long. He said that the constituents were overjoyed to learn that the road and the bridge had been

The Ojutu Bridge was one of the few remaining bridges built by the colonial masters around early1900s and that the road was last rehabilitated 17 years while several fatal accidents had been recorded on the bridge.

included in the 2016 budget.

Also commenting, the Baale Janga of Ilobu, Chief Rufai Hassan Adeoye, said the rehabilitation of the Osogbo-Ilobu-Ogbomoso road“is the greatest need” of the people in that axis of Osun State, noting that they had been suffering for long and “if we have someone who can bail us out, there is no other thing we can request from government than that. It is a priority and if God helps us and we are able to get it, we will be grateful to God.” A former chairman of Olorunda Local Government, Alhaji Moshood Balogun, also buttressed these views, saying that, “The colonial bridge that has been on the road before independence is still there today; it is what the people are still using. Tell me, who will remember us? Who will know that we are suffering? We were all happy to hear that it was included in the 2016 budget; call it padding or anything you like. I will be sincere with you, we are deprived in Osun State; we are marginalised on federal projects; so if we are lucky to have one of our own who is coming to the aid of thousands of people, definitely we know he is not a bastard.”

Another resident of Ilobu, Alhaji Tajudeen Adesina, while speaking with Nigerian Tribune also revealed that if the road is completed, it would be a great joy to the people of Ilobu and entire Osun State, “because farm produce will get to the city centres faster and the economy of this area will progress.”

He added that apart from the road, other projects initiated by the Deputy Speaker in the 2016 budget were acceptable to the people, because they have been their major challenges for a long time.

According to Chief Kayode Idowu Esuleke, it would not be too much to ask for the people of the constituency to also feel the federal presence, “which is what the projects will bring about.”

Some of the other constituents who spoke to Nigerian Tribune maintained that the projects included in the budget were of importance to the constituency and that they also deserved to feel the presence of the Federal Government.

“The projects are not of benefit to just the four local governments in Lasun Yusuff’s constituency, because people Ilobu, Ifon, Osogbo and others are not the only people that will ply the road; other Nigerians use the road and if the hospitals are built, I believe they will not be closed to non-indigenes of Osun State,” Chief Esuleke said.

Alhaji Mufutau Oladapo was also quick to point out that the challenges of the four local governments in the constituency were far more than poor roads.

“So we can only urge President Buhari, whom we voted for enmasse in this part of Osun State, to allow the execution of these projects,” Alhaji Oladapo stated, while Alhaji Balogun appealed to the Federal Government not to stop the projects but ensure their speedy completion for the good of the constituents, Osun State residents and Nigerians.

Chief Esuleke, who is the Baale Esu Agbojeniyi of Osogbo, in his contribution, also called on the president to ensure the speedy completion of the projects allotted to the constituency, saying that “I know that President Buhari walks his talk, so I will urge him to ensure a speedy and timely execution and completion of the projects.”

“Apart from the projects, Rt. Hon. Lasun Yusuff has been doing all he can to alleviate the poverty of the people in the constituency. He has been a functional and effective representative,” Oladapo stated, with Balogun maintaining that “Rt. Hon. Lasun Yusuff is representing us adequately.”

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

maka nd’igbo We'll recruit only best brains for teaching job —ENSUBEB chairman Jude Ossai - Enugu THE Chairman of Enugu State Universal Basic Education (ENSUBEB), Mr Ikeje Asogwa, has said that only best brains will be recruited by the board in the ongoing primary school teachers’ recruitment exercise.

Asogwa, who made the statement while speaking with Maka Ndigbo in Enugu on Monday said that public primary education system in the state had suffered a lot of neglect in terms of inadequate and sound teaching in the past decade.

He said that the board would make use of this employment window to ensure that only best brains were employed so as to correct the long time anomaly in the primary school system.

The chairman, therefore, maintained that the board would not cut corners in the ongoing recruitment exercise, adding that the society and the state would be the greatest beneficiaries when best brains were employed to teach their pupils and children.

“It is high time we joined hands to reposition the primary school system in the state and this has to start with the recruitment of sound teachers to teach in our primary schools.

“We cannot recruit poor brains in our schools and expect the best from our pupils and school children. Somebody who wants to teach should be sound enough to pass the teachers recruitment examinations exercise and oral interview. If we support the best, it will pay off in the quality of our primary school children.”

"Our plan is to reposition public primary schools such that parents will have no reason sending their children to private schools where they spend heavily," he explained.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi laying foundation stone for Specialist Hospital, Orba, to enhance health sector in the state.

Day Gov Ugwuanyi flagged off 2016 health week in Enugu Jude Ossai - Enugu

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NUGU, the Enugu State capital, has been in the news for few days now. The Coal City state has recently attracted world attention over the Fulani herdsmen attack on Nimbo and Attakwu communities in February and August 2016 respectively. The people of the two affected villages have been in mournful mood and grief over the loss of their loved ones in avoidable deaths that occurred in their areas.

But the last Monday event in Enugu was quite different and warming as it was a

day Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi flagged off this year's health week organised by the state government in conjunction with United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

The event proper kicked off at Park Lane Hospital, Enugu with major stakeholders in health sector as well top government functionaries in attendance.

Speaking at the occasion, Governor Ugwuanyi restated his promises to improve on the development of the health sector and make primary health care priority in Enugu state.

According to him, apart from providing specialist services for the people in the

When NAFDAC took anti-corruption crusade to Enugu Jude Ossai - Enugu MONDAY, September 5, 2016 was like any other working day of the week. But for the Southeast Zone employees of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), it was a day they set aside for sensitisation on anti-corruption war.

In a welcome remark, Mrs Joan Abaagu, from Reform Unit of the Agency, said corruption had become a cancerous growth in many facets of the nation's life, stressing that NAFDAC had since embraced the Federal Government anti-corruption crusade.

Mrs Abaagu maintained that the workshop centered on anti-corruption, servicom and gender, adding that participants were drawn from the five states that make up Southeast geo-political zone as well as Legal and Food Safety and Applied Nutrition departments of the Agency. The eastern states are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. She said that the first day of the event would be on anti-corruption while the second and third days would be for servicom and gender equality respectively.

Maka Ndigbo observed that the first lecture delivered by Head of Department, Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department of ICPC, Akeem Lawal, was based on morality and ethics while the

Director, Special Duties of NAFDAC, Dr Abubakar Jimoh, spoke on behalf of the Acting Director-General of the Regulatory body, Mrs Yetunde Oni. Dr Jimoh called for high level of compliance to anti corruption guidelines, stressing that the Agency would continue to ensure that any incident of corrupt practice in the Agency was promptly dealt with.

"We expect that the participants will go back, workout all that they have learnt with a view to improving all the services

within the system and removing all forms of corrupt practices to deliver the health of the nation", he added.

Other issues discussed were ethics and compliance in workplace, elements and gamut of investigation and freedom of information as a weapon for combating corruption in the society.

The speakers agreed that corruption is an ill wind that blows no man any good, noting that all hands must be on deck to remove the deadly disease that had eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigeria nation.

Participants at NAFDAC staff sensitisation workshop on anti-corruption in Enugu.

rural communities, the health facility would also help to check current ruralto-urban drift syndrome that has bogged down Nigerian society for years now.

