13th October 2015

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,347

TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER, 2015

How we kidnapped Falae —Suspect •Confirms receiving N5m ransom —P13

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N150

Land crisis: Disu, Lekki Free Trade Zone MD, 2 others murdered •12 arrested, residents flee •Ambode shocked

—P8

Ministers: Buhari sends 15 new names to Senate

•Oyinlola (Osun), Akeredolu (Ondo), Bello (Adamawa), Odimegwu (Imo), Okechukwu (Enugu), Emenike (Abia), Nnaji (Anambra) touted —P3 •Senate committee suspends probe of Amaechi EFCC quizzes Benueex-gov, Suswam —P6

Oyinlola

N196.98 now $1 as CBN adjusts exchange rate

Nnaji

•IMF insists on devaluation —P10

Odimegwu

Akeredolu

Okechukwu

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki (right), receiving the list of the second batch of minister-nominees from the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, at the National Assembly, Abuja, on Monday.

We have not reduced petrol pump price —NNPC —P10

photo CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015) 2

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 PHOTOS: ALOLADE GANIYU

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7 1. Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran (right) and Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, singing at a service.

2. Cross-section of clerics from Cathedral Church of St Paul, Sagamu, with Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu.

3. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran (second right), Amabssador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu (third left), with students and teachers of Gem Nursery and Primary Schools, Sabo Offin, Sagamu.

4. Mama HID’s designer, Chief (Mrs) Folasade Thomas-Fahn, signing the condolence register.

5. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran, flanked by Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu (left) and Chief (Mrs) Folasade Thomas-Fahn.

6. National President, Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), Mrs Funmi Ajila-Ladipo (left), presenting condolence letter to Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran (right) and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu.

7. FADAN members presenting a portrait of Mama HID Awolowo to Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu.

8. Mrs Funmi Opanubi Alasoloye signing the condolence register.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Ministers: Buhari sends 15 new names to Senate

•Senate committee suspends probe of Amaechi •Committee observed rule of law —Amaechi Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

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ARELY two weeks after submitting the first batch of would be ministers for screening by the Senate, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, sent the second batch, comprising 15 remaining nominees to Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

The list, which arrived the office of the Senate President at 4.24 p.m. was said to contain the remaining 15 names, even though the Special Adviser to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, who confirmed the receipt of the list, said it would be opened at the Senate plenary today.

He confirmed that the Chief of Staff to the president, Alhaji Abba Kyari, accompanied by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang (Senate) and his counterpart in charge of the House of Representatives, Honourable Abubakar Kawu, brought the letter to the office of the Senate President.

“We don’t know (the names) until the Senate President opens the envelope today. We don’t know the number contained. We just assumed that that is the last batch. I am not sure it will extend to a third batch,” he said.

Meanwhile, some of the nominees Nigerian Tribune gathered to be on the list include Adamawa - Mohammed Bello, a former chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abia - Ikechi Emenike, a former gubernatorial aspirant, Osun Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former governor; Imo - Dr Festus Odimegwu; Enugu Osita Okechukwu, a former spokesman of the CNPP and Ondo - Rotimi Akeredolu.

Also on Monday, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, headed by Senator Sam Anyanwu suspended the hearing of the petition, with further investigation on the petition submitted by a group against former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.

The senator, who announced the suspension of the probe, said that the Senate Committee would not proceed with the probe, because the matter was before the court.

He also said the petition against the nomination of

Hajiya Amina Mohammed

by Kaduna Senator Danjuma La’ah, (Kaduna South), should be disregarded as the nominee was not representing Kaduna State, contrary to the belief of the petitioners.

A Port Harcourt-based group, Integrity Group, had submitted a petition against Amaechi, through Senator George Sekibo (PDP Rivers South East), while the Kaduna senator submitted petition against Amina Mohammed.

Integrity Group had asked the committee to disqualify Amaechi over alleged mismanagement of N70 billion Rivers State money when he

served as governor.

Amaechi, who appeared before the Senate panel, accompanied by his former Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari and two members of the House of Representatives, told the committee that the matter upon which the petition was predicated was already pending before a court of law.

Senator Anyanwu said since the case was already pending before the court, the committee would suspend the discussion on the matter, adding that the matter is “subjudice.”

Hajiya Mohammed, who also appeared before the

Senate committee to defend herself told the committee to disregard the petition, as according to her, she was not from Kaduna State, contrary to the content of the petition.

She said: “I was brought up in Kaduna. My father lived there, but I have no connection with Kaduna State. I am an indigene of Gombe State and the assumption is that I would be representing Gombe in the cabinet.”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Petitions, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, told Senate Correspondents that his committee had received only two petitions so

far.

He said one petition concerned Amaechi and the second was on Amina Mohammed.

He said: “So far, we have treated the two petitions and the committee is about putting down report, which might be ready today and if we cannot conclude it tomorrow, then we will move to the next day. “This is something that is very important to the Senate and we must take a very firm decision and scrutinise our report very properly.

“Nobody has been cleared.

It is our report because whatever report that we turn out, it is the entire Sen-

ate that will dwell on it.

“We’ve not turned out our report. We only said that the matter we have before us is in court and there are other conflicting issues which we are yet to resolve and that is why we are trying to put our report together. But the screening commences tomorrow. It doesn’t matter. We have two, three days to do our screening. Anybody that is not screened tomorrow (today) could be screened the other day.

