13th January 2016 by Nigerian Tribune

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,413

WEDNESDAY, 13 JANUARY, 2016

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Seriki line writes Ajimobi, threatens to install parallel Olubadan if... —P8

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Herdsmen/farmers' Court bars FG from clash: FG to ranch, grow freezing MTN's bank accounts grasses for cows

Drama over 2016 budget whereabouts —P46

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•Lawmakers in shouting match over alleged missing budget •Budget not withdrawn —Presidency •It must be April fool —Dogara •Buhari, Saraki in closed-door meeting Lassa fever: Death toll rises to 41 from 93 suspected cases

•Senate summons health minister —P15

Gunmen kidnap RCCG pastor during service —P43

Metuh collected N400m from Jonathan not Dasuki —Spokesman Present state of furniture in the Senate Hearing Room 2 at the National Assembly, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

2016 budget: Drama over its whereabouts

•Lawmakers in shouting match, declare document missing •Budget not withdrawn —Presidency •It must be April fool —Dogara •Buhari, Saraki in closed-door meeting Taiwo Adisa - Abuja

HERE was controversy among senators on Tuesday, following indications that the 2016 budget document, submitted to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, was missing. The alarm, it was gathered, was first raised at an executive session held by the senators at the start of Tuesday’s business, but senators could not get a concrete answer on the whereabouts of the document. Sources at the closed session said there was divergence views among senators who openly disagreed on the possibility of the budget missing. The lawmakers were ex-

pected to commence debate in the general principles of the 2016 budget on Tuesday, but watchers were shocked to discover that the budget was not listed on the Order Paper. It was learnt that the executive, which had mooted the idea of retrieving the budget document last week, had caused the document to be retrieved from the National Assembly, to enable the Ministry of Finance effect some changes believed to be fundamental to the document. Sources said the budget document submitted to the Joint session on December 22 was left in custody of the Senate and House committees on appropriation, but that some security agencies visited the assembly to withdraw the document.

Sources said the government intended to effect fundamental changes in the budget document, thus neceassitating the decision to withdraw the entire documents. At the executive session held by the senators on Tuesday, lawmakers were said to be sharply divided on the whereabouts of the document. While one set of lawmakers were said to have mooted the idea of raising a motion on the Senate floor today, others were of the view that the matter be sent to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for investigation. Sources at the executive session said the senators were shocked when one of the principal officers raised

the alarm that the budget could not be slated on the Order Paper because it was missing. To break the prolonged arguments, it was suggested by a ranking senator that the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, liaises with the executive to know the whereabouts of the budget. The development came as the Senate President met with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday. It was not, however, clear whether Saraki’s meeting with the president was over the missing documents or not. When pressed for comments on it by State House correspondents, Saraki exclaimed “Ah!” and rushed into his waiting car.

Sources in the Assembly said on Tuesday that Saraki’s visit to the Presidential Villa on Tuesday may not be unconnected with the issue on the budget. Other sources in the legislature however insisted that the Federal Government ordered the withdrawal of the budget from the National Assembly, shortly after it was presented by President Muhammadu Buhari. But the Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, in a telephone interview, said the budget was not missing, adding that once submitted, the document had become the property of the National Assembly. “Budget cannot be missing. One copy can be laid, it is a symbolic copy, the budget will be in custody

Corps. Gana said the management of NSCDC was worried by rumours peddled in some quarters that he was fighting with some management staff of the Corps over sharing of recruitment slots. Its Public Relations Officer, Mr Emmanuel Okeh, reacting to the allegations in a statement in Abuja, said the Commandant General, who was surprised at this negative development, said “no rift ex-

ists within the Corps.” According to him, “we are all working together as one family, irrespective of religion and tribe. We are one big happy family.” He, however, said it was true that the Corps needed more personnel in order to meet up with the present demand, especially in the execution of the constitutional mandate and to that effect, request for recruitment of more personnel was in process. “However, this request has been misconstrued by several persons and without waiting for it to come to fruition, chose the path of slander. Wrong signal was sent all along, making people to believe that recruitment or whatever they term replacement is going on in the organisation,” he said. He reiterated that having made this information known to the populace, any unsuspecting applicant who fell prey having failed to heed the warning should not blame the NSCDC.

Job recruitment racket rocks NSCDC No recruitment scam —CG C lement Idoko - Abuja INDICATIONS emerged in Abuja that the national headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is currently enmeshed in alleged secret recruitment of personnel under the guise of replacement. One of the aggrieved top official of the Corps, who confided in the Nigerian Tribune, said in defiance to the approval by the Presidency for recruitment of

certain number of persons into the Corps, there had been a clandestine replacement of some officers. Nigerian Tribune gathered that some fake staffers had been discovered in the ongoing data capture of NSCDC personnel, which commenced since last week at different centres across the federation. Although, the number of such fake officers could not be ascertained as at the time of writing this report, it was gathered that the af-

fected officers were victims of recruitment scam that had enveloped the agency a few years ago. Also, affected were some of the officers who were engaged in 2012 and as well got special promotion during the period without due process. Reacting to the development, the Commandant General NSCDC, Muhammadu Gana, debunked claims in some section of the media suggestive of recruitment scandal in the

Extrajudicial killings: Police to undergo psychiatric test annually Chris Agbambu –Abuja WORRIED by the rising cases of extrajudicial killings by officers of the Nigeria Police, the Force is set to subject recruits to psychiatric screening/test, just as officers already serving would undergo same on a yearly basis. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, made this known while speaking at the validation meeting on the Nigeria Police Force Health Policy draft, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday. “Sometimes I get very worried when police officers shoot innocent civilians and I keep thinking can’t something be done. Now we are thinking of taking our officers before we recruit them through psychiatric and psychological test. Even

those who are already with us, we are going to make it an annual thing,” he said. According to him, “because the job we do is very stressful, sometimes not everyone can take the heat in the kitchen, and if you cannot take the heat, you don’t go to the kitchen. So we are working to see how we can ameliorate the trauma they go through.

“I know in the United Kingdom that if a police officer is involved in shooting, he is removed from core police duties until he is debriefed and he goes through some tests to ensure that he is fit enough to handle fire arms. These are what we are thinking of bringing into the system. “Also, we are planning to build trauma centres be-

cause most of our officers go through a lot of trauma. And we should be concerned about their mental well-being. I know the type of pressure officers go through.” According to him, in order to holistically tackle these challenges, it became expedient that a health policy be developed for the Nigeria Police.

Bird flu: Farms quarantined in 2 Abuja area councils Christian Okeke - Abuja FOLLOWING the outbreak of Avian bird flu influenza in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the affected farms in Kuje and Gwagwalada area councils have been quarantined for de-population and disinfection. The measure was to ensure that the disease did not spread

beyond the affected farms. Also, the FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat has embarked on sensitisation campaign to create awareness on the signs and symptoms to look out for in birds and the steps to be taken in case of an outbreak. Confirming the outbreak, the acting director in charge of administration and fi-

nance in the secretariat, Dr Musa Aliyu, appealed to residents of the territory to remain calm and be assured of the preparedness of the FCT administration to combat the disease. He stated that the secretariat had already set up a hotline to enable residents inform the authority on any suspected case.

of both chamber, it cannot be stolen, it cannot be missing. Once the budget is laid in the National Assembly, it has become the property of the National Assembly,” he said. On Saraki’s visit to Villa, Ndume said: “the visit was to know the president’s priority. We want to see how we can fast-track the passage of the budget before the end of February. “What is before the Senate is proposal, once the president signed it, it cannot be amended. We can turn the budget upside down, it cannot be missing, if it is online you can produce the budget.” Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on his twitter handle @doyakubu, said “April 1 arrives too early this year on Twitter. 2016 Budget estimates Stolen @ NASS?? Pretty funny stuff!” He, however, later tweeted that ‘It’s in the custody of the Clerk to the House of Representatives. I can confirm no one has broken into his office.” Reacting, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, said President Buhari, at no time, withdrew the 2016 budget. Shehu stated this in a reaction to the controversy on his Twitter handle, @ GarShehu, on Tuesday. Reacting to comments on the whereabouts of the budget, Shehu said “Enquiries about the budget: Nobody except the president can withdraw the budget. As far as we know, he hasn’t done that. “The copies in their hundreds have been delivered to both chambers of the National Assembly. By tradition, once the budget is submitted, it ceases to be our property. “Enquiries as to where it is should be directed to the appropriate quarters. Best regards.” Within 30 minutes of the four posts, it generated over 614 comments on the twitter handle.

Adeboye holds special Holy Ghost Service in Ibadan THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E. A. Adeboye, will be in Ibadan today, January 13, 2016, for a special Holy Ghost Service. The service with the theme: “Divine Visitation,” will be held at the old Sports Complex, behind Faculties of Education and Arts, University of Ibadan at 4.00 p.m.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Dasukigate: You are on your own, PDP tells deputy spokesman •Warns EFCC on Metuh •Says it can’t be investigator and judge •Urges Buhari to review Kogi, Bayelsa elections •Inaugurates constitution review committee Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

EADERSHIP of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday, dissociated itself from the statement credited to its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Abdullahi Jalo, that former President Goodluck Jonathan should speak out on the disbursement of the $2.1billion arms deal by his former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd) and that all the party members mentioned in the arms deal were on their own. The party also clarified that Prince Uche Secondus remained its acting

National Chairman in line with its constitution, contrary to Jalo’s outburst to the press on Monday, that there it “has no national or acting national chairman for now,” saying the matter was already before a court of competent jurisdiction for adjudication. Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, on Tuesday, shortly after the inauguration of the party’s Constitution Review Committee, Prince Secondus declared that Jalo was probably expressing his personal opinion and not that of the party. Prince Secondus stated that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party had not met to take any decision on issues raised

by Jalo on the arms deal. According to him, “all I can say now is that probably Mallam Jalo was expressing his personal opinion on the matter to the press, which “he is entitled to, but that is not the position of our party, because the NEC of the party has not met on the issue. “We, as a party, support the anti-corruption war, as the party maintains that it is not opposed to the fight against corruption, but the fight must be holistic and within the confines of the constitution of the country. Suspects cannot be locked up indefinitely without being charged to court or released on bail, especially when courts of competent jurisdiction abound within the area

of arrest and detention. “The EFCC chairman, Mallam Magu and the commission should obey the rule of law; he can not constitute himself as investigator and the judge of this matter, he should know the limit of his power. After investigation, the next thing for him is to charge the suspects to court, where their cases will be decided in accordance with the laws of the land, as nobody will disobey court’s ruling,” he stated. Prince Secondus then called on the leadership of the EFCC to immediately effect the release of Chief Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, saying “the offence he was alleged to have commit-

ted is a bailable offence. According to him, “why we are saying the action is selective and directs towards PDP is that there was one Jafaru Isa, who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but he has been released within days, but our own spokesperson is being kept there without trial.” Speaking on the claim that the party has no national chairman for now by Jalo, Prince Secondus said “I don’t want to comment on this, because the matter is in the court and our legal team is working round the clock to challenge the court’s ruling because some people took us to court. The constitution of our party is there, go and read the constitution very well.”

through Chief Anenih contributed the token sum of N100 million to the SDP/ PDP electoral alliance project through Chief Falae. “It is to be noted that the SDP spent well above N100 million for the execution of the project throughout the country during the presidential campaign and election period. “That the said N100 million was most transparently disbursed to our SDP field organisations, especially to areas where we had more support than the PDP and we have full report of the transparency with which our state chapters utilised the money for the purpose it was meant. “That it is obvious from the foregoing and pertinent to state here that neither

the SDP nor Chief Falae was aware of Colonel Dasuki’s arms deal money given through Chief Anenih. The SDP, as well as many Nigerians were aware of the fact that the PDP had a fundraising event prior to the election where billions of naira were donated. The SDP is also conscious of the fact that the PDP are capable of funding their part of the electoral alliance with SDP.” On the denial of the Ogun State chapter of the party that it was not aware of the receipt of the N100 million, Dr Isaiq explained that all the state chapters of the party were fully aware of the money and Ogun only rejected its share, saying that it had enough money at its disposal to prosecute the elections.”

...no money to refund —SDP •Denies having any link with Dasuki Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja AS the alleged $2.1 billion arms loot continues to generate heat, the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one of the political parties alleged to have taken N100 million from the former chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, for support of re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has insisted it has no money to return to the Federal Government Addressing newsmen at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Abdul Ahmed Isaiq, dismissed the speculation making the round that the party, through its National Chairman, Chief Olu Falae, took N100 million from the National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Jonathan, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd) from the arms loot being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Dr Isaiq, flanked by the National Vice Chairman of the party, Mr Adewole Adesina, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Alfa Mohammed and other national officers of the party, admitted that the party only collected the sum of N100 million from Chief Anenih based on party alliance to work for the re-election of Dr Jonathan and not from Colonel Dasuki as being al-

leged. According to him, “it is only Chief Anenih who is in the best position to explain the source of the money given to our party; we collected the money from him and disbursed the money to all the state chapters of our party and the money was used for the purpose it was meant for.” He insisted that “neither the SDP nor Chief Falae has anything to the with the $2.1 billion arms deal debacle, saying “our alliance was not based on monetary inducement, but on 6-point cardinal objectives principle which we believed could benefit the country at the crucial time.” According to him, “our attention has been drawn to libellous and misleading

story trending on the social media and some newspapers that the National Chairman of SDP, Chief Falae collected N100 million alleged largesse said to have been immorally distributed from arms procurement fund by Colonel Dasuki, we are dismayed by this story and want to state as follows: “That the SDP was approached by the PDP through its BoT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih for electoral alliance for the re-election bid of the former President Jonathan; “That Chief Falae, being the National Chairman of SDP, summoned the NEC of the the party to consider PDP’s proposal which was approved; “That consequent upon this agreement, the PDP,

Fruits, vegetables in Lagos markets to be screened Chukwuma Okparaocha - Lagos AS part of the bid to sanitise markets in Lagos State, a group, the Perishable Goods Dealers and Sellers Association of Lagos State, has moved to stop the influx of unwholesome goods into all markets in Lagos . One of the ways the group hopes to achieve this is through the activation of its Produce Tracking, Sales and Distribution (PTSD). The decision was arrived at an emergency joint meeting of the Executive and the Board of Trustees of the association recently. In their comments, the

president of the association, Chief Amos Edun and the chairman, Board of Trustees of the association, Chief Sheu Salami, both said the need to sanitise the markets became unavoidable due to current happenings and unfolding event in both the nation and Lagos State in particular. Making their stance known in a statement made available to media, the group lauded the stance of the Lagos State government, which it said had embarked on some laudable steps to ensure a clean and secure environment. “As a result, the PTSD strategy of the association

which demands that all perishable goods entering Lagos will be tracked, monitored and checked from its source down to the borders of Lagos State will be activated directly,” it said. According to the association, the newly activated technology would make it impossible for any perishable fruit marketers to bring in fruits to Lagos market outside the scheduled period approved for such. “This simply means that the association in collaboration with relevant government agencies will be directly involved in the distribution, sales and transportation of produce entering Lagos mar-

ket, especially from far states and neighbouring West African countries. We frown at the report that some people use perishable vehicles to transport contraband and various other banned items and unwholesome fruits into the state. “Such act will no more be condoned and anyone caught either conveying unwholesome fruits outside the approval of the association or seen to have concealed any other thing outside fruits will be apprehended and handed over to appropriate security agencies and dismissed from the association immediately,” the group said.

Jalo had, on Monday, urged Dr Jonathan to clear the air on whether or not he actually gave approval to his former NSA, Colonel Dasuki (retd) on the disbursement of the $2 1bllion meant for arms purchase to fight the insurgents. Jalo told newsmen at the PDP National Secretariat, in Abuja, that since Dr Jonathan “is still alive, it imperative for him to come out and clear the air, so that the general public will know the truth of the matter.” However, the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Barrister Victor Kwon countered the claim, saying Jalo was speaking for himself and that the clarification became necessary as the statements credited to Jalo on the issues raised during his interaction with the media were capable of misleading the party leaders, members and the members of the public. This came just as the leadership of the PDP urged President Muhhamadu Buhari to sit back and conduct a thorough review of the conducts of the recent governorship elections in both Kogi and Bayelsa states which were characterised by violence. Prince Secondus told newsmen in Abuja that the call became necessary in order to safeguard future elections in the country, saying the level of violence, anarchy, crisis and lawlessness that happened in the two states during the elections, if not checked, would prevent future elections from holding in the country. Meanwhile, the PDP, on Tuesday, inaugurated its constitution review committee, headed by its National Legal Adviser, Mr Victor Kwon ahead its forthcoming national convention. Speaking on the occasion, Prince Secondus pointed out that the amendment of the party’s constitution became necessary, in order to accommodate the recommendations of the party’s post-elections review committee had already approved by the NEC ahead the 2019 general election. He urged the Committee to do a thorough job which would assist in repositioning the party as the opposition party, as well prepare it to take over the mantle of leadership from the APC, which had failed in to deliver on its promises of change, but rather shortchanging Nigerians since assumption of office last year.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Metuh collected N400m from Jonathan not Dasuki —Spokesman •PDP caucus gives EFCC 48 hours ultimatum •Why he is still in detention —EFCC Leon Usigbe, Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja

HE detained National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, did not collect the sum of N1.4 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as being speculated. His spokesman, Colet Odenigbo, who disclosed this, challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to provide evidence that the party spokesman took the money. Addressing the media in Abuja, on Tuesday, he also called on the anti-graft agency to charge Metuh, who had been rendered incommunicado for a week in EFCC’S cell, to court or release him to his family. Odenigbo explained that Metuh had acknowledged receiving N400 million on the instruction of former President Goodluck Jonathan for assignments he carried out. He said it was beyond reasoning to suspect that the party spokesman would flee the country when he voluntarily submitted himself to both the ONSA and the EFCC, even though he had ample time to leave the country. He explained: “I want to state categorically that Chief Metuh on his own, at the invitation of the NSA’s office by a committee that was set up by government, went to the ONSA on a friendly invitation he honoured and provided information as they were needed by that committee. “It was at that meeting that he also disclosed that the sum of N400 million was remitted to his account at the directive of the former president. That’s number one. “Number two. There’s been speculation in the media that Mr Metuh has concluded arrangements to flee the country. While I find that laughable, it is very important that I tell you that one, there’s no such plan, that Mr. Metuh voluntarily went to the NSA’s office. “Of course, it’s been in the media that the matter has been under investigation even before the arrest. He had ample opportunity to go to anywhere he wanted to go, he had made several press statements in reference to this matter and the investigation. If he had any

need to go anywhere, he had the ample opportunity to go wherever he wanted. “But he voluntarily surrendered himself to the EFCC when they came to his house. So, the issue of presenting flight risk to investigation, I think it is a distraction. “As you all know, this matter has been ongoing in the public domain, the facts are there and all we are asking is that this man be charged to court or be released to his family. “The media persecution that is going on is unfair to the gentleman, it is unfair to his family, it is unfair to his friends and it is unfair to his party. Because if and when he goes to court and courts find that there are no grounds for these allegations, my question is, how does he recover his name from all these allegations? “How does he begin to recover his name from all these allegations? “In the first instance, they put out that there was an issue of N1.4 billion that was given to him and he challenged the agency to present documents to that effect. “And I stand to speak not only as a spokesperson, but as a friend and also somebody that went to the NSA office with him at that invitation during the interview. I sat at the interview with him and I heard everything that happened. There was no N1.4 billion mentioned anywhere by NSA’s office. There was a N400 million that was transferred to Dextra Nigerian Limited.

“So, we have found it very imperative to address these two matters, that one; he voluntarily went to the NSA’s office and he surrendered himself to the EFCC. The issue of flight risk is non-existent.” On the pressure to refund money, he said Metuh had previously explained that he was given N400 million on the instruction of the former president for some assignments which he duly carried out and retired the expenses to the former president. “So, what money do you want him to refund?,” he asked. Speaking further on EFCC’s reported position that Metuh may not be released unless he refunded money like Brigadier-General Lawal Ja’afaru Isa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Odenigbo accused the antigraft agency of being both the judge and the jury, saying: “So, the agency has become the arresting agency, the judicial agency and the prosecuting agency. Is that normal in a civilised society? There’s no civil society where that is done.” He added: “We are not here on any other person, we are not here on any other amount other than the N400 million he has acknowledged and he has equally acknowledged the reason he was given that money. “Until the former president comes and says otherwise that he did not authorise the release of the money or the money was not accounted for, I don’t see any

need why this man is in detention.” Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, said it gives the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 48 hours ultimatum to release its spokesperson, Chief Olisa Metuh, saying if need be, it will approach the international community to seek redress. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, leader of the caucus and Minority Leader of the House, Honourable Leo Ogor, said that “we want to lay emphasis on due process, we are not in support of corrupt attitude or actions. I will lay emphasis on due process and the rule of law and the issue here again is the arrest, the voice of the PDP, Chief Metuh.” According to him, “we are not saying that somebody is guilty, as it is not in our position and I repeat it is not in the position of any other person, but only by a competent jurisdiction to pronounce anybody guilty.” Speaking further, he said “as a House, we condemn it totally and we insist that within the next 48 hours, Metuh should be given administrative bail or be taken before a competent law of jurisdiction, where he can be tried and if pronounced guilty, be made to face the consequence. “The action of the EFCC as it stands today, negates the principles of law that run the commission; it offends the fundamental human rights of Metuh, as it is more

like pronouncing him guilty before he is put forward for trial,” he stated. Continuing, he said “on this same issue that borders on the transfer of funds, Isa Jafaru was detained by the EFCC and in less than eight hours, was given administrative bail after the chairman of the EFCC visited Aso Rock. “We are not saying that somebody is guilty, as it is not in our position and I repeat, not in the position of any other person, but that of a competent jurisdiction to pronounce anybody guilty. “EFCC lacks the power to say ‘refund money’, it is the court that has such power. If he was asked to use those monies for specific assignment and he said he had used the money, but is not found to be so, it is then for him to defend his action in a competent court of law,” he stated. In a related development, the EFCC has given reasons for its continued detention of the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Metuh. The EFCC spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, gave the reasons in a statement he issued in Abuja, on Tuesday. The statement said Metuh’s continued detention was due to his refusal to refund or sign an undertaking to refund the N1.2 billion linked to him in the arms deal scandal. It said he would be released as soon as he satisfied the bail conditions, making reference to the case of APC chieftain, Jafaru Isa. Uwujaren’s statement

also faulted the claim by the PDP that Metuh’s detention was illegal as indicated in a statement by the National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Mr Victor Kwon. “The attention of the EFCC has been drawn to a statement by the National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Mr Victor Kwon. “The statement has alleged compromise and witch-hunt in the release of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Brigadier-General Jafaru Isa by the EFCC. “While the EFCC will not wish to join issues with Kwon, it is important that the public is presented with the facts regarding the release of Isa.” The statement said the APC chieftain was arrested for his involvement in the arms procurement scam to the tune of N170 million. According to the statement, upon his arrest, Isa admitted receiving the money from Dasuki and immediately refunded N100 million with an undertaking to refund the balance in two weeks. “The reasons above and the fact that his health deteriorated after being admitted to custody prompted the commission to offer the suspect bail. “The bail granted the suspect by the commission does not amount to his exoneration in the case,” the statement added. It said that the commission would not be intimidated by the campaign of calumny intended to distract it.

Why EFCC is not after APC members —Odigie-Oyegun Leon Usigbe - Abuja NATIONAL chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John OdigieOyegun, has offered an explanation as to why only members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appeared to be targeted in the ongoing anti-corruption war, saying it was because the opposition party occupied power at the centre in the last 16 years. Emerging from APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Monday night, he told State House correspondents that it was natural that those who were in power would be the ones to answer questions on their stewardship. He said the war had nothing to do with political di-

vides, but would be fought, not minding whose ox was gored. He stated: “The APC is not in anyway apologetic. We promised change and there is a lot of rot in the system. This must be cleansed no matter whose ox is being gored, wherever the tree is going to fall, so let it be. “We must get used to the fact that in the process of cleansing this nation, there is going to be a lot of bullets to bite. “The APC was not in office at national level in the last 10 to 16 years. So, the issue of whether somebody is PDP or not PDP does not arise. “We have a nation to cleanse. The president has committed himself to that and we should do it whichever way it comes. We are not being apologetic about that at all. “It has nothing to do with

witch-hunting. It just happened that the dramatis personae of the period all happened to be on one side of the political divide.” On the luring of members of the opposition to defect to the ruling party, he denied that it was a ploy to make Nigeria a one-party state, as he added, however, that the APC would welcome to its fold anyone who could help it to advance its vision. He added: “We have absolutely no intention to pressurise any group or any nation towards a one party state. “It is not in our interest to do so, because we need a vibrant opposition. We need an opposition that will contribute constructively to national discourse, that will make us sit up and deliver to the people what we promised.

“But the task is enormous and if anybody is ready to help to discharge these responsibilities, he is most welcomed.” Odigie-Oyegun revealed that the national leadership of the APC discussed the state of the nation with the president and the forthcoming elections in different states of the federation. According to him, the meeting “has been a normal interactive meeting. We were here to brief Mr President on the state of the party, the challenges that we are facing and the numerous elections we have to face in the next two, three months. “As of today, we have 78 elections to contend with, mostly arising from court actions following the national elections. “And we also took the opportunity to be briefed on

the state of the nation and the great work the administration is doing in the face of very, very intense challenges to tackle these issues and these problems. “So, we are going away fulfilled, happy that government has substantially blocked the leakages in the system. “There is still a lot to be done and we are looking forward to the early passage of the budget so that full implementation will begin.” On the contentious Bayelsa State governorship election won by the PDP, he regretted its violent dimension, saying the APC has reservations on it. The party boss remarked: “Well, the Bayelsa election has come and gone. We have very deep regrets that there was so much blood unnecessarily spilled in the process.”