“I wish to enjoin all stakeholders in health sector in Enugu to key into this worthy initiative we have taken in the sector and give it the support and cooperation it needs to come to fruition”, he said.

Sa’ando, WASH Specialist, UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, in his goodwill message, commended the government led

by Governor Ugwuanyi for its laudable achievements in office, noting that the state, since 2008 till date, had been certified Polio free.

According to Sa’ando , since the present administration of Ugwuanyi, immunisation had risen above 90 per cent in the state, adding that it was a step in the right direction, especially in the health sector.

He further said that UNICEF would continue to partner and collaborate with the government in the health sector towards improving health issues in the state.

Speaking to Maka Ndigbo, Mrs Victoria Okenyi commended the child-friendly initiative embarked upon by the state government, urging fathers to give support to their wives to breastfeed their babies.

Mrs Okenyi said, "Breastfeed babies don't exhibit abnormal behaviours, they are usually intelligent because the breast milk contains all vital ingredient needed for child's growth.

"It contains colostrum that helps prevent baby from allergy, it makes the baby's intestine mature in time and prevents breast cancer.

Breast feeding also makes mothers not to get pregnant while nursing their babies and creates bond between mother and child," she added.

She commended UNICEF for assisting them in the project, adding that the state government was baby friendly and had provided a qualitative medicare which had taken the health sector to the next height.

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016 29 news Naira trades at N425 for two days at parallel market

•As Nigeria plans to raise N120bn Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

T

he naira on Tuesday maintained some level of stability as it exchanged for N425 against the dollar at the parallel (black) market, same as it traded on Monday.

The local currency however, lost 0.23 per cent having exchanged for N314.92 to the dollar on Tuesday compared to

Monday’s close of N314.20 to a dollar at the interbank market in Lagos.

The local unit at the same official window, on Tuesday, was exchanged for N407.3843 and 340.8769 to one Pound Sterling and one Euro, respectively.

Meanwhile, Nigeria plans to raise N120 billion ($387 million) in local-currency denominated bonds at an auction on September 14, the government’s

MMA2 still fully operational —Bi-Courtney Shola Adekola-Lagos Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) has declared that despite the challenges facing two of the airlines operating from the terminal, that it is still fully operational.

The management of the two affected airlines – Aero Contractors and First Nation – had announced last week the suspension of flight operations blaming their decisions on some circumstances beyond their control and promising to return to the skies as

soon as possible.

But, BASL has maintained that despite the suspension of flight operations by the two that it would continue to operate and remain the choice of passengers flying locally.

According to a statement from the company, signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Captain Jari Williams, of the five airlines operating from MMA2, only two suspended their operations, while the remaining three, including Dana Air, Med-View Airline and Azman Airlines, continued to operate.

Debt Management Office (DMO), said on Tuesday.

The debt office said it would raise N40 billion each from debt maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2036, using the Dutch auction system.

All the bonds, it stated are reopening on previously issued debt, stressing that it will borrow around N900 billion from the local debt market this year to fund a budget deficit projected at N2.2 trillion.

The foreign exchange market continued to writhe from the impact of the Apex Bank’s decision to suspend some banks from interbank market, with the impact felt more at the parallel market. Accordingly, parallel market rate depreciated throughout last week, from N413.00/$1.00 on Monday to N420.00/$1.00 by midweek and a low of N425.00/$1.00 on Thursday.

At the interbank, the spot rate traded within a tight range, hovering between N318.83/$1.00 at the start of the week and N313.31/$1.00 by Thursday, an appreciation from penultimate week Friday’s N314.95/$1.00 on the back of CBN’s interventions

during the week as well as $327.00 million worth

of FX inflow, out of which $270.00 million was chan-

Nigerian Tribune

nelled into the local debt market.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Nigeria’s recession may last till 2020 if... —Agbakoba Bola Badmus -Lagos

F

ORMER president, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olisa Agbakoba, has said recovery from current economic problem is possible by second quarter of 2017 with vigorous implementation of a new economic model, adding that otherwise, recession cycle might last till end of 2020.

This was as he countered that the country is rich and that President Muhammadu Buhari needed to bring on board people with expertise who know how to create money through application of necessary fiscal policy.

“Recovery path is possible

by Q2 2017 with vigorous implementation of a new economic model, otherwise recession cycle may extend up to Q4 2020,” he said

Agbakoba said this on Tuesday, at an interactive session with journalists in his Lagos residence, even as he lamented that the Federal Government was totally disconnected from the rest of Nigerians, as it appeared not to feel the pains the masses were going through under the ongoing economic crunch.

“But we have to have the confidence that those who are making us go through pains are also going through pain. It’s got to be reciprocal.

But if we are going through pains, I don’t know why they smile at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings.

I don’t know why they smile, it is a wrong impression.

“We are looking at them on TVs, in the papers, they need to get real, they need to come down to earth and feel the pains that we are feeling, because it is only we are

Redeemer’s varsity holds 8th convocation tomorrow

By Kehinde Adio REDEEMER’S University will, tomorrow, present another set of 619 students, drawn from the faculties of humanities, management and social sciences and natural sciences for the first degree award of the institution, having completed their academic programmes in their respective departments.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Debo Adeyewa, gave the information on Monday, at a press conference to herald the eighth convocation ceremony of the institution.

According to him, in the academic session, 25 of the students made first class, 207 had second class upper division, while 290 graduated with second class lower division.

WHO tasks Nigeria on public health

By Sade Oguntola THE World Health Organisation (WHO), on Tuesday, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, called on the Federal Government to push public health to the front burner in its policy formulation framework.

This was as it pledged continued collaboration with the country in the effective implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the overall interest of the citizenry.

Addressing delegates at the second African Federation of Public Health Associations (AFPHA)/third Society for Public Health Professionals of Nigeria (SPHPN) conference, holding at the University of Ibadan, the WHO’s acting representative in Nigeria, Dr Rex Mpazanje, specifically urged the Nigerian government to “treat public health in its holistic sense, because the issues of economic development, environment, human dignity, poverty reduction, among others, all come together to confirm the health status on the population.”

While noting that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals reinforced the agenda of public health, Dr Mpazanje an-

nounced with delight that the WHO is presently working with Nigeria to ensure effective implementation of the 17 goals.

The WHO representative lauded the theme of the conference, which is “Public Health in Africa and Sustainable Development Goals” and commended the Nigerian government for its positive approach to the issues involved.

Speaking earlier, while welcoming delegates from different countries of Africa, including Cameroun, Ghana and South Africa, president of the Society for Public Health Professionals of Nigeria, Professor Michael Asuzu, expressed concern over the high rate of medical tourism by influential Nigerians, a development which he blamed on the absence of conducive working environment for the health professionals in the country.

In a keynote address entitled “Developing Global Health,” Professor Adetokunbo Lucas recalled the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 that “health services are to be made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community” while urging the Nigerian government at all levels to take the declaration more seriously, with equity and social justice.

feeling the pains.

“If they feel the pain like most of us are feeling it, they would get real. But a lot of them don’t know what the pain the masses are going through because they are served free food,” Agbakoba lamented.

According to Agbakoba, who is also former chairman, Campaign for Democracy (CD), the problem the government was having now was borne out of the fact that they were looking

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•Says country not broke We are under-utilising this country, the country is a giant,” he added.