“If the reports are ready on any of them, the person will be taken tomorrow. And of course, the Senate is going to take them batch by batch.

So, it doesn’t mean that everybody will be screened tomorrow (today).

“No, we have not received more than 10 petitions. We have only received only two petitions. The petition doesn’t come to us directly.

It must be made at the floor of the chamber and they have not received anything of such.”

...Ideh urges fairness at screening for all

From left, member of a delegation from The Brethurst Foundation, Dr Greg Mills; former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; President Muhammadu Buhari; leader of the delegation, Mr Jonathan Oppenheimer and an associate member, The Brenthurst Foundation, Major-General Dickie Davis, during the visit of The Brethurst Foundation’s delegation to President Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Buhari’s deadline to end insurgency not sacrosanct —OBJ Leon Usigbe - Abuja A FORMER president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has observed that the three-month deadline given to the military to end the current insurgency is not inalterable, as it is not cast in stone.

He told State House correspondents after leading some Columbians on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, in his office on Monday, that all insurgents needed not necessarily be killed before the war against them would be declared won.

Asked whether the ongoing war could be won within the presidential deadline, he said: “The president must give a target. When you give somebody a target, you give him something to aspire to, giving him an objective. Target is not cast in stone.

“I believe that if you are talking of getting the upper hand, gradually, we are get-

ting the upper hand.

“We are not there yet, but we are getting close. And once we are getting upper hand, we move on and do other things.”

Obasanjo assured that if Nigeria could win the Civil War, it could also win the war against terror.

He added: “Oh yes. If we won the Civil War, we can win this one. But like the Columbian said, we are not waiting until we kill off every insurgent to say we have won.

“I believe that once the military has the upper hand, other measures that have to be taken will be put in place.

“There will be measures of socio-economic development, education, employment. All that has to go into the process of eventually winning the war and saying, ‘here is Uhuru.’”

He explained that he was at the Presidential Villa to brief the president of the

findings on Columbia war against insurgency, following a visit by a foundation he led to the war-torn South American country, as well as on his assignment in Guinea Bissau given to him by the president.

Obasanjo remarked: “Let me just let you know that I have come to see the president for two reasons. The first is the one you have just seen. I brought a delegation of those of us who visited Columbia last year under the auspices of a foundation which I am the chairman.

“We went to Columbia to see how all the Columbian authorities were handling the issue of insurgency, which had been with them for more than 50 years.

“As a result of that visit and the experience we had, a book was produced and I said to them that it will be interesting for us in Nigeria to learn as much as we can learn from the experience of

Columbia.

“The second aspect of my visit was the work that both the president and the ECOWAS gave me in Guinea Bissau.

“The last time, we were able to resolve all the issues of getting a new Prime Minister. This time, we had also been able to resolve the issue of now forming a government.

“If nothing intervenes, I believe between today and tomorrow, a new government will be in place in Guinea Bissau. They have been without government for almost two months.

“When I was there, I praised the restraint of the general public and particularly the military, because the military leaders told me that for two months, they have not gotten salary. They could not even buy fuel into military vehicles and yet they continue to maintain restraints.”

Itsekiri leader and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Delta State, Dr Alex Tosan Ideh, has urged the National Assembly members to ensure fairness in the screening of the ministerial nominees today.

In a statement issued in Warri, on Monday, Ideh, while calling for a detailed screening process, advised the Senators to eschew partisanship and bias, but to deal with the exercise with the objectivity and the national patriotism it deserves.

Canvassing support for his Delta State nominee, Dr Ibe Kachiku, Ideh urged senators from the state to celebrate the NNPC boss as a pride to all Delta State indigenes.

He described Kachikwu as a man of “high integrity, a competent and consummate technocrat,” whose wealth of experience will ultimately advance the energy sector, thereby buoying up the economic fortunes of the nation.

He admonished Kachiku to discoutenance those attempting to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari on account of his well-deserved elevation to a ministerial position.

He, therefore, urged all party members in Delta State to rally support for Kachikwu in the best interest of the state in particular and that of the nation in general.

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Buhari chides AGF over missing $5m on LCBC report Leon Usigbe - Abuja

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, expressed disappointment with the AuditorGeneral of the Federation (AGF), Mr Samuel Ukura, over his failure to include in the report of the environmental audit on Lake Chad, the sum of $5 million spent by the Nigerian government in its feasibility study.

Receiving the report submitted by Ukura at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the president noted that he was aware that the money was expended on the study by the government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but had been ignored by the report submitted to him on Monday.

The environmental audit was commissioned on the drying up of the Lake Chad caused by human activities and climate change.

Noticing that this particular expenditure of the Federal Government was not included, Buhari said: “I have to digress here based on personal knowledge of this.

I saw an article in the journal of National Demographic in 1978, that a professor in the University of London in 1925, has foreseen what we are just seeing.

“I handed over the article to General Obasanjo and I understand that General Obasanjo took the initiative sometimes ago. It is on record that he is the only Nigerian that has presided over the country for more than 11 years.

“He gave $5 million to the study, and the study was that unless some of the rivers from the Central Africa Republic are diverted to empty into Chad Basin, Lake Chad will dry up.

“I understand that this report which was sponsored by Nigeria has been submitted.

I am a bit disappointed that in the speech of the AuditorGeneral, there was no mention of this report, whether my own report was correct: that $5 million was given.