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Seriki line threatens to install parallel Olubadan if... B y Yejide GbengaOgundare

HE Seriki line chiefs of Ibadanland have threatened to install its own parallel Olubadan immediately after the demise of the incumbent, if the Olubadan and his council continue to take laws into their hands by defying court judgments and orders of injunction by filling vacancies restrained by court injunctions not to fill. The Seriki line also added that this would be in order for them to appoint and install their own Olubadan, since they had de jure power and entitlement to fill the vacancy. The chiefs gave the warning in a petition to the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, over what it termed urgent notification of pending court injunction and petition in a bid to set aside the elevation of nine high chiefs in Ibadanland who were recently elevated and described the elevation as illegal. The chieftaincy line, in their petition dated January 7, 2016, based their stand on the terms of a consent judgment which indicated that it was the turn of the Seriki chiefs to produce the next person that would ascend the throne as Olubadan of Ibadanland, after the demise of the present king, Oba Samuel Lana. “We are basing this claim of ours on the fact that the consent judgment, as far back as December 1, 1989, has provided that it is the turn of the chiefs in Seriki line to fill successive vacancies in the Ekerin Balogun and Ekerin Olubadan chieftaincies,” the Seriki line said. According to them, if the Olubadan and his council had done the right thing which they ought to have done since, the Seriki chiefs would have risen to the

post of Olubadan long before the installation of the incumbent Olubadan, adding that their patience had been tried beyond the point of endurance to the point of being accounted to be fools in the society. The chiefs reiterated that installing a parallel Olubadan administration in Ibadan was not an illegality. “Now, we have sought legal and other counsel from experts in the field and we have been advised that since legally speaking, Seriki line is the next line to fill the stool of Olubadan of Ibadan after the demise of the incumbent and since the powers that be have continued to deny us of our rights to do so, we would not run foul of any law if we set up and appoint our own Olubadan immediately after the demise of the incumbent Olubadan of Ibadanland and we have resolved to do so,” the petition read. Further, the Seriki chiefs referred to a publication by the Oyo State government in a national daily on January 5, 2016 captioned: “The illegal elevation of nine high chiefs in Ibadanland: The position of the Oyo State government,” adding that the government made its point known to the whole world that the appointment made by the Olubadan and the Olubadan-in-council was illegal and should be reversed within 48 hours. They concluded that instead of the said appointment/elevation to be set aside, the government gave approval to the illegal appointment while the chiefs were awaiting the perfection of the papers to reflect due process. They stated that this indicated that the government had concluded plans to approve what it earlier called an illegality and had given orders to prepare papers to perfect what was in effect an illegality, reminding the

governor that there existed a consent judgment in a suit delineated I/313/88 between the Seriki chiefs and the Olubadan of Ibadanland, which was delivered on december1, 1989. The Seriki chiefs reiterated further that they have an high court order which granted them an order of injunction to restrain the governor and the Olubadan from appointing or approving the appointment of anybody to fill any vacancy in the nine chieftaincies. The orders, according to them, included an order

of interlocutory injunction restraining the governor of Oyo State, the Attorney General of Oyo State and the Olubadan of Ibadan from selecting, appointing or promoting any person into any vacancy that exist now or may later exist in the Ekerin Olubadan, Asipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan and Olubadan chieftaincies, pending the hearing and final determination of the originating summons filed in a suit delineated I/421/07. Also, the chiefs, through their counsel, A.G Adeni-

a team of 20 other lawyers. Sluiter told IBTimes UK they had been representing the “Biafran minority” since the arrest of pro-Biafran leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in October 2015. “We have found evidence of some crimes directed against the Biafran minority in Nigeria,” he said, adding that “violations include violence against demonstrators, torture, murder, enforced disappearances and incarcerations. “There is a whole list of incidents and with Buhari coming into power, this is

1, 2016 when some chiefs; High Chief Lekan Balogun, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, High Chief Eddy Oyewole, High Chief Biodun KolaDaisi, High Chief Saliu Adetunji, High Chief Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin, High Chief Olufemi Olaifa, High Chief Tajudeen Abimbola and High Chief Solomon Adabale, were promoted to positions on which the court had placed restrictions, adding that since the elevation was done contrary to court orders, it was illegal and unconstitutional and urged the governor not to approve it.

Boko Haram: UN allocates $31m to Nigeria, Lake Chad for humanitarian response THE United Nations (UN) Officer for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Mr Stephen O’Brien, has allocated $31 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support humanitarian partners in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region. This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Jens Laerke, from OCHA, in New York, United States, on Tuesday. The allocation is to assist Nigeria in the humanitarian situation, which is worsening due to violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. The CERF funding, he said, would provide lifesaving assistance to almost 1.7 million affected people in the four countries. Some $10 million, it added, would bolster relief efforts in Nigeria. It said women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram had been subjected to physical and psychological abuse, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual slavery. Boys, OCHA said, had been forcibly enrolled as combatants.

It added that the CERF funding for Nigeria would also be critical for providing emergency shelter, health care, safe drinking water and sanitation and nutrition for affected people currently living in overcrowded camps in the North-East re-

becoming more of a structured nature, exemplified by Kanu’s arrest and how the government is dealing with demonstrations calling for Kanu’s release.” Sluiter also made reference to the use of Skype in sourcing evidence and the issue of human rights. He said: “In addition to information on public sources, I have conducted phone and Skype interviews with individual victims as we wanted to hear the firsthand evidence. “I also received pictures of victims of police violence

gion of the country. It stated that humanitarian partners in Cameroon, Chad and Niger would receive $7 million each. OCHA estimated 2.7 million people, of whom 1.5 million children, had been displaced in the region,

making it the fastest growing displacement crisis in Africa. It added that people affected by the ongoing crisis were in urgent need of food, drinking water, shelter, health care, protection and education.

Marketers dare NNPC, sell petrol for between N110, N130 per litre From Dapo Falade, Biola Azeez, Sam Nwaoko, Olayinka Olukoya, Hakeem Gbadamosi, Joe Nwachukwu and Tunde Ogunesan FUEL Marketers in the country have continued to sell fuel between N110 and N130 per litre, as against the official price of N86.50 announced by the Federal Government with effect from January 1, 2016. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had, last week, warned against hike and non-compliance in pump price of petrol by marketers, urging them to adhere to the official prices

Lawyers take Buhari to ICC over pro-Biafra agitation LAWYERS are to file a complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Muhammadu Buhari, on alleged human rights abuses against members of the pro-Biafran separatist movement. Dutch lawyer and professor, Göran Sluiter, who specialises in international criminal law, is leading the team that will file the complaint at the Hague, in The Netherlands, in February. Sluiter and his colleague, Andrew Ianuzzi, are working full time on the case and are occasionally assisted by

ran Esq, had sent a petition dated January 4, 2016 to the state governor, intimating him of the order given on November 21, 2008 at the High Court 19 sitting in Ibadan, which granted an order of interlocutory injunction in favour of the Seriki chiefs, restraining Oba Samuel Lana, the governor and the Attorney General from filling some positions and an order restraining them from appointing, selecting and promoting some chiefs. He added that the said orders were flouted on January

during demonstrations. We will be presenting anonymous interviews with about 20, 25 people, but there are many more victims. “There has been a systematic denial of human rights of the Biafran people, who are oppressed by the government. We hope that the ICC will bring justice to the victims with serious investigations and hopefully a trial. We also hope that Mr Kanu – whose treatment is symbolic of the treatment of the entire Biafran minority in Nigeria – will be released.”

regulated by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). The minister, also on Monday, warned that erring marketers would be sanctioned and had their licences withdrawn for three months. But a check by the Nigerian Tribune across states in the country on Tuesday revealed non-compliance, 13 days after the Federal Government ordered new pump price. In Ondo, motorists and commuters across the state, especially Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday, still bought fuel at N120 per litre. Most independent filling stations in Akure metropolis had been selling the product at odd hours, either in the early morning or late evening, to avoid the wrath of the Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR). However, the NNPC stations across the state capital sold the fuel at the new price, while other major marketers sold at N86.50, with noticeable queues. Nigerian Tribune observed that some of the filling stations were selling at N120 per litre. A staff of DPR who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said the agency had put some measures in place to ensure that the marketers complied with the NNPC directive over the new price. In Ekiti, the situation was

the same as the product was sold for between N100 and N120 in most of the petrol stations visited, with only the NNPC stations selling at the official price. Nigerian Tribune observed at petrol stations in Ado Ekiti, where the commodity was available for sale, that independent marketers sold at prices above the official pump price, while the major marketers’ outlets were shut. The only independent marketer known to be selling petrol at the official price in the town had no product to sell on Tuesday, while it was also observed that one outlet belonging to one of the major marketers was selling at N100 per litre. In Kwara, there was compliance as most fuel stations owned by independent marketers in Ilorin metropolis sold the product between N86.50 and N87.00. The NNPC filling stations in major towns in the state also sell the product for N86.00 In Ogu, petroleum marketers within Abeokuta metropolis finally complied with the new pump price of N86.50k per litre. Nigerian Tribune went round the metropolis and discovered that long queues were gradually disappearing,as motorists now buy fuel at ease. continues pg44

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Lagosmetro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By Lanre Adewole 0811 695 4647

“One million boys” gang attacks Badagry residents Some residents of Ajara, Ibereko, Lopo, Aradagun areas of Badagry in Lagos State, say that they have been living in fear because of a gang, called “One Million Boys” terrorising them. Investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that the hoodlums had been terrorising the area for about five days now. NAN learnt that the nofewer-than 40 hoodlums, usually armed with dangerous weapons, including guns and machetes, rob them of their valuables frequently. Mr Shola Odunade, one of the victims of the group, told NAN that their mode of operation was to seek assistance from their target area from unsuspecting members of the public. Thereafter, they would rob those who listened to their pleas, he said. He added that the hoodlums usually attacked their victims with machetes. A police source told NAN that two of the culprits had been arrested by Badagry Police Division and were currently on the trail of the others.

“Yes, we are aware of the activities of the hoodlums, two of them were arrested few weeks ago and they are standing trial. “The suspects were arrested while hiding in the bush around Aradagun area of Badagry. The hoodlums are not from Badagry, they came from Ajangbadi area of Ojo Local Government but the leader of the group is from Badagry. We are investigating the matter and we are on the trail of the kingpin (names withheld). We will apprehend all those involved in the act. We appeal to the residents to always provide information to the police without fear,” the source said.

Light rail bridge being constructed across the lagoon at Eko-Apongbon bridge axis in Lagos, on Tuesday. Nan

Houses razed, vehicles vandalised as hoodlums clash in Mushin Olalekan Olabulo

here was confusion in Mushin area of Lagos on Tuesday as no fewer than six people were injured

in a bloody clash between rival gangs of hoodlums in the area. Several vehicles, shops and houses were also affected as the warring hoodlums, shot sporadically into different

directions. It was gathered that a group of hoodlums, popularly known as “Ceasefire Boys”, was trying to dislodge a popular street urchin in Mushin when the

clash started. Vehicles parked at Agege Motor Road , Isolo Road and Kajola Street were vandalised in the attack and counter-attack by the groups.

How my sister was defiled —3-year-old recounts ordeal Ayomide OwonibiOdekanyin and Olalekan Olabulo James, (surname withheld), a staff of Exxon Mobil has been accused of defiling a 14-year-old girl who is a niece to his tenant. According to a non-profit organisation, Women Against Violence Group, which brought the matter to light, the incident happened on Monday the 4th of Jan 2015, in Ajah. The NGO alleged that James defiled the 14-year old (names withheld) who happened to be the niece of his tenant. According to the NGO,

James decided to visit the homes of his tenants to discuss an on-going outstanding rent debt. It was gathered that only the 14-year-old niece and a 3-year-old girl were at home on that fateful day. The accused allegedly knocked on their flat and was attended to by the 14-year- old who told the landlord her Uncle and Aunty were not at home. James insisted on entering the home of his tenants to wait for them. The 14-year-old girl who had only reportedly been in Lagos for three weeks, opened the door to let James in. According to the victim

he checked the visitor’s toilet around the oneroom flat to be sure that there was indeed no one else around. He went inside the room, checked the wardrobe and the bathroom, not finding anything he then started talking to the 14-year-old, asking her details of her name and age. He then allegedly pushed the girl her on the bed and while she tried to scream, covered her mouth and forcefully sexually assaulted her in the presence of the three-year-old daughter of the tenant. Then in a bid to console her, he reportedly left N1,000 on the bed and

left. Other tenants unaware of the incident saw him arrive and leave. The victim’s aunty came home and met the 14-yearold girl hysterical and inconsolable. After asking her repeatedly as to what happened and the girl being unable to answer, to everyone’s amazement, it was the three-year-old girl who reportedly recounted the story to her mother. The matter was reported to the police station in Lamgbasa. The police asked for medical report, which they got the next morning. The doctor’s report did confirm she was forcefully

penetrated. The NGO however lamented that till date despite contact made with James, police knowledge and his employer’s knowledge of the serious allegation, he had not been apprehended. The police in the state confirmed that the matter was reported at Lamgbasa police station and that the accused person had been “ running from pillar to pole” to evade justice. The new Police PRO, Dolapo Badmus, told Lagos Metro that the state commissioner of police, Fatai Owoseni is committed to ensuring that justice prevails on the incident.

Lagos Metro gathered that the clash started late on Monday night when the popular street urchin around Kajola Street chased the “Ceasefire Boys” out of Mushin. The gang was led by a certain Ilesanmi after which they were said to have reinforced their members and returned to Mushin early Tuesday morning and unleashed mayhem on the community. The two gangs reportedly used dangerous weapons on one another creating serious panic among residents, especially among workers, who were going out early. Vehicles parked at a filling station and those parked along the roads were vandalised by the rampaging hoodlums. The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmus confirmed the incident to Lagos Metro and added that the police had begun investigations into the incident .

news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Osinbajo inaugurates 2,000 housing unit in Kaduna Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna

ice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated the foundation laying of 2,000 housing units to be constructed by the Kaduna State government. In the same vein, the vice president also laid the foundation of a multibillion naira shopping mall and galleria, expected to cost N5billion. Speaking at the project site on Tuesday, Osinbajo reiterated that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari was happy with Governor Nasir El-Rufai for his people-oriented programmes which are in line with the All Progressives Congress (APC) manifesto. He said the president and the party have absolute confidence in Governor Nasir el-Rufai, saying, the Kaduna State governor is one of

the few competent hands, which the party can boast of. He was optimistic that these

projects, when completed, would impact positively on the people of the state, stress-

ing that, APC government is committed and determined to provide Nigerians with

good governance. The vice president then called on other state gov-

Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo laying the foundation block of the Kaduna State 2000 affordable Housing Scheme while being assisted by Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai (third left).

Aregbesola has no hand in staff retrenchment —Osun tertiary institutions •As assembly call for affected staff files Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

Management of the Osun State-owned tertiary institutions has said that the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led state government had no hand in the sack of some of their teaching and non-teaching staff. Responding to questions at a meeting called by the state House of Assembly in Osogbo, on Tuesday, they said it was the discretion of the institutions to retrench the staffs that have run foul of the requirements of their jobs. The development came as the Speaker, Honourable Najeem Salaam called for the files of the affected lecturers for the Assembly to investigate whether

the sacked workers have indeed run foul of the requirement of their job, directing the management to suspend the action until the investigation was concluded by the house. The Rector, Osun State Polytechnic Iree, Dr Sola Agboola; his College of Technology, Esa-Oke counterpart, Dr Augustus Oke; Provost, College of Education, Ilesa, Dr Kadiri Adegoke and his Ila-Orangun counterpart, Professor Isaac Oyewole argued that none of the staff of the institutions was unjustifiably sacked. In their submissions before the legislature, they identified redundancy, inappropriate qualifications, poor academic development, declining productivity, questionable certificates, and disciplinary

matters among others, as part of the criteria for the disengagement of the affected teaching and nonteaching staff of the institution. Dr Oke said the problem in the system, dates back to 2005, when due process was not followed in the staff engagement when political office holders gave out notes for lecturers to report to the institution without the ap-

propriate certificate. Agboola maintained that the institutions were not involved in the recruitment of staff from 2005 to 2007, saying, it was done at the instance of the political class. The duo said consultants were engaged to carry out staff audit and at the end, the affected staffs were found wanting. Also, Professor Oyewole said the exercise was not

We agreed with stakeholders before Ogunpa market demolition —Oyo govt By Wale Akinselure

Amid reservations of some traders at Monday’s demolition of Ogunpa market, Ibadan, the Oyo State government has maintained that there was a collec-

tive agreement among all stakeholders before the commencement of reconstruction works. According to Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Mr

Abia gov: I’ll win at Supreme Court, Otti boasts Bola Badmus-Lagos

The Governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, on Tuesday, expressed optimism that the Supreme Court will uphold the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which declared him winner of the 2015 governorship election in the state. This was just as the APGA candidate insisted that, the impunity displayed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the state, led to the current legal tussle, maintaining that such would not have arising if

they had allowed the cancellation of polls in three local governments, including Osisioma as earlier arrived at by the Returning Officer and allowed a re- run. Otti expressed this belief while addressing newsmen in Lagos, saying he lost his case challenging the declaration of Okezie Ikpeazu as the winner of the election at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal because the Tribunal misunderstood the case. Otti said he eventually secured victory at the Appeal Court when the five - man panel sitting in Owerri sacked the incumbent

meant to witch-hunt the staff, but was done in good faith to bring sanity into the education system in the state. Noting that some of the affected staff had disciplinary issues including extortion of students and aiding exam malpractices among others, he said the offences committed by the affected officials were contained in their files.

ernors to emulate the Kaduna State governor, saying, “here is a man whose vision and mission in government is to make Kaduna great again.” He reiterated that the present APC government would provide 2 million jobs to Nigerians and that 500,000 of those that will be recruited will be teachers. He also disclosed that arrangement had been concluded with Bank of Industry (BoI) to give loans to small scale business owners, market women, traders and artisans. On corruption, the Vice President maintained that there is no going back on President Buhari’s resolve to rid Nigeria of corruption. According to him, “all those found to be involved in corruption will not be spared. Buhari is serious about stopping corruption and getting back all stolen funds.” In his remark, Governor El-Rufai assured Osinbajo that Kaduna State government is prepared to fulfil all campaign promises, in line with APC manifesto. He explained that the entire multi-billion housing project is made up of 20,000 units, which is expected to be completed in the next four years. “This is the first phase of the 2,000 housing units and would be completed in the next 12 months, while the shopping mall is also expected to be completed in 18 months,” he declared.

governor and ordered his (Otti’s) inauguration. Otti insisted that he actually won the election because Abia people knew who they voted for, saying that was why there was spontaneous jubilation on the streets of Abia when the Appeal Court delivered its verdict as against rented crowd that took to the streets 48hours after the said judgment. According to him, the pockets of protests that were witnessed in the state days after the Appeal Court judgment were orchestrated by the state government to create an impression that

the PDP won the election. “They started by organising the people to protest on the streets and if you recall, 48 hours after the judgment. The judgment was greeted with spontaneous jubilation across the length and breadth of Abia State and if you were in Abia like I was, there was tumultuous celebration of that judgment and it is understood why there would be such celebration because Abia State indigenes and those who live in Abia State voted for me and I had received a lot of text messages, a lot of emails.

Yomi Layinka, stakeholders which include market people, developers, security agencies, government agencies had long before now reached a compromise on the need to redevelop and redesign Ogunpa market to meet modern building standards. On conflicting position at the timing of commencement of the works, he stated that stakeholders agreed that the reconstruction work should commence December 2015 but the government held on till now, to allow the market people benefit from festive season trading. He allayed fears on the possibility of dealing with the wrong market leadership, noting that government had confirmed that it was relating with the right stakeholders. Furthermore, Layinka assured that the shops would not be let out at exorbitant rates, as some people dread.

In his words, “We also agreed on the timing of the commencement of work. The construction should have started December 2015 but the government intervened on behalf the marketers asking the developers to hold on construction so that market people can benefit from festive season trading. They were aware that immediately after the festive season, the construction will commence. I would be surprised that anybody would flay the commencement of work yesterday at Ogunpa market. “We carried everyone along and there were amicable resolutions of the people’s concerns. We also had an understanding that the project should go on for the larger good of all stakeholders involved. We agreed with stakeholders on the necessity to improve the living environment and condition of the market place for their benefit.

businessnews Naira weakens further as CBN stops forex sale to BDCs 11

Chima Nwokojji-Lagos with Agency Reports

ollowing the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it would no longer sell forex to bureax de changes, the value of naira plunged further as it traded N287 to the dollar at the parallel market. The local currency had traded at N278 on Friday and N285 on Monday at the parallel market. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, stopped the sale of foreign exchange to all the 2,786 licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operators across the country and lifted ban on dollar deposits. While the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, insisted that Nigeria was the only country in the world where the central bank would provide the BDC operators with foreign exchange, the acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said in a telephone interview that there is no country in the world where there is no official bureau de change. “In fact, in Dubai, banks source their forex from the BDCs,” he added. Also, while the governor enjoined any BDC operator that was not satisfied with the central bank’s decision to return their operational licence to the CBN and ask for the refund of their N35million deposit, Gwadabe urges the CBN to review downwards the N35 million cautionary deposit mandated for BDCs as, according to him, “this has tied down the capital of many BDCs and to get foreign exchange from other sources we need capital.” Emefiele said the decision to discontinue the sale of foreign exchange to the BDCs was arrived at following emerging evidences that the BDCs had abandoned their primary mandate of meeting the forex demands of retail users thereby, turning themselves into a channel of illicit cash flows. Apart from Gwadabe, importers, financial analysts and economists have being reacting to the latest decision of the CBN. Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, in an earlier reaction, described the CBN’s decision as the beginning of the journey towards addressing the issue of forex restrictions in the country. “But the price and value of the currency needs to be addressed. The next step should be at what price? This is the beginning of a managed-floating rate. It is in the right direction, but we

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

•Experts say restriction will stop arbitrary activities

need to do more,” Rewane added. According to Aminu Gwadabe, BDC operators had been expecting the pronouncement on ending of dollar sales from the central bank. He expressed concern that the policy would lead to further depreciation and job losses. “We have been expecting it for a long time. We all know where the economy is and that the forex reserves are at the point of being wiped out. But it is important to keep the records straight. “Whenever there are issues with exchange rate management, everyone blames BDCs, forgetting

that we constitute only three per cent of the market. “Definitely, this policy would lead to a further depreciation of the naira, there would be cost-push inflation and job losses,” he added. The Head of Investment Research, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Ayodeji Ebo, is of the view that the ban on forex sale to the BDCs does not solve the problem regarding the pressure on the naira as it has not addressed the demand for the greenback. A currency strategist at Ecobank Nigeria, Kunle Ezun, described the ban of forex sale to the BDCs as “double jeopardy and coun-

ter-productive,” but noted that the lifting of deposits into domiciliary accounts was a welcome development that would not have a major impact on the naira outlook. Ezun said, “in the immediate, it will help to bring dollars outside the banking system in. The impact would have been significant if the CBN has said it will allow transfer out of the system. “Today, the BDCs are a segment of the market and they just went through a recapitalisation process. The BDCs service a portion of the market that you can’t wish away. If today you say you are not selling to them,

then who takes care of that portion of the market? This is another restrictive measure that will have a negative effect on the naira.” Meanwhile, some financial experts on Tuesday said that the new directive to stop sales of dollars by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to bureau de change operators would check illegal activities in the market. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the decision might be due to some suggestions by IMF Managing Director, Ms Christine Largarde, during her visit to Nigeria. Sewa Wusu, Head, Re-

search and Investment Advisory at Sterling Capital, said the CBN decision was part of the measures to reduce the pressure on the nation’s foreign reserves. Wusu said although the new decision was a big task, the overall health of the economy was important. He said the country could not afford to remain in the current situation. On the directive on deposit of dollar into domiciliary accounts, the economist said the development would increase the level of dollar deposits in banks. He said that the directive would also put an end to round-tripping and rent seeking as dollar demand from the system would reduce. Samuel Nzekwe, a former President of Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), said the decision was long over-due. Nzekwe said that Bureau de Change operators (BDCs) all over the world were not sourcing their foreign exchange from their central banks.

NDIC develops framework for non-interest bank deposits

From left: Permanent Secretary, Power Ministry, Louis Edozien; Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, during the minister’s monthly meeting with sectoral participants at the main auditorium of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Maitama, Abuja.

NSE: Volume increases by 74.87% on bearish trend

•Operators foresee further lull in capital market till end of Q1 KehindeAkinseinde-Jayeoba with Agency Report The equities market of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued on the northward march with the NSE All Share Index declining by 1.20 per cent to close at 26,034.93 basis points, even as volume moved up by 74.87 per cent. The huge leap in market turnover as against 48.80 per cent decline recorded on Monday was attributed to investors flooding the market with supply. As has been the trend, market breadth closed negative as Maybaker Plc. led nine gainers against 31 losers topped by Livestock Feeds Plc, an improved performance when compared with previous outlook, according to analysts. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Holding Plc, and United Bank

for Africa Plc were the most active to boost market turnover with 91,615,549 shares, 20,965,902 shares and 17,935,660 respectively. 7up Bottling Company Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc top market value list staking shares worth N245,172,884.08 and N1,647,335,201.14. Presco Plc led the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike on Tuesday as it traded 1,795,393 volume of N33 per share worth N59.2 million in nine deals. Meanwhile, some capital market operators on Tuesday predicted that the current lull in the capital market might persist till the second quarter of 2016. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the market might not recover until the implementation of 2016 budget would have

started. Mallam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., Lagos, said activities in capital market would continue to be low key because of investors’ apathy. Kurfi said the slide in crude oil price, the security challenges and depreciation of the nation’s currency were major issues affecting the capital market. He said the government’s stance on currency devaluation was scaring foreign investors away from the capital market because they felt the naira was ‘unfairly’ valued. Kurfi urged the government to close the wide margin between the official and parallel markets’ rates to boost foreign investors’ confidence. Alhaji Rasheed Yussuf, the immediate Past President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria

(ASHON), said there were other factors which were yet to be addressed. Yussuf said there was no attraction to the market at the moment although the market fundamentals were strong. He called on investors to take advantage of the relatively low price of some stocks to increase their stakes in the market. NAN reports that investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange lost N555 billion as a result of price losses between Jan. 4 and Jan. 11. The All-Share Index, which opened for the year at 28,642.25, has also lost 2252.07 points by Jan. 11 to close trading at 26,390.16 points. The market capitalisation, which opened for the year at N9.850 trillion, shed N555 billion to close at N9.295 trillion due to massive sell pressure.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a framework it developed for insuring deposit liabilities which hitherto were not covered under its Deposit Insurance Scheme (DIS). NDIC said the framework was drafted after the “successful take off non interest banking in Nigeria,” adding that its public policy objectives “are based on public interest which seeks to provide corresponding protection to holders of non-interest financial products similar to that of conventional banks.” According to the NDIC, the Maximum Deposit Insurance Coverage (MDIC) for the non-interest banking institutions would be the same as the conventional banks, that is, N500,000 and N200,000 per depositor per account in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Microfinance Banks (MFBs) respectively. It explained that noninterest deposits would be covered under safe keeping deposit (Wadi’ah), interest free deposit for investment (Qard), profit sharing/loss bearing deposit (Mudarabah), profit and loss sharing deposit (Musharakah) and any other deposit type that is non interest based and approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

businessnews

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

FG can’t freeze MTN’s accounts — Court AyomideOwonibi-OdekanyinLagos

ustice Idris Mohammed of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Tuesday, declined an application of seeking to prevent MTN Nigeria Communications Limited from emptying its accounts in 21 commercial banks in Nigeria. The application had been filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), over fears that MTN would boycott the payment of the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its failure to deactivate its unregistered subscribers. The AGF had expressed the fears that MTN could move all its funds out of the country before the fine could be enforced. He had, therefore, sought an order directing all the 21 banks to open a special interest-yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court and move the N1.04 trillion out of whatever funds that was standing to MTN’s credit in their possession. The counsel for the AGF, Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), in a 14-paragraph affidavit deposed to by his junior, Steve Nwabueze, had argued that MTN was in the habit of regularly repatriating its funds out of Nigeria.

He noted that between October 2007 and May 2009, a period of 19 months, MTN moved over $7.7 billion of the money made in Nigeria to a foreign account. He further pointed the court’s attention to an instance when on February 8, 2008, MTN transferred over $936 million out of Nigeria to accounts in Mauritius, Cayman Island and British Virgin Island. “Unless this honourable court urgently entertains this application, the plaintiff/respondent would move

its funds out of Nigeria, being the jurisdiction of this honourable court, and thereby frustrate the enforcement of the fine in the likely event that this honourable court sanctions the imposition of the fine,” the AGF’s counsel added. Okpeseyi maintained that MTN was under an obligation to pay the N1.04tn fine, because it was NCC’s administrative decision, which remained final unless it was reviewed by the commission or nullified by the court. He said though NCC had

earlier given MTN a concession on the fine and reduced it to N780 billion, but since MTN had neglected or failed to pay on or before December 31, 2015, the fine remained N1.04 trillion. He alleged that instead of taking advantage of the concession MTN resorted to filing a suit in order to buy time, with the hope that it could move all its funds out of Nigeria before the case would be decided. Okpseyi urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice to prevent

the court’s decision from being rendered nugatory if it went in the favour of NCC and AGF. Justice Mohammed, however, turned down the application, as he said the AGF had not shown enough facts to prove that MTN was about to empty its bank accounts and move its funds out of the country. Idris, who noted that the case was sensitive and of public interest, said he would rather urgently hear the case filed by MTN to challenge the fine and give a judgment

Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Wale Oluwo (left), being received by Minister of Solid Minerals Dr Kayode Fayemi, in Abuja.