Speaking on the cost of governance which the Buhari-led government promised to reduce, Agbakoba said such promise was yet to be fulfilled.

at the mere liquid cash available to the country, whereas “Nigeria is blessed with a lot of natural resources buried beneath the surface of the earth.

“So do you know the amount of bitumen lying under Ondo? Do you know we are standing on money, but the money we have is not in liquid? That is the problem, they are thinking of liquid cash,” he said.

According to the former NBA boss, “fundibility and

securitisation” is about selling upfront the country’s assets to get money to do whatever what intended to do, expressing confidence that China, being one of the largest consumers of crude, would be ready to buy the product upfront from Nigeria.

“The Chinese are gulping crude oil like mad. You can say to them, give me $50 billion and I will sell oil to you, that makes it. Do you know the amount of experts we have in this country.

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I, formerly Miss Akintunde Fehintola Funke now MRS. ADEWUMI FEHINTOLA FUNKE. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Prisons Service, Premium Petsion Limited, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Jummai Yusuf Grace-Pamela now JUMMAI YUSUF GRACE-PAMELA MOKOBIA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

CHANGE OF NAME IS N4,000 CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Benjamin Joseph am the same person bearing Egwuonwu Joseph.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as BENJAMIN JOSEPH. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Fidelity Bank Plc, GTBank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Ayoade Tunmise Joshua am the same person bearing Tumise Joshua. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as AYOADE TUNMISE JOSHUA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Union Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Odunuga Adesola Elizabeth now MRS. BANJO ADESOLA ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

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I, Nwafor John Woporo am the same as Nwafor Vincent John. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as NWAFOR JOHN WOPORO. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

I, formerly Mr. Samuel Ishola now MR. DAVID OLU OKE. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Mrs. Olujuyigbe Biodun Bolanle now MRS. BAMIDELE BIODUN BOLANLE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Susan Olaoluwa Amodu now MRS. ATERE SUSAN OLAOLUWA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Abimbola Adesola Oyewole now MRS. ABIMBOLA ADESOLA SALAKO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Victoria Oluwatoyin Oluwadogba now MRS. VICTORIA OLUWATOYIN KADRI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ewemade Judith Omorisiuwa now MRS. FADAHUNSI JUDITH OMORISIUWA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oshodi Stella Olajumoke now MRS. GEORGE STELLA OLAJUMOKE. All former documents remain valid.

TESCOM and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olatunbosun Christiana Nike now MRS. TEWOGBADE CHRISTIANA NIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, Mr. Oyetunde Femi Olaide now wish to be known and addressed as MR. OYETUNDE OLUFEMI OLAIDE. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

Stanbic IBTC Plc., First Bank of Nigeria Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Ilugbusi Yinka now ILUGBUSI ESTHER YINKA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Oshinlowo Adetoun now BENEDETTE UGWUMBA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

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I, formerly Mrs Cecilia Iquo Nesabagieyi now MRS PRAISE-JESUS IQUO NEZABAGIEYI. All former documents remain valid.

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I, formerly Dr. (Miss) Egbewole Waliyat Modupe now DR. (MRS.) SULEIMAN WALIYAT EGBEWOLE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Hakeem Habib now OLALEKAN ABEEB AMODU. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and general public take note.

I, formerly Israel Blessing Wuraola now ADEBAYO WURAOLA BLESSING. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Tiamiyu Olajumoke now TIAMIYU MUIBAT AFOLAKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Alhaji Rafiu Agbojo now ALHAJI IBIKUNLE RAFIU AGBOJO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olaniyan Arinola Olaide now MRS. FOWOWE ARINOLA OLAIDE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Kolapo Gbenga Bankole now KOLAPO GBENGA ABDULRAHMAN. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Adilike Catherine now SAMSON BLESSING CATHERINE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Adeniyi Roseline Gbemisola (Nee Omisande) now MRS. ENIGBEWO ROSELINE GBEMISOLA. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and general public take note.

I, formerly Ejide Olasunkanmi Tunbosun now EJIDE SUNKANMI. All former documents remain valid.

UBA Plc., Eco Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

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I, Sofarasin Kafayat Adunni (Mrs) am the same as Shofarasin Temitope (Mrs). Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as SOFARASIN KAFAYAT ADUNNI (MRS). All documents bearing these names remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

I, formerly Gbolagade Musediq Oyediran now GBOLAGADE MUSEDIQ. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

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I, formerly Ferdinand Ejiogu now FERDINAND EJIOGU OKOROAFOR. All former documents remain valid.

GTBank Plc., First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ogunfuwa Abosede Gbolagun Oluwadamilola now IDOWU ABOSEDE GBOLAGUN OLUWADAMILOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

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I, formerly Miss Esan Tokunbo Binta Simijaiye now MRS. OLADOKUN TOKUNBO SIMIJAYE. All former documents remain valid.

First Bank of Nigeria Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olatunde Biodun Agnes now MRS. OLUWADOYIN BIODUN AGNES. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Mr. Adedokun Sunday now MR. ADEDOKUN SUNDAY ADEGBOLA. All former documents remain valid.

LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Adetola Christianah Adeniyi now MRS. ADETOLA CHRISTIANAH AGHOMATSE. All former documents remain remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oladele Grace Yinka now MRS. ADEOYE GRACE BOLA. All former documents remain valid. Ibadan South West Local Government, Oyo State and general public take note.

I, formerly Adebayo Bukola Ogooluwa Morufat now ADEBAYO BUKOLA MORUFAT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Mrs. Olajuwon Sherifat Elizabeth now MS. SALAWUDEEN SHERIFAT ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Idowu Obigbesan now OLADELE MICHAEL IDOWU. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Ajoye Molola Bosede am the same person as Bosede Omobamidele Ajoye and Bosede Omolola Ajoye.

Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as AJOYE MOLOLA BOSEDE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. University of Ibadan and general public take note.

I, Eze Samuel Ifeanyi am the same person as Eze Ifeanyichukwu Samuel. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as EZE SAMUEL IFEANYI. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Ayodeji Desmond Jegede now OLUWASEGUN AYODEJI JEGEDE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Toju Amaju now LAWANI OGBODO SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oaikhena David now DAVID IREGBEYEN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Mike Asiotu now IGHO MICHAEL ASIOTU. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Sarah Atinuke Sobowale now MRS. SARAH ATINUKE SOBOWALEDAINI All former documents remain valid. Ogun Unified LG. Service and general public take note.

I, formerly Travis Tenumah now BOB OMATSEYE EMEGHA. All former documents remain remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Mohammed Rashidat Olawumi now MRS. ADAM-IBRAHIM RASHIDAT OLAWUMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Iyiola Damola now MRS. BOLARINWA SULIYAT OLAJUMOKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Mr. Gbolagade Asimiyu now MR. FEHINTOLA ASIMIYU. All former documents remain valid. Wema Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Effiong Asuquo Etuk now NSE-ABASI ASUQUO ETUK. All former documents remain valid.

FCTA/SEB, Bayero University Kano and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Okojie Mercy Edith now MRS. ISIKPEMI MERCY. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Isola Faith Bosede now MRS. EKUNDAYO FAITH BOSEDE. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., GTBank Plc., Hospital Management Board, Ondo State and general public take note.