“One of the recommendations was that at the time the report was submitted, the cost of diverting one of the rivers to empty into Lake Chad would be between $13 billion and $15 billion.

“I will like the AuditorGeneral to comment on this, whether they have received this report or the Ministry of Water Resources. I think this government will like to see this report and see how we can ask of foreign friends how they can help us.

“This is because if that river is diverted to empty

into Chad Basin, I think it will affect at least, two million Nigerians and another two million from Cameroon, Chad and Niger to resettle and perhaps that will help us to stop Boko Haram around that area.

“This is because what we identified the enormous number of people there and their activities. We have to check desertification there.”

In his reply, Ukura argued that he was not given the report containing the amount in question, saying: “The report was not made available to the group. It was only made available to the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

May be they will be in a better position to comment on it. It was not made available to us during the study.”

But a representative of

LCBC in attendance, informed the president that the report was already in the public domain since the study was concluded.

The AGF had earlier in his address, noted that there was a strong correlation between shrinking Lake Chad and insecurity in the NorthEast of Nigeria.

“It is believed that part of the root causes of violence

and instability in the Lake Chad Basin that has not been adequately addressed is the crucial issue of weak water resources management which led to scarcity of water,” he observed.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the report submission, Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar, observed that half of the total population

Representative of the Lagos State governor and Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office, Mrs Folasade Ogunnaike, with the team leader of the National Defence College Course 24 Geo- strategic participants, who commenced a five-day study tour of the state, on Monday, at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

benefitting from Lake Chad waters were Nigerians, justifying the attention paid to the problem by President Buhari.

He added: “Therefore, one can understand the importance of Lake Chad Basin to the people of Nigeria, particularly when one juxtaposes this to the insurgency problem going on, it has a direct correlation.

“The receding of the Lake Chad took away the means of livelihood of millions of young men and women in the Lake Chad Basin. So, there is the need for Nigeria and all of the countries of Lake Chad Basin, in fact, including the international community to put all hands on deck to recharge and revive the lake.”

On whether there is lack of political will to implement some far reaching recommendations in the past concerning the need to regenerate the Lake Chad, he said: “In fact, Nigeria has been in the forefront of trying to actualise the inter-basin water transfer from Ubangi River to recharge the Lake Chad, but like everything in politics that involves more than one country, you will discover that some people will develop cold feet along the way.”

No going back on MDA’s harmonisation of data with NIMC —DG Says commission can store over 200 million records of Nigerians C lement Idoko - Abuja DIRECTOR-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Chris Onyemenam, has said the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari, for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to harmonise their biometric data with the commission must be complied with.

He disclosed that the commission had the infrastructure base that could accommodate over 200 million records of Nigerians.

Onyemenam, who spoke at the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) anniversary lecture and induction of new members, held in Abuja, insisting that NIMC was legally established for identity management in the country.

He said most of the MDAs which were yet to comply with the directive, argued that their laws as regards collection and maintenance of biometric database did not permit them to share such information with another agency.

He said: “Some believe

that we must change the NIMC’s laws or their own laws before the harmonisation of data”.

The DG, however, said efforts were being made to ensure that the directive of the president on harmonisation of data was complied with to the letter.

He said the Section (5) of the NIMC Act No. 23 of

2007 stipulated that the commission shall create, manage, maintain and operate the National Identity Database, established under section 14 of this Act, including the harmonisation and integration of existing identification database in government agencies and integration of the same into the National

Identity Database.

He said: “We have the infrastructure in place, the ball is in the court of the Ministries Department and Agencies.”

NIPR president, Rotimi Oladele, who applauded the imitative by the Federal Government to harmonise data collection and maintenance in the

country, said there was urgent need to have tractable identity, in order to reduce the rate of criminalities in the country.

He disclosed that the institute had introduced new security features in the certificates issued to members to prevent forgery and other forms of manipulations.

IDPs in North-East is 5 million, not 2.1 million —Dogara Jacob Segun Olatunji and K olawole D aniel - Abuja SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has said the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-East has reached five million, not 2.1 million reported official figures.

Dogara, who stated this when he received the head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Ms Angel Dekonge Antangara, in his office, maintained that the actual number of people affected

by Boko Haram insurgency may be close to five million.

According to him, “as an indigene of the North-East, it is safe to say the number of IDPs in Nigeria can be up to five million. The NHCR deals with symptoms of terrorism which is the displacement.”

He added that the House had passed a motion calling the attention of the executive to the plight of IDPs, with the hope of working together to bring about a lasting solution through the engagement of international donor conference for the plight of those in the NorthEast.

Speaking further, he said:

“Terrorism is global and if not dealt with; it will spill across borders, such as the current refugee crisis facing Europe from Syria, Libya, etc,” noting that the House Committee on Public Safety and National Intelligence, when constituted, would be mandated to handle issues relating to IDPs for now.”

He added that “if overwhelmed, however, a substantive committee for IDPs will be looked into.

The House is ready to partner with all relevant bodies committed to ending the evil that produce refugees, IDPs and the events of statelessness.”

On the issue of domes-

ticating the resolutions of the refugee conventions, the Speaker said the House would partner with the Senate to ensure that those important treaties and convention were ratified through the relevant committees soon.

Speaking earlier, Ms Antangara told the Speaker that the office was providing solutions, both locally and worldwide.

The UNHCR, according to her, intervened for people termed as stateless or borderless and she was in Nigeria to look at the memorandum of understanding (MoU) UNHCR had with the country.