Crude price: OPEC members to call for emergency meeting Olatunde Dodondawa with Agency Reports

There are strong indications that some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may soon call for an emergency meeting to deliberate on possibly change of strategies in addressing the declining crude oil price which has continued to fall. Addressing journalists at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who also doubles as Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said a couple of members had requested an emergency meeting because the current market conditions support the need to hold such a gathering. “There was a lot of push from various blocs within OPEC for the need of a meeting. A couple of countries, I don’t want to mention names, had requested holding such a meeting. “Any meeting that would

IPMAN urges FG to revive rail transportation for petroleum products

take place would be to review OPEC’s position to see if there was any need to change its strategy,” he said. He posited that the meeting could take place in February or March. Much may depend on the attitude of OPEC’s largest producer, Saudi Arabia which has resisted calls for a cut in production to help boost prices. “Saudi Arabia has never held the position that it does not want to talk. In fact, it

was very supportive of a meeting before June at the time when we held the December meeting if there was a consensus call for it,” Kachikwu concluded. Nigeria is one of the most affected as crude price fell below $30 per barrel. According to OPEC basket of crude as at Tuesday, crude price was selling at $27 per barrel and many experts have warned that it may fall as low as $20 per barrel. Nigeria is the largest crude

oil producer in Africa, but relies heavily on importation of refined Petroleum Products for its citizens. This problem has led to depletion of its foreign exchange reserves and it is making it difficult for manufacturers to import raw materials for industries. Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have called on the Federal Government to revive rail transportation

as a safest means of transporting Petroleum Products across the country. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday in Lagos, the National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Mike Osatuyi, stated that “it is time for the Federal Government to revive the tankers in the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC’s) transportation system.

NSE may list Transcorp Hotels’ N10bn bond on Jan 18 AN official of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said on Tuesday, that the listing of Transcorp Hotels’ N10 billion bond may take place on Jan. 18 barring unforeseen circumstances. Ade Bajomo, NSE Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the listing was to spur activities at the exchange. A NAN investigation,

however, revealed that the N10 billion was the first tranche of N30 billion bond approved by the exchange for the company. Bajomo said the bond was one of the efforts by the company to finance long-term projects, adding that the NSE was delighted with the listing. Bajomo urged more corporate companies to float corporate bonds this year with the current economic

challenges to finance longterm projects. According to him, companies require funding to pursue more capital projects and the capital market offers the best funding for long-term development projects. NAN reports that Transcorp Hotels in November, 2015, announced a successful naira bond market transaction of N10 billion. The proceeds of the issue,

according to the company, will be used to finance the upgrade of the company’s Hotel, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, and to build a multipurpose banquet centre. The transaction was a seven-year fixed-rate bond due in 2022 under a N30 billion medium-term programme. The subscription of the bond consisted of sevenyear 16 per cent fixed rate (unsecured) bonds due in 2022.

Nigerian Tribune

within a short time. He, therefore, made an order for the parties to maintain status quo pending the determination of the suit and adjourned till January 22, 2016 for hearing. MTN contended that NCC could not act pursuant to Section 70 of its establishment Act to impose the fine on it.

SEC verifies 580 complaints, to pay investors soon The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Tuesday, said it will soon begin payments of verified 580 complaints of unclaimed dividend to investors. The Head, Marketing Development, SEC, Henry Rowlands, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the investors would be paid from the N5 billion National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF) set aside by the commission. “In November 2015, SEC launched a fund called National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF) and at the time of its launching, SEC put an initial seed of N5 billion. “What the fund is intended for is that any investor within the market that has any form of losses will be compensated once SEC verifies that the complaint is genuine. “Once complaint is lodged, SEC verifies the complaint to ensure it is genuine and effects the payment of an amount to the investor concerned,” Rowlands said. According to him, the NIPF covers all categories of investors that transact business with market operators who are not dealing members of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). He explained that all losses to an investor by an operator who was a dealing member of the NSE would be refunded through the NSE investors’ protection fund. “So the SEC created this enlarged NIPF to compliment all those investors that are not dealing with members of the NSE. “I can assure that it is functional because as at today, the SEC has verified about 580 complaints and are in the process of paying those investors,” he said. Rowlands explained that in cases where there were unclaimed dividends, they might form part of the NIPF after much consideration.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lassa fever outbreak: Suspected cases increase to 93, death toll now 41 FG mandates 5 ministers to find solution

Soji-Eze Fagbemi - Abuja

HE Federal Government is to mandate five ministers, led by the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to find a lasting solution and response to the outbreak of Lassa fever. Disturbed by the increase in suspected cases and death since the outbreak of the epidemic recently, the government said on Tuesday that it had resolved to urgently put in place an inter-ministerial committee, to check the epidemic. Professor Adewole and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who

addressed a joint press conference on the outbreak of Lassa fever at the National Press Centre, Abuja, said the number of suspected cases had risen to 93, while the number of victims that have died had also risen to 41. They said the number of laboratory confirmed cases is now 25, while with the 41 deaths recorded, the fatality rate is 44.0 per cent. Professor Adewole said the inter-ministerial committee to be established by the Federal Government, would comprised the ministers of Education, Agriculture and Natural Resources and Environment. Professor Adewole said: “As part of our long term re-

sponse, we plan to establish an inter-ministerial committee comprising Honourable Ministers of Education, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Environment, Information & Culture as well as Health to deliver a final blow on Lassa fever and other related diseases.” On the present record, he added: “As at today, records from our surveillance team show that the number of suspected cases is 93; number of laboratory confirmed cases is 25 and the number of reported deaths is 41, with a case fatality rate of 44.0 per cent. “We will like to state that given the high index of suspicion, the increasing number of suspected cases

may not be out of place, as health practitioners are more likely to include Lassa fever as a differential diagnosis in their health care facilities. “However, the good news is that there have been no new confirmed cases or deaths in the last 48-hours. This is a reflection of our coordinated response and advocacy to all states.” The minister acknowledged the efforts of all stakeholders, state and local governments, development partners and the media for their efforts in helping to curtail this health challenge. “We will plead that we should maintain heightened vigilance and sustain

our preventive messages and practices. We are confident that we will surely defeat this outbreak,” he said. Adewole reiterated the need to adhere to the preventive measures and adopt them to avert further spread of the infection. He advised that people must avoid spreading or drying of food items on the road side or outdoors; keep all food containers sealed, avoid eating food suspected to be contaminated with rodent faeces or urine, and throw away food that is partly consumed by rodents. Besides, he called on Nigerians to wash their hands regularly and food items thoroughly before consumption; while family members and health care workers are advised to always be careful and avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons with symptoms similar to those listed for Lassa fever and any such patients should be taken to nearest health facility. The minister advised that all suspected cases should be reported promptly to

State Epidemiologists and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)/Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH). He pointed out that in the last 48-hours, the government had raised a fourman expert committee headed by Professor Michael Asuzu; a professor of Community Medicine and the current President of Society of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria; to visit Niger, Kano and Bauchi, three most affected states in the country. He said the committee would embark on a factfinding mission, assess the current situation, document response experiences, identify gaps and proffer recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences. “We wish to assure all that the task of this committee is not to apportion blame but rather to document lessons learnt for better planning of an effective response,” he said. Alhaji Mohammad emphasised on the need to focus on educating Nigerians on how to prevent the infection.

Oyo govt reverses position, establishes case of Lassa fever By Wale Akinselure

From left, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Ado Muhammed; Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike Omeri; Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a joint ministerial news conference to give update on the outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN.

Senate summons health minister Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

THE Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to carry out holistic and aggressive sensitisation at markets, restaurants, neighbourhoods, communities, offices and schools across the country on the recent outbreak of Lassa fever. The Senate specifically called on the government, health agencies and nongovernmental organisations to educate the public in states affected and those not affected on preventive measures against the disease. The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso (APC Ogun Central) and co-sponsored by Senators Mathew Urhogide, Theodore Orji, Jonah Jang, Andy Ubah and Suleiman Nazif, respectively.

Tejuoso warned in the motion that “if nothing is immediately done to curtail further outbreak and spread of the disease, the disease would reach a magnitude where it could be declared a national emergency.” The lawmaker, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Health, was “worried about the 75 total number of suspected cases so far reported with 35 deaths and a case fatality rate of 46 per cent confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Health.” He noted with concern that after the incidence of 2014 when about 15 states were affected with 319 cases and 20 deaths recorded, nothing was done to check outbreak of the disease. Tejuoso noted that the “disease is typically spread through aerosolized virus particles, via either infected rodents or close contacts with infected individuals

with an incubation period of five to 21 days, with symptoms typically appearing 10 days after infection.” He said he was aware of the popular saying these days that “we should kill corruption before corruption kills Nigeria,” adding that unfortunately the rodents/rats are already killing Nigerians before the said corruption. He, therefore, advised Nigerians to be very conscious and adhere to the rules of personal hygiene, and strive to rid their environments of rodents, and report any case of persistent high fever not responding to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid fever to the nearest health centre. Senator Tejuoso lamented that the acute haemorrhagic fever caused by Lassa virus, has hit states

like Bauchi, Nassarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo which is battling to curtail the spread of the disease. According to him, Lassa frequently infects people of West Africa and results in 300,000 to 500,000 cases annually, and causes about 5,000 deaths each year. In his contributions, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North) said since the Federal Government dealt with Ebola disease, it has relaxed on exploring proactive measures in checking the outbreaks of diseases in the country. The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, charged the Committee on Health to begin its oversight function by inviting the Minister of Health on steps being taken by the ministry to curb further spread of the disease in the country.

OYO State government on Tuesday reversed an earlier position put forward by the state’s Ministry of Health, as it established case of Lassa fever in the state. The State Ministry of Health, through the ministry’s acting Director of Public Health, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, had on Sunday released a statement insisting that there was no established case of Lassa fever in the state and that the three suspected cases reported and diagnosed at the University College Hospital (UCH) had no feature of the disease. This was in contradiction to the listing of the state by the Federal Minister of Health, Mr Isaac Adewole, last Saturday, as one of the states that had recorded cases of Lassa fever in the country. Addressing journalists on the position of the state government, Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, explained that the state’s Ministry of Health, at that time, could not affirm the Minister of Health’s position because the state government was yet to abide by its institutionalised pro-

tocol for investigating and reporting such incidents. Layinka outlined the established protocol as the reportage of such incident at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, which would carry out laboratory tests and subsequently forward the test results to a reference laboratory in Lagos, under the Federal Ministry of Health, for confirmation. According to him, government awaited the result of the test of an index case that had been sent from the University College Hospital, Ibadan, to the Lagos reference laboratory before it could categorically state that there was a case of Lassa fever in the state. He also premised the new position of the state government on a conversation with Adewole who maintained that UCH had been categorised as a reference laboratory by the Federal Ministry of Health, and the state did not have to wait for the result of the Lagos reference laboratory to confirm that there was a case of Lassa fever in the state. Layinka, however, allayed fears of residents of the state, noting that the index case had been treated and was alive.

news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Dogara decries high rate of unemployment •Promises quick passage of 2016 budget Jacob Segun Olatunji And Kolawole Daniel-Abuja

HE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday, decried the high rate of unemployment in the country. The Speaker equally promised that the House would ensure quick passage of the 2016 budget. Honourable Dogara, who stated this in his welcome address, noted that, “crucial duties beckon as we resume: the 2016 Appropriation Bill deserves expeditious consideration on our part so as to facilitate early commencement of its implementation.” On recent monetary and fiscal policies of government, aimed at preventing money laundering and protecting our currency,

the Speaker agreed that it was well intentioned, but has resulted in avoidable hiccups in our international financial transactions with multifaceted counterproductive implications for commerce, foreign investor promotion and diaspora, Nigerians including students. According to him, “this is a matter of urgent national importance requiring all hands on deck. Accordingly, the House Committees on Banking and Currency; Finance; Diaspora and both Basic and Tertiary Education, are hereby directed to quickly put their heads together and col-

laborate with the relevant executive agencies to expeditiously resolve the prevailing bottlenecks in our Foreign Exchange regime.” Speaking further, the Speaker said that, “In my New Year greetings, I had called on our citizens to shake up docility and go to work in the New Year in order to build a country of our dream. In the aftermath of that call, I got thousands of direct messages on my Twitter handle from Nigerians saying they are prepared to work but there are no employment opportunities. “This further dramatises the urgency of the unem-

ployment situation in Nigeria. I was also rudely awaken to the reality of the large number of Nigerians, especially construction workers that have gone without salaries for months while others have, in fact, been laid off on account of the inability of many construction firms executing government contracts to continue with existing contracts, owing to non-payment for work executed. “Since job creation is one of the fundamental policies of the APC administration, we cannot treat job losses lightly. “Many of our people are

hurting. As true representatives of the people, we owe a duty to make haste; and whether we make haste slowly or we slowly make haste, we must hasten those long nights of despair into a glorious morning for our citizens, who hope to go back to work as soon as Government pays the firms they were working for, he stated. To this end, he said that, “We must therefore pass the 2016 budget which includes Mr. President’s proposals on job creation, early, to restore confidence in existing obligations and the economy generally.

I was not involved in Ekiti polls —Uba Kola Oyelere-Kano

SENATOR Emmanuel Andy Uba, representing Anambra South has refuted allegation that he was involved in the rigging of the last gubernatorial polls in Ekiti State. “I challenge whoever has any evidence or fact concerning my alleged involvement in the Ekiti gubernatorial polls to come out and prove it. This may just be a case of mistaken identity,” said. Uba added that, “I am a democrat and will not get involved in any act that will undermine democracy anywhere.” The Senator in a statement issued from his office in the National Assembly, on Tuesday, a copy of which was made available to newsmen said he had nothing to do with the 2014 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State or any other election in the state in particular and the South-west geo-political zone in general. “I have always deliberately defined my area of influence and political interest. As a Senator of the Federal Republic and democrat, I take interest in Nigeria as a whole. I do not seek to interfere in local politics outside my state, Anambra and then Igboland. I don’t try to interfere in what goes on in other geo-political zone, except in the course of performing my constitutional duty as a federal lawmaker,” he added.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, arriving the Lower Chamber as the resumption of plenary after the holidays, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

Buhari okays Benue’s amnesty programme Leon Usigbe-Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved Benue State’s amnesty programme designed to rid the state of illegal arms in the possession of youths across the state. The state is running a

programme to retrieve such weapons from owners in exchange for various cash payments. The state governor, Dr Sam Ortom, who met with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, to brief him on security matters in the

state, revealed to State House correspondents that Buhari had given his approval for the programme. He said the president was impressed with the success of the programme, which the state embarked upon last year, and had therefore given the state

Police arrest 8 suspected robbers involved in OAU lecturer’s murder Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

EIGHT suspected robbers, who allegedly murdered a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Dr Adedeji Adejobi, have been arrested by Osun State police command. Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kola Sodipo made this disclosure on Tuesday, during a press briefing on the activities of his command. It will be recalled that Dr Adedeji was allegedly murdered on July 14, 2015 at his residence in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Those arrested in connection with his murder included Abiodun Jawefa, Sunday Okoro, Abiodun Ayeni, Faisal Musa, Bilkiaminu Alasan, Sule Victor, Bobby Eric and Adegoke Adeolu, who fired the shots that killed Adejobi. Sodipo hinted that when the suspects were interrogated, they all confessed that the Berretta pistol which was used to kill Dr Adedeji Adejobi belonged to Abiodun Jawefa and Anthony Okoro, who is now at large. He added that during the operation, Okoro, now

at large, used his locally made cut to size barrel gun to kill the security man at the house of the lecturer. The Police boss further explained that before the gang killed the university lecturer that day, they had earlier robbed a man of his Toyota Corolla car at Ilesa, which they latter used to trail Dr Adejobi to his residence at Ile-Ife and robbed him of the following: Toyota Venza, HP Laptop Computer, Blackberry handsets and cash, before he was eventually shot to death.

the nod to continue with it as part of efforts to keep the state and the nation safer. The governor declared Benue State’s support for the president’s anticorruption war in view of what he observed was the adverse effects of dwindling oil revenues available to government. On recent allegations of misuse of bailout funds by his administration, Governor Ortom said they were based on ignorance, noting that that the State Commissioner of Finance had appropriately explained the true position of things to the State House of Assembly. The governor also assured that he would prevail, when the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the appeal lodged before it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Benue State governorship election, Terhemen Tarzoor.

Fayemi, Oni, Ojudu’ll not let Nigerians down —Ekiti group Bola Badmus-Lagos

A socio-political nonaligned group, Ekiti-11 (e11), has assured Nigerians that Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi; former Governor Olusegun Oni and Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who are currently engaged both at government and party levels at the centre will not betray the trust reposed in them and would continue to exemplify quality leadership at all times. It will be recalled that Dr Oni is the Deputy Chairman-South, All Progressives Congress (APC), while Senator Ojudu has just been appointed as Special Adviser, Political Matters by President Muhammadu Buhari. The group gave this assurance in a release issued by its chairman, Mr Femi Ajiniran, saying that the three prominent Ekiti sons would always deliver services to the nation and Nigerians in consonance with the ingrained ideals of e-11. According to Ajiniran, Fayemi, who was the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Oni and Ojudu will at no time let the group and people of Ekiti down and would not betray the trust reposed in them as they would continue to exemplify qualities of embracing meritocracy while shunning acts of impunity anywhere they served their people.

Gov Ganduje seeks support of FG on education Kola Oyelere-Kano

KANO State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has appealed to the Federal Government to support his administration to ensure that people in the state access quality education capable of transforming their lives. This was contained in a statement signed on Tuesday by Malam Baba Halilu Dantiye, Director General Media and Communication, a copy made available to the newsmen. Governor Ganduje made the call during his visit to the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, at her office in Abuja. The governor discussed with the Minister on the issue of the multi-million dollar balance of refund to the state government on the Paris Club debt repayment during Obasanjo’s administration. He informed the Minister that the state was so far paid only $40 million leaving an outstanding balance of $41 million.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

tribune cartoons

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

GIANT IN THE TROPIC OF AFRICA

Yemi Osinbajo

FUNOLOGY

• Born on March 8, 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria. Osinbajo is married to Dolapo (née Soyode), a granddaughter of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

CHURCH BOY

• Osinbajo was educated at Corona Primary School, in Lagos; Igbobi College Yaba, Lagos and the University of Lagos. From there to the Nigerian Law School. In 1981, he was awarded a Master of Laws after attending the London School of Economics. • Professor Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo is the Vice President of Nigeria, in office since May 29, 2015. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a Professor of Law.

SEGELUULU

• Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was also the pastor-in-charge of the Lagos Province 48, Olive Tree provincial headquarters parish, Ikoyi before his inauguration into office as the Vice President of Nigeria.

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

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

18 LETTERS TO THE

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo.com or by sms to 08055001747 or 08054005323. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

What Nigerians deserve in the new year

OR many Nigerians today, the social, political and economic indices speak volumes of the critical situation that the country is facing. Insecurity is worse than it has ever been in the history of the country since the civil war: corruption has reached frightening heights, unemployment remains staggering, even as claim of vast creation of jobs are pronounced regularly in the media, Most roads across the country remain in bad condition and all these persist as the incumbent government remains clouded by its deluded successes. Today, this lack of genuine commitment has seen

the loss of vast areas of Nigerian sovereign territory to a ragtag group that should naturally be no match for our glorious armed forces. We cannot continue to live in denial. Even as the Nigerian military records some successes in ousting the terrorists from our territories, Nigerians have been introduced to the vile realities of terrorism through bomb-attacks that claim lives regularly because of government’s persistent ignorance of the prevailing condition in the country. Beyond the North East, the spate of kidnapping and piracy in the south of the country is a reemerging threat. The lack of secu-

Still on oil sabotage WHEN the Federal Government announced that fuel would start selling for N86.50 by January 1, 2016, I envisaged that the oil marketers would never comply, and would only start shutting their filling stations again. Before now, the marketers were selling fuel for a minimum of N120, depending on state or city, despite the fact that crude oil is now selling at ridiculously low prices in the international market. If nothing is done to curb the excesses of these oil marketers, then Nigerians will be at their mercy, since fuel subsidy has been removed. What will, therefore, happen when the price of crude oil goes up in the international market, and with the end of the subsidy regime, that means Nigerians would be paying more for a litre of fuel. I want President Buhari, who is also the Minister of Petroleum, to quickly call the marketers to order; this is the sector that needs urgent attention if his government is to succeed. Or why would marketers flout the order of government that fuel should sell for a particular price, but they are not complying? Apart from the NNPC stations, and some major marketers, many marketers are not selling at the official price, and this should

give Nigerians cause for concern. •Felix Adjei, Idearules2002@yahoo.co.uk

rity on our high- ways and even in our private homes where we are supposed to feel safest is also a major challenge to all Nigerians. Today, hospitals and universities are struggling with obsolete skills, infrastructure and equipment; terrorism has become a major threat in a nation that had never known such, kidnapping is now a profession and a cottage industry. After 55 years of independence and despite our vast wealth, abundant natural and human resources, at home and abroad, we as a nation continue to struggle with the most basic need (food, shelter, water, security, sanitation, natural disasters, electricity e. t. c . As it is evident today, we are paralysed by widespread poverty. Many Nigerians have completely lost faith in the country’s ability to govern itself. Nigerians have lost faith in

the people at the helm of affairs. Today, what we find is a transformation that is more a delusion / false than a reality, a transformation that has seen the wealth of the top one per cent of Nigerians grow while that of the vast majority has dropped significantly; a transformation that has put huge amounts of state resources in the hands of questionable personalities, who have continued to dictate the pace and style of governance than the elected government itself; a transforma-

tion that has encouraged individuals to appropriate the responsibilities of our armed forces and become almost a government unto themselves. This is not the kind of transformation we need; we need real transformation. Nigeria needs a leadership that will put the majority of its citizens above the few wealthy individuals. We need a government that is willing to cut the cost of governance and put the needed resources to the development of necessary social amenities and

services. We need a government that will invest significant resources in developing key sector that will drive growth and employment, and I am glad that in President Muhammadu Buhari, we have found that leader. We should, however, work with the president in order to achieve a Nigeria of our dreams. •Alabi Oluwaseun Rhoda, Dept of Library and Information Science, The Ibarapa Polytechnic.

Saudi Arabia/Iran diplomatic face-off: Implication for world peace THE execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia has brought about a political crisis in the Middle East, with Iran expressing its displeasure with the execution of the cleric. The death

led to protesters attacking the saudi Embassy in Tehran. This has, therefore, led to a suspension of diplomatic ties between the two powerful countries in the Mid-

dle East, with Kuwait, UAE and Sudan, among others, backing Saudi Arabia. I think it is important that the United States of America wades in before the crisis degenerates further; these two powerful countries need to be united if the crisis in the region is to be solved. Syria and Iraq are currently going through tough times, and they need all the support they can get from the regional powers, but this crisis will only make Saudi Arabia and Iran have different opinions on the region’s issues. Allies of Saudi Arabia and Iran should also not join in escalating the crisis; the decision of Sudan, Kuwait and UAE to expel Iranian diplomats in their countries is not the best. It will only keep stoking tension in the region. The United States is, therefore, the only country that has the listening ear of Saudi Arabia, and it should use this diplomatic channel to deescalate the crisis. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran must return to normal as soon as possible if we are to have any success in the ongoing wars in Syria and Iraq. Apart from the United States of America, other world powers such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Russia, should also wade into the crisis before it degenerates further. •Adams Oyinkansola, Ikoyi, Lagos.

editorial

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lagarde’s visit to Nigeria

HE visit to Nigeria of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, was widely viewed with suspicion. Nigeria’s past experience with the global financial institution could not but arouse misgivings about its renewed interest in the Nigerian economy. Lagarde paid a four-day visit to Nigeria - from Monday, January 4 to Thursday,January 7, 2016 - during which she had discussions with Nigeria’s political leaders at the executive and legislative arms of government. She also held talks with top officials in charge of fiscal and monetary policies. Prior to the visit, officials of the Bretton Woods institutions had been offering unsolicited advice to Nigeria on critical aspects of its economy. They had, at different fora, urged Nigerian leaders to stop subsidy on petroleum products and devalue the country’s currency. The IMF has been critical of the steps taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to restrict access to foreign exchange. It has been persistent in its proposal that Nigeria should adopt a policy of exchange rate flexibility. In the course of her visit, Lagarde tried as much as she could to convey the impression that the IMF meant well for Nigeria. She constantly stated that she was not in the country to negotiate a loan with conditionalities. She said what Nigeria needed was fiscal discipline and not IMF loan. She told Nigerian officials that the country had the potential to overcome the challenges of falling oil price without recourse to IMF loan. She said her organisation was willing to assist Nigeria in tracing looted funds, plugging revenue leakages and restructuring the tax system. Lagarde noted the high level of poverty, inequality and unemployment and counselled that the government’s focus should be on “high impact and high value addition projects like power, rail, roads, air and water transportation and housing.” She advised the government to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) which, according to her, was among the lowest in the world and one of the lowest in the West African sub-region. She also touched on the crucial issue of the cost of governance which, she said, should be streamlined at both the national and sub-national levels. From all that Lagarde said during her visit, it should be obvious that she was adequately briefed before setting out on her trip to Nigeria. This enabled her to speak about the glaring consequences of decades of willful mismanagement. Her offer of assistance at different levels of financial management portrayed the IMF as a friendly

institution which had either been wrongly perceived or had ceased to be what it was known to be in third world countries that had tasted its poisonous prescriptions. The IMF is not known to be an institution that dabbles in the affairs of countries in flourishing circumstances. Countries in economic difficulties are its special targets and more often than not it complicates and aggravates their problems. Although Lagarde is the Managing Director of the IMF, what she was reported to have said during her visit cannot be construed to be what the institution has in store for Nigeria. If she had said it all during her four-day visit, there would have been no need for her to notify Nigerians that a team of economists from the IMF would be engaging the financial authorities in Nigeria to review the country’s economic policies. The IMF will reveal itself in its true form when its team of economists arrives in Nigeria. It is hoped that the government will not again succumb to the fund’s pressure as it did in the 1980s. With the euphemism of substituting price modulation for price regulation, the government has tactfully withdrawn fuel subsidy. The barely-noticeable reduction in the price of petrol has concealed the import of subsidy withdrawal from the people. The reality of what is meant by price modulation will not manifest until petrol price begins to go up. The remaining major target of the IMF now is the value of the naira which will be packaged along with other poverty-inducing measures as panacea for Nigeria’s ailing economy. President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken in unmistakable terms about Nigeria’s resolve not to further diminish the value of the already battered naira. Nigerian officials should educate IMF economists on the grave consequences of further reduction in the value of the currency. The devaluation of the 1980s led to an inflationary spiral, high cost of imports, large-scale de-industrialisation, massive job losses and attendant problems from which Nigeria is yet to recover. The country has since been a massive market which imports almost everything. It should not be worse than it is. While the government can accept assistance in loot tracking and recovery, it should not make the mistake of subjecting Nigeria’s economic policies to IMF review. South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia accepted IMF loans and conditionalities in the late 1990s and paid dearly for it. IMF is a doctor that can only compound the patient’s problem.