I, Ipinlaye Sunday Majekodunmi am the same as Ipinlaye Sunday Majek.

Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as IPINLAYE SUNDAY MAJEKODUNMI. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

University of Nigeria Nsuka and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Salami Titilayo Salimat now MRS. ADEBAYO TITILAYO OLUWAYEMISI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Dada Lawrence Femi now OLUWAFEMI LAWRENCE OLUWASEGUN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Muraina Mutiu Olamide now MURAINA MUTIU ORIYOMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Moyosade Oluwasegun Adeleye now MOYOSADE OLUWASEGUN QUDUS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, Busuratu Awel Olasunkanmi am the same person bearing Busiratu Aweni Adebowale. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as BUSURATU AWEL OLASUNKANMI. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Mrs. Allen Olayemi Gina am the same bearing Miss Olajolo Olayemi Yetunde. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ALLEN OLAYEMI GINA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, Oladejo Damilare Oluwaseun am the same person bearing Oladejo Dare Sunday. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as OLADEJO DAMILARE OLUWASEUN. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oke Oluwatosin Dorcas now MRS. ALABI OLUWATOSIN DORCAS. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Ibraheem Saliu Korede Lasisi now IBRAHEEM KOREDE DANIEL. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Obodeh Kenneth Iduigbe now OBODEH KENNETH OVIE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Samuel Okanlawon Timileyin now SAMUEL GODWIN CHRISTOPHER. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Comfort Moses now COMFORT BIEM. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Akinola Opeyemi now OGUNKOYA OPEYEMI ADEOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Adewale Olufemi Awosore now ADEWALE OLUFEMI ADEGBOYE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Adebayo Oluwakemi now AIYEMOWA OLUWAKEMI REGINA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Olayode Ameed now ANISILE OLAYODE AHMED. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ogunwole Ruth Olukemi now MRS. ADEKUNLE-ENOCH OLUWAKEMISOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Alabi Adewale am the same person bearing Alabi Adewale Soji and Alabi Olawale Adigun. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ALABI OLAWALE RICHARD. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

36

south-westnews

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Confusion over death of 14-year-old pregnant girl in Ekiti Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti

A

case of alleged incest and murder in Emure-Ekiti in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State has created confusion in the community, as locals claimed that a 14-year-old girl was impregnated by her father.

On Monday, the matter

took another dimension when sources in the community raised the alarm and alleged that the girl had died, and claimed that she was allegedly poisoned by her father.

The incident, it was gathered, involved a man who was simply identified as Williams, aged 50 years.

The sources claimed that Williams had put his

daughter in the family way and murdered her to cover up the act.

They claimed that Williams had allegedly committed the act a few months ago, while neighbours also alleged that there had been no noticeable relationship by the young girl with males.

Following reports of the girl’s pregnancy in the com-

munity, relations were said to have called a meeting to find a way to handle the matter, and keep it under wraps.

But the death of the girl, last weekend, roused the issue again, with sources claiming that Williams was allegedly digging a grave to bury the girl when he was apprehended by the locals and taken to the town

square.

They claimed that he had attempted to bury the girl at a location in their farm, where he had allegedly taken the girl to at the weekend.

A source in the community said: “It took us a while before we were able to apprehend Williams and drag him to the palace.”

The Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Ekiti Police Command, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, told newsmen in reaction to the incident that its official report had not been brought to his office.

Tribune, Space FM partner on Oyo development

By Rotimi Ige

Group Business Editor, Nigerian Tribune, Pastor Sulaimon Olanrewaju (second left), presenting a copy of the first edition of the Tribune to the acting Head of Station, Space F.M., Mrs Bunmi Atekoja (middle) while with them, from left, are Mr Dayo Arowolo, Miss Ibidun Afonja and Mr Ibiwumi Ishola, during a courtesy visit to the Tribune House, Imalefalafia, Ibadan, on Tuesday. PHOTO: ALOLADE GANIYU

OYRTMA fingered in Ibadan accident involving 5 persons It’s brake failure —OYRTMA

By Wale Akinselure

FIVE persons were injured in an accident that occurred at Molete area of Ibadan, on Tuesday, with the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA), being fingered in the incident.

The incident involved a Nissan primera, with plate number OYO AR07BDJ, which hit a motorcycle rider and another tricycle conveying three passengers.

The accident, according to eyewitness accounts, occured as a result of brake failure while some said it could be because the vehicle was being trailed by an OYRTMA vehicle.

In a conversation with the Nigerian Tribune, the tricycle rider, who is one of the three injured persons, admitted at Molete Medical Centre, Mr Ramon Kolapo, said, “The OYRTMA men were chasing the car driver and I was suddenly hit from the back and my tricycle tumbled. I was brought out from underneath the tricycle by some people. Ah! I am in serious pains.”

Giving his eyewitness account, Mr Lukman Morounfolu said, “A mass transit (Ajumose) bus was parked at the Molete junction, with the tricycle behind it. Sud-

denly, the Nissan Primera, probably had a brake failure, hit the tricycle and smashed it against the mass transit bus.

“We brought out the tricycle driver from underneath the tricycle. We also observed that the Nissan car also hit another motorcycle rider. We sighted an OYRTMA vehicle, and beckoned on the occupants to assist in rescuing the victims but they did not oblige.”

Responding, Commander, Oyo Road Transport Management Authority, Sanyo division, Mr Arowolo Ajibola, said the accident resulted from suspected brake failure, adding that OYRTMA officers did not trail the Nissan vehicle, as alleged.

“As we approached Molete flyover, the Nissan car accidently outran our patrol van. Suddenly, we saw the car hitting every obstacle, like vehicle, mo-

torcycle, it came across. Instantly, we suspected that the car developed a brake failure. The car eventually stopped when it hit a tricycle just under the Molete flyover.

“We then parked when we saw the accident. It is the responsibility of the police to attend to an accident scene and we had to wait for the police to take charge of the situation. We did not trail him for any reason.”

Ekiti to refund over-deduction from workers’ salaries EKITI State government will, within the next few days, refund money overdeducted from the salaries of workers for car, housing and computer loans.

This followed the submission of the report by a committee set up by the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, that looked into the matter.

Speaking during an interview programme on radio and television in Ado-Ekiti, Governor Fayose also promised that the legacy projects embarked upon by his administration would be completed as scheduled.

In a statement on Tuesday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, the governor said teachers, whose salaries

were over-deducted fell into those under the Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board.

While giving the assurance that the money would be refunded shortly, the governor said steps had been taken to prevent a recurrence of such in the future.

On the legacy projects such as the flyover, the new Ojaba Market and the extension of the dualisation of the Ado-Ikere Road, Governor Fayose gave the assurance that they would be completed on time.

While appealing for understanding and cooperation, he said he was not unaware of the pains and discomfort being faced by residents in the process of executing the

projects through occasional road diversions.

Fayose explained that he deliberately embarked on such projects in order to create long lasting legacies that would outlive his tenure.

“Only a foolish leader or politician will be working for the purpose of winning election alone but the wise ones would do those things that will take care of the future.