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EFCC grills Suswam for 8 hours over alleged corruption •Benue High Court restrains Judicial Commission of Inquiry from probing him •His probe, a witch-hunt —Benue group From Sunday Ejike, Johnson Babajide and Collins Nnabuife

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, griiled the immediate past governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, for several hours, over allegations of massive corruption slammed against him.

The former governor, who arrived the EFCC Headquarters in Abuja at about 10.00 a.m, was quizzed for about eight hours before he

was smuggled out by his political associates into a waiting car at exactly 6.45 p.m.

Suswam arrived the premises of the EFCC, Abuja, in company with some close associates, including former commissioners that served under his regime and friends and was rushed into the office of the antigraft agency, where he was interrogated for several hours.

Suswam, who left office on May 29, was alleged to have made away with Benue State funds running into billions of naira and is expected to tell EFCC’s interroga-

tors what he knows about the funds.

As prelude to dealing with the former governor, the commission, on Friday, grilled his former Finance Commissioner, Mr Omadachi Oklobia, for hours in Abuja, with a view to eliciting vital information that may help them in confronting Suswam.

Oklobia, who was also said to be involved in the Suswam alleged corruption case, reported to the Wuse 2 Head Office of the EFCC around 10.00 a.m. and was questioned under what a source in the agency

UK offers fresh support for Nigeria’s stability, development Christian Okeke - Abuja THE United Kingdom (UK), through the Minister for Africa, Grant Shapps, has pledged to support Nigeria’s stability and development.

Shapps, who arrived Nigeria on a visit, reaffirmed the UK’s close relationship with Nigeria and set out how the two countries would work together to increase prosperity, trade and security.

During the visit, the minister will meet with ministers and senior government officials, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and the governors of Ka-

duna and Lagos states.

He will also see how the UK’s investment in Nigeria’s solar energy market can provide a clean and reliable answer to the country’s problem of energy access.

His visit follows a series of meetings between the UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron and President Muhammadu Buhari most recently at the United Nations General Assembly and the UK Foreign Secretary’s attendance at the president’s inauguration in May 2015.

Shapps said: “The UK has a strong relationship with Nigeria and we will continue to promote vital investment, tackle corruption and create a safer and

more prosperous future for the country “From a trade relationship worth over £6 billion every year to our military cooperation against Boko Haram, Nigeria is a country whose security and prosperity truly matters to the UK “With more than half of Nigeria currently living without electricity, it is vital that more people can access clean and reliable solar energy. Not only will this transform people’s everyday lives, it is a tremendous opportunity for growth “I am determined that Britain will build on its close relationship with Nigeria by sharing our skills, knowledge and expertise.”

Group petitions Code of Conduct Bureau over Obasanjo’s assets Chukwuma Okparaocha - Lagos A non-governmental resource centre, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has petitioned the chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to demand an update on an earlier request it made to the bureau over actions of former President Olusegun Obasanjo while in office between 1999 and 2007.

The latest petition signed by the centre’s chairman, Olanrewaju Suraj, is requesting information regarding a petition written by HEDA on July 25, 2013.

“In a petition dated the 25th day of July, 2013, we complained about the following actions of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo while he was president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from

1999 to 2007, namely one, use of his position to solicit donations from government contractors, federal parastatals, oil companies, politicians, government functionaries that cut across all tiers of government, as well as private individuals /sector to fund his library project.

“Secondly, failure to publicly declare his assets till date and abuse of power.

“All these actions constitute a gross contravention of Items 6, 9 and 13 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers as provided in Part 1, Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

In its 2013 letter, the group demanded that Chief Obasanjo be investigated and recommended for prosecution by the Code of

Conduct Tribunal, pursuant to item 15(1), Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

“However, till this moment, we are not aware of any concrete step that has so far been taken to launch an investigation into the allegations contained therein,” the group said in a new letter to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“In view of the fact that the Code of Conduct Tribunal is now alive to its responsibilities as demonstrated in the ongoing trial of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, HEDA, therefore, urgently requests for the update on the above mentioned subject matter, pursuant to Sections 1, 2, 3 & 4 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.”

called ‘under caution’ because of his ‘complicity’ in the case.

A top source said: “Oklobia arrived the EFCC office in Abuja at about 10.00 a.m, where his statement was obtained under caution based on his complicity in the allegations of diversion of Benue State funds while they were in office.”

A close aide of the former governor told Nigerian Tribune that he (Suswam) was not arrested, but willingly submitted himself to the EFCC for interrogation, following an invitation by the anti-graft agency.

The aide, who did not want his name mentioned, said the allegation of corruption preferred against Suswam was politicallymotivated by his political opponents, who wanted to acheive cheap popularity and added that “Suswam is not afraid of EFCC probe.”

Meanwhile, state High Court sitting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, has granted an ex parte motion brought before it by former

governor, Dr Suswam, restraining the Judicial Commission of Inquiry from probing his administration.

The state chief judge, Justice Iorhemen Hwande, who granted the ex parte motion, said the commission should be served within seven days, adding that the commission stop forthwith.

In the ex parte motion, it was learnt that the former governor was querying the constitution of the panel, which he said was done unlawfully, arguing that some members of the panel lack the locus standi to sit on it.

The matter has been fixed for October 15 for commencement of hearing.