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opinion

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigeria and the visit of the IMF chief By A. Enwegbara

AY the International Monetary Fund can help us fast-track the identification and repatriation of our stolen funds hidden overseas. Since the credit power has moved from Wall Street banks to Chinese government-controlled banks, the power to dictate that was earlier fully in the hands of the IMF, acting on behalf of western lenders’ interests, is now in Chinese hands. This truth is being reinforced by the emergence of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is currently having over 57 members including South Africa as the only African member. Since this is where the future of infrastructure financing lies, it is highly advisable that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration begins to give Nigeria’s membership of the AIIB the serious consideration it needs. Without expecting the IMF loans, the Fund’s assessments of Nigeria will only remain mostly neutral while its advice to our government will never be mandatory. Countries like China where most of the borrowings by the Nigerian government will take place already have their own independent assessment tools as well as lending conditions quite different from the IMF’s. China, for example, is almost always interested in–and insistent on–loans having projects attached to them, projects that are wholly or a major portion executed by Chinese firms. With our debt-to-GDP ratio at about 12 per cent, against our peers’ more than 60 per cent, we are so creditworthy that we can comfortably borrow as high as $270bn during the next four years without being debt trapped so long as, going forward, all our debts are for project-driven, particularly infrastructure-based loans that by reducing our current infrastructure deficit, reduce the present high cost of doing business and high interest rate causing high arbitrage. Regarding the IMF’s promised technical support, I strongly believe that Nigeria has all the technical expertise in the country to address all our current economic challenges, including the ongoing efforts to block leakages in revenue and wastages in expenditure.

Because modernising tax policies to increase its coverage in ways that increase this year’s tax-to-budget ratio, I think, since it isn’t a rocket science, we can have no need for foreign hands, especially the IMF, which has never run any economy, let alone ones like ours. That explains why I strongly believe that we do not have the kind of luxury of time to begin this kind of having to wait for readymade solutions that even if it had worked elsewhere, may not necessarily work for us given our economic and cultural differences. Of course, these so-called western technocrats should be the least to have an understanding of our complex economic realities. Homegrown solutions, as far as I’m concerned, are always better because not only do they enjoy a lot of wider national input, they also enjoy wider acceptance and are easily and better implemented by learning from field mistakes which help constant fine-tuning. President Buhari made us proud, not only by the way he received the IMF boss, Christine Lagarde, but also for making it clear to her that should we need the Fund’s help in dealing with our macroeconomic challenges, definitely we would be the ones contacting them. But that as it stands, we have what it takes to address our present problems. Where I think Madam Lagarde’s advice was misleading is her insistence that Nigeria should not borrow again. I was instead expecting her to insist on government justifying borrowing by borrowing purely for investment rather than for

consumption driven by big government which was rampantly the case during the Jonathan administration when Nigeria was running year-in-year-out fiscal austerity while maintaining bloated recurrent spending. Therefore, I was expecting Ms Lagarde to be applauding the Buhari administration for its bold efforts to drastically increase investment in capital projects which he couldn’t do without having to borrow. Even though a lawyer and not an economist, her experience as someone who as a former French Minister of Finance would have guided her advice in a way to agree that there’s no other way Nigeria should expect to solve huge infrastructure deficit head-on than to engage in massive borrowing, especially at a time when its main source of revenue, oil, is witnessing unprecedented plunge. Or isn’t it hypocritical of her to be advising us not to borrow given our debt-to-GDP ratio which at about 12 per cent is by far the lowest among our peers? Or, why are the rich nations also the most indebted nations in the world? In other words, how many times has she advised against Japan’s debt-toGDP ratio which currently stands at 224 per cent; Italy’s at 128.50 per cent; the US’ at 107 per cent; France’s at 95 per cent; the United Kingdom’s at 89.80 per cent? What about Nigeria’s peer countries like South Africa with debt-to-GDP at about 44 per cent; India’s 66.10 per cent; Brazil’s 60.8 per cent; Kenya’s 50 per cent; Ghana’s 67.50 per cent, and so it goes? Is the IMF boss fair to Nigeria that with its over $350bn infrastructure deficit, it is okay for us to remain in a league of nations with some of lowest debt-to-GDP ratios like Algeria’s eight per cent; Kuwait’s seven per cent; Afghanistan’s 6.6 per cent; Libya’s 6.10 per cent; Saudi Arabia’s 1.60 per cent among others? Notwithstanding Lagarde’s hypocrisy on debt, I liked how she carried herself and particularly her expression of immense trust in the Buhari administration and by making it clear that Nigeria did not need any money from the Fund given the ongoing restructuring and reengineering of its economy taking place right now. •Enwegbara is a development economist based in Abuja.

Democracy: Commending Saudi Arabia women By Tunji Ajibade WOMEN in Saudi Arabia contested with, and beat their men the other day. I mean they beat men at their own game through persistence. I clarify that, in case the implied imagery of women overpowering men doesn’t fly with my more conservative readers. Well, it happened that in December, Saudi women voted and were voted for. They considered it a landmark achievement that it happened. Even activists within and without the Islamic nation have hailed it as a historic change. It doesn’t matter that this is a municipal election. It has got some hoping that the monarchy will expand the political space further. Why did I take note that Saudi women voted in a municipal election? Everyone watches Saudi Arabia for different reasons. I watch the Middle Eastern country for the influence occurrences there has on the rest of the world. First, about two billion people turn and face Saudi Arabia every day; they draw inspiration on other matters too. The following illustrates my point: A friend and a member of the state executive council in one of the states in the northern part of the country said something at a public event recently. It confirms my thoughts about the influence Saudi Arabia has on ways of life across the globe. He said the state executive council decided to do something about the unwholesome practices in the process of slaughtering and selling cow meat. It wanted to bring changes to the old way of running abattoirs, modernise them, and tidy up the process of getting meat across to the public. The current cabinet was not the first to think this way. Predecessors tried, but they failed, he said. Why? Sarkin Yanka, or head of butchers, and his lieutenants had their cultural and religious affiliations like every other person does. Each time the government introduced the plan, Sarkin Yanka and his lieutenants made it known to those they led that anything apart from the status quo of slaughtering and selling meat to the public would not be in line with religious tenets, and it would be against standard

practice in Saudi Arabia that was the keeper of everything desirable in faith matters. Well, the state government realised that someone was wrongly educated about what the practice was in Saudi Arabia. So, the government selected Sarkin Yanka and other opinion leaders in the meat business for a tour of the large scale, technologydriven, modern abattoirs in Saudi Arabia. No point adding, that the views of the tourists have since changed, ready to allow their followers to copy Saudi Arabia. “It was a small step, but see how much it had achieved,” my friend had observed. What is noted above shows the extent to which the Saudis influence beliefs. With their crude oil, they influence international relations too in a significant way. The Saudis are friends of the Americans, and the nation is said to play a role in OPEC to stabilise oil prices in order to reduce the effect of instability on western economies. That has, however, not stopped the West from frowning at the impact some of the country’s activities across the world. Between the mid-1970s and 2002, Saudi Arabia expended over $70bn in what was noted in its record as overseas development aid. The West, however, alleged there was evidence that much of the funds was expended on propa-

gating and extending the influence of Wahhabism (Saudi ruling house’s brand) at the expense of other forms of Islam. Then, there were debates as to whether or not Saudi aid and Wahhabism had fomented extremism and violence in recipient countries. The United States claimed it had evidence in this regard. Relations with the US became strained following the September 11, 2001 attacks, because American politicians and media accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorism and tolerating a jihadist culture. Osama bin Laden and 15 out of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, for instance. The Saudis have always denied that they export religious extremism. From what can be gleaned by a casual observer, the country’s conduct supports its denial. One, Saudi Arabia has been a moderating influence in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Often, it proposes peace plans between Israel and the Palestinians; it also condemns Hezbollah, an organisation that remains a sticky bone in Israel’s neck. In recent months, the Saudis have been active, dealing blows to the Islamic State that has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria. This leads to the matter of human rights. Saudi Arabia does not share western view of human rights. The country says it has a peculiar society rooted in a different social, political and religious order. That has, however, not stopped Western watchers from diligently recording the number of faults they say the Saudis have in the area of human rights observance. It is important for me to state here that it is not for nothing that Saudi women voted. They had had to pay dearly for it. The right to vote, for them, was the outcome of a cumulative effort dating back decades. Pressure from outside alone couldn’t have done it. Women within the country took it up as a matter of rights. Years back, no one would believe Saudi government would ever give women the chance to vote. Now it did. It was because Saudi women didn’t give up. For me, this was a contest won on the scale of a knock-out. •Ajibade is a public affairs analyst.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

By Wale Ojo-Lanre 0803 349 0986 waleojolanre@

Wike’ll rebrand Port Harcourt as Garden city —Tonye Briggs Oniyide By wale Ojo Lanre

he lost glory of Port Harcourt as the Beautiful Garden City in Nigeria will once again shine as the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike is poised at ensuring the planting and fitting of the necessary facilities and infrastructures needed to restore the glorious days of the city. The Rivers State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mrs Tonye Briggs Oniyide who made this disclosure in Lagos during an interview session with tourism and culture journalists said that Governor Wike was determined to restore the glory of Port – Harcourt as a lovely city desired by tourists and cherished by the indigenes. “The Governor, who cherished the old days in Rivers State and witnessed the glorious era when Port Harcourt was the pride of the country has decided and determined to turn Port Harcourt to a destination desired by all and scrambled to by tourists”. She pointed out “As you will notice that from the very first week he was sworn into office, Governor Wike has commenced a sequential and progressive urban renewal of Port Harcourt and the opening of intraroads to ease the traffic”. Mrs Tonye Oniyide disclosed “as a Governor of the people, he knows where the shoe pinches. He understands the needs of the masses. He thinks about them and has his plan of bettering their lives without inflicting pains in the process. He is of the solid belief that if Port Harcourt is renewed as a city, if substantial value is added to its trappings, if its beauty is enhanced as a tourists destination, the people will not only reap from its tourism potentialities, but benefit from the largesse of investors”. She disclosed “Port Harcourt will witness a phenomenal turn around the urban renewal project, road construction, provision of infrastructure and facilities, road construction and expansion, restoration and upliftment of gardens and creating new ones. The commissioner revealed “Governor Wike who understands the import of tourism to the economy of a given state and realising the enormous tourism potentialities in Rivers State has structured all the developmental projects in align-

ment with enhancing the growth and development of the tourism sector”. Mrs Oniyide pointed out “The tourism vision of Governor Wike is to turn Rivers State which is the treasure base of the nation into tourism paradise of the nation. It is not going to be a mono –focal attention on a single product. But a vision which has been horned to enhance the tourism assets which the state is blessed with in terms of culture, festivals, dances, foods, beaches, parks and gardens, monuments, museums, slave trade route, forest, colonial relics, all these will be packaged to stoke the economy, empower the youths and mobilise wealth”. She assured “Governor Wike’s tourism vision will be a clear departure from the past where efforts were geared on a particular product at the expense of other equally viable tourism assets. It is a vision which will take tourism from the level of sheer entertainment, dancing and fun to a super platform of sustainable employment generation, empowerment of the youth and wealth creation for the state”. Mrs Oniyide disclosed that the Rivers State government having realised that tourism is private sector-driven would involve the stakeholders and carry them along in the vision of getting the best out

of tourism for the people. “The Vision is for the development of the state, the society and the people. Central to this are the various stakeholders who are going to be the drivers of the vision. My ministry will not only collaborate with the tourism stakeholders in the state, but establish a profitable and rewarding synergy of purpose beneficial to all with them”. She hinted “Tourism activities in the state are going to be upbeat according to the desire and determination of Governor Wike whose interest is to see that the common man on the street benefit from the oppor-

By the time the tourism vision of Governor Wike evolves, germinates and blossoms, we shall all be happy that a pro- people Governor passed through the state

tunities which tourism will create. It is not going to be business as usual, but tourism business unusual” The Commissioner revealed “I assure you that with the agrarian determination of Governor Wike at seeing that Rivers State tourism potentialities are harnessed and enhanced, within a couple of months, the state will become a force to be reckoned with, respected and scrambled at by tourists and lover of development just because of the phenomenon transformation it will witness via tourism”. Mrs Oniyide called on the citizens of the state to gird their loins in support of Governor Wike who she described as “tourismminded person who will deliver many of our employable youths in the employment market from the pains of unemployment through tourism. For by the time the tourism vision of Governor Wike evolves, germinates and blossoms, we shall all be happy that a pro-people governor passed through the state.”

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

tribunetourism

Deputy Speaker sells Nigerian tourism in Malaysia By wale Ojo Lanre

he Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Honourable Sulaimon Lasun Yusuff has described Nigeria as a paragon of tourism which shares similarities in cultural configuration, climate and values with Malaysia. Rt Hon Lasun made this observation after a tour of Mari Mari Cultural Village in Shaba, Malaysia as part of the activities lined up for the 23rd Conference of Speakers and Presiding officers of the Commonwealth holding in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The Rt Hon Yusuff who was amazed at the passion with which Malaysia government sells and promotes its tourism potentialities commended the organiser of the conference for including tour as part of the events that made the programme a ‘conducive, evergreen and memorable one to be relished and appreciated for many years to come”. According to Mr Wole Oladimeji, Media Adviser to Honourable Lasun, the tour of Mari Mari Village was an eye opener and an opportunity for the RT Hon deputy speaker to sell Nigerian tourism to Malaysian. “I am happy to be in this cultural village. It is an opportunity for me to see and acquaint myself with the tourism potentialities of this great country which shares identifiable similarities with Nigeria in terms of culture, geographical configuration and climate. What I am seeing here is almost what we have in Nigeria with little differences which both countries need to synergise efforts at packaging for profitability”. The Deputy Speaker described Malaysia as “Nigeria’s Siamese twins. The only difference so far is the fact that one is located in West Africa and the other is planted in the East. However, both countries are of almost the same cultural values and geographical contraption”. He called on Malaysians to endeavour to visit Nigeria and see the wonderful natural tourism assets which God planted within the territory. “Inasmuch as I appreciate the strategy adopted to market and sell your tourism assets, I will encourage you all to visit Nigeria and have a feel of the numerous wonderful natural tourism assets which my country is blessed with”. Honourable Lasun pointed out “it will interest you that Nigeria is blessed with the only suspended Lake in West Africa, Ado Awaye Suspended Lake in Oyo State. Nigeria also harbours seven National Parks. The Osun Osogbo Grove which has been adopted and passed as A World Heritage Site by the UNESCO is an ecotourism/Cultural Grove with historical relevance, Agbokim Waterfall in Cross River, Olumirin waterfall in Erin Ijesa, Osun State, the only

Rt Honourable Sulaimon Lasun Yusff at Mari Mari Cultural Village, Shaba, Malaysia. country in West–Africa which harbours the only Warm and Cold Spring running side by side and meet at a point in Ikogosi Ekiti, Ekiti State. The country is blessed with thousand of cultural festivals and carnivals specifically Carnival Calabar, River Carnival and long stretch of coastline with beautiful

beaches.” The Deputy Speaker informed Malaysians that “The present government has revealed its tourism policy which dwells on cultural tourism and which incidentally is the pivot of Malaysia’s tourism vision. It is left for the two countries to synergise efforts , collabo-

rate and bring the best out of tourism for the benefit of their citizens” He promised “I am assuring you that whenever it is the time for Nigeria to host this conference or any, you will not leave our country without having a feel of our tourism assets.”

Emirates launches global sales to new destinations Ringing in new adventures for the new year, Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines is launching its much-awaited global sale to inspire and encourage travellers from Nigeria to explore new destinations and revisit their favourite cities. For a limited time, globalists can say “hello” to new adventures in Emirates’ expanding global network with special offers on Business and Economy class fares. Bookings have to be made between January 5 and 18, 2016, for travel between January 13 and June 15th, 2016. All inclusive Business Class fares from Nigeria start at USD3,300 to Dubai, USD3,001 to Delhi, USD2,490 to Mumbai, USD3,562 to London, USD3,985 to Guangzhou, USD4,481 to Kuala Lumpur, USD5,441 to New York, USD4,665 to Singapore, USD5,439 to Orlando, and

USD5,440 to Los Angeles. With Economy Class fares starting at USD801 to Dubai, USD964 to Delhi, USD887 to Mumbai, USD995 to London, USD1,008 to Guangzhou, USD972 to Kuala Lumpur, USD1,199 to New York, USD1,379 to Singapore, USD1,334 to Orlando, and USD1,369 to Los Angeles. “We know that many people have begun thinking about their travel plans and aspirations for 2016, and we are pleased to add a little more inspiration and incentive to help turn those plans and dreams into reality,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “Our global destination network across six continents offers something for every traveller, and we are now combining that wide range of travel choices with special rates to offer would-be travellers with

an even more appealing value proposition. Aside from choice, connectivity, and value, the Emirates experience also means customers can look forward to industry-leading comforts on board our modern jets, and award-winning service from our friendly cabin crew.” Emirates flies to over 140 cities in 80 countries. Adventurous globetrotters can explore the airline’s newest destinations launched in 2015: Bali, Multan, Orlando, Mashhad and Bologna. Emirates will commence flights to Panama City on 1st February 2016, opening the airline’s first gateway destination in Central America. The airline will also expand its services in mainland China with flights to Yinchuan and Zhengzhou from 3rd May 2016. Emirates offers excellent on board service from an international cabin crew who come from 130 nationalities and speak over

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

tribunetourism Carnival Calabar: Africa’s biggest street bash When the Nigerians said that the Calabar Carnival is the largest street party in Africa, I chose to take that statement with some slight reservations. The Nigerians already have the largest economy and population on the African continent. Now they lay claim to hosting the largest street bash in Africa? I will only believe it when I see it. So, I thought to myself. The carnival is hosted in the city of Calabar in Cross River State in south-eastern Nigeria over a 30-day period. However, it hits a crescendo in the last week of December, just between Christmas and the eve of the New Year. This year, and for the first time in the carnival’s 12-year history, the organisers toyed with the idea of hosting the local carnival alongside the international carnival, which was taking place for the first time. The organisers went a notch higher to spice up the event and invited bikers who brought their loud and big mean machines to town. A hundred strong delegation of bikers from all over Nigeria and the African Maghreb descended into Calabar and with them, they brought in a crowd of another 500 motorbiking enthusiasts. And that marked the recipe for some controlled chaos - if there is anything like it. The city of Calabar welcomed to its shores a total of 10 international teams drawn from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Brazil, Belize, Italy, Spain and France.

Moreover, the diary of events from the first day to the last day of the carnival was not readily available leading to more confusion amongst the international participants. Some did not know where they Logistical Nightmare were supposed to be at specific times or However, it was the organisation of the when and where they were supposed to international teams that generated a logis- perform. The logistical challenges were tical nightmare for the organisers. Right glaringly obvious to both the organisers from receiving the international teams at and the international visitors. the international airport in Lagos and orHowever, the hiccups seemed to quickly ganising their entry visas to checking-in fade into the distance when the carnival the international teams at their respective was finally flagged off by the Governor of hotels in Calabar; the organising commit- Cross River State Senator Ben Ayade. This tee of the Calabar Carnival seemed to be was clearly what the doctor had ordered as overwhelmed and not have made ade- everyone was looking forward to having a quate plans to receive such a large number wonderful time together. And so the muof people coming from overseas. sic played, the bands marched, the flags waved. The biggest street party in Africa was now underway. The grand march of 60 languages. With lie-flat beds in Business Class, the largest the carnival started in-seat screens in the world in Economy class at 13.3 inches and at Calabar’s Millenmore than 2,000 channels of on-demand entertainment on the nium Park with the award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice Digital Wide- first teams to arrive screen, Emirates provides quality products and value for money. on the grounds beThose travelling with children can take advantage of the exten- ing Kenya and Italy. sive family offering from priority boarding across all airports to They were met by a special kid’s meals, dedicated children’s entertainment on ice and large number of both exclusive toys and Lonely Planet Kids activity bags on board. local and visiting Nigerians who had converged into the city to witness the carnival. It was selfie and groupies galore with the residents keen on snapping memorable pictures with the cultural groups adorned in their cultural garb. Order and co-op-

eration Also, in attendance were visitors and observers from all across West Africa and the rest of the world. Theirs was to experience the continent’s largest street bash. And indeed, it was time to make merry as soon as Governor Ayade cut the tape to officially kick-start the Calabar Carnival 2015. With the governor were a number of high-ranking government officials from the Cross River State as well as other invited guests. These included members of the legislature, ambassadors and high commissioners and Nollywood stars. The carnival slowly made its procession through the streets of Calabar. But what seemed to be quite interesting is that in spite of the carnival attracting more than 2.5 million people over a three-day period, there was so much orderliness and untold patience, especially by the huge crowds of people that patiently waited along the route of the carnival and at the Calabar Stadium in central Calabar. To me, this seemed so much unlike Nigeria. It was a pleasant surprise. On the first two days of the carnival, the show ran non-stop for 48 hours. Ikechi Uko one of the key personalities involved, especially with the international visitors said thus: “The procession was so long that the head became the tail, quite literally.” I was pleasantly surprised by the cooperation the entire city of Calabar and its citizens gave to the organisers and the participants. The procession snaked through commercial and residential areas where residents would patiently sit on the sidewalks and along the roads dancing, waving and cheering. In the commercial areas, companies would put up tents of all sizes and invite their employees and cli-

ents to sit under the shade as snacks and soft drinks were served. In the residential areas, families brought chairs from their houses and invited their friends, neighbours and relatives to sit by the road-side to watch the procession. There were four official stop-over points along the entire route, but due to the size of the crowds, participating teams decided to walk a little bit longer just to entertain the swelling crowds while some teams made unscheduled stops to offer the enthusiastic visitors a taste of their cultural dances. To ensure that the show got the coverage it deserved, there was a battery of accredited journalists from across Nigeria and the rest of the world. The event was covered live on multiple television channels that included DSTV, Ebonylife and the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC). Green Carnival This year’s theme of the carnival was also cognizant of the fact that global warming was making a negative impact on the environment. Cross River State is one of the greenest states in Nigeria and also plays host to the last remaining virgin tropical rainforest in the country. Governor Ayade and his government are alive to this fact and made it clear that they wanted to engage the residents and all the participating teams and visitors coming for the Calabar Carnival to the need of preserving and protecting the environment. He announced the Green Carnival, which ran on the third and final day of the carnival. The city of Calabar has designated a park where residents and visiting teams were given tree seedlings to plant. According to Governor Ayade, the state government of Cross River plans on planting more than 5 million trees under this campaign to ensure that the state and his government play a role towards helping save our planet. And after the flags stopped waving, the bands stopped marching and everyone returned to their homes, the organisers and the visiting teams agreed that this was one of the best carnivals, in spite of the logistical challenges. The organisers were sent back to the situation room to plan for the Calabar Carnival 2016. Denis Gathanju, Safari Communications, Nairobi.

ecoscope GEFTY: Empowering youths to save the environment

By Doyin Adeoye THE global environment has its effect on children and young people, consequently environmentally aware empowered children and adolescents are potentially the greatest change agents for the long-term protection and stewardship of the earth. This is exactly what the Green Education For The Youth (GEFTY) initiative is all about: a dynamic form of environment for young people on going green. GEFTY, an initiative of the first lady of Ogun State, Mrs Olufunsho Amosun, was launched on Children’s Day, May 27, 2013, where she gave 5,000 children her self-written GEFTY handbook, to educate and create awareness on the need to cultivate green

habits. The students at the launching, also partook in the first ever Ogun State Youth 10,000 tree planting exercise, where thousands of students were part of the tree planting exercise. According to Mrs Amosun, “the world is going green and so is the job market. It is therefore paramount to educate children on green initiatives. We also need to educate our youths on recycling techniques and get our unemployed youths off the street into the recycling business of turning waste to wealth.” As part of the initiative, 12 GEFTY ambassadors were sponsored on a nine-day green awareness workshop on sustainable environment to the United Kingdom last year.

EIB issues first Green Bond of 2016

THE European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU Bank owned by the EU Member States, has added, at the very start of the year, EUR 500 million ($541m) to its existing November 2023 Climate Awareness Bond (CAB). The bond has a coupon of 0.5 per cent. CAB proceeds usually go to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. This issuance, announced last week, brings to EUR 1.5 billion the total amount outstanding for the November 2023 bond, in which Credit Agricole SA (EPA:ACA) is a main investor. The EIB has so far issued EUR 11.8 billion of

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

CABs. “Today’s issue underlines EIB’s endeavour to further enhance the liquidity of the Green Bond market, increasing its investor appeal. Being the first Green Bond issuer to tap the market at scale in 2016 reflects the importance and urgency of acting upon decisions made at COP 21,” Eila Kreivi, Director and Head of Capital Markets Department at the EIB said. According to preliminary figures by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), green bond issuance in 2015 has reached USD 41.8 billion (EUR 38.6bn), surpassing 2014’s USD 36.6 billion.

Realities of car emissions and global warming By Doyin Adeoye IN Nigeria today, road transport is the major means of transportation for many, with thousands of cars being registered annually across various states in the country. Over the past decades, fuel consumption has increased rapidly, basically because of the increasing number of vehicle in use, as well as a major expansion of the transportation sector. However, this increasing rate of activity in the transport sector, poses great danger to the environment, as many vehicles on Nigerian roads contribute immensely to global warming emissions. According to a 2012 World Health

IGERIA, like any other nation faces diverse environmental problems. Ranging from erosions, deforestation, oil spillage, water, land and air pollutions, and illegal waste disposals, among other issues, these problems can either be natural or manmade. Many are unaware that the simple act of dropping a pure water sachet or PET bottle on the street, or burning of refuse, constitutes environmental crimes, which violates environmental laws and policies, and warrants punishments. Although, the role of enforced policies in curbing environmental crimes is important as it serves as an effective tool for environmental protection, many of Nigeria’s environmental laws are yet to fulfill the purpose for which they were made. Various administrations over the years have enacted environmental policies to combat the constant degradation of the environment, some of which include the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act, Oil Pipelines Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act, The Land Use Act, Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act and Water Resources Act, among others. As administered by the Federal Ministry of Environment, NESREA Act of 2007, which replaced the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Act, has a role of the protection of the environment and the sustainable development of Nigeria’s natural resources. Section 27 of the Act prohibits, without lawful authority, the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. And this offence is punishable under this section, with a fine not exceeding, N1 million and an imprisonment term of five years. In the case of a company, there is an additional fine of N50,000, for every day the offence persists. This, however, is no deterrence for many companies, as many of them are guilty of environmental pollutions.

Organisation (WHO) report, about seven million people died as a result of exposure to air pollution. Besides aiding global warming, car emissions are also responsible for many health hazards. According to experts, the carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and Nitrogen oxide emitted from these automobiles for instance, causes skin cancer, cataract asthma and other respiratory diseases. Although some states are already working on curbing this, a lot still needs to be done if Nigeria is to meet up with the Paris Agreement, which is to keep a global temperature rise at no more than 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.

Lassa fever: Keeping our environments free of rodents

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMAT), for instance, targets the reduction of emissions from the transport sector by 45 per cent by 2030. NESREA, last year also launched the Vehicular Emissions Testing (VET) programme, for monitoring and compliance of vehicular emission. However, to further tackle the environmental impact of car emissions, stricter regulations need to be enforced towards more usage of vehicles that consume less fuel on the roads, because the less fuel burnt, the fewer emissions generated. When emissions go down, the pace of global warming also reduces.