“Chief Obafemi Awolowo is still being remembered for what he did. The dualisation of roads in Efon, Ikole and other places is being done despite the paucity of funds. We need a leader who has the vision and won’t be bogged down by paucity of funds or other hindrances,” he said.

THE management of Space FM, led by its acting station manager, Mrs Bunmi Atekoja, on Tuesday, visited the headquarters of the Nigerian Tribune in an effort to foster working relationship between the two media outfits.

Speaking during the visit, Mrs Atekoja said the station, in its efforts to provide quality and efficient news reportage, decided to partner with the oldest surviving newspaper in the country towards the development of Oyo State and the nation in general.

She said, “Oyo State is one of the oldest states and deserves to be pacesetter.

Also, as negative events continue to take the major topic of issues, we should try to promote peace, support the good works of government, entrepreneurs, and work towards the development of Oyo State and Nigeria in general.

Space FM and Tribune should be tools for development of the state and its people.”

The Group Business Editor, Nigerian Tribune, Mr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, who welcomed the team on behalf of the management, stressed that Space FM remained a station, which in its two years, has become one to be taken seriously.

“It is a station for the people, with national outlook and Tribune would always support such good initiatives. The media has a critical role to play in nation building; it can make or mar a nation,” he said.

He welcomed the partnership, stressing that the Tribune’s rich library, established pre-independence, would help in giving the public research-based and rich news reporting.

Nigerian Tribune

Auto dealers protest in Ibadan, dissociate from alleged factional group

By Tunde Ogunesan MEMBERS of Motor Dealers Association (MODAN), Oyo State chapter, on Tuesday, staged a peaceful protest in Ibadan to disssociate themselves from a group, Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), claiming to be representing the interest of the auto dealers in the state.

They also alleged that the group was formed by their former leaders who diverted the funds and property of MODAN to form AMDON. A letter signed by the Public Relations Officer of the association, Pastor Vincent Ayodeji and addressed to the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has the headline “The Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON) and their nefarious activities.”

Ago-Iwoye community lauds Amosun over LCDAs PEOPLE of Ago Iwoye in Ogun State have lauded the planned creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led government in the state.

The community, however, hoped the councils would correct the issue of lopsided appointments and neglect of Ijebu North axis of the state.

In a town hall meeting to launch the constitution of the Ago-Iwoye Central Development Council (ACDC), the people said they would send representatives to meet the governor over the development.

The community also chided those they alleged had been working against the growth and development of the town.

Honourable Dare Kadiri (Maba) asked the people to be patient with him, while he promised that developmental programmes of the government would be delivered to the town soon.

Chairman of ACDC, Prince Seye Awojobi, also at the event, announced November 19 as AgoIwoye Day festival.

37

south-westnews

Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Ondo APC primaries: Abraham makes U-turn, rejects result Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

T

HE closet rival of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded primaries of the party in Ondo State, Olusegun Abraham, on Tuesday, rejected the result of the election, saying the outcome of the election is unacceptable.

Abraham, who had earlier congratulated the winner of the contest, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, over his victory at the primaries, stated this in Akure, the state capital.

He said the delegates list for the election was doctored and injected with non-executive members of the party.

Speaking through the Director-General of his campaign, Prince Olu Adegboro, in a statement, Abraham specifically pointed out that the process leading to the primaries was manipulated and compromised, saying “the outcome of the election is unacceptable, considering the plethora of staggering facts of anomalies that have

since emerged to the demerit of the exercise.”

The statement reads in part: “It is no longer news that as a true democrat, imbued with the best spirit of sportsmanship, I congratulated Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, who purportedly emerged as the candidate of the APC in the September 3 gubernatorial primary election in Ondo State, in the face of palpable disbelief and surprise on the outcome of the primaries by my numerous supporters.

“The news, however, is that sordid and staggering

facts have since emerged on how the process leading to the primaries was manipulated and compromised.

“It is now beyond doubt that the delegates list used on the day of the primaries was doctored and strangely injected with a mind-blowing number of delegates who are neither executive members of our party nor statutory delegates.

“To say the least, the manipulation of the delegates list, highly skewed accreditation process and the entire processes leading to the conduct of the primary

election had cast the darkest stain on the result of the primaries.”

Abraham, however, said he was ready to employ all available mechanism to challenge the result of the election.

He said: “Against this background, coupled with the change and integrity that our party preaches and practices and having widely consulted with my numerous supporters, I have reached the hour of decision to fall back on the internal mechanism of our great party to seek redress.

“To this end, the outcome of the September 3 APC governorship primaries in Ondo State is unacceptable and I hereby appeal against same.”

The statement read further “The allegations that have sadly pelted the supposedly free and fair Saturday exercise, where 24 aspirants battled to nick the party’s ticket, include but not limited to delegates list tampering, fake delegates incursion, disenfranchising of rightful delegates, smuggling of illegal ballot papers into ballot count.”

OGSIEC to spend N927m on LG election

Oyo govt commiserates with Abiara over wife’s death OYO State government, on Tuesday, commiserated with Prophet Samuel Abiara, the General Evangelist, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, over the death of his wife, Prophetess Christiana Abiara.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that a delegation of the state government, led by the state Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo, paid a condolence visit to the cleric at his Idi-Ishin, Ibadan residence.

Adeyemo described Christiana‘s demise as a great loss to the state and the nation, and prayed that God would grant her eternal rest.

“Sometimes God takes away the righteous before the evil days. I think that is what has happened now.

God will always do the right thing at the right time.”

Responding, Abiara said that he was impressed by the condolence visit.

Oyo ex-deputy gov, Arapaja, dumps PDP for APC

Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta OGUN State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has said the electoral body budgets the sum of N925million for the forthcoming Local Government and Local Council Development Areas elections, slated for October 8.

The election will be held in the 20 council areas and 37 LCDAs created by the state government.

The chairman of the electoral body, Alhaja Risikat Ogunfemi, stated this while hosting members of the House of Assembly Committee on Special Duties, led by Honourable Viwanu Ojo, who were on oversight tour to the commission, on Tuesday.

The OGSIEC chairman said that all measures had been put in place to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections across the state.

She explained that as part of a build up to proper election, a stakeholders’ forum had been held in the three senatorial districts of the state to sensitise citizens on the local government polls.

He added that the agency had continued to partner with relevant stakeholders including the security agencies to ensure the success of the exercise.

Ojo commended the activities of the commission towards conducting free and fair local council polls.

Nigerian Tribune

From left, Oyo State deputy governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo; General Evangelist, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Prophet Kayode Abiara; Secretary to the State Government, Mr Olalekan Alli and one of the cleric’s children, Mrs Deborah Omokhare, during a condolence visit to the cleric over the death of his wife, in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

Oyo Assembly members raise eyebrows over LCDA creation

By Wale Akinselure DEBATE over a bill to approve the creation of 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Oyo State commenced, on Tuesday, with some members of the state House of Assembly expressing dissatisfaction at the allocation of LCDAs to their zones.

Deliberating on the bill for the further amendment of the local government law 2002, members also raised concerns about funding of the new LCDAs and harmonisation of boundaries.

The 2002 gazette, up for review, had recommended the creation of 14 LCDAs in Ibadan zone, eight in OkeOgun area, seven in Ogbomoso, four in Oyo and two in Ibarapa zone.