In a related development, a group, Benue Coalition for Justice, Equity and Fairness, has condemned the ongoing probe of the former governor of Benue State, Suswan, by the present administration in the state.

Reacting to the probe panel set up by Governor Samuel Ortom to probe Suswam-led administra-

tion, the group said it was disheartening that pressing issues of governance had been jettisoned in the state in preference for a witchhunt.

A statement signed by the national president of Benue Coalition for Justice, Equity and Fairness, Peter Hwande and secretary, Ogbole Alechenu, said the desperation of those behind the probe was such that they could not wait for the outcome of the panel before hurriedly dragging Suswam to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),even before they have properly articulated their grievances.

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Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Lagosmetro

Lekki land crisis: Lagos EPZ MD,

2 others murdered Olalekan Olabulo

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he crisis trailing the land acquisition policy of Lagos State government turned bloody on Monday, with the killing of the Managing Director of Lekki Free Trade Zone, Mr. Tajudeen Disu, by the aggrieved land owners in broad daylight.

The Monday morning tragedy in Okunraiye Village in Ibeju Lekki area of the state, deepened with the killing of two villagers, with many injured and 12 suspects arrested.

The invasion of the village by heavily-armed security agencies, Lagos Metro observed, has turned the village to a ghost town as residents fled in their numbers.

Police confirmed the arrest of 12 people while on the trail of the community leader in the area.

Though there were different accounts of what actually led to the clash, what was not in doubt was the death of Disu and the two villagers.

Indigenes and residents of many villages in the area have been at loggerheads with the state governor over the acquisition of a vast expanse of land for the development of the free trade zone.

Disu was reportedly trying to pacify the angry villagers, when they attacked and killed him in the presence of his police escorts.

Residents of Okunraiye have since Monday morning deserted the village following the invasion by policemen, who were drafted to the area by the state police commissioner, Fatai Owoseni.

A version of the report had it that some hoodlums were extorting money from heavy-duty trucks drivers at the free trade zone, when a disagreement started between them and the security men in the area.

Another version of the story had it that residents of the community were at the Free Trade Zone area to

protest the take-over of their land by the government, when the crisis started.

Heavy shooting by the villagers and the policemen at the FTZ created serious pandemonium among residents of neighbouring villages, La-

gos Metro learnt.

Lagos metro gathered that the residents were particularly protesting against the siting of a refinery in the community.

A resident, who identified himself as Onibudo, while

speaking with Lagos Metro, blamed the police for being “overzealous” with their operation.

The resident insisted that the villagers were on a peaceful protest, when the police began to shoot sporadically

in different directions.

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Joe Offor confirmed the death of one person and added that the police had begun investigations on the incident.

...Ambode in shock, orders clamp down Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday expressed shock and sadness over the murder of Disu, urging the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tajudeen Owoseni, to go all out and ensure that perpetrators behind the act were brought to book.

Governor Ambode, who broke the news when he addressed Government House correspondents, at the Lagos House, Alausa Ikeja said the late Disu was shot by assailants during an official visit to one of the villages within the zone in the early hours of Monday.

The governor said that his government was deeply touched by the loss of one of its dedicated officers at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

Disu, was until his death

the arrow head of the Free Trade Zone initiative.

According to him, Disu was killed within the Lekki Free Trade Zone this morning, saying that the incident really saddened his heart and those of others because the Lekki Free Trade Zone boss was somebody that had been dedicated to his duty in the past 10 years.

He described the late Disu as a man who was committed to promoting the inflow of investment to Lagos State, expressing concern over the motives of those behind the killing.

The governor directed the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, to ensure that no stone was left unturned in order to determine the events that led to the attack on late Mr Tajudeen Disu.

“This is a great concern and I have directed the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to investigate the cause of the death. The Commissioner of Police must do a thorough investigation to unravel the root cause of what has just happened because he was on a peaceful mission to that

place,” the governor said.

He, however, urged residents of the area to remain calm as his administration would continue to ensure that the security of lives and properties was accorded necessary priority in the state and that the zone was safe for investors.

...We are after the sponsors — CP Bola Badmus The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Owoseni on his part, assured the people of the state that the police had swung into action to ensure that the culprits were brought to book, saying that some suspects had been apprehended and investigation was on-going to determine if there were major sponsors behind the killing.

“We would do a diligent investigation. We will ensure that those people that are behind it are arrested, not just the people we see on the road are perpetrators, and there may be sponsors.

“We will go after these sponsors and I can assure you we will ensure that investigation is carried out as speedily as possible as we make sure they are diligently prosecuted,” the police boss assured.

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

...Foreign Ambode to deliver 2 roads per LG at N19bn partner mourns Tola Adenubi The consortium managing the project has also expressed sadness.

Speaking with Lagos Metro via text message, the Director of Finance, Tolarams Group, the consortium managing the Lekki Deep Seaport and the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Mr. Kundan Sainani expressed the consortium’s sadness over the death of Disu.

“We have information that Mr. Disu was killed in a fracas between community members and mobile policemen in Okunraiye community. We at Tolarams Group are very sad. It’s a great loss to us,” he started.

According to reports, the villagers said they were on a peaceful protest against “forceful takeover” of their land by the Lagos state government on behalf of Africa’s richest industrialist, Aliko Dangote and the Lekki Free Zone Ltd when policemen attacked them reportedly killing two of the protesters instantly. The villagers said the killing resulted in a crisis.