According to Professor Jacob Sonibare, an air quality and noise specialist with the Environmental Engineering Research Laboratory, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), lack of political will is responsible for inadequate enforcement of environmental laws in Nigeria. “It has to do with individuals and corporate organisations. For example, for corporate organisations, there is a law that says that you cannot flare natural gas; if you do so, you will pay. However, because the penalty, that is the money to be paid is so small, the corporate bodies will prefer flaring and paying. And also, this money is paid to the Federal Government and not the community where the gas flaring occurred. So that is one of the reasons corporate bodies don’t adhere to environmental laws. The laws are there, but there is nobody enforcing them,” he said. The Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, which oversees purposeful planning of the country states in Section 73 of its Act that “the Control Department shall regulate the dimensions, appearance, display, sitting and manner in which an advertisement billboard shall to be affixed to land.” Yet, individuals and organisations erect billboards without permissions; while movie posters, religious and education flyers are pasted across walls, on traffic circles, and every other place, with little or nothing being done about it. While many Nigerians engage in illegal dumping of refuse, little do they know that the Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions) Act prohibits, without lawful authority, the carrying, dumping or depositing of harmful waste in the air, land or waters of Nigeria. In fact, the Section 6 of the Act, provides for a punishment of life imprisonment for offenders, as well as the forfeiture of land or anything used to commit the offence. In his opinion, General Manager, Oyo State Waste Management Authority (OYOWMA), Mr Joseph Alabi, stated that environmental

with Doyin Adeoye

m:08058130577 e:doyinadeoye@tribuneonlineng.com t:@kreatif_ink

By Doyin Adeoye WITH the recent outbreak of Lassa fever in the country, it is important to take note of the environment’s role in combating this threat. The natural host of the Lassa virus are rodents, and the transmission to humans usually occurs from exposure to urine or faeces of infected rats. Lassa virus may also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces, or other bodily secretions of a person infected with Lassa

fever. Between 2012 and 2013, more than 2,900 cases were reported in widespread outbreaks that occurred across many states in Nigeria. Discouraging rats from entering homes will prevent the spread of Lassa fever, and this relies on promoting good hygiene. Effective measures to deter rats from making their ways into the house include storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean

‘Nigeria’s environmental laws mere paperwork’

Many are not aware that there exist laws that govern our interactions with our environment. And to some others, adhering to these laws seems to be a major challenge. DOYIN ADEOYE writes on why Nigeria’s environmental laws have made little or no impact over the years. crimes continue to exist as a result of people’s attitudes. “Many people are indifferent to environmental issues, especially as regards solid waste. But I believe that through mobilisation, education and enforcement, a lot can be achieved.” Section 1 (1) of the Oil in Navigable Waters Act, prohibits the discharge of oil from a Nigerian ship into territorial waters or shorelines, requir-

ing the installation of anti-pollution equipment in ships. The Section 7 requires the records of occasions of oil discharge. Even the Nigerian constitution, as the national legal order, recognises the importance of improving and protecting the environment. Section 20 of the Constitution makes it an objective of the Nigerian State to improve and protect the air, land, wa-

ter, forest and wildlife of Nigeria. Yet, despite these steps, the purpose and impact of these environmental policies are hardly felt, probably because many of them lack objective structures for implementation. So the question remains, why do individuals, corporate organisations, and even the government itself, do not comply with these environmental laws?

According to Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba, Executive Director, Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST), enforcing of laws in Nigeria seems to be a problem. “Whether environmental laws or not, enforcing of laws in Nigeria is generally an issue. Also, most of the issues bother on livelihood; if you have regulations that is restricting deforestation, for instance, and peo-

households and covering of food and water properly, among other options. Speaking at a lecture series organised by the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan (UI) recently, Professor Ade Ojeniyi, noted that there is a relationship between the spread of some diseases and the environment. With the theme: ‘One Homo Sapiens, One Animal, One Environment, One Medicine and One Health,’ Professor Ojeniyi’s lecture elaborated some of the diseases that are

ple in the villages need energy, they may not likely to be wrong if the most important thing for their survival is to cut down trees. “Many people are also not even aware that these laws exist. So there is a need for information advocacy, enlightenment and education for people to be basically aware of these laws,” he said. In the same vein, Professor Sonibare, noted that the laws are there, but there is nobody to enforce them. “The Lagos State government last year closed down churches and mosques as a result of noise pollution, and people started protesting. yet the act was in their interest. “The laws are there, but there is nobody to enforce them. Some of them are enforced, but are not properly put in place because of corruption. Also, the political will to enforce them remains an issue. Because there is no one enforcing the laws, people are also not properly informed about the laws. For instance, anyone can put loudspeakers on their cars, advertising a crusade or selling a product. This is wrong. Such person may be doing it because he is not informed, and at the same time because nobody is enforcing the law in that regard. So there are lapses on both sides,” he said. It is no gainsaying that the Nigerian government is usually good at coming up with policies, but the effective implementation remains the problem. “Everyone is guilty of abusing our environment. I am not an environmentalist, but it is mere reasoning to know that dumping of refuse on the street is wrong. But until there are agencies to handle environmental issue with iron hand, environmental laws cannot be effective. In fact, Nigerian environmental laws are mere paperwork, because a law that is not implemented is no law,” Mrs Jumoke Bello, a teacher, said. Dr Ibrahim Imam of the Department of Public Law, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) noted that Nigerians basically have lackadaisical attitude towards environmental issues.

transmitted from animals to man, as well as vice versa. “No living species has had a greater impact on the environment than Homo Sapiens, yet our health is so intertwined with animal health, while the medications applied to combat infectious diseases in animals and humans are very much the same. “The environment is the pool from which docile draw their diseases and put the disease back for interchange, from one host to the other,” he said.

“There are environmental laws, but unfortunately Nigerians’ attitude to the implementation of laws is not right. The political will to enforce laws is always lacking in most cases, despite the fact that we are members of the international community, or that we have signed a lot of conventions, we have still not shown commitment. “For instance in the area of forestry; we talk about desert encroachment because government fails to take care of issues that can solve that problem. When there is no kerosene available for people, a lot of trees will be cut down every day, and the government is not doing anything positively to address these issues,” he lamented. It is important to note that although challenges of enforcement of environmental laws are universal, with stricter punishments for offences, a lot of grounds will be covered. There is also a need for awareness programmes on why people need to care more for the environment. “Continued enlightenment is the major key. It is unfortunate that at this present age, people still dump refuse in the drainage during the raining seasons. So they need to be educated and enlightened about the hazards of not keeping our environment clean,” Dr Imam said. Professor Sonibare, also urged state governments to do more in combating environmental crimes. “Before the advent of the democratic government in 1999, there was FEPA, which empowered state governments to set up their state environmental agencies as well. That is why today you still have Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) and the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). But since FEPA was changed to the Federal Ministry of Environment in 1999, the bureaucratic ways of doing things in the ministry have actually weakened the agency. “So other states need to go back to what Lagos and Ogun states are doing today. These two states have their ministries of environment, but along with the ministry, they retained their environmental protection agencies.”

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Nigerian Tribune

DPR commences enforcement of price regime Continues from pg27

self as Kunle Cole, argued that most of the filling stations are involved in under-dispensing of products. “We don’t usually get exactly what we paid for, but as you, Nigerians are always on the move and may not find time to fight against the sharp practices, that is why the practice has continued for long. I hope the regulators will help us and sanction these marketers and not collect bribe from them and look at the other directions,” he said. Despite the directives and threat by the DPR to sanction any erring marketer who refuses to sell at an official price of N86.5 per litre, motorists buy petrol at above the recommended price, especially in states outside the major cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Benin. Motorists in remote areas buy as high as N120-N150 per litre. The DPR recently issued a strict warning to fuel marketers and dealers over non compliance to the new price regime. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) issues a warning to all stakeholders including depot owners, marketers and dealers. In a letter by the DPR with reference number PI/PAD/25/VOL.1/78 dated January 6, 2016 and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, the regulator stated that: “Following the pronouncement on the new approved pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol by the Federal Government, the Department of Petroleum Resources wishes to inform all marketers and the general public that it has commenced the enforcement of the price regime in line with its mandate. “Consequently, marketers are advised to comply with the new pump prices as enunciated in PPPRA pricing templates which stated the official pump price and ex-depot price of premium motor spirit (PMS) for oil marketing companies to be N86.50 per litre and N77.00 per litre respectively. “Official price and ex-depot price of PMS for NNPC shall be N86.00 per litre and N76.50 per litre respectively. All depot owners and retailers are to ensure strict compliance as appropriate sanctions shall be applied to anyone found to be involved in price manipulation.” The Nigerian Tribune had exclusively reported that the members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had stated the reasons why they may not comply with the new pump price regime. The Zonal Public Relation Officer, Western Zone, IPMAN, Alhaji Abdul Lateef Jaiyeola, stated that most members of IPMAN are out of stock, but the ones with stock may not have bought it at the recommended ex-depot price of N77 per litre.

Investors decry post-privatisation challenges in power sector Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos

nvestors in the power sector have decried the challenging environment in which they operate two years post privatisation. In a chat with the Nigerian Tribune, the Executive Director, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Olurotimi Oduntan, stated that while the investors were eager to invest in the sector, there is a cap put in place by the regulators that make it impossible for investors to

invest as much as they would have loved to boost power supply. capital expenditure “The (CAPEX) allowed per year is N50billion for all the distribution companies (Discos). This approved capex is grossly inadequate to meet expected improvements in the sector. In other words, what we are allowed to invest is grossly inadequate for the improvements we need. For instance, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), has a capex benchmark of N3.81 billion out of the N50 billion

and this is not able to even meet the metering of the customers in accordance with the deadline given by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency (NERC),” he said. He argued further that based in the rule, the discos have invested over N26billion since take over two years ago while they are being owed over N45billion by government agencies, military and other parastatals. Nigeria, according to Oduntan, would find it difficult to record significant improvement in power

reviving industries in the Aba hub. The government granted a 20year lease (concession) to Geometric Power Aba Limited to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in the Aba and Ariaria business districts of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) network. The plant, which was completed in 2014, had been enmeshed in disputes and a law suit resulting in its non takeoff. Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, who had visited the plant in March after he commissioned the 504MW Alaoji National Integrated Power Plant (NIPP) near Aba assured of resolving the issue, which did not happen till he left. The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi said, before he left office recently, we had a meeting with the Office of the Vice President in which both parties were present, that is Enugu Disco and Aba Power. I was directed to draw a settlement framework for the issue. That was the period (September). We did that and have com-

pleted it.” Amadi noted that the plan, which has been submitted to the government, is to ensure a fair resolution of hanging issues. “I think it is for them to schedule another time for the parties to meet. The framework will be reviewed and approved as an out-ofcourt settlement. It provides a sure deal that allows a winwin for Aba power to operate and enable more power supply to eastern Nigeria, while it guarantees Enugu Disco’s network investment,” he said. The Permanent Secretary (Power), Mr Louis Edozien, had said that government was working on ensuring that there is a fair resolution between the parties, so that there could be more efficient power supply for residents and industries in Aba. Geometric Power said it will build a 1,080 megawatt power plant, jointly with General Electric, with the first phase of the project generating 500 MW expected to be completed in 2019 at a cost of $800 million.

FG moves to end disputes over Aba power plants Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos The 141 megawatts (MW), Aba power plant will soon kick off following Federal Government’s decision to wade into the lingering issues which had delayed its commissioning. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said the moves will fast-track the operations of the power plant with a view to putting the plant to use for the benefits of the industrial hub of Aba area. According to the NERC, already, the federal government has initiated move aimed at resolving the prolonged issues between operators of the power plant and other parties, to enable it take off soon. The station, built in Abia State, was the first independent power plant (IPP) in Nigeria, the operators, Geometric Power Ltd said. The gas-fired plant, which has a 27km gas pipeline and a distribution utility within a ring-fenced distribution network, is meant to provide embedded power towards

supply if the agencies of government failed to pay their bills. “I went public months ago to state that the MDAs and governments’ debt to the Discos was N32billion; but right now, as we speak, it has increased to N45billion. It may interest you to know that before the coming of the present administration, the military used to beat up our workers whenever they make attempts to collect electricity bills. “But we are in talks with the new Minister of Power, Works and Housing, the Ministry of Defence and other key ministries in a bid to iron out these issues. All arms of government, federal, state and local councils, as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies owe us, including the National Assembly. “We kept compiling the figures and these are debts owed since November 1, 2013. So, what I’m telling you now is that the debt has risen to about N45billion, up from the N32billion that was compiled by the 11 Discos some months ago,” he said. Oduntan urged the government to intervene in the matter, stressing that it would not speak well of the country if the Discos should embark on a massive disconnection of federal and state MDAs from the power grid. “As I speak to you, we have not been paid this money. We are not blaming the President or the Federal Government alone for this. For instance, the Abuja airport, which we had to cut off some months ago, makes so much from passengers and airlines, but it has failed to pay its bills. So, it is the attitude of Nigerians who run these agencies, the attitude of unwillingContinues on pg25

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Nigerian Tribune

Govt agencies, ministries, others owe Discos N45 billion Continues from pg24

Shell reiterates commitment to Ogoni development Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos

hell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has reiterated its commitment to development of Ogoni land despite reports by Amnesty International, which claimed that the Dutch company in Nigeria deceived the public to have cleaned up some hydrocarbon contaminated communities in Ogoniland. According to a source, who was part of the team that supervised the clean ups in 2015, but pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak in the issue, “We are committed to the development of the Ogoniland. I think Amnesty International has not been sincere in its report because after each clean up, we conducted test on samples and once the result showed and satisfy the condition for a job well done, we invited the regulator, NOSDRA, to come and verify. “NOSDRA also took samples and conducted its own test independent of Shell and confirm if the contaminants have been taken care of, they will clarify. “Even after Amnesty International report, we visited the sites again and discovered there were activities in Oginiland. Activities like crude oil theft, bunkering and vandalism are ongoing. You need to go there and see what the situation is. We observed that the people of the community were all over the place and there were indications that illegal activities were going on, including third party activity. The level of crude oil on the surface showed that they were recently carried out after we had left the sites,” he said. During an interactive session in Port Harcourt, recently, Shell’s General Manager, NCD, Mr Igo Weli, affirmed that the said spill sites were thoroughly cleaned up

and duly certified by the Federal Government through the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). Weli, who described the report issued by Amnesty International as misleading, said Amnesty International did not include the causes of the later spills, which, according to him, was solely caused by third party interference, which led to a recontamination of the Ogoni environment. “There are some spills from third party interference, that is, theft, illegal bunkering. Since 2011 till date, we having been publishing details of our spills, JIV reports and whatever we are doing on our website, which I don’t think any other

multinationals does that religiously as we do. “Essentially, the recontaminations resulting from subsequent spills in 2013-2014, are what Amnesty International saw and thought that they are parts of the spills from 2009 and claimed that they have not been remediated. So, how could SPDC, therefore claim that the sites have been certified clean. “This is the confusion that Amnesty was not able to pull together and our investigation proves otherwise that indeed, the sites and the spills that Amnesty referred to have been under control. “The recent recontamination seen in the area is as a result of new

spills, which was sabotage spills between 2013 and 2014. And, we would have started the remediation of that sites, we started cleaning up oil from the sites, but then access was denied; it was only about five weeks ago that we were granted access again and we have started remediation work on those sites,” he said. The Amnesty report had alleged that NOSDRA had certified oil polluted sites at Ogoni in the Niger Delta, as clean when the sites remain polluted. Director-General of NOSDRA, Dr Peter Idabor said that the allegations were false and baseless as oil pollution occurs on a continuous basis.

Olatunde Dodondawa with Agency Reports

ment to deal with that is seemingly tone-deaf to Canada’s oil industry challenges. In mid November, when Trudeau said an oil tanker ban would be implemented on the North Coast of British Columbia, it posed a major impediment to Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. While the line already received regulatory approval from the National Energy Board, if a crude tanker ban is in place there would be no point in bringing crude oil to the coast, and no need for the pipeline. There are no solid plans for a refinery in the area. The dual pipeline is aimed at exporting 525,000 b/d of Western Canadian crude from Alberta to a deep water port at Kitimat, British Columbia, and was targeted for start in late 2017/early 2018. The pipeline will also import 193,000 b/d of condensate to flow in a reverse direction from the coast to Alberta’s oil sands producers. The ban was an election promise the Liberal Party made before elections last

fall to save ecologically-sensitive areas, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister James Carr told reporters in Calgary in late November. Work is already underway to develop a strategy to implement the ban, a Transport Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier said without indicating a timeline or the road map ahead. She did not respond to pointed queries whether the ban would include condensate and LPG tankers and the LNG carriers that are expected to set sail from the ports of Kitimat and Prince Rupert from 2020 onward to navigate along the northern coast on their way to Asian markets. If those products were included in the tanker ban, billions of dollars in projects would be at risk. There is now talk of extending the ban farther south along the province’s coast and the transport minister has been asked to look into it, Carr said in November without elaborating. A southern extension of the

ness to pay for electricity, as if it is a social service. This must not continue and it is an appeal,” he said. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa but remains one of the countries with lowest per capita energy consumption. The role of thumb for any developed nation is to have at least 1000MW for every 1million people. With this rule, Nigeria requires 160,000MW of energy to achieve an industrialized nation status. However, this same rule provides a useful dictator as to the scale of the investments that will be required in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) over the coming decades. Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is just seven per cent of Brazil and just three per cent of South Africa. Brazil has 100,000MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 201 million people. South Africa has 40,000MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 50 million people. The peak generation for Nigeria was 4600MW in December 2015 for a population of 160million. For decades, the power sector has been characterised by same set of challenges ranging from inadequate power supply, poor and neglected transmission and distribution networks, massive power theft and vandalism. Besides, the value chain inefficiencies, about 50 per cent of power bought is not paid for due to power theft, inadequate collection infrastructure, insufficient/non cost reflective tariff, exchange rate factor, and insufficient CAPEX.

Political promises squeeze Canadian oil industry The oil industry had eight years of an energy friendly government in Canada and couldn’t get a single new export pipeline built. Now, with newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keeping his campaign promise of banning tanker traffic off parts of Canada’s west coast, it put the already reeling industry further on its heels and could eventually force more production shut-ins and cuts in investment due to a lack of access to global crude markets. The previous government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and industry put its eggs in the Keystone XL basket and in the end got sideswiped by the US government not approving Keystone XL while giving the nod to US crude exports. Apparently, US shale development is less an environmental concern than Canadian oil sands. Now, the industry is pushing several new Canadian export pipelines, but has a new govern-

moratorium along the British Columbian coast would impact another major export pipeline project; the 890,000 b/d Kinder Morgan-backed Trans Mountain Expansion, for which an NEB ruling is due by May 20, 2016. The expansion, which is already facing a two-year delay with a planned start-up now in fall 2019 — would allow an additional 29 Aframax crude tankers to load at Westridge in British Columbia and use existing shipping lanes from Port Metro Vancouver in the south coast to the Pacific Ocean, Kinder Morgan legal counsel, Shawn Denstedt, said recently at an NEB hearing in Calgary. “It is pretty early to speculate what will happen with the tanker ban,” Enbridge CEO, Al Monaco said last month on a webcast. “We have heard the Prime Minister and Federal Natural Resources Minister and we have also been told, securing new markets is also an issue they will support.” It will be difficult to secure new markets without new pipelines.

tribunebusiness

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Cocoa production has arguably suffered neglect on account of Nigeria’s reliance on oil revenue. Elder Johnson Akinniyi, a cocoa farmer cum commodity merchant speaks with TUNDE BUSARI on cocoa rebirth and revolution, charging federal government to return to the farm.

OUTH-west region was synonymous with cocoa production in pre-independence Nigeria. Can the region still be classified as a prominent cocoa-producing arae in view of the effect of oil on our daily lives? I am happy you recall that Southwest was a leading cocoa producing region in Nigeria. Special commendation should go to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who, as premier of the Western Region, implemented policies that boosted cocoa production and agriculture as a whole. I am happy that all the magnificent infrastructure which Chief Awolowo used cocoa income to build, are still there for all generations to see. For instance, Cocoa House, the first skyscraper in the history of Nigeria is still standing tall at Dugbe Ibadan for all to see. I am very happy for the name they gave to the building. It will forever remind us the source of the fund used to build the edifice. Having said that, I can still say that South-west is still leading in cocoa production. But I must say that there is already a threat to our leadership position. Can you explain that? Successive South-west governments unfortunately were carried away by the so-called petro-dollar and forgot history. Yet, some of the leaders of these governments enjoyed Awolowo government scholarship funded by cocoa money. If they carried on from where Chief Awolowo had left and improved upon it; if they had planted more cocoa trees, they should not be rushing to Abuja. They should not be waiting for Federation Account. South-west ought to have been self-dependent, in terms of huge revenue. The threat to our leadership position now is coming from Cross Rivers State. Government of Cross Rivers has realized the need to move away from over reliance on oil and come up with robust agricultural policy. Don’t forget Cross Rivers is one of the oil-producing states in the country. Yet it sees wisdom in diversifying to agriculture, particularly in cocoa production. I have visited the state and I’ve seen what the government is doing, in terms of cocoa rebirth and cocoa revolution. I won’t be surprised that in the coming few years, they overtake South-west and make good revenue from cocoa. But I am not happy that South-west region, blessed with large fertile land, is in this situation. Efforts of our forefathers should not be allowed to waste like

Current oil crisis, potential blessing to agric

—Cocoa merchant that. I am, therefore, appealing to South-west government to have a change of heart and return to farm, especially at this time when price of crude oil in international market is crashing. I can tell you that South-west alone should by now be ahead of Cote d’Ivoire, a leading cocoa producer in the world. What is the size of Cote d’Ivoire? What is its population? We should have consolidated on our status as a pace-setter region. Our government needs to rise up now and embark on the revolution to restore the glory we are fast losing. Did the National Cocoa Development Committee (NCDC)

I am happy that all the magnificent infrastructure which Chief Awolowo used cocoa income to build, are still there for all generations to see.

comprising of 14 states, live up to expectation? My view on government, as regards these so-called committees, is not pleasant. All about these committees and policies are nothing but mere paper works. And a paper policy is different from effective policy implementation. Translating theory to practice has always been our problem in this country. That is why I don’t have any confidence in the socalled government policies simply because they don’t impact on the real sector. Do the committees cut across all the stakeholders? Is it not a case of putting square peg in a round hole? The committees are Abuja-based theoretical papers that don’t go beyond the Federal Capital Territory. But I think the time has come for the federal government to get serious and put the right people in agriculture sector. No one can predict the next fall of crude oil price at international market.

move from here? One, government needs to put right people in agric sector. I am talking of the stakeholders. I am not talking of suit-wearing government officials who farm only on their table. I am watching the current Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh. I hope he will use his wealth of experience as a stakeholder in Agriculture to do the needful. Secondly, government should set a target of, for example, a five-year-plan with a view to monitoring the progress of production. May be the government should target 2025. This will make the world know that we are really serious. What we produce in Nigeria is what South-west alone should produce. It is inexplicable to have the vast expanse of land yet leave it uncultivated. Deliberate policy should be made now to return us to the farm. Farmers should be motivated with necessary tools and fund and other incentives unlike what obtains now.

Can we continue to hope on hopelessness? The current oil crisis can be a blessing in disguise. Cote d’Ivoire, despite its little size and low population, accounts for 70 percent of world cocoa production. This should not be if federal government has been serious. The giant Nigeria should be the world highest cocoa producer. There are some countries of the world that don’t have oil at all and they are strong economies. They developed other sectors that give them high turnover.

What are the real challenges confronting farmers? That is an area I don’t like to discuss because it pains me talking on the suffering farmers go through in the remote villages they are.

Do you have idea of how federal government should

Does it make sense in 21st century that our farmers till use the olden day tool? This is the fate of farmers. They are ageing because of the stress and its associated problem in the farm. They are illiterates with little or rather no access to infrastructure. They cannot access bank credit facilities that can enhance their production. These and some other reasons combine to make

Nigerian Tribune

life miserable for them in their settlements and affect production. If you see the problem faced to transport farm produce to the market, you will sympathise with them. The roads leading to the farms are terrible. Yet, farm produce need to be taken to the market. Plantain, cashew, oranges and others suffer great loss in the process of being taken to market after harvest. And this is due to the poor state of the road that easily damages vehicles and detain the drivers and farmers in the bush until the products get spoilt. Also there is not adequate dissemination of information to the farmers. I don’t know the purpose served by the extension workers of the Ministry of Agriculture. These officials should be the link between the government and farmers with a view to building a good relationship with them in terms of sharing vital up to date information affecting the sector. How to tackle issue of pest and diseases among others should be handled by the agents. What are the challenges cocoa exporters face? In this era of devaluation of Naira thereby giving monetary value to export commodities, especially cocoa, operating business in Nigeria, is highly capital intensive. A ton of cocoa goes for $3,150, which is equivalent to almost N800,000. Anybody who wants to trade in cocoa should be looking at the region of N10 million to trade. Then how much do you think an exporter of cocoa will make when you are having too much money buying few commodity with very few margin. And the cost of fund in Nigeria is so high to the extent that you discover that you are not making any margin. Let me give you an example, let us say I borrow a sum of N1 billion, with that amount I may not be able to buy more than 1000 metric tons of cocoa at a time. The total expected income I can realize at a time let us say N20 million. Calculate the interest of N1 billion per annum on monthly basis, you realize that one is laboring in vain. Unless may be financial institutions like Central Bank come to the aid of the exporters by giving us loan in single digit interest. The role of Nigeria Export and Import Bank can also not be overemphasised. They can be of significant help. The lower the interest rate the better for the stakeholders to operate. Majority of exporters are becoming less interested in the business because of the thin margin paving way for them to look for business with high capital margin.. Do you think President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration with 2016 budget can make the difference? Now a barrel of crude oil goes for less than 30 dollars. So I expect President Buhari’s government to face agriculture seriously. Mass production of cocoa, cashew and other economic crops, that can generate revenue for the country, should be enhanced. This should be our new template now if we really want to survive this hard time occasioned by the free fall of oil prices in the market.

politics&policy

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

Gov race: The gathering storm in Edo APC In Edo State, there is anxiety in the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following alleged adoption of the chairman of the Edo State Economic Team, Mr Godwin Obaseki, by the state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, writes BANJI ALUKO.

ERHAPS, the most discussed political issue in Edo State lately is the perception that Governor Adams Oshiomhole has settled for the head of his economic team, Mr Godwin Obaseki, as the person he will rally support for to emerge the candidate of his party, the APC, in the state governorship election slated for the second quarter of this year. From journalists, who try to be on top of happenings in the state, to the members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who should naturally be interested in the matter, and to the highly politically conscious Edo people, the governor’s covert endorsement topped political discourse. It started small like a potential wildfire a couple of months ago. By last December, the talk had gained so much currency that it moved from mere words of the mouth to the media, with some people and groups expressing their disapproval to the plan, and some others offering open or tacit supports. Expectedly, the likely victims of Oshiomhole’s support or endorsement of Obaseki are the other APC governorship aspirants, who know that their ambitions could be “dead on arrival” if Oshiomhole indeed deploys his political network for Obaseki, who is regarded as a close ally of a business mogul, Aliko Dangote. This has created a deep divide within the party’s hierarchy, as the governorship aspirants and their loyalists are looking forward to an impartial Oshiomhole and a free and fair primary election. Those in these groups are heavyweights and appear to be preparing for an onslaught with the governor and his anointed candidate. Some of the governorship aspirants are Oshiomhole’s deputy, Honourable Pius Odubu; a former governor, Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor; incumbent Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie, who is a lawyer; former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state, General Charles Airhiavbere; a former Minister of State of Works, Dr Chris Ogienmwonyi; and Mr Kenneth Imasuagbon. These men constitute the first hurdle for Oshiomhole, as he embarks on the onerous task of making Obaseki the candidate of the APC. There were claims that Oshiomhole has started talking to some of the aspirants to let go of their ambitions and support his candidate. The governor, sometime late last year,

Oshiomhole

Osunbor

Now, we have almost 20 people parading themselves as aspirants in this party. Any politician should know that that gives 20 potential factions if not properly managed. was said to have called on two of the aspirants, who are in his government--deputy Governor Odubu and Commissioner Ogie-not to just step down for Obaseki, but collapse the political structures they had built over the years with the one he was building for Obaseki. Expectedly, the move did not go down well with the duo, especially Odubu. It is the worst kept secret in Edo State that the deputy governor has never enjoined the support of his boss ever since he showed interest in succeeding him. Armed with this knowledge, Odubu, in the last few years, built a political structure for himself. He used the last three years or thereabouts to build a political network across the 18 local government areas of the state. He is also quite popular in the Benin palace, as he is never far from the highly influential place. While he was constructing his political empire, Oshiomhole looked on, waiting to strike at the appropriate time.