Honourable Ganiyu Oseni, Irepo/Olorunsogo constituency, decried “injustice” in the distribution of LCDAs to zones.

Especially, he stated that the allocation of 14 LCDAs to Ibadan zone coupled with existing 11 local governments was unfair when compared to the number allocated to other zones in the state.

Similarly, Muideen Ola-

gunju, Oyo East/Oyo West Constituency, in an interaction with the Nigerian Tribune, expressed dissatisfaction of Oyo zone about the allocation of four LCDAs to the zone compared to seven approved for Ogbomoso zone.

Making reference to the 1991 census figures and landmass consideration as basis for allocation of LCDAs, Olagunju said the allocation of four LCDAs to Oyo zone was inadequate compared to that of Ogbo-

moso zone.

He, therefore, noted the need for attention of the relevant House Committees and the state government to the dissatisfaction of persons yearning for more LCDAs allocation to their zones.

Honourable Fatai Adesina, Ibadan South East 1 constituency and Honourable Gbenga Oyekola, Atiba constituency, sounded their concerns about the funding of the new LCDAs. Contributing, Honourable Wahab Muideen, rep-

resenting Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency, pointed out the need for harmonisation of boundaries of the LCDAs. Arguing that the state boasted of large landmass, Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Micheal Adeyemo, said that the creation of LCDAs was long overdue.

Adeyemo, like Honourable Olusegun Olaleye of Ibadan North II constituency, maintained that the creation of LCDAs would bring more development to localities in the state.

Ondo govt disbursed N1.5bn loan to artisans, others in 7 yrs —Mimiko Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure ONDO State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, on Tuesday, disclosed that about N1.5billion loan has been disbursed to artisans, market women and men by the state government in the last seven years of his administration.

Mimiko, who stated this during the third batch of N2billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan, under the CBN/ODSG Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund

(MSMEDF), said the loan was in fulfilment of one of the promises “we made from the inception of our administration to banish poverty and create wealth in all ramifications.”

The governor explained that “the scheme is driven to help people who do not have collateral to obtain loans from commercial banks” but however, appealed to the more than 5,000 beneficiaries to make judicious use of the loan for the development of their businesses.

Mimiko urged them to work

towards repayment of the loan to enable others to make use of the fund, saying the present administration in the state would not desist from giving priority to the welfare of the people of the state.

Speaking during the distribution of cheques to beneficiaries, the chairman of the Ondo State Micro Credit Agency (OSMA), Mrs Banke Sutton, said the scheme had been an effective strategy for human development, explaining that the two batches disbursed earlier were successful.

By Dare Adekanmbi THE Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, further got depleted, as a former deputy governor and immediate past Nigeria’s Ambassador to Jordan, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja, formally dumped the party for the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

Arapaja was received by the state deputy chairman of APC, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Honourable Dapo Lam Adesina, caretaker chairman of Ibadan South-East Local Government, Alhaji Najeem Abass and others.

Speaking at the ceremony to welcome him and his supporters in Ibadan, Arapaja explained that the decision to join the APC was informed by the need to move the country forward.

“For those who may wonder why I called it quit with the PDP, when things fall apart, the centre can no longer hold. What we still see today as PDP is the ghost of its old self,” he said.

The transition chairman of the council, Alhaji Najeem Abass, assured the former ambassador and his supporters of full integration.

He described the “sterling performance” of Governor Abiola Ajimobi as the magnet that had continued to attract hitherto opposition party figures to the APC.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

Damboa LG re-opens Damboa market as peace returns to Borno

T

HE Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State,on Tuesday, re-opened the Damboa township market closed down in 2014 due to Boko Haram attack.

Lagos Assembly approves 3-yr N500bn bond for infrastructure

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Damboa is located few kilometres from the Sambisa forest, the hideout of the Boko Haram terrorists.

Alhaji Abu Hong, the caretaker chairman of the council, performed the reopening of the market at a ceremony in Damboa,

headquarters of the council.

Hong said that the market was re-opened after the return of peace to the area.

The chairman commended Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State for his numerous supports to the military toward the fight against the terrorists.

Hong also thanked the military, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and local hunters for their efforts in chasing out the terrorists.

He urged traders in the market to be security conscious and collaborate with security agents toward sustaining the peace in the

area.

Also speaking, the District Head of Damboa, Malam Abdullahi Damboa, expressed happiness over the re-opening of the market.

Damboa assured the state government of his support towards maintenance of peace in the market.

Chukwuma Okparaocha -Lagos THE Lagos State House of Assembly has approved a sum of N500 billion bond for the state government to help it raise fund for infrastructural development in the state.

The bond is expected to span a period of three years.

Presenting a report during plenary on Tuesday, the chairman of an adhoc committee inaugurated by the House on the matter, Honourable Oluyinka Ogundimu, informed the House that the bond was necessary for the development of the state and would be repaid through a 23 per cent of the state internally generated revenue (IGR).

He added that all necessary plans had already been made to ensure that the money that would be raised through the bond would be judiciously spent in a way that the state would have the best roads, bridges, more schools as well as create more jobs in the next three years.

Commenting on the move, the chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Honourable Rotimi Olowo, said that since Lagos was the future of Nigeria, the bond would assist in furnishing it with necessary infrastructure that would enable it perform the role.

“If the bond is geared towards development, it will open the state to other parts of the world and generate more employment for the people.”

“We have enough to take care of the bond. By 2019, Nigeria would be out of recession and Lagos would be better for it,” he said.

Also speaking, Honourable Gbolahan Yishawu, said that Lagos had always been at the forefront of development, adding that the bond was also meant to increase spending and develop the state.

FG to inaugurate water project in Otuoke tomorrow Adetola Bademosi-Abuja THE Federal Government is set to inaugurate the Central Ogbia (Otuoke) regional water supply project in Bayelsa State.

The project, which is to be inaugurated on Thursday (tomorrow) by the Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, was commenced by the previous administration.

The ministry, in a statement issued by the Director Public Relations, Margaret Umoh, in Abuja, on Tuesday, said the project was recently completed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in line with the agenda of the current administration to complete ongoing projects.

Anniversary From left, chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA), Mr Vincent Maduka; chairman, Panel of Assessors, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye and the administrator, NMMA, Mr Yemi Akejo, at the 2016 NMMA entries press conference, in Lagos, on Monday. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

2016 NMMA award: 10 categories dropped •As assessors begin work to select winners Sylvester Okoruwa -Lagos CHAIRMAN, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Africa foremost media excellence scheme, organisers of the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA), Mr Vincent Maduka, at a press conference to announce the commencement of the assessing of entries for the 24th edition of the NMMA, said 10 categories were dropped this year from the regular 53 categories due to lack of sponsorship of the dropped categories.

He named some of the categories as the Beatrice Bassey Best Female Newspaper of the year, NPA Maritime Reporter of the year, Intercontinental Capital Market Reporter of the year, Aviation Reporter of the year and six other categories.

He added that the board of assessors, made up of 24 highly educated personnel from Television, Radio, academia and other professions, received 648 entries this year, as against the 886 entries submitted last year, which indicated a drop in entries this year.

He said there was 523 entries from the print, 67 entries from the Radio Stations and 47 from Television stations The chairman, panel of

assessors, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, Akoka, said from the 45 categories for this year, 33 awards were for the print category, six awards for the Radio category and six awards for the Television category.