A local chief in the area told newsmen that the Lekki Free Zone Ltd called in anti-riot policemen of “Mopol 49” to kill the protesters because they had insisted too long ago to be resolute against forceful acquisition of the community land by the Lekki Free Zone Ltd for the construction of a large petrochemical refinery owned by Mr. Dangote.

The chief said the Mopol were led and supervised to the protest scene by Managing Director of the Lekki Free Zone Ltd, Mr. Disu.

But Mr. Disu was also among those gunned down as the police officers guarding him and protesters clashed, according to the local chief.

One of the police officers was also feared dead. The community has been taken over by soldiers reinforced to the community as the crisis escalated.

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By

Bola Badmus

The deplorable state of a market at Mowe. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

Bola Badmus

9

Inner roads in Lagos may soon witness an upgrade as Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday unveiled plans to commence the reconstruction of two roads in each of the 20 Local Governments (LGs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state, with the first phase targeted to cost N19billion.

This was just as the governor, who reiterated his promise to run an inclusive government and return governance to the communities, charged all the 57 executive secretaries in the state to judiciously ensure that the projects meet international standard.

Ambode unveiled the plan on Monday when he spoke at the Lagos House, Ikeja during the monthly meeting with the executive secretaries of the 57 councils to review the progress report in their various communities as well as their challenges.

The governor said the decision to embark on the road rehabilitation was in line with the reforms at the local government level, noting that the first phase would commence with the reconstruction of 114 roads, two per local government, at the cost of N19billion.

Governor Ambode, who

said the execution of the project would be left in the care of the local governments, however, tasked the executive secretaries to en-

sure that only the best contractors were engaged to ensure that the prescribed standard was met on all the roads.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority said it arrested and cautioned the drivers of 10 vehicles belonging to the military on Bus Rapid Transit corridor on Monday.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Bashir Braimah, made the disclosure to newsmen in Lagos during its “Operation Stand Strong’’ to bring sanity on the state roads.

Mr. Braimah said the programme was aimed at checking lawless road users and promoting economic activities.

“Those that refuse to obey our traffic laws should not be on our roads. We

going reforms in the councils were geared towards making them more effective and deliver better service to their communities.

A Lagos Danfo bus carrying excess luggage. Practices of this kind can cause accidents if not prevented by Federal Road Safety Commission and other relevant agencies. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Motorists abandon Oja-Oba axis of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway Bola Badmus Motorists have been forced to abandon the OjaOba axis of the Lagos-Abe-

okuta express road due to the bad state of the portion of the Federal Government owned highway.

When Lagos Metro vis-

LASTMA arrests 10 military vehicles, impounds others Chukwuma Okparaocha

“We expect you to create jobs in your communities and get our people employed on these projects,” he said, adding that the on-

don’t want lawlessness on our roads.

“Our focus this morning is to enforce law on BRT corridor and we have made a large number of arrests.

People you expect to obey the law are the ones disobeying the law.

“We have let them know that nobody is above the law,’’ Braimah said while emphasising that repeat offenders would be prosecuted.

“For today, the most erring people on BRT lane are the military officers.

“Over 10 vehicles of the military were found on the BRT corridor and we are going to write the army authorities.’’

According to him,

LASTMA impounded the vehicles of recalcitrant drivers and ticketed those that were civil.

The LASTMA boss, however, noted that road users who were compliant and road-friendly had nothing to fear, noting that the authority had started bringing human face to enforcement.

On the news that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State had directed LASTMA not to impound vehicles, he said that “the governor never said so’’.

Many commercial vehicles were impounded and towed away for picking and dropping passengers at illegal bus stops and for lack of valid documents at Yaba and Oyingbo.

ited the area on Monday, many motorists who usually link the Iyana-Ipaja area through the expressway from Abule Egba axis have been forced to take alternative routes to get to their destinations.

According to findings, the usually-free Ekoro Road and other adjoining streets that lead to the Pleasure Bus-Stop area is now becoming busier as more vehicles now use the Ekoro Road as an alternative to link Iyana-Ipaja area due to the deplorable state of the Oja-Oba Bus Stop.

For unsuspecting vehicles that take the risk of going through the Oja-Oba area, many of the vehicles end up in the large crater that has been created on the road, splitting the road into two at the Oja-Oba market bus stop.

Further findings revealed that the Oja-Oba axis of the Lagos-Abeokuta express road has become a

death trap to unsuspecting motorist due to a nonfunctional drainage system around the road.

Speaking to Lagos Metro, a trader who sells in the market, Alhaja Mosunratu Abebi explained that it was not long ago that the road was repaired.

According to her, “It is not up to two years ago when that portion of the Lagos-Abeokuta road was rehabilitated, but once it rains and the floods have no place to go through, the road becomes sub-merged with flood and decay sets in.

“With flooding persisting, there is no way the road will be in good shape.

If it is repaired today and the flooding persists, the roads will cave in again and we will be back where we currently are.

“There is need for the government to look at fixing the drainage system around this place before the roads are fixed.”

Suspected killers of Edo professor arrested at Abule-Egba Olalekan Olabulo The police in Lagos State have arrested two members of a dreaded kidnap syndicate, whose members kidnapped and killed Professor Paul Erie of Ambrose Alli University.

The two suspects were arrested by policemen attached to Iju divisional police station, before they were transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad of the state police command.

Lagos Metro gathered that the two suspects were hibernating around Ajasa Command community in Abule Egba area of the state when the police swooped on them.