This he did last year, as he sacked two commissioners, who were reportedly working behind the scene for Odubu. The affected commissioners were that of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lucky James and his colleague in charge of Basic Education, Mr Patrick Aguinede. The duo are now working with Odubu, with James coordinating political activities for him in the Edo North district and Aguinede doing the same in Edo Central. Quietly, the unspoken and undeclared schism between Oshiomhole and Odubu turned to a cold war as the governor moved to some local governments, untying some bolts that had been put in place by Odubu. Still, there was no report of breakdown of relationship between the governor and his deputy as some people feared. However, as the primary election drew nearer, Oshiomhole finally expressed his unequivocal disapproval of Odubu’s political activities,

admonishing him to halt his campaign. According to those close to Odubu, he is said to be unmoved by Oshiomhole’s support for Obaseki, as he know that the governor will at a point in time reveal his succession plan that will not favour him. He is particularly taken aback by the governor’s insistence that he should not run for the primary or collapse his structure for Obaseki. The next few weeks will indeed reveal if Odubu will indeed collapse his structure for Obaseki or will go ahead for a battle he had long prepared for. For now, there is nothing to suggest he is willing to let go of his ambition. Ogie’s situation is quite different from Odubu’s. Before now, he was the cynosure of all eyes, first as super commissioner and Oshiomhole’s anointed successor. Hitherto, he was targeted by other aspirants in the APC because of the perception that the governor was preparing him to become his successor. So much has been said concerning how Ogie lost Oshiomhole’s favour, but If Oshiomhole indeed considered Ogie as his successor, it was last year that the governor changed his mind. Ogie was said to have resented the idea of collapsing his structure with that of Oshiomhole/Obaseki, though his situation is believed not to be as complex as Odubu’s. He was reported to have said that he would contest the primaries, irrespective of the governor’s opinion and that he would accept defeat if he was defeated. continues pg31

politics&policy

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Godfatherism and other contending issues continued from pg30

One of the reasons many think the Ogie situation is easier is that he is not seen as a fighter, who is capable of taking the fight to Oshiomhole, who is like a political godfather to him. The respect he commanded within the Edo APC and in the state was largely due to the consideration that he was Oshiomhole’s man and his likely successor. Some pundits believe that without Oshiomhole’s support, he may not have the political network and sagacity to contest a governorship election or rattle Oshiomhole because his political life is too connected to Oshiomhole. This is why the Oshiomhole/Obaseki camp is confident that they will prevail on him and that he will not contest the primary election at the end. The other aspirants, who are not members of the Oshiomhole cabinet, and some interested groups such as the Benin Palace and other leading politicians, constitute another hurdle for Oshiomhole, as he draws his strategy. Unlike the aspirants in his cabinet, the action plan that will be deployed to curtail such contenders as General Airhiavbere, Mr Imansuagbon, Professor Osunbor and Dr Ogienmwonyi, is still largely unknown. Could it be that Oshiomhole believes that the quartet or any other aspirant is incapable of defeating his candidate? Many political analysts think so. It appears that unless the aspirants form a collective front, they are no match for Oshiomhole and Obaseki. One factor that favours Obaseki is the zero possibility of an alliance among the leading aspirants. They are all after the same medal and seldom see any gain in working together. This situation, according to analysts, will ensure that some delegates’ votes are divided among the other aspirants, while the targeted votes of Obaseki remain intact. Really, not many keen political observers in Edo fancy the chances of any of the four, who until recently were in the PDP, emerging the APC candidate. Imasuagbon, Airhiavbere and Osunbor joined the APC after the 2015 general election and a lot of people in the state are of the opinion that they have not been fully assimilated into the party. The same thing goes for Ogienmwonyi, who joined the APC in 2014. The duo of Imansuagbon and Osunbor, who are from the Edo Central zone, are even ranked as outsiders, as the APC is not predisposed to having governorship candidate outside of Edo South. Nonetheless, Imansuagbon along with Ogienmwonyi and Airhiavbere are said to have in their kitties enough financial resources to navigate the highly expensive and intriguing party primaries. They are fully aware of the odds against them and are ready to make up with their financial resources. Imansuagbon, a consistent governorship aspirant, for instance, is not taking his ambition lightly, as it was gathered that he has met with many delegates and party leaders and, has made certain commitments to them. He is surprisingly hopeful of snatching the APC ticket and will not also be happy about Oshiomhole’s endorsement of another aspirant. He is also counting on his popular among the Edo people because of his philanthropic gesture which has seen him given out rice to people for some years now. Airhiavbere, on his own, will be hopeful that the same magic wand that he used to secure the PDP ticket in 2012, despite being a late entrant into the race, will still do the

Obaseki

The highly influential Benin palace or traditional institution is another hurdle ahead of Oshiomhole. It was gathered that he will need to shore up the chances of his candidate among them.

work for him. He is also rich and has really gone far with the strategy he wants to deploy for the primary. If there is anyone people think could snatch the APC ticket among this group of politicians, it is Ogienmwonyi. Unlike Imasuagbon, Airhiavbere and Osunbor, who joined the APC after the party lost control of power, he left the PDP as far as 2014 and has since swung to action. He is also popular among the Benin, as he was said to have used his past offices as manager in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and as Minister of State for Works to have helped many Benin sons and daughters. Many even see him as a potential compromised aspirant. These aspirants and other aspirants are also waiting in the wings to benefit in case the Obaseki project tumbles. What is not clear, however, is the line of action they will take if Oshiomhole had his way or they do not win the APC primary election as expected. While a return to the PDP may not be attractive, it is doubtful if these men will remain committed to the APC cause. They are seen as wealthy individuals, who cannot be placated with promise of cheap political appointments and that their coming to the APC was solely to take a shot at the governorship seat. Depending on their level of grievances, they may adopt the “siddon look” approach or work behind against the interest of the APC. The highly influential Benin palace or traditional institution is another hurdle ahead of Oshiomhole. It was gathered that he will

need to shore up the chances of his candidate among them. It was learnt that some of the key figures have informed Oshiomhole that he should look for another person if he wanted to produce a successor for himself. Last week, a statement issued by the respected Benin Leaders of Thought (BLT) denounced godfatherism, even as the group maintained that it did not believe in the rumour that Oshiomhole had endorsed a candidate, given the governor’s position on the issue of godfatherism. The statement was jointly signed by the brother of the Oba of Benin, Prince Edun Akenzua, who is the chairman of the BLT, and the secretary of the group, Tosa Ovonramwen. While they did not confirm the rumour, the BLT stated that Oshiomhole, like any other citizen, has the inalienable right to support any aspirant of his choice, though that right will be exercised in a manner that also respects the right of other people to freely choose who will govern them. “BLT believe that godfatherism in Edo politics was detrimental to the social, economic and political development of the state. Godfatherism is not acceptable to BLT and the good people of Edo State. It should not be reintroduced under any guise. The people should be given free hands to determine their next governor... In a democracy, there is no substitute for popular particular. Even if a benevolent despot could govern in the public interest, he would be rejected by the classic democrat. Man can only know the truth by dis-

covering it himself,” BLT said. Marketing Obaseki has not been a complete bad market anyway. It appears some of the leaders in the Edo APC have great respect for Oshiomhole and have decided to go wherever he goes. Being a forceful person, the governor has also been able to get some leaders on his side. One of such persons is his influential political adviser, Charles Idahosa, who hitherto was with the deputy governor. Along with some others, he is expected to bring in more people on board and galvanize support for the Obaseki project. Another person, who may have been coopted into the Obaseki project is the state chairman of the APC, Anslem Ojezua. While addressing journalists, Ojezua said the APC would not hesitate to sanction any party member, who wants to foment trouble based on what he termed Oshiomhole’s rumored support for a particular governorship aspirant. Ojezua, who denied knowledge of planned imposition of aspirant on the party, said some people were misconstruing endorsement for imposition, pointing out that adding that it will be “naïve and unthinkable that a sitting governor will not have an interest in who succeeds him.” He said: “I have received several calls from members of our party and leaders of what they think we should do regarding 2016 governorship election in order to get a good candidate. It is not true that the governor took it upon himself not to conduct primaries or whatever processes that may lead to the emergence of a candidate. I took it upon myself and I told the governor that we cannot leave this process open without management and that is job of the state executive supposed to do and to ensure stability. “Now, we have almost 20 people parading themselves as aspirants in this party. Any politician should know that that gives 20 potential factions if not properly managed. I told the governor that as political leaders, we have a responsibility to our members to provide guidance and because of the role I will play in the selection process, it will not be right for me to coordinate this.” Despite the promises, it seems those against Oshiomhole’s choice are more than those in support of it. They believe that imposition or endorsement of candidate by the governor portends great danger for the APC and unless the situation is carefully managed, it may just be the foundation for the party to lose power to the opposition, who is not leaving anything to chance in their bid to regain power in the state. Those against Oshiomhole’s plan even went memory lane, recalling how his endorsed candidates, including his Chief of Staff, Patrick Obahiagbon, lost during the APC primaries or the final election. This is why the defeated APC candidate in the Edo South senatorial election, Honourable Samson Osagie, cautioned the governor to be mindful of becoming a campaign director to any aspirant, who seeks to govern the state, at least before the primaries. In a published article, the two-time member of the House of Representatives said the governor should realise that the Edo of 2008 when he assumed office and 2012 when he ran for a second term were different from the Edo State of now. He said it was almost forgotten by the governor and those he said have constituted a cabal around him that there is going to be an election after the primaries, adding that the ongoing mistrust was capable of working against the interests of the APC.

32 politics&policy

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Ugwuanyi

Okorocha

Obiano

The changing political paradigm in South-East Jude Ossai - South-East Bureau Chief

for political compromise.

HE political landscape of the South-East is fast taking a new shape. The zone was under the total control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when Nigeria restored civil rule on May 29, 1999. The situation remained so until the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) led by ate Chief EmekaOdumegwu-Ojukwu and the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) were formed to challenge the status quo ante. Since then, the politics of the entire South-East has continued to witness different forms of alliance and alignment, but which had little impact on the influence of the PDP even in the 2015 general election. Perhaps, the most striking change was the consolidation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its hold on the political lever of Imo State, one of the five states making up the zone. Lately, the battle for the soul of the zone is assuming a new pattern, with visible show of a gradual shift in political paradigm in the zone. The verdicts of the various election petition tribunals have turned out to be a mixture of the good and the bad for the PDP and some of its gladiators, especially candidates during the last general election. The body language of some of the major political actors indicates their readiness to seek new political alliances. The tendencies in the camp of others suggest their readiness

Abia The PDP has been in control of Abia State since 1999 except for three years (between 2007 and 2010) when the PPA won the state. The feat was achieved by the party through the efforts of a former governor of the state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu. Though a founding member of PDP, he left the party to form PPA, due to irreconcilable differences between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. To some political observers, the control of Abia State that prides itself as God’s Own State, by the PDP was circumstantial. According to them, the 1999 gubernatorial election in the state was perceived to have been won by Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, the candidate of the then All Peoples Party (APP). It will be recalled that after the declara-

tion of Dr Kalu as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chief Ogbulaor went to the governorship Election Tribunal to challenge Kalu’s election. Apparently to save the state from looming political crisis, some elders and the political elite, who as it were, were privy to what transpired during the poll were said to have appealed to Ogbulafor to withdraw his suit from the Tribunal, which he did. How Ogbulafor later joined PDP and was compensated with the position of national secretary, which he held for sometime before bowing out due to intrigues within the corridors of power. Today, PDP has lost many of its supporters and sympathisers in Abia due to what the critics of the immediate past state governor, Theodore Orji described as alleged poor performance by his administration. He is currently a Senator in the Na-

The political atmosphere in Abia is considered a bit foggy on account of the pendency of the governorship election petition before the Apex Court, following the nullification of Dr Ikpeazu’s election by the Appellate Court.

tional Assembly. His critics alleged that his administration could not fix the major road leading to the commercial hub of the East, Aba, as well as failed to resuscitate industries established by the defunct Eastern Regional government.. The growing popularity of APGA is deemed as reflection of Senator Orji’s poor outing as a governor, as the agitation by many Abians for a change has continued to grow. What is happening in the state is that some opposition political parties led by APGA have teamed up to wrest power from the PDP using Dr Alex Oti an astute banker as an arrow-head for a change. Be that as it may, the political atmosphere in Abia is considered a bit foggy on account of the pendency of the governorship election petition before the Apex Court, following the nullification of Dr Ikpeazu’s election by the Appellate Court. Anambra Anambra politics is as fierce as ever. In 1999, the state wasunder the PDP led by ex-governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju. However, Dr Mbadinuju lost power to the Ubas who brought in Dr Chris Ngige of thedefunct Action Congress. Dr Andy Uba, a onetime special aide to ex-President Obasanjo, was briefly as governor before he was sent packing by the court. With the dramatic entry of Peter Obi of APGA as a governor, PDP became an opcontinues pg33

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Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

How the parties stand continued from pg32

position party in the state and ever since APGA has beenin control. The control of political structure by APGA at the statelevel, however, defeats the argument that Anambra is predominantly a PDP state, the presence of prominent politicians in PDP in the state notwithstanding. The current travail of the PDP national spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh in the hands of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is not in the best interest of the party in the state, as some loyalists are rumoured to be contemplating renegotiating their loyalty to the PDP brand. As it is, the former national chairman of APGA and candidate forAnambra Central Senatorial District in the 2015 general election,Chief Victor Umeh, believes that his party is on the ground. Umeh had boasted of victory in the Anambra Central Senatorial poll over his rival, Senator UcheEkwunife of the PDP. The Court of Appeal in Enugu had ruled that a fresh electionbe held within 90 days in the senatorial district. Ekwunife, the candidate of the PDP, had secured victory at the Anambra State Election Petition tribunal. But Umeh had gone ahead to contest the decision at the Court of Appeal. The Tribunal declared Ekwunife the validly elected representative of the district. In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Danjo Yahaya, the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu said the election of Ekwunife did not meet the prescription of the Electoral Act. Enugu In Enugu State, PDP has held sway since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, with the party producing governors and almost all the National and State Assembly members. The only time the opposition party like Alliance for Democracy (AD) produced a Senator was in 2003. But the alteration did not last as the Senator Fidelis Okoro went back to PDP shortly after he was elected into office then. It will be recalled also that Igboeze North and Oji-River Local Governments had at one time or the other produced council chairman and state assembly member, respectively, in the thenAPP which metamorphosed into All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Investigation by Nigerian Tribune indicates that the political fortune of PDP seems to be under serious threat as the opposition parties in the state, led by the APC, are making in-roads into the enclave of the ruling party in the state. For instance, there are strong speculations that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi might move his tent to the APC. Already, political big wigs in the state such as Senator Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo and Senator Fidelis Okoro have swelled the ranks of APC in the state. Nwobodo, who was fingered in the Boko Haram arms saga, explained that he was not looking for a job but peace, stressing that he wanted his people to be part of the government at the centre. He recalled his travails as an opposition governor in the Second Republic. Also in January this year, over 100 people who claimed to be members of the PDP in the state decamped to APC. The event, which took place at Eke inUdi Local Government Area of the state, attracted high profile people including leaders of the APC in the state. Leading the decampees, Mr Emeka Udeh, said that he was able to convince his friends to join APC because he realised

Ikpeazu Umahi cian he had helped financially as far back as in 1999.

Although Umahi has officially denied attempting to move to APC, his body language suggests otherwise. Umahi was one of the first governors from the SouthEast geo-political zone to pay solidarity visit to President Buhari. that APC truly stood for positive change, adding that it was high time more people embraced APC in Igbo land. Udeh noted that they were not being affected by the bandwagonsyndrome, stressing that their action was based on reality on theground. Spokesman of the South-East APC Caucus, Osita Okechukwu, described the exodus of the ex-PDP faithful to APC as historic and memorable. Okechukwu said, “For me today is historic and memorable, as it has signaled the exodus from the PDP and other political parties in Enugu State to APC. Whereas, we do not want a one-party state in Nigeria; however we welcome you for your humility and candour in joining the party from the grass root - Eke Ward. The Ward is the primary unit and the soul of the party.” “We are also happy that you’re not among those PDP stalwarts who ignobly utilised the Dasukigate-Bazaar to allocate paltry 14,175 votes to Buhari in the presidential election in Enugu State and paradoxically today are joining the APC through the backdoor. For those double-faced Janus, we say Holy Ghost Fire!” Further finding showed that political parties such as APGA and Labour Party (LP) had gone under in the state as many their members are either in PDP or APC. Ebonyi

The state of political parties in Ebonyi State is unique asGovernor Dave Umahi of the PDP, although is in-charge, APC has gotmore faithful than before despite the berserk in the opposition partyin the state. It was gathered that there has been exodus of PDP members to APC in the state. The reasons are obvious. Both Governor Umahi andthe immediate governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi were in thethen APP. Secondly, Governor Umahi and Dr OgbonnayaOnu share thesame country home, Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of EbonyiState. Although Governor Umahi has officially denied attempting to move to APC, his body language suggests otherwise. For instance, Umahi was one of the first governors from the South-East geo-political zone to pay solidarity visit to President Buhari. Another thing that fueled the Umahi’s planned movement to APC was that during the last Id-Al-Maulud celebration, the governor Umahi sent gifts tosome prominent northern leaders in addition to his visit to Maiduguri where he donated relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). With the present political development that has jerked Dr Ogbonnaya Onu from opposition flank to ministerial position, he has become the rallying point in the Salt of Nation state, hence Governor Umahi may not like to distance himself from a politi-

Imo In Imo, Governor Rochas Okorocha of APC is in the saddle calling the shots. The PDP was in control of the state from 1999 to 2011 when Chief Okorocha took over the mantle of leadership. As it is, APC won the governorship election while PDP was declared winner in three senatorial zones namely; Imo-East, Imo-West and Imo- North. But recent events tend to favour APC if political tempo in the state is not altered. Last month, the Court of Appeal nullified the senatorial election won by Chief Athan Achanu of PDP. Feelers also showed that the formerSpeaker of Imo State House of Assembly (IMSHA), Honourable Benjamin Uwajumobi might take the advantage of the suit of the Accord Party (AP) candidate, Rita Ibeleme, at the Election Tribunal to overrun allthe senatorial candidates as the Tribunal has ordered for a fresh poll within 90 days. Ibeleme had gone to seek redress in the Tribunal because herparty’s logo was missing in the ballot papers during the senatorial election. All pleas to make her withdraw the case met a brick wall. Also in Isiala Mbano, a House of Assembly election was nullified by the Election Tribunal and fresh election is expected in the area.It was said that one person signed the result sheets of 12 wards that make up the constituency. It was learnt that one of the reasons APC may take over theconstituency is that Senator Ifeanyi Ararume is going to bring influence to bear during the election and he is now in alliance with Governor Okorocha. Further checks showed that APGA just exists on paper unlike in2011 when the party produced a governor in person of Okorocha. The fortunes of the Labour Party and Accord Party have since dwindled in the state.

features

By Kehinde Oyetimi and Sunmisola Jemilehin

LUWAROTIMI Agunbiade looked pinned, emasculated. As a trader at the Ogunpa Market in Ibadan, he obviously never imagined that the year would start on such note for his family, nay his business. He appeared unkempt as he struggled to wipe a tear or two from his eyes. There was a woman by his side whom he later identified as his wife. The patch of earth that he stood on was once where his makeshift shop sat. The bulldozer which had started work on Monday continued its frenzy of demolition. The popular Ogunpa Market had become, by Tuesday, a terribly huge mass of rubble.

“We don’t want any developer” The Oyo State government began demolition of the market made up of over 2,000 shops with the intent to raise modern outlets. But for Agunbiade and his co-traders, “this was not the agreement that we had with the governor.” Lamenting his loss, he told Nigerian Tribune that “I wonder how I will take care of my wife and children.” With a shaky voice he continued, “I have been trading here in the last 30 years. The government has a tradition of repeatedly harassing and destroying our shops. This is the sixth time that such would happen since I got here. We have been constantly told that there are plans to modernise our shops but our fear has remained that all of us won’t be able to afford the cost of the newly built shops. We don’t want a developer to handle the modernisation of the market. It will not be in our interest. The government should handle it, not a developer.” “My mother’s health in the balance” Another trader, Adeyemo Oluwaremilekun bitterly said that her mother’s health was in the balance considering the demolition of her shop. “I have trading here in the last five years with my mother. She was the owner of the shop that was here before the demolition. As I speak with you, she is at home. She has been ill since her blood pressure rose as a result of this. She has been crying. She has paying for this shop. They told us that they would destroy this place but the question has been that what other alternative do we have. There are thousands of people here. We have many graduates here. Where do we go? We don’t want any developer,” she said. “We took loans; our creditors are after us” For one of the women leaders of the market, Mrs Aduke Iyiola, nothing was more callous. According to her, “The government did not tell us that this demolition would take place. We met the government repeatedly and this demolition has taken place repeatedly. Many of our co-traders have been hospitalised. Some are even dead. Things were not this bad. It was when Wasiu Olatunbosun took over as caretaker chairman that things degenerated for us here. He demolished the market on January 10, 2012. It is exactly four years after that exercise. “We don’t know where to go. We are ready to do whatever the government wants as long as we are allowed to stay here. We took loans. Many of our creditors were here yesterday. But how do we service those loans? We cannot survive without our trade.” Adebayo Abdul-Ganiyu, another trader, also condemned the action of the government. “When the demolition started on Monday, this place was flooded with our creditors. Our children are in school. Where do we go? The people who are behind our predicament are the ones who will benefit from the modernisation of the shops. I pay rent on this shop. I am penniless as I speak with you. Many goods have been destroyed. There is frustration everywhere. Many have not recovered from the demolition of year 2012,” he said.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Ogunpa Market demolition:

Our members are dead; we are stranded —Traders

It’s high time we modernised the market —Olatunbosun, ex-LG boss

Folorunsho A bulldozer at work in the market. PHOTOS: ALOLADE GANIYU With a pained look, Dada Samuel, trader, cursed his luck as he spoke. For him, “We never expected this from government. We have families. On Monday when the bulldozer arrived at the shop of one of us, he started pleading that he should be allowed to pick his wares but they refused. He collapsed and later died. We are begging the government. We don’t want a developer. We would rather that the government builds the shops and not the developer. There is no data base to ascertain those of us who are here. After the modernization of this place, it would be difficult to identify the original shop owners of this market. The new shops will then go to other people.” “We don’t want to go into crime” Abdulakeem Daud clearly in his early thirties feared that for young traders in the market, it would be difficult to curb crime after the demolition. “There are many young men and women here. Should this exercise continue, there will be a huge army of the unemployed in the state and then the crime rate will increase. I have been a trader here for a long time. We don’t want to resort to crime. We are pleading with the government,” he said. The Iyaloja of Ogunpa, Hamdalat Seriki, told Nigerian Tribune that the former chairman of the local government area should be held accountable. According to her, “When the caterpillars came, they destroyed our goods. We were not allowed to pick our wares. The former chairman started all this. We are very many here. They accused us of being politicians. We are not politicians. Many people have been hospitalized. Where do we go? We are not going to benefit from

When the demolition started on Monday, this place was flooded with our creditors. Our children are in school. Where do we go? The people who are behind our predicament are the ones who will benefit from the modernisation of the shops. I pay rent on this shop. I am penniless as I speak with you.

Oluwaremilekun Dauda

Samuel

Hamdalat

Adebayo the modernisation of the market. How do we offset the loans that we took? Many goods have been destroyed.” “We are over 10,000 traders here” Abiodun Folorunsho, chairman of the Ready-made Clothes Traders Association Ogunpa, told Nigerian Tribune of the traders’ dilemma. According to him, “Ogunpa Market is volatile. In 2012, this place was demolished. But the governor later said that he never said that this place should be demolished. What we later saw was that Wasiu Olatunbosun who was the then caretaker chairman told me that his family owned the land and that he had been asked to collect another payment. I told him that it was not true and that his family had no claims on this land. Since then he has been doing all sort to frustrate us here. We are over 10, 000 traders here. They told us that this place has been handed over to a developer who will build

Agunbiade this place in 6 months. But where do we go in the next six months? How will we benefit from the modernization? We have lost two co-traders since the demolition started.” It’s a lie; nobody died—Olatunbosun In a swift reaction, Wasiu Olatunbosun, former caretaker chairman of Ibadan North West Local Government Area, argued that “Why would they say that they lost their members? Did anybody attack them? It is a lie. Nobody died. The security operatives were there. Before the demolition started, they had already removed their properties. That place belongs to the government. It is not their property. In the last five or six years, they have not been paying their rent to the local government. They took us to court and the court ruled about three years ago that the land belongs to the local government and that the local government could do whatever it likes with the land.”

news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Bayelsa poll: 3 people died —IGP •As APC condemns violence From Chris Agbambu and Christian Okeke – Abuja With Agency Reports

ONTRARY to report making rounds that about 20 people were killed during the just concluded violent marred governorship election in Bayelsa State, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, on Tuesday, said that only three people lost their lives. Arase, who stated this when he played host to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in his office, in Abuja, vowed to unravel the mystery behind the killings and bring perpetrators to book soonest. The Police boss said the police under his leadership was being driven by rule of law, accountability, technology and intelligence-led policing. Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the violence and killings in the just-concluded supplementary governorship election in Bayelsa on Saturday. The APC chairman, Chief John Oyegun, condemned the killings while answering questions from State House correspondents in Abuja, on Monday night, after a meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee. The meeting was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo. Oyegun also said that the party had “a lot of reservations” about the conduct of the election and would, therefore, “examine what has come out very carefully and decide the next line of action.” “The Bayelsa election has come and gone. We have very deep regrets that there was so much blood that was spilt in the process. “We have a lot of reservations, some of which our candidate has very eloquently expressed. On the ongoing fight against corruption, Oyegun said that the party was not in any way apologetic over the arrest and interrogation of some politicians and bigwigs across the country. According to him, there is a lot of rot in the system, which the present administration is determined to cleanse, no matter whose ox is gored. The APC chairman also

said it was not true that the anti-corruption crusade was meant to decimate the opposition, especially the top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He said that the party would soon be facing about 78 different electoral exercises following various court judgments across the country. .Oyegun said that the party was looking forward to the early passage of the 2016 budget by the National Assembly to ensure its smooth implementation. Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, in Abuja, said

that Police, the body statutorily given the role of maintaining law and order and leveraging on its large network, its investigative capacity and the fact that its personnel reside largely among the people, is now required to step in to protect vulnerable places currently being targeted by what he described as decimated Boko Haram insurgents. He said the police can do so by working with transport workers, market women, local government councils and police public community relations councils, faith-based organisations, community development councils and other necessary stakeholders.