He added that the cri-

teria to be used to select the winner from each category was that the winners must score up to 70 per cent and if no entrant score up to 70 per cent, there would be no winner in that category, as this would be done to meet international standard.

Mr Maduka officially

handed the entries to the chairman, panel of assessors, to begin the process of selecting the winners for each category. No date and venue have been fixed for this year’s award.

The organisers, therefore, called on corporate bodies to sponsor the event and award categories.

WHEN Women Pray International, Ibadan Centre, will mark its second anniversary tagged: “God Cannot Lie”, on Saturday, at Pentonrise Event Centre, Housing Corporation, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, at 8.00 a.m.

Ministering are the founder/ president, WWP Int’l, Abuja, Pastor Opuaya Agha; coordinator, WWP Ibadan, Pastor Patience Alli, who is the host and the resident pastor, WWP Lagos, as well as the zonal pastor, South West, Pastor Temilade Zurike.

Lassa fever: Plateau records 2 cases I’m hale, hearty, Delta hospital MD says From Isaac Shobayo and Alphonsus Agborh FOLLOWING resurgence of lassa fever in some parts of the country, Plateau State government has recorded two cases of the disease while eight others are on the watch list at various health centres in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kunden Deyin, who said this at a ministerial press briefing in Jos, the state capital, on Tuesday, said that 10 people were suspected to have been tested positive, but eight were later satisfied to be negative and discharged while the two tested positive, were admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

Dr Deyin said the ministry in conjunction with other health-related agencies have placed the family of

those who tested positive on surveillance to curtail the spread of the menace.

He said the state government had already taken up the challenge by deploying health workers across the state to sensitise citizens on the symptoms and preventive measures of lassa fever.

According to him, lassa fever is transmitted through urine and excreta of a rat and served as a reservoir for the lassa virus, adding that rodent is usually attracted to dirty environment He implored the people not to panic over the two recorded cases, adding that the disease was not like Ebola Virus but charged them to be proactive and report suspected cases to avoid its spread.

Meanwhile, the medical director of a private hospital in Asaba, the Delta

State capital, where the recent lassa fever victim was first admitted, had said that contrary to speculation of his death, he is hale and hearty along with the workers,adding that the health facilitiy has not been deserted.

According to Dr Ben Ifeanyi Ajufoh of EL Comfort Hospital, Bonsac, Asaba, the victim, one Dr Okeke, a medical practitioner, also in Asaba, was rushed to the hospital and a few hours later, referred to the Nnamdi Azikiwwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, where he manifested symptoms of the disease and later died.

Dr Ajufoh told newsmen in Asaba that the state Ministry of Health fumigated all the facilities that hosted Dr Okeke, at the short period he stayed at the hospital even though, he did not bleed before he was referred.

Pastor Opuaya Agha

Nikkah

THE Walimot/Nikkah between Rukayat Temitope and Saheed Omowumi, will hold on Saturday, at White Plain Hotel, GbonganIbadan Expressway, Osogbo, Osun State, by 11.00 a.m.

According to Alhaji Ademola Raji of Demlat Ventures Limited and Madam Julianah, reception will take place at the same venue.

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Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

corporatesport

With Niyi Alebiosu adeniyi70@yahoo.com 08116954642

Grassroots table tennis:

Union Bank grooms 30 teenagers for stardom

By Nurudeen Alimi

IN a bid to have better and solid foundation for the game of table tennis, Union Bank Sports Unit

NAPHER-SD targets 560 candidates for regional conference OVER 560 candidates are expected to converge in Lagos for the maiden South-West Nigeria Association of physical, Health Education Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD) Regional Conference holding from September 26-29, at the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas multipurpose hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere, Lagos.

With the Lagos State Sports council powering the NAPHER-SD regional conference, chairperson of the Media/ publicity, mobilization, sponsorship and finance joint committees, Dr. Mrs. Celina Mojisola Adewunmi of the Human Kenetic Department of the University of Lagos, said Hon. Deji Tinubu, the Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode on Sports would chair the conference in his capacity as the chairman of the Lagos State, Sports commission while the Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Hon. Tunde Poopola is penciled down as the guest speaker, President of NAPHERSD, Alhaji Yusuf Dauda is coming as the special guest.

Chairman of the local organizing Committee, Dr. R.A. Moronfolu while speaking with Corporatesport said arrangements towards hosting a befitting regional conference is in advance stage even as he pleaded with the stake holders that are yet to register for the conference to do so without further delay since there is no going back on the September 10 deadline for entries.

has concluded plans to groom nothing less than 30 kids to become future tennis stars.

According to Union Bank’s Sports Officer, Peter Okoro, the maiden ‘catch them young’ programme is aimed at bringing into limelight the zeal of many teenagers for a table tennis tactical awareness enterprise.

The programme was concluded last weekend in Lagos with 30 teenagers

on ground as participants.

The high point of the event was the ranking exercise which saw the young kids display good acts acquired from the period of training.

Ayanwale Jamiu came 1st in the male category while Omotosho Ife-Oluwa had a good control in the female category. This was in admiration of some of their parents who came to witness the development of the children.

Gifts were showered on

the teenagers courtesy Union Bank while a Union Bank table tennis club visiting friend, Mr. Luciano Esperito from Italy also gave sundry table tennis gifts to the aspiring table tennis stars.

Union Bank’s Sports Officer, Peter Okoro urged the participants to increase the spirit of the game so that they could be known and heard like Aruna Quadri (Africa’s No. 1) who started like them from Union Bank

Table Tennis Club.

According to Okoro, Union Bank have been very vibrant in sports development in the country and its encouragement to various sports persons in fields of Basketball, Hockey and table tennis is worthy of emulation.

The bank’s table tennis coach, Samson Ajayi, however, expressed optimism that the next edition of the programme will witness more entrants.

From left, Johnson Ivase, GOtv Marketing Manager; Efe Obiomah, Public Relations Manager, GOtv and Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director, Flykite Production during the GOtv Boxing Night 9th Edition Press Conference held at Old Skool Restaurant, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Foreign scouts comb Nigeria for Aspire Football Dreams

N

OT less than four Spanish scouts are currently on tour of Nigeria in search of young football talents in the country ahead of the 10th edition of the Aspire Football Dreams Top 50 which comes up from September 2124, 2016.

The scouts are going through 80 fields situated in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria for talents that may eventually become part of the Aspire Football Dreams programme which will afford them an opportunity to get scholarship for the next five years.

The scouts include; Xavier Gisbert, Oscar Palacios, Xavier Comas and Josep Maria Paris. They will work with sports managers of the Aspire

Football Dreams, Nigeria.

Country Director of the programme, Col Sam Ahmedu (Rtd) said the scouts look out for raw talents that can be groomed into world stars.

“Since the commencement of the Aspire Football Dreams in Nigeria back in 2007, Nigeria has benefitted a great deal in the identification of talents that have gone ahead to represent Nigeria. The various national teams have also benefitted through camping at the Aspire Sports Academy in Qatar.”

Speaking further, he noted that the academy provides a scholarship scheme where the players drawn from around the world are taught the rudiments of being professional

football players as well as give them opportunities to study different languages like French, English, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch and Arabic to guide them when signing contracts after graduation.