Efforts by one of the leaders of the gang, identified as Lucky Amei to bribe the police with N1.5 million failed, as the divisional police officer in charge of the station, Emmanuel Osuagwu rejected the bribe.

A source at the station told Lagos Metro that the police were acting on an intelligence report when they stormed 61, Oluwatosin Street, Command, where the suspects were arrested.

The arrested suspects and others, now at large had some months ago killed and buried the professor of Agricultural Economics and Extension.

The deceased professor was on June 16 abducted along Agbor-Uromi Road on his way home.

Despite the payment of ransom, he was still not freed.

It then dawned on the relatives that the professor was dead.

Police later exhumed his body at a forest in Igbanke Village in Ohionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State.

The image maker in charge of the Lagos State Police Command, Joe Offor confirmed the arrest of two kidnap suspects but claimed not to have the identities of the arrested suspects.

“Yes we arrested two suspects but I don’t have their details now,” Offor told Lagos Metro.

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businessnews

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

NPA advocates improved port infrastructure for export Tola Adenubi-lagos

T

he Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mallam Habib Abdulahi has advocated for the provision of adequate port infrastructure by the Federal Government and the private sector to facilitate export activities through the nation’s seaports.

He however pointed out that other factors which might be extraneous to the Authority are also critical towards achieving enhanced export activities in the nation’s seaports.

Stressing that the provision of appropriate port infrastructure was necessary to enhance trade in the economy, Abdullahi assured that the Authority would encourage any effort designed to change the trade orientation of the nation from import dependent to export.

The Managing Director was speaking through the General Manager Capital Project, Engr. Rufai Mohammed in a paper titled “Providing Enabling Port Infrastructure to Enhance Trade” at the inaugural edition of the International Sea trade and Investment Convention 2015 held in Lagos recently.

He reiterated that as globally accepted seaports accounts for over 80 per cent by volume of International trade and commerce, emphasising that for a seaport to be competitive, it must have a robust infrastructural base amongst other requirements.

He argued that with the major infrastructural improvements embarked upon by the Authority in its ports and harbour in all its four pilotage districts, coupled with the impending 25 year port master

plan which has reached an advanced stage, the Organisation is being positioned to properly meet the demand of all categories of port users for both imports and exports.

The NPA chief executive

explained that mindful of the Federal Government determination of delivering an efficient port system for the overall good of the nation’s economy, the Authority was consolidating and entrench-

ing the gains of the port reform by facilitating and synergizing the activities of the Private Terminal Operators, Shipping Lines, Freight Forwarders and other stakeholders, as well as improving the existing

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday strengthened its exchange rate peg slightly to N196.98 against the dollar on the interbank market from N197 it set last week.

This is even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has insisted that the Naira should be devalued.

Traders said the regulator sent a message announcing the adjustment which is the eighth since the bank introduced tight currency controls in February.

to the nation’s seaports as well as to make the system competitive, effective and user friendly.

“Sustained efforts at providing the enabling port infrastructure has impacted on the overall port operational efficiency,” he added.

NNPC debunks rumour on reduction of petrol pump price OlatundeDodondawa-Lagos

From left, Swedish Finance Minister, Magdalene Anderson; African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina; International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director, Min Zhu; Heirs Holdings chairman, Tony Elumelu; Nobel Laureate in Economics, Professor Joseph Stiglitz and World Bank Managing Director, Bertrand Badre, discussing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as part of the 2015 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Lima, Peru, at the weekend.

GTBank, AFD to provide N3bn long term financing toandSMEs Medium-scale Enter- the Ariz Portfolio GuaranChima Nwokoji-lagos

Guaranty Trust Bank has partnered with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to launch a N3 billion Ariz Portfolio Guarantee Scheme, an initiative designed to boost financing for business start-ups and development projects in Nigeria.

A statement from the bank said the partnership, which is the first in Anglophone Africa, would support the growth of Small

prises (SMEs) by providing a risk sharing mechanism on loan advances.

The Ariz Portfolio Guarantee Scheme provides banks, private equity investors and other financial institutions a safer platform to increase participation in the SME financing by providing foreign guarantees to local credit facilities advanced to SMEs. According to the bank, since its inception in 2008,

tee Scheme had expanded to over 20 Francophone countries in Africa, and had teamed up with more than 40 partner banks worldwide.

The scheme has seen a steady rise in the number and volume of guarantees allocated (up 80 per cent annually over the past three years) and an increasing number of companies have been able to develop each year, with thousands of jobs created.

CBN adjusts exchange rate to N196.98 to a dollar Chima Nwokoji - Lagos

port infrastructure.

Abdullahi, who enumerated a number of completed and ongoing capital projects embarked upon by the Authority explained that the projects were meant to add efficiency

Last week Tuesday, September 29, the CBN Intervention rate slightly moderated to N196.95/ US $ 1.00, but returned to N197.00/US $1.00 on Monday, October 5.

Similarly in the Interbank market last week, the naira opened at N199.08/ US $1.00 but returned to N199.10/US $1.00 on Tuesday and was sustained all through the week. Dealers at Afrinvest noted that pressure however continued to mount at the parallel market, as the naira depreciated from N224.00/ US $1.00 to N225.00/US

$1.00 during the week.