He also urged the police to provide 24-hour, costfree protection for the premises of broadcasting establishments. ‘’May I also use the opportunity of this visit to formally convey to the Inspector-General the message from the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), when I met with their members last week in Abuja. They asked me to implore the Inspector-General to provide 24-hour police protection, at no extra cost, for the premises of their organisations. I am hereby presenting and endorsing their demand,’’ he said Responding, the Inspector-General disclosed that with the support of Presi-

dent Buhari, the police leadership had commenced projects aimed at enhancing the technical intelligence capacity of the Force, with a view to strengthening their operational competence and managing highly-organised crimes, including terrorism and other crimes of national security. He pledged to partner with Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in the public sensitisation against terrorism, and said the police high command would fashion out modality for the immediate deployment of policemen to provide adequate security for media houses across the country.

From left, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and the DIG, Logistics and Supply, Mamman Tsafe, during the minister’s visit to the Force Headquarters, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

We are not perpetrators of hideous crimes Fulani Youths scribe MEMBERS of the Miyetti Allah Fulani Cattle Breeders Association have denied accusation of crimes being levied against them in different parts of the country. Mr Bayero Ibrahim, the Secretary of Fulani youths nationwide, who spoke on their behalf, made the denial in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Wassa, Abuja, on Tuesday. Ibrahim argued that Fulanis were mostly victims of communities where they settled rather than perpetrators of hideous crimes often ascribed to them. He urged the government and Nigerians in general, to disregard the perception of Fulanis as “bush people, violent people” and see them as “decent citizens.”

The secretary urged the government to include Fulani youths in skill acquisition programmes that would capacitate them. According to Ibrahim, many Fulani elites within

and outside the country are professionals in different fields while some hold political offices and others work with international organisations. “I will not dispute the fact

that our major occupation and what the Fulanis are known for is cattle breeding, but aside that, we are not different from any other tribes that are regarded highly.”

Police high command redeploys two AIGs and 17 CPs Chris Agbambu – Abuja

THE Police high Command has effected the redeployment of two AIGs and 17 CPs with effect from January this year. The AIGs affected are AIG Zone 10, Tambori Y. Mohammed and AIG Zone 4 Makurdi, Mohammed J. Gana. Informed Police Services disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that some state police command became vacant following the proceeding of the affected CPs to the National Institute for Policy and Stra-

tegic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, for the one year executive and leadership course. The source added that some CPs are also soon to proceed on retirement. Among those redeployed are CPs Maugari Abbati Dikko, Kaduna State; C.P. Emmanuel Ojukwu Police Eastern Port Authority Port Harcourt; C.P. Basem Gwana, Kogi State; C.P. Sam Okaula, Kwara State; C.P. Peter Babatunde Oyunyawo, Bayelsa State; C.P. Esosa A.M. Amadasun, Force Quarter Master

Department of Logistics and supply and C.P. Nassarawa Lawal Shehu. Others redeployed include C.P. Waheed Olayinka DFS FHQ; C.P. Foluso A. Adebanjo, Admin DLS FHQ; C.P. Usman Yakubu, Research and Planning FHQ; C.P. Emmanuel T. Inyang, Armament FHQ, C.P. Agboola Oshodi Glover, G.I Force CID; C.P. Nasiru Disu Ola, C.P. Admin DFA FHQ; C.P. Nwodibo Ekechukwu C.P., Enugu State and C.P. Ibrahim Adama, Admin DOPS FHQ.

Ekiti govt begins disbursement of N500m SMES loan EKITI State government will on Wednesday, begin the disbursement of N500 million Small and MediumSized Enterprises (SMEs) loan to 4,519 beneficiaries. The N500 million is the first tranche of the N2 billion the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earmarked for the support of small and medium scale enterprises in the state. The beneficiaries will get minimum of N50,000 and maximum of N1million. N250 million will be disbursed as Micro loan while another N250 million will be disbursed as SME loan to 4,519 beneficiaries out of the 4,564 Ekiti residents that applied for the loan. The State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti, while meeting with the management of Community and Micro-Finance Banks in the state. The banks are to serve as the medium of disbursing the loans to beneficiaries. In a statement in AdoEkiti by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, the governor will also meet beneficiaries of the loan at the Governor’s Office later in the week. Governor Fayose said the loans would not be allowed to go down the drain like previous experiences, adding that the state government stood as surety for the beneficiaries. “I am happy to let the good people of Ekiti know that the first tranche of N500 million has been given to the state from the N2 billion we are expecting to help SMES grow in our state. The release of the remaining sum is predicated on how well this first payment is utilised. “On the part of the state government, we will ensure that beneficiaries utilise the loan judiciously. This is not going to be seen as largesse from the government or the so-called national cake. “Beneficiaries will be adequately monitored, as the state government is the one that guaranteed the loan. “On the part of the disbursing banks, that is Community and Micro-Finance Banks, we are giving them adequate warning that anyone that fails to live up to expectations will be punished. There is no room for any shady deal. We want a judicious use of the funds for the economic growth of our dear state,” he said. The state Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, said a monitoring and recovery team had been set up and that every effort would be made so that beneficiaries would not default.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Edited by: ‘Gbenga Opadotun olojaekuro@gmail.com 08037149731

Reside within your council areas, Enugu LG bosses told

OVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has directed all local government caretaker chairmen and their deputies to, as a matter of policy, reside in their respective councils, adding that the era of living in hotels was over. Ugwuanyi gave the directive during the swearing-in ceremony of the chairmen

at the Government House, Enugu. “All chairmen and their deputies must reside in their councils as the era of living in hotels and running the local government areas is over,” Ugwuanyi said. Meanwhile, Mr Chijioke Edeoga, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, has said that the new local govern-

Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu State

LG polls: Traditional ruler hails gov’s step A prominent traditional ruler in Oyo State, Oba Abdul-Ganeey Adekunle Salau Ologunebi Ajinese II, has hailed the decision of the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to conduct local government election within the next six months. Speaking with newsmen at the weekend, the Aseyin of Iseyin said the decision was wise and popular. He said the step would enable people at the grass roots to fill the impact of democracy as they would be able to elect their leaders. He added that the nonconduct local government polls in the state had brought untold hardship to the people as the state government alone could not do everything for the people.

Oba Ologunebi – stated that the step would bring life to the grass roots which had for long being neglected and abandoned. He added that the governor through this had endeared himself to the people and had many new party supporters to the APC. “We will not hesitate to join other prominent traditional rulers to openly support and campaign for the governor’s party like some other prominent traditional rulers in the state.” he added. The traditional ruler also hailed the way and manner the governor resolved the imposes over the promotion of some Ibadan high chiefs describing him as a listening and understanding leader who had respect for culture and tradition.

ment caretaker committee chairmen inherited over N4 billion in debt. Edeoga said that the debts were incurred by the elected chairmen whose tenure expired on January 4. He further ladded that the disclosure was necessary for the incoming chairmen to understand the enormity of financial obligations they would be faced with after their inauguration. “What is happening here today is the result of extensive consultations, mental and physical work put in to constitute an impeccable team. It is a clarion call to duty. “You heard the governor talk of bailout. What is being handed over to you are sets of financial obligations to grapple with, so that you can begin to address them,” he added Edeoga said that acceptance to serve was a clarion call to duty, adding that it was their responsibility to prudently utilise available resources to meet the challenges ahead. The commissioner listed the financial obligations of the various local government areas as follows: Aninri, N290 million; Awgu, N155 million; Enugu East, N365 million; and Enugu, North N207 million.

Similarly, Enugu South, N465 million; Ezeagu, N479 million; Igbo-Etiti, N360 million; Igboeze North, N330 million; Igboeze South, N622 million, and Isi-uzo, N198 million. Others were Nkanu East, N408 million; Nkanu West, N290 million; Nsukka, N552 million; Oji River, N175 million; Udenu, N346 million; Udi, N242 million, and Uzo Uwani, N286 million.

Responding on behalf of the chairmen, the chairman, Nsukka Local Government Area, Professor Rose Onah, said it was great to be considered to serve in that capacity. Onah said that in spite of the enormous financial challenges, they still thanked God for the opportunity. “We have heard the enormous financial challenges and it is something to thank

Youth leader wants South East govs to restore LG glory THE president of the Igbo Youth Congress (IYC) in Lagos State, Mr Bright Ezeocha, has urged governors, especially those in the South East, to restore the glory of local governments. Ezeocha told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that such a restoration would drastically abate youth restiveness and also foster development and progress in the region. “There is no real third tier of government in our geo-political region. Local government administration is virtually inactive in our system.

“They are supposed to be the closest government to the grassroots, but that is not the case. “Meanwhile, local governments are the most capable to create employment, engage the people and empower the grassroots,” the youth leader said. Ezeocha condemned the regular postponement of local government elections in the zone and the use of caretaker committees or administrators as the managers of local government. He urged the South-East governors and legislators to ensure that council elec-

NULGE scribe blames Egor council management over salaries Abiodun Jimoh Benin City

THE secretary of the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Aguonye Chukwuemeke, has blamed the management of Egor Local Government Area for the non-payment of the 10 months salary arrears amounting to N500 million being owed its workers. The union scribe said this while speaking with newsmen in Benin City while reacting to the delay in payment of the salaries of workers despite having expressed their grievances recently across Benin me-

God for being chosen to occupy these positions of responsibility,” Onah said. The three of the immediate past chairmen, whose tenure elapsed on January 4, were re-nominated to serve in the new capacity. They are Mr Cornelius Nnaji of Enugu East, Afam Okereke of Nkanu West and Cornelius Onwubunya of Uzo-Uwani local government areas.

tropolis. It will be recalled that in December 2015, over 600 staff of the council embarked on alms begging to survive the yuletide season from motorists and passersby on major roads and adjoining streets in Benin. The event was led by the state president of the union, Comrade Young Ilenikhena, other executive council members and all the 18 branch chairmen as part of measures to survive. “The situation is unfortunate, it is the management of Egor Local Government Area that has plunged

workers into this problem and not the state government. “The state government actually assisted the workers by securing the bailout from the Federal Government to other councils that were owed arrears, but Egor council management failed to summit their bill on time and that is why today, it is the workers that are suffering. “Can we now say we will leave the situation probably like that, no. the state government should still please come to the rescue of the innocent workers and whatever things they can do to alleviate their suffering, they should do it,” he stated.

tions were held in consonance with the law and that financial autonomy was granted to the councils. Ezeocha also called for the election of more responsible and people-oriented leadership in the zone for its rapid development. “The enemies of the Igbo today are those that call themselves our political leaders. Our leaders are desperate to enrich themselves and amass wealth for themselves and their families. “There is truth in the claim that some of our leaders are richer than the state that they are supposed to be governing. “Poverty is widespread in our region because our leaders don’t think Igbo; they invest less in Igbo land and invest more in their pockets,’’ he said. Ezeocha urged political leaders in eastern Nigeria to always embark on projects that would have positive impact on the people. He noted that the Federal Government could not provide the region with everything it needed to develop, saying that “our leaders need to be responsible and think development’’. “We can resort to selfhelp and look inward for our development.” Ezeocha urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure even distribution of federal projects in all the regions of the country.

news Lagos reports 4 suspected cases of Lassa fever 37

Newton-Ray Ukwuoma - Lagos

HE Lagos State Ministry of Health has reported four suspected cases of Lassa fever in the state, three of which have tested negative to the disease and one confirmed primary contact quarantined. The Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, who confirmed the suspected cases in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, said that three of the four suspected cases were reported by the Mainland Hospital and

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

General Hospital in Mushin and that further laboratory tests released on Tuesday confirmed them to be negative while the quarantined suspect is a primary contact of the confirmed case in Rivers State who lives in Lagos. Dr Idris further stated that the primary contact alongside other secondary contacts have been placed on close monitoring, but maintaining that none has manifested symptoms of the disease while they are placed under investigation. “The first suspected case,” he said, “is a 47-year-old woman who was referred to

General Hospital, Mushin, from a private health facility on 7th January, 2016 with three days history of sore throat; frequent watery stooling of eight hours duration; difficulty in breathing of one hour duration and widespread petechae hemorrhages on the body. “Patient later died few minutes after reaching the hospital. However, result of laboratory investigation (blood) later released was negative for Lassa fever. “The second suspected case, a 31-year-old woman from Nassarawa State, was

referred from a private hospital to Mainland Hospital, Yaba, on account of the following symptoms she developed on 4th January: fever, sore throat, abdominal pain, discharge from the eyes, bleeding in the vagina, passage of bloody urine, anal bleeding and hemoptysis. Result of laboratory investigation (blood) was negative for Lassa fever. “The third suspected case, a 24-year-old housemaid who returned from Taraba State, was brought by her relations to Mainland Hospital, Yaba, on the 8th January, on account of fever,

15 persons under surveillance in Plateau FIFTEEN persons have been placed under surveillance in Ting, Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, following the outbreak of Lassa fever in

2 cases in Ondo Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

ONDO State government on Tuesday confirmed that two cases of Lassa fever have been recorded in the state. It said that one of the victims had died of the virus. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, who disclosed this to newsmen in Akure, the state capital, during a stakeholders’ meeting on prevention of Lassa fever, stated that one of the victims of the virus came to the state from Edo. According to him, the two victims were taken to the State Specialist Hospital in Akure from Ose Local Government Area which shares border with Edo State. The commissioner said that one of the victims was from Edo State. While speaking with community leaders, which included traditional rulers, opinion leaders, religion leaders and health workers, the commissioner called on them to help in the crusade against the spread of Lassa in the state. Adeyanju also urged the stakeholders to be vigilant of movement of strange people into their communities and advised them to refer any sick persons with symptoms of Lassa to the nearest hospital for prompt attention. He explained that the state government had put in place measures to curb the spread of the disease in the state. He, however, said the health ministry had put under close monitoring about 31 persons who had contacts with the two suspects to avoid the spread of the disease. Adeyanju revealed that

the area. This was after Miss Nandi Audu, who was preparing for her wedding in February, reportedly died of the fever on January 9 at Lakowa Hospital, Mangu.

the outbreak control team at the local government had been re-activated, while emergency lines had been released to the public with jingles on radio and television to sensitise the public about the disease.

Chairman of the council, Mr Titus Bise, who disclosed this in Mangu, on Tuesday, said 15 persons, including the medical personnel who attended to the lady, were under surveillance to avoid spread of the disease. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that those quarantined included her family members, friends and medical personnel who attended to her in the hospital. A reliable source told NAN on condition of anonymity that other patients

ran away when news of the deceased’s ailment filtered out in the hospital. “We learnt that the victim took ill shortly after her return from her village, Ting, where she spent the Christmas and New Year holidays with her loved ones,” the source said. Bise described the incident as a “very unfortunate and disturbing development.” The chairman said a sample of her blood was taken and sent to Owerri in Imo State for laboratory test.

vomiting and diarrhea on 9th January, 2016. Result of laboratory investigation (blood) was negative for Lassa fever. “However, one of the primary contacts of the confirmed case in Rivers State who resides in Lagos is presently being monitored along with her contacts

Nigerian Tribune

(secondary contacts). All the contacts as at the time (Day 14) of this briefing are apparently healthy,” he said. In response to the delayed report, the commissioner said the ministry had to wait for laboratory confirmations before going public.

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39 CHANGE OF NAME

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I, formerly Miss Ajibi Sarah Opeyemi now MRS. AKINTOBI SARAH OPEYEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Tawakalitu Olasunbo Olubajo now MRS. TAWAKALITU OLASUNBO DEHINBO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ayodele Abisola Ololade now MRS. ADESANYA ABISOLA OLOLADE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Alao Omotola Adenike now MRS. IGE OMOTOLA ADENIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, aDEYEMO BEATRICE am the same person as ADEYEMO BILIKISU ABOLADE. All documents bearing these names refer to me and remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Bakare Aliu Abiola now ABUBAKAR ALI ABIOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Saliu Azeez now LATEEF NOJEEM ADELEKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

THIS BOX IS FOR SALE

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Gunmen kidnap RCCG pastor while preaching •2 doctors also kidnapped in P/Harcourt Yinka Oladoyinbo And Uduakabasi Patrick

O fewer than 10 gunmen invaded the suspected Resurrection Parish of the Redeemed Church of God (RCCG) at Kabba junction in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and whisked off the presiding pastor while preaching. The pastor, who was identified as Ayo Funsho Rapheal, according to an eyewitness account, was forcibly taken away in the presence of church members, during the Sunday service. It was, however, gathered on Tuesday that the pastor had barely mounted the pulpit at about 9.30a.m when the incident occurred. The development according to a source, led to pandemonium in the church, as members ran helter-skelter for safety while the dare-devil invaded the church. An eyewitness said the invaders, who were fully armed, stormed the church premises in a com-

Delta Shoprite vandalism: Police declare council boss, park chair wanted

Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

Following recent vandalism of Effurun Shoprite by hoodlums, Delta State Police Command has declared the suspended chairman of Uvwie Local Government Area of the state, Mr Henry Baro and chairman of the central motor park, Effurun, Napoleon Odibu, for their involvement in the matter. The crisis, the Commissioner of Police, Alkali Baba Usman said, was allegedly an offshoot of altercation Baro had with two naval men outside the Shoprite. Addressing a press conference in Asaba, on Tuesday, the state commissioner of police said the miscreants who damaged and looted various items including laptops and handsets from the shopping complex, were hired for the mischievous mission by the duo currently on the run. But in a swift reaction, Mr Baro said he was not evading police invitation, adding that he had lost confidence in the Delta State Police Command. He alleged that the state command was being used by his political detractors to undo him.

rado manner and immediately started shooting into the air to scare away people in the vicinity, adding that they also ordered the congregration to lie face down. Some members of the gang the Nigerian Tribune learnt, were said to have gone straight to the direction of the pulpit, where the pastor was standing and forcibly took him away from the church. Pastor Ayo, according to the eyewitness account, was dragged barefooted from the church into a nearby bush, before he was

whisked off. Members of the church, a source revealed to the Nigerian Tribune, sustained bruises as a result of panic caused by the gun shots. The kidnappers, after taking the clergyman to an unknown destination, a source disclosed, were said to have opened a line of communication with the church elders on Monday evening, demanding for N50 million as ransom, before the pastor would be released. The Kogi State command of the Nigeria Police, however, said it was not aware

of the incident, even as the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the command, Williams Aya, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the headquarters was yet to be informed by the officer in charge of the area. In a related development, unknown gunmen have kidnapped two medical doctors in Port Harcourt, the RIvers State capital on Tuesday and Sunday morning, respectively. Confirming the incident to the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, was a former

chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) Rivers State, Mr Ibitrokoemi Korubo, who is also the current NMA national executive council chairman on consultancy services. According to him, the first doctor, a lady and an eye specialist at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital in Port Harcourt, was kidnapped on Sunday morning on her way to church while the other doctor, who works in one of the primary health centres, was kidnapped at 4.00 a.m, on Tuesday.

From left, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Lawal Habiba; Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and the President, Nigeria Academy of Engineering (NAE), Professor Raifu Salawu, during a courtesy visit of NAE’s delegation to the minister, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

Nigerian varsities need rebranding —NUC scribe Clement Idoko-Abuja

THE Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, has flayed critics of the Nigerian university system, that the products of the system are not employable. Okojie said what was needed was to rebrand Nigerian universities, stress-

ing that the quality of graduates from any university in Nigeria, was comparable to graduates from any best institution in the world. He spoke on Tuesday, in Abuja, when he visited the communications parallel session of the ongoing capacity enhancement and sustainable workshop for the Nigeria African Centres of Excellence (ACE), hold-

ing at the commission. Okojie said he could defend the quality of programmes run by Nigerian universities anywhere in the world, adding that as the regulator, he would stand firm to lead the campaign for rebranding of the universities to correct the erroneous perception of the institutions. He said the global low

Kidnappers demand N100m ransom for monarch’s kidnap •Whereabouts unknown 10 days after Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

The whereabouts of the traditional ruler of Ubulu-UKU clan in Delta State, His Royal Majesty Obi Edward Ofulue remains unknown 10 days after he was kidnapped by gunmen. Although sources confirmed that a N100 million ransom was demanded by his captors, the Delta State Police Command is yet to comment on the incident. The state Commissioner of Police, Alkali Baba Us-

man while parading 24 hoodlums including 16 kidnappers and six robbery suspects in Asaba, said the command had intensified its dragnets to secure the monarch’s release. Obi Ofulue was recently kidnapped between Obior and Igbodo towns close to his domain by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen, just as he allegedly lost huge sum of money to a domestic staff who absconded before he the (king) was kidnapped. According to the police boss Baba Usman, five

kidnappers whose names were given as Goodluck Oghenebrumu, Infulence Philip, Ikogho Oghenetega, Sunny Prince Iyaweru, all of Jese and Emmanuel Felix from Agbarho, were arrested by the police in Oghara, after breaking into the home of Prince Ighere Orie, at Oghara, and thereafter kidnapped his wife on January 8 this year. The suspect allegedly took away the woman to unknown destination, after dispossessing them of N115, 000.

ranking of the institutions notwithstanding, “Nigerian universities have done well. The important thing is what impact we are making on the society and Nigeria at large.” He added that the commission has a record of those who made Third Class from Nigerian universities, but became super-stars in top universities in the United Kingdom and other countries of the world, coming out with First Class well ahead of their classmates. He said the ACE project was a commendable effort to further improve on research capacity of the universities, to be able to respond positively to the development challenges in Nigeria and the entire African continent. “When Ebola came, Nigerian universities had immediate response in contributing to eradication of the epidemic. Redeemer’s University, which is one of the 10 African Centres of Excellence in Nigeria, hosting ACE for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, provided solution to Ebola,” Okojie stated.

Niger gov mourns Amb Gara Adelowo Oladipo-Miinna

Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello has expressed deep shock and sadness over the death of a former Secretary to the State Military Government (SMG) and an erstwhile Ambassador to Malaysia, Alhaji Abdurrahman Gara. He stated this in a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Malam Jibrin Baba Ndace, saying that the state, has indeed, lost a rare gem whose lifetime was devoted to the services of his creator and humanity in general. “I am deeply pained and words are of no significance in expressing our sorrow over the loss. The deceased has remained one of the most patriotic sons of the state whose passion in seeing to the growth and development of the state cannot be quantified,”said Alhaji Bello. Meanwhile, Alhaji Bello, on Tuesday, condemned the violent clash in Suleja Local Government Area of the state, between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). on Monday.

NUJ, RATTAWU advocate LG autonomy Adetola Bademosi-Abuja

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), on Tuesday, advocated autonomy of the 774 local government councils in the country. The unions, during stakeholders meeting with the Association of Ex-Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria, Abuja stated that the third tier of government is most capable to identify and address the needs of people at the grassroots. The NUJ President , Comrade Waheed Odusile informed that the issue of local government autonomy had been a serious concern for long, thus, the need for relevant stakeholders to ensure the councils are given due attention. He said the meeting was relevant to address lingering issues, especially conduct of local government poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

44 news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Robbers attack bank customer in Lagos Olalekan Olabulo -Lagos

our suspected robbers, who attacked a bank customer around Fadeyi area of Lagos State, escaped death by a whisker, as residents attempted to kill them. The suspected robbers were arrested by residents of the area , before they were rescued by policemen. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the suspects had trailed a female bank customer to a branch of an old generation bank in Fadeyi. The robbers had reportedly succeeded in snatching a bag from their victim and were trying to escape when residents of the area mobilised and confronted them The robbers, while trying to escape with their operational motorcycles, shot sporadically and caused pandemonium in the process. An eyewitness, who simply identified himself as

Ifeanyi, told the Nigerian Tribune that the robbers missed their way in the process of trying to escape from the scene. “People did not know what was happening until one of the robbers started

to shoot, forcing people to run into different directions.” The eyewitness also added that “it took the intervention of policemen from the RRS and the mobile policemen at a nearby bank be-

•Police arrest 4

fore the mob released the suspects to the police. The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmus, confirmed the arrest of the suspects. “The robbers snatched

NDLEA quizzes staff, Ojukwu’s niece, three others Shola Adekola -Lagos THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is currently interrogating one of its operatives over alleged conspiracy to import cocaine from Brazil. The investigation, which commenced after an abandoned luggage from Brazil was found to contain 2.24kg of cocaine at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, had already led to the arrest of five suspects. Those being interrogated included Ali Bala Adamu, a staff of the NDLEA; Ijeoma Ojukwu, a niece to the late Nigerian politician, Chief

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and three others, Victor Umeh, Uche Igwelo and Egbuche Fidelis Osiita. Reacting to the arrest, the acting chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Mrs Roli Bode-George, said the agency would prosecute whoever found guilty. “The NDLEA is following every lead professionally and will exploit more opportunities towards getting every culprit arrested. “We have also expanded the scope of our investigation and everyone involved in this illegal importation of narcotics shall be diligently prosecuted. The agency will continue to uphold the rule of law and dislodge drug

trafficking organisations in the country,” Roli stated. NDLEA commander at the airport, Mr Ahmadu Garba, said that cocaine seizure was the first in the year, adding that “on January 1, 2016, one Egbuche Fidelis Osita came with authority letter mandating him to collect the bag. In the process, some white powdery substance weighing 2.24kg that tested positive for cocaine was discovered. The drug was neatly packed in four parcels concealed in false bottom of four female handbags. Further investigation led to more arrests.” Preliminary investigation by the NDLEA revealed that Ijeoma Ojukwu, 48,

Nigerians receive treatment from Nigerian doctors abroad —Otolorin Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta

The chairman,management board of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Professor Emmanuel Otolorin, on Monday, submitted that Nigerians seeking medical attention abroad were treated by Nigeria medical experts. He said this at the opening of a seminar tagged “Quality of care course 101 for OOUTH staff”,organised for heads of departments and units,as well as representatives of unions and associations of the hospital. Otolorin, who is the country director, Jhpiego Corporation,an affiliate of John Hawkins University,said the process of treatment and not personnel, were the bane of the nation’s health sector. He expressed displeasure that professionals, who were in the habit of seeking alternative method in their practices, contributed to the challenge being witnessed in the sector. Otolorin, who was the pioneer Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, blamed successive governments in the country for establishing health facilities based on political considerations. “Nigeria is blessed. When you look at Africa, we have some of the best practitioners in Africa and even elsewhere in the world. Many of our doctors and nurses who

the victim’s bag containing some amount of money but they were unfortunate that a policeman on motor bike patrol witnessed what happened and gave the hoodlums a hot chase,” he added.

have migrated are doing very well in a different environment where the inputs are there, the processes are in place and the outcome is therefore, appreciable. “I worked in United Kingdom for a while and I used to laugh when people will come from Nigeria to U.K, for a service and a Nigerian doctor is the one taking care of them. So, we have good health care workers but we also need to put in processes

and systems that everybody will follow. “The problem with us is that people take shortcuts and when you take shortcuts; the quality of services you provide will be not be optimal. So, we need to stop taking shortcuts. “Part of the problem we have in this country is that a lot of health facilities have been established based on political considerations. He, however, he called for

a reduction in the number of heath care centres in the country. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Alfred Jaiyesimi, in his opening speech, said the seminar was put together towards improving the quality services being delivered in the hospital. He said, “what we are doing in this hospital is to take a look at the services we are providing.

who owns a restaurant in Brazil, is a suspected member of an international drug trafficking organisation. She allegedly conspired with other suspects to collect the abandoned bag from the airport with the intent to recover the 2.24kg of cocaine. She was said to have contacted a staff of the NDLEA, Ali Bala, on how to facilitate the collection of the bag at the airport. The agency also impounded the Acura MDX vehicle that the suspects drove to the airport. “I have a restaurant in Brazil where I sell African food. I am from Anambra State and I am married and blessed with three children. My brother came from Brazil and could not find his bag. It was in the process of trying to get the bag out that we were arrested,” she said. Thirty-six-year old Uche Igwelo, a graduate of Public Administration, said she was invited by Ijeoma to assist in collecting the bag. Egbuche Fidelis Osita, a 37-year-old 400-Level student of English Education, said that he was asked to collect the bag. The agency said it had commenced investigation into the case to determine their level of culpability before prosecution.