Some of the players from Nigeria that have emerged from the programme are goalkeeper John Felagha who featured for the Golden Eaglets and the Flying Eagles alongside Francis Nzoru under Coach John Obuh. Others are Samson Jegede who played in the qualifiers with the Golden Eaglets ahead of the Chile World Cup where Funsho Bamigboye scored the winning goal for Nigeria to emerge World champions in 2015.

Nigeria in winning start at ITF Junior Circuit CHRISTOPHER Itodo came from a set down to beat India’s Raba Katalya 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 to launch Nigeria to a winning start at the ongoing ITF U-18 West and Central Africa Circuit holding at the Stade Lamite, Cotonou.

Itodo’s come-from-behind victory proved a tonic for compatriot Christopher Bulus who also progressed to the second round with a 6-2,6-1 win over Tinde Sulayyman of Cote d’Ivoire.

Rain held up most of the day’s proceedings at the tournament which is featuring over 120 players from Africa, Europe Asia and North America.

Nigerian top seed Angel Mcleod is drawn bye and she will meet the winner of the tie between Manuella Eloundou of Cameron and Bissolla Lassissi of Benin Republic.

Fixture delay also forced Barakat Quadri’s match to be rescheduled for Wednesday where she will be up against Vania Dossier of Togo.

Morocco-based Quadri triumphed in straight sets in the most recent meeting against the Togolese which was at the 2016 West & Central Africa Zonal Qualifiers for the African Junior Championship in Abuja in January.

“We are in high spirit because we know our performance here in recent years have been fantastic.

We will try as much as possible to push through to the medal zones and hopefully we will retain our top position for the third straight year, “ Nigeria’s coach, Mohammed Ubale said.

The Lady captain, TGC, Mrs Oyinlola Omajuwa.Itodo

SIDELINES

NO 16,584

WEDNESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER, 2016

N150

The National Bureau of Statistics, last week, told Nigerians that the nation was now officially in recession. Grammar! With the escalating price of garri, ponmo, palm oil and even pure water in the market in the past few weeks, who didn’t know all along that recession had hit the people’s pockets!

US Open:

Serena sets new Grand Slam record WORLD number one, Serena Williams set a new Grand Slam record of 308 victories with a win over Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan at the US Open in New York.

The American, 34, won 6-2 6-3 to pass Roger Federer in the all-time list of matches won at the tennis majors.

She moves on to the quarter-finals, where she will face Romanian fifth seed, Simona Halep, who beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 7-5.

“It’s a huge number,” Williams said of her record 308th win.

“I think it’s very significant actually. I definitely never thought I would be playing still. Now, I don’t really see when I’m going to stop.

“I’m just enjoying these moments out here, getting to break records that I didn’t even know existed or I didn’t even know was possible.’’

Halep has lost seven of eight matches against Williams but hopes that will at least keep the pressure off in their quarter-final.

Serena

Rohr

We need our best players to qualify for World Cup —Rohr

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UPER Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr has reiterated that Nigeria will need all her best players to play at their premium in order to pick the lone ticket from their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification group.

Franco-Germany Rohr made this assertion on a visit to the secretariat of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday, where he met with the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and the NFF anagement.

“We will need all our best players to be at their very best. We had a good list for the Tanzania match but a couple of players were injured and we will like to look at those ones as well.

The focus is to strengthen the spine of the team and

ensure they can beat any team. The confidence has not been there because the team failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, but when results start to come, the confidence will return.”

Rohr, who coached the national teams of Gabon, Burkina Faso and Niger, and also had a stint with Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel, said he was used to working conditions on the African continent and was only committed to returning Nigeria back to the top of the world football ladder.

“I have been well –received by my assistant, (Salisu) Yusuf as well as Imama (Amapakabo) and Alloy (Agu), and also by the backroom staff. To be received with so much warmth by the NFF management means

Federation Cup: Ibadan, Kaduna

host semi-final matches THE semi-final matches of this year’s men Federation Cup competition will take place on September 25 and October 2 respectively.

On Tuesday, the NFF announced that the first semifinal, between surprise packets Crown FC of Ogbomosho and FC IfeanyiUbah, will hold at the Ahmadu

Bello Stadium, Kaduna on Sunday, September 25.

The second semi-final, between NPFL clubs Nasarawa United of Lafia and Enyimba FC of Aba, will take place at the Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan on Sunday, October 2.

The women’s semi-finals will see Rivers Angels go

up against Nasarawa Amazons at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu while the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri will play host to the clash between Delta Queens and Bayelsa Queens.

Both matches come up on Wednesday, September 21 2016.

we are all on the same page and we can work together and live as a family.

“I have a very good feeling about this job and the people I have to work with.

I am also happy that the first week went very well because the players were able to quickly imbibe our philosophy. We need to have solidarity all round.

The Technical Committee members have also been great. Certainly, the National Technical Director also has a role to play. The ambience is impressive.”

While welcoming Rohr and his team, Dr Sanusi assured that the Federation will afford the technical crew all the support and strive to provide the conducive environment for the team to execute the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and come out tops.

“We have immense confidence in you and your staff; we will not dabble into your technical area. Our responsibility is to provide the right atmosphere to make you succeed. We see that you are a gentleman but will not take your simplicity for granted.

“If you can work in a place like Niger Republic, I believe you would be able to work even better in Nigeria.”

Coach Rohr was in com-

pany with Salisu Yusuf (Chief Coach), Jean-Luc

Royer (assistant) and Tunde Adelakun.

Quadri set African record, leaps to world’s 25th •As Toriola moves from 120th to 106th

NIGERIA’S Aruna Quadri has inscribed his name in the annals of history on the continent after leaping to 25^th in the September rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday.

Quadri was one of the stars at the just-ended Rio Olympic Games in Brazil after stunning the world to become the first African to play in the last eight of the games ammased 152 points from his performance in Brazil to be ranked 25^th in the world.

The Oyo State-born ping ponger it will be recalled, defeated Germany’s Timo Boll to become the first African to qualify for the quarter-final of the Olympics.

From 2305 points he had in the August rankings, Quadri now has 2457points to become the first player in Africa to be rated in the top 25 in the world.

Apart from rising to 25, Quadri in the latest ranking was also listed among the most active players in the world based on his rise from 40th in August to 25th in September.

Other active players in the recent rating are Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and England’s Paul Drinkhall.

Calderano who like Quadri became the first player from South America to play in the quarterfinal of the Olympic Games. The Brazilian who was rated 54 in August is now ranked 31 in the world, while Drinkhall moved from 58 to 32 in the globe.

Also, a member of the ITTF ‘7’ Club, Nigeria’s Segun Toriola was rewarded for his effort in Rio as the seventh time Olympian moved from 120 to 106 in the rankings, while Egypt’s Omar Assar remains the continent number two.

Assar who was edged out in the second round of the Rio Olympic Games by Ukraine’s Lei Kou dropped from 55 to 56 in the world.

Despite dropping to 118 from 110, Egypt’s Dina Meshref remains the top ranked African female player, while Nigeria’s duo of Edem Offiong and Olufunke Oshonaike were not lucky as well with Offiong dropping from 120 to 129 while Oshonaike dropped from 241 to 251.

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 7/09/2016.