The depreciation in the value of the naira has continually been attributed to insufficient supply of the foreign currency in the market. Barring any major pronouncement from the CBN this week, dealers expect rate to trade within the current band.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund’s African Department Representative Director, Ms Antoinette Sayeh said further the devaluation of the naira was required “as a way of adjusting to the reality of the current eco-

nomic conditions.”

The ADR-IMF representative who was reported to have spoken at a press conference at the Peruvian capital, said the adjustment was necessary to ease tension for private sector investments, stressing that foreign exchange flexibility plays an important role for investors and their investments.

But the CBN has said a further devaluation of the naira is out of consideration, a stance President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed.

According to the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Denys Gauer, “Small and Medium enterprises have a key role as drivers of economic growth and employment. However, despite the widespread presence of SMEs in Nigeria, the sector faces major obstacles such as the limited access to bank financing, mostly because of the risk factor associated with SMEs. The objective of this scheme is to facilitate SMEs’ access to finance by supporting the development of the GTBank portfolio of SME loans.”

Speaking at the launch of the scheme, Mr Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/CEO of GTBank, said, “Empowering small & medium scale enterprises remains pivotal to the sustenance of growth and development in emerging economies across the world. This sector remains crucial to the economic make-up of Nigeria, yet contributes little to our national GDP. We are determined to help rewrite this narrative by boosting access to long term financing for the sector.”

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has debunked reports in some social media of a purported reduction in current pump price of petrol from N87 per litre to N57 per litre.

In chat with the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, the spokesman of the Corporation, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, described the report as false.

“We advised members of the public to ignore such tales because the pump price of petrol remains N87 per litre,” he said.

In a related development, the NNPC in a statement stated that the Corporation under the leadership of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu will ensure zero fuel queues throughout the country ahead of the forthcoming yuletide.

To achieve this, the statement said the Corporation has kicked off on Monday a meeting between the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) alongside the Depot and Petroleum Products Association (DAPPMA), at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

“At the end of the session, the NNPC and the key downstream operators reached a consensus to work together to eliminate all obstacles that could hamper the free flow of petroleum products across the country,” it stated.

Addressing the downstream stakeholders, the statement quoted Dr. Kachikwu to have stated that the issue of uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country is of utmost importance to the present administration noting that government is willing to do everything possible to ensure that members of the public do not go through any form of hardship in accessing petroleum products particularly petrol.

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 11 businessnews Nigerian tax regime unfavourable to insurance sector —Report

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

T

he current tax regime in the country has put insurance companies at a disadvantage in comparison with other companies in the financial services sector, the latest edition of the Nigerian Financial Services Journal has revealed.

The journal, published

by PwC, noted that “the tax regime in Nigeria appears to be unduly unfair to insurance companies when compared with other companies in the financial service sector. A review of the fiscal policies guiding the insurance sector is necessary to fast-track the development of the sector, as this

will bring equity so that insurance companies can compete adequately within Nigeria and eventually with insurance companies in other emerging markets.”

The journal identifies five tax areas where insurance companies are unfairly treated.

The first is with respect to restriction on carry forward of tax losses.

According to the report, “Section 16(7) of CITA places a limit of four years on insurance companies to carry forward their tax

losses. Through amendments made in 2007, other companies (including banks) can carry forward their tax losses indefinitely until they can be utilised against taxable profits. However, insurance companies can (only) carry forward their tax losses for four tax years.”

The report adds that there is no obvious reason for the restriction of carry forward of tax losses for insurance companies since historically, insurance companies have not been the most profitable

in the financial services industry.

It, thus, adds that the country will not be losing any significant tax revenue from removing this restriction compared to the social and economic benefits to be derived if the insurance companies are encouraged to thrive.

Another is cap on deductions for unexpired risks as Section 16(8) (a) of CITA stipulates a cap on deductions for reserves, claims and outgoings for general insurance business. It limits the

amount of deduction for unexpired risks to 25 per cent of total premium for marine cargo and 45 per cent of other classes of general insurance business.

The report notes that “This is inconsistent with Section 20(1) (a) of the Insurance Act which prescribes time apportionment as a basis for determination of the provision of unexpired risks.

“While insurance companies are restricted under Section 16(8) of the CITA to take a deduction,

Engineers warn govt against frequent changes in aviation sector Shola Adekola-Lagos

THE Nigerian Society of Engineers, Aeronautical Division, has cautioned the government against frequent changes in the aviation sector.

Speaking in an interview after his election as the new chairman of the Aeronautical Division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Lagos, Mr Bola Bido warned that frequent changes of heads of parastatals and senior management staff in the aviation sector prematurely was capable of destroying the industry.

Bido said frequent changes would not give room for stability and professionalism as most professionals were retired at their prime age in their professional careers hence; “Frequent changes have affected people to go out of the system prematurely, it does not augur well for the system.”

He urged engineers to uphold professionalism to ensure safety, warning that compromising professionalism would amount to compromising safety.

Bido noted that since aviation was engineering-based, they would continue to play their professional role in order to guarantee safety.

On his election, Bido said it was a new dawn for all engineers in the aviation sector, calling all members to continue supporting the government of President Buhari to fight corruption.

He commended the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for the level it has taken the agency in terms of provision of management equipment.

From left, Specialist, SMEs Segment of Etisalat Nigeria Limited, Mr Olufemi Oguntimehin; Chief Financial Officer, Netplus Advisory Limited, Mr Deji Salami; Group Managing Director/CEO of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, Mr Ladi Balogun and Head, Enterprise Marketing of