Marketers dare NNPC, sell petrol for between N110, N130 per litre Continued from pg8 The development followed the sealing off of about five petrol stations within the state capital, on Tuesday, by officials of the Department of the Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Some of the stations selling at the official price were World Oil at Oke-Ilewo, Fatgbems, MRS at Isale-Igbein. However, a petrol station at Ita Eko area still sold the product at N100 per litre as against the new price on Tuesday. In Port Harcourt, while the queues may have gone in most of the filling stations, most independent marketers still sell the product for as high as N130 per litre in the state capital. Though the affected filling stations displayed N86.50

on their meters as the pump price, they flagrantly disregarded the directive by NNPC not to sell above the official price. As of Tuesday morning, a petrol station on AdaGeorge Road sold to motorists at N125 per litre, while another one on the same axis sold at N120 per litre. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, one of the attendants said they were compelled to sell at that rate in order to break even, claiming that his manager got fuel at a higher price. Commuters in Owerri, Imo State, suffered on Monday, as they resorted to trekking to their various destinations because of strike embarked upon by independent marketers. The independent marketers had held a meeting at the weekend that they

would not commence sale at new price of fuel as directed by the Federal Government because the old stock in their stations had not been exhausted. The strike resulted in increase of transportation fares in all the routes in the state, while most residents resorted to trekking to their various destinations. Despite the deadline on compliance by fuel marketers to adjust to the new pump price of N86.50, most filling stations across the length and breadth of Ibadan continued to sell fuel at varying prices. Nigerian Tribune investigations revealed that most filling stations were yet to comply, blaming their failure on the price they bought their last stock. Few of the petrol stations visited by the Nigerian Tri-

bune showed that the attendants were mostly under pressure and, in most cases, had to explain why they had not complied with the order of new pump price. From Ologuneru, Eleyele, Dugbe, UI road, Ojoo road, the prices were between N110 and N120, while some major marketers selling at the official price of N86.50 had fair queue of vehicles at their locations. At a fuel station around the NTC junction, Liberty Road, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, a team of police officers from SARS with their official car had argument with an attendant of the station, in an attempt to buy at the official rate. Their argument was that the filling station had the official pump price displayed on their pump machine while they were selling at N110 per litre.

Nigerian Tribune

Kogi governorship: Voters drag FG to ECOWAS court Seven registered voters in Kogi State have sued the Federal Government in the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS, alleging inconsistency in the election of Yahaya Bello ,as the state governor-elect. The suit with registration number ECW/CCJ/ APP/02/16 filed at the ECOWAS Court headquarter, Abuja, was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday. The plaintiffs named as “Citizens of Nigeria and registered voters in Kogi State” include; Sule Audu, Ikeleji Agada and Labaran Dadio. Others are Isaka Isa, Abdul Audu, Ademu Abdullahi and Sulaiman Abdul. The suit filed by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Festus Ogwuche, named the Federal Government, as the sole defendant. The plaintiffs are asking the court to compel Nigeria to apply the instrumentality of its Constitution and International Treaties and Conventions to redress alleged anomalies flowing from the conduct of the state governorship election.

Lawmaker pays WAEC/ NECO fees for 40 students in Nasarawa Ademola Adegbite - Lagos A member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, representing Obi constituency 1 under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable Isah Mohammed-Sani, on Tuesday, announced the payment of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examination s Council (NECO), fees of about 40 students in his constituency. Mohammed-Sani, who made this known during an official presentation of 20 motorcycles to party officials and supporters to ease their movement and enhance party activities in the area, added that the payment of WAEC and NECO fees, were to reduce parents’ burden as regards their children‘s education. He, then, called on parents to give adequate priority to the education of their children, saying “education is the only legacy parents could leave for their children and assured his constituents of quality representation.”

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

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08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

After Ebola, 2 other tropical diseases pose new threats — Scientists

Suicide bomber kills 10 Germans in Istanbul

little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, Reuters quoted scientists as saying, adding that a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm. The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them. Researchers in the journal, Nature Microbiology called for a bacterial infection called meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organisations and policy makers. At the same time, scientists at Britain’s Oxford University warned that a virus known as Zika, which is carried by mosquitoes and has caused a major outbreak in Brazil, has “the potential of rapid spread to new areas”.

Bodies litter a square after an explosion ripped through the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, the city’s main tourist hub, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP/GETTY IMAGES.

An Indian health worker distributes leaflets on a street in an awareness drive against the spread of dengue fever, a mosquito borne disease, in Kolkata, India. PHOTO: AP. Zika was first detected in Africa in the 1940s and was unknown in the Americas until last year, but has now been confirmed in Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Guatemala and Paraguay, according to public health officials. It is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which thrives in tropical climates and can also carry other diseases such as yellow fever,

authorities there last year linked it to a surge in babies born with microcephaly, restricted head growth that seriously limits a child’s mental and physical abilities.

dengue fever and chikungunya. Thousands of people in Brazil have been infected by Zika. While the virus is not thought to kill, health

one of the world’s most visited cities. He said a Syrian was thought responsible and that the blast would only harden Turkey’s resolve in fighting terrorism. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the bomber had been identified from body parts at the scene, and was a Syrian national born in 1988 whose links were being investigated.

North Korea plans to wipe out US

Ex-Chinese vice minister jailed 15 years for bribery A court in northern China sentenced a former Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Public Security and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Li Dongsheng, to 15 years in jail on Tuesday for accepting bribes, state media reported. Dongsheng is the latest senior figure to fall in President Xi Jinping’s anticorruption crackdown that has targeted scores of highlevel officials, including figures linked to China’s former state security chief, Zhou Yongkang. Zhou, the biggest tiger to fall, was once seen as a po-

A suicide bomber thought to be from Syria killed at least 10 people, many of them German tourists, in Istanbul’s historic heart on Tuesday, an attack senior security officials said was probably planned by Islamic State. Reuters said President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the bombing in Sultanahmet square, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, major tourist sites in the center of

tent rival of Xi and was at the center of a vast patronage system from his various positions of power. Dongsheng was sentenced by a court in Tianjin city, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Calls to the court rang unanswered.

North Korea said on Tuesday its nuclear test was not intended to be a provocation or threat, as it laid out plans for a weapons

system capable of obliterating the entire United States. A lengthy commentary by the official KCNA news agency underlined

the North’s claim that last Wednesday’s test was of a powerful miniaturised hydrogen bomb which marked a “new high stage”

in the country’s search for a credible nuclear deterrent. Experts have largely dismissed the claim, saying the test yield was far too low for a full-fledged thermonuclear device and was similar to the simple fission implosion devices it has tested three times in the past.

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma

The United States will suspend duty-free benefits for South Africa on March 15 because it has failed to meet the requirements of a trade deal, President Barack Obama has said in a move that could cost South Africa up to $7 million. The suspension, accord-

ing to Reuters is seen by analysts as a move to pressure Pretoria to loosen restrictions on U.S. farm exports, in particular on U.S. poultry products. South Africa has said it is concerned that an outbreak of avian flu in the United States, which killed nearly

50 million birds, could pose animal and human health risks to its economy. The U.S. denies there are such health risks from its poultry. “I have determined that South Africa is not meeting the requirements … and that suspending the

application of duty-free treatment to certain goods would be more effective in promoting compliance,” Obama said in a proclamation. South Africa’s trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

North Korea Kim Jong Un

United States President Barack Obama

otherNEWS US to suspend South Africa trade benefits on March 15

Ghanaian president defends decision to accept Guantanamo detainees

Li Dongsheng

Ghana’s President John Mahama defended on Tuesday its decision to accept two Yemenis released from the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay and said criticism from Christian leaders that the men could endanger national security was mis-

placed. Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih alDhuby were transferred to Ghana after being held for more than a decade in Guantanamo, Cuba, the U.S. Defence Department and the Ghana gov-

ernment announced last week. According to Reuters, a group of powerful Christian leaders said on Monday the men posed a security threat and should be sent back to Guantanamo, while the main opposition party, the New Patriotic

Party, said the government should have consulted more widely before accepting the two men. Comments posted on social media and callers to radio phone-in shows in Ghana have also expressed widespread opposition to their arrival.

Ghana’s President John Mahama

news

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016

Trailer crushes 4 to death, wounds 3 in ibadan By Wale Ojo Lanre and Tunde Ogunesan

our persons were crushed to death, while three others were wounded when a trailer rammed into the Okada operators park, located at New Garage roundabout, Alao Akala Expressway, Ibadan, on Monday night. The driver of the Volvo trailer with Lagos registration number LND 221 XA lost control of the vehicle while attempting to negotiate the roundabout and ran over seven motorcycle riders with some loaded with passengers. When Nigerian Tribune visited the scene of the accident, it was a tale of tears, anguish, lamentation and agony, with blood of the deceased persons and mangled bodies splattered over the road. Police officers, passersby, officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) had combined efforts to rescue the three injured victims who were rushed to the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The dead bodies were deposited in a private mortuary. The driver of the trailer was arrested by the Police and detained at Orita Challenge Police Station. The round-about is usually a beehive of heavy traffic as it links four major areas; Orita-Challenge, Ijebu Ode, the Lagos Ibadan Expressway and Apata. Recounting the incident, many eyewitnesses held that the incident could have

been averted but for the high speed of the trailer driver. Mrs Adeyemi Adeola, who wept uncontrollably, described the lady among the victims as a workaholic who just closed for the day. “I just left her shop. This is sorrowful. Oh my God, this lady had just left her restaurant. What a pity!” Another eyewitness, Mr James Odukunle, described the situation as “a day that a devilish driver took hold of the steering and dispatched

many innocent souls to a hot end.“ One of the dead victims, ostensibly an okada rider held on to the key of his motorbike till death. DPO, Orita Challenge Police Station, Bunmi Apapa, who with his men kept vigil at the scene of the incident commended the people for their support and cooperation on the night of the incident till Tuesday morning. He supervised the towing of the trailer to Orita-Chal-

FIVE people lost their lives on Tuesday afternoon on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway while travelling outside Lagos. The accident occurred at the Eldorado axis in Aiyetoro village, Mowe area of the state, when a Mazda white bus with registration number LAGOS APP 36 XA rammed into a DAF truck marked OYO GNN 774 XA as a result of excessive speeding. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the accident happened at about 1.20pm leaving 13 others injured, including three children. According to the Public Relations Officer, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, those injured had been taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, while the bodies of the dead have been deposited in the

by all government agencies which participated at managing the situation and prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead persons. Commenting on the incident, a lecturer, Mr Paul Aderemi, called on drivers to ensure regular maintenance of their trucks and be sensitive to other road users. “Although, I am not sure of the reasons for this accident, but at the end of the day, it may be an avoidable death,” he said.

The state of a pedestrian bridge at Queens Cinema, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday. PHOTO: Nan

FG to grow grasses for cows to end herdsmen/farmers’ clash Biola Azeez - Ilorin Following incessant and persistent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in most parts of the country, the federal government says it has formed an innovation to grow grasses in southern parts

of the country in the next two years to feed cows at designated locations. Speaking at the flag off of the second phase of Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE) at the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) in Ilorin, on Tues-

5 dead, 4 injured in Ogun, Lagos expressway accidents From Oluwatoyin Malik and Olayinka Olukoya

lenge Police Station. He said, “Yes, it was a gory situation. But with the support we garnered from the people, we were able to arrest the driver, saved some lives and decently took the dead ones to the mortuary.” A former caretaker Chairman , Oluyole Local government Council, Mr Abass Ayodeji Aleshinloye, who visited the scene on Monday night and Tuesday morning, applauded the maturity and sense of purpose displayed

morgue. He said the accident was as a result of over speeding on the part of the driver of the Madza bus, who was said to have overtaken the truck from the rear having lost control of the vehicle. The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Adegoke Adetunji confirmed the incident,but claimed that 23 people were involved in the accident, which left four males and one female dead. In a related development, three adults and one child, who were among the seven occupants of a black Nissan Pathfinder, were seriously injured in a lone accident at Onigaari Village, along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Tuesday. The accident reportedly occurred 2.42p.m. after the driver of the SUV with registration number 10F20FG did a wrongful overtaking and lost control of the vehicle.

The occupants comprised of the adults (a male and two females) and four children (three males and one female). Confirming the incident to the Nigerian Tribune, a senior official of the FRSC confirmed the cause of the accident to be wrongful overtaking, adding that the injured victims had been rushed to Immaculate Hospital, Ogunmakin for medical attention.

day, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said that the government was determined to put an end to the incessant crisis in the next two years. “The Fulani cow you see wandering about is a very unhappy animal. We don’t feed it well; it does not have water to drink and in roaming around it is creating crisis between herdsmen and farmers. “So, we intend to bring that crisis to an end in the next two years. We will simply grow grasses for the cows, locate them in one place, give them good water to drink and good veterinary services. “If rice and wheat and sorghum can grow in the north, then cattle folders can grow in the north. If the largest ranch on earth

is in Saudi Arabia with 153,000 cows and the Saudi authorities grow grasses in the United States, ship them to Saudi Arabia to feed their cows there is no reason why we can’t grow grasses in the south and transfer them to the north to feed our cows. This innovation will happen,” he said. The minister also said that the government had perfected plans that would persuade commercial and agricultural related banks in the country to reduce interest rate on agriculture loans from its present nine per cent to five per cent. Chief Ogbeh, who said the development would make the nation conform to the world standard lending rate and bolster the interest of more youth in farming.

Fire guts Edo secondary school Banji Aluko - Benin City Fire has razed parts of Ogbe Secondary School, a public secondary in Benin City, Edo State. The fire, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, destroyed the administrative building of the junior secondary school arm and another building housing three classrooms and the administrative office of the

secondary school arm. Surprisingly, a three-classroom block that separates the two burnt buildings was untouched in the incident. The incident has left the senior secondary arm of the school, which hitherto had two blocks of six classrooms, with only a threeclassroom block. Teachers in the school alleged that the incident was a case of arson, pointing out that the incident could not

have been caused by fire as none of the classrooms in the school is connected to power. A teacher in the school, who preferred anonymity, said some important documents such as class register, records of students, books and some learning aids were lost to the fire disaster, even as he noted that certificates were not lost in the incident as they are not kept in the school premises.

Nigerian Tribune

Unpaid salaries: APC chieftain asks residents to shun rumour Biola Azeez - Ilorin A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Alhaji Sulyman Kayode Yusuf, has advised residents of the state to shun rumours over the lingering salary crisis affecting some civil servants. Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, Alhaji Yusuf, a former chairman of the state’s Local Government Service Commission, said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the elected office holders should not be blamed for downturn in economy in the almost 23 states of the federation. Alhaji Yusuf, who said the state government should be commended in its efforts to offset outstanding salaries of workers, added that allocation accruable to the state was not even enough to pay workers salary.

7th NASS legislative aides protest non payment of severance allowance Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja Former Legislative Aides in the 7th National Assembly under the umbrella of the 7th Senate Legislative Aides Forum protested the non payment of their severance allowance on Tuesday, alleged that the National Assembly Management have diverted the sum of N10.6bn Severance and Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) meant for them. Speaking on behalf of the forum, Mr Afo Godwin, lamented the non payment of their allowances despite the repeated assurances from the management. He disclosed that “we are here to find out few things regarding payment of our DTA, severance among others, which was reflected in the supplementary appropriations and which we were promised would be paid before Christmas.” Mr Godwin, who was an aide to the former Senate President, David Mark, said there was no communication between NASS management concerning the payment, adding that they were all denied entrance to their former offices.

Wednesday, 13 January, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Quadri, Toriola, Offiong for ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup

R U N A Quadri, 2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Player and six-time Olympian, Segun Toriola as well as Olufunke Oshonaike and Edem Offiong have been confirmed as Nigeria’s representatives at next month’s ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup holding in Khartoum, Sudan. According to the list of qualified players released by the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Quadri who won the tournament in 2014 in Lagos will battle for the title against his rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar who has remained a threat to the Nigerian on the continent. The tournament scheduled to hold on February 14 to 15 has the top 15 players on the continent including a player from the host country to complete the top 16. Toriola will join Quadri to

I paid for my wife’s release —Ogude Amkar Perm FC player, Fegor Ogude has d i s closed that h e beat

compete for the laurel in the men’s event, while Oshonaike who has already secured a place at this year’s Rio Olympics in Brazil will be joined by Edem Offiong who plies her trade in the Portuguese elite league. Having claimed three titles last year, the Egyptian duo of Omar Assar and Dina Meshref top the list of invitees for the two-day tournament to be staged at the International Conference Centre, Khartoum. Others on the list are Saheed Idowu (Congo Brazzaville); Idir Khourta (Algeria); Suraju Saka (Congo Brazzaville); Olouwachehoun Guiganfode (Benin); Mawussi Agbetoglo (Togo); Sofiène Boudjadja (Algeria); Adem Hamam (Tunisia), Fessou Lawson-Gaizer (Togo); Alain Patrick Jague Niken Jiotsa (Cameroon); Derek Abrefa (Ghana) and Emmanuel Ngwe Nikeng (Cameroon).

Edem Offiong

down the price asked by abductors and paid only N1.3 million as ransom for the release of his wife from kidnappers. Memunat Ogude, wife of the Nigeria midfielder, was abducted on January 4 from her residence in Warri. “Well, I paid nothing much for her release. I paid 1.3m naira though they demanded 30m naira,” Ogude was quoted by TheCable. The 2013

How 5 ministers, football stars, celebrities lit up Glo-CAF Awards THE 2015 Glo-CAF Awards was a roll-call of celebrities from different walks of life. Government officials, corporate executives, football stars, music and Nollywood celebrities all turned out to make the gala held last week at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, a glamorous show. Five ministers led a high powered government delegation to the event. Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung, represented President Muhammadu Buhari who won the CAF Platinum Award. Also in attendance were the Ministers of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, and Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika. Also at the gala were former ministers and senators including Sanusi Dagash, Bala Kaoje, Joy Emodi, Grace Bent and Duro Faseyi. Other government officials present were the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, Di-

rector General of National Space Research and Development Agency, Seidu Mohammed; the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi; Deputy comptroller general, Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Dan Ugo, Honourable Justice Benedict B. Kanyig of the National Industrial Court, former Head of Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsanye; Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Honourable Suraj Adekunbi, Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Babatunde Fowler, Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Sani Mohammed and Police Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, Glo Business Associate and Managing Director of Easy and Quiet, Mr. Mohammed Anthony. Others were Engr Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, NCC; Hon. Lekan Saheed Fijabi, Chairman, House Committee on Communications; Senator Obinna Ogba, Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports; Hon. Goni Lawal, Chairman, House Committee on Sports and Mr Adolphus

Joe Ekpe, DG, National Lottery Regulatory Commission and DG, National Sports Commission, Dr Alhassan Yakmut. From the sports community were the Acting President of FIFA and Confederation of African Football President, Issa Hayatou, winner of the 2015 Glo-CAF Awards, Pierre-emerick Aubameyang; first runner-up, Yaya Toure, and the second runner-up, Andrew Ayew, who came with his father and Ghanaian legend, Abedi Pele. President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinick; Vice President of the Federation, Seyi Akinwunmi, Chairman of League Management Company, Shehu Diko; the President of Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, former international footballers, Dan Amokachi, John Fashanu, Folorunsho Okenla, Austin Okocha and Emmanuel Amunike who is also Chief Coach of Nigeria’s U-17 team were also at the gala. Others were Herve Renard who won Coach of the Year; Chairman, Pamodzi International, Mike Itemuagbor; Chairman of

Sunshine Stars, Akin Akinbobola; former international football star, John Fashanu; former Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, and former Director of the Commission, Bolaji OjoOba; Chairman, Enyimba Football Club, Felix Anyansi-Agwu; and Chairman, Nasarawa United FC, Isaac Danladi. There was also a heavy presence of top African music celebrities including Malian legend, Salif Keita, Grammy Award winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo of South Africa, Awilo Longomba from Congo, Shatta Wale from Ghana, Ahmed Soultan from Morocco and the best of Nigerian entertainers, King Sunny Ade, D’banj, Flavour, Korede Bello, Di’ja, Bez Idakula, Omawumi, Ego and Paul Okoye of PSquare. Some of the Globacom Ambassadors at the event included Ini Edo, Funke Akindele and Richard Mofe-Damijo. From Ghollywood came Glo ambassadors Van Vicker, Jackie Apia and Nadia Buhari.

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner disclosed that his wife was unhurt while in the kidnappers’ den but will undergo medical examinations. “Yes, she is alright but I have to ensure that she is. I have taken her to the hospital for proper medical tests and checkup because the kind of ordeal she must have gone through in the hands of the armed men is nothing to be taken for granted. I have to be sure that she is very okay. “She was taken to a very bad place, a swampy forest, a dirty place to be kept for almost a week. Imagine what she must have faced during the number of days she was kept there. But I am thanking God that I got her back alive. It is her life that’s the most important thing to me. “You know that a lot of people will go there and won’t come back alive, so I am happy that she is alright and alive.” he said.

Marylove, Osewa dazzle at Africa tennis circuit NIGERIA’S Marylove Edwards on Tuesday continues her great display in the 2016 ITF/CAT Africa Junior Championships West & Central qualifiers with an impressive 6-0, 6-1 win over Serena Geli of Togo as the 12-nation tournament holding at the Tennis Centre of the National Stadium, Abuja reaches its crucial stage. The 10-year-old is known for her double forehand and double backhand has been one of the standout performers in the tourney having defeated her previous opponents from Ghana and Nigeria with the same scoreline to top her pool. She is now on course to face her compatriot, Oyinlomo Quadri, who returned to winning form by beating Ghanaian Naa McKorley 6-1 6-2. Quadri, 12, who is now based in Morocco on a year-long ITF scholarship, suffered a shock 6-4, 6-0 loss to Patricia Wamba of Cameroon in her first match. Nigeria also had it good in the boys’ 14&u as Michael Osewa posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Cameroun’s Paul Wamba, while Gabriel Friday and Musa Sani both triumphed 6-4, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-2 over Charles Alipoe of Togo and Louis Nyarka of Ghana respectively in the same category. Osewa, who won bronze at the main AJC in Tunisia last year expressed confidence of winning the category and do the same in the AJC billed for Pretoria, South Africa in March.

SIDELINES

NO 16,413

N150

WEDNESDAY, 13 JANUARY, 2016

Revealed!

CHAN: Tunisia is a major threat —Oliseh

Italy boycotted Ballon d’Or over Buffon’s absence ITALY coach, Antonio Conte and captain Gianluigi Buffon did not participate in the Ballon d’Or vote at the request of their federation in protest at Buffon’s absence from the list of candidates, Italian media reported on Tuesday. The veteran Juventus goalkeeper did not make the preliminary list released in October with five goalkeepers chosen ahead of him -- Manuel Neuer, Iker Casillas, Thibaut Courtois, Claudio Bravo and David Ospina. And in the voting list released by FIFA on Monday night after Argentina and Barcelona star, Lionel Messi won a record fifth award for the world’s best player, the results for the

Italian coach and captain were missing, although the Italian journalist voted. Sports dailies Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport reported that Conte and Buffon had not voted at the request of the Italian football federation. Buffon’s absence shocked Italy where it was estimated that he deserved his place more than Porto’s former Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas, Barcelona’s Bravo and Arsenal’s Ospina and as much as Bayern Munich’s Neuer and Chelsea’s Courtois. At 37, Buffon is still first choice for his country and Juventus who he helped reach the Champions League final last season.

Since 1999, controversy has always dogged the presentation and deliberation of national budget. The controversy this time is about the whereabouts of the 2016 budget. If ‘stolen’ as has been said in some quarters, what benefit will it serve the ‘thieves’?

COACH Sunday Oliseh has disclosed that it won’t be an easy ride for Nigeria’s Super Eagles as they seek to make history at the African Nations Championship in Rwanda with a group C header against former champions Tunisia. Nigeria first featured in the third edition of the biennial event in 2014 and ended the campaign in third place. Coming off a 1-0 friendly defeat of Cote d’Ivoire on Monday, Oliseh has assured of his team’s readiness for the tournament as he downplayed the categorisation of the CHAN team as a Team B. “We’ve had some knocks, but I think everybody is ready. Already most of them train with the socalled A team, because as far as I’m concerned we don’t have A or B. it is still about the same thing just that these ones ply their trade back home,” Oliseh told the Su-

Buffon

Messi wins platinum boots as all-time best

RGENTINA captain, Lionel Messi now boasts platinum boots after being celebrated as ‘the greatest player of all time’ by adidas. The Barcelona superstar on Monday night clinched the 2015 Ballon d’Or as the world’s best player for the fifth time at a ceremony in Zurich, beating rival Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Neymar to the award. And after scoring 52 goals for club and country in 2015, Messi’s incredible achievements have been recognised by his sponsors with some precious footwear. Based on the current Messi 15 model, adidas has created a design featuring real platinum elements which have never been seen before on a football boot. The back has four gold dots and one platinum dot to signify Messi’s record haul of five Ballon d’Or trophies, while a Spanish phrase translating as ‘the greatest of all time’ is printed on the sole of the right boot. Both the Messi and adidas lo-

gos are made from real platinum, which is another nod to Messi not just being a winner, but the greatest player on the planet. Meanwhile, Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Colombia skipper, James Rodri-

The platinum boots won by Messi and his five Ballon d’Or trophies.

guez were among 30 players who decided against voting for Lionel Messi for the Ballon d’Or. Players are also required to vote for three of their peers, with their first choice awarded five points, their second choice three points

and third choice a single point. It was no surprise that Portugal talisman Ronaldo didn’t opt for his rival, instead choosing club team-mates Karim Benzema, Rodriguez and Gareth Bale in that order.

perSport Blitz channel. However, the former Nigeria captain sees North African group opponents and 2011 winners, Tunisia as a major threat due to the presence of first team players which he believes is going to be a tough match. “Tunisia have won it because their league is a solid one, it’s no secret. They can afford to have even home-based players play in the first national team. We built our local league, it had a promising one in the season that just went by. It is going to be a very competitive tournament for Nigeria,” Oliseh stated. The Super Eagles played three build up matches with two wins and a draw in their Pretoria camp to fine tune their preparation for the championship that begins this weekend in Kigali.

Pogba denies Barca move PAUL Pogba has denied he wants to join FC Barcelona, but spoke of his desire to one day surpass Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Juventus midfielder was named in the 2015 FIFPro World XI after helping the Serie A outfit win the Scudetto, Coppa Italia, and reach the Champions League final. Pogba clad in flashy gold-flowered dinner jacket and double breast combo, was spotted signing on a Barcelona shirt while on the red carpet during Monday’s Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich. He said his goal remains how to finish ahead of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi and three-time winner, Ronaldo in the future, but claimed he never said he wanted to sign for Barca. “I’ve never said that,” Pogba told reporters in Zurich. “Right now I am playing with Juventus.” On his lofty ambitions, he continued: “Maybe one day I can be among the three finalists. My biggest goal is to win the Ballon d’Or, but there are a lot of other candidates. “I used to watch Messi and Ronaldo on TV and played with them on the Playstation - now I am close to them. “But my objective is not just to be close to them, I want to be better than them one day. It is all about putting in the work. I have to keep working hard and maybe I will get there.”

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. 13/1/2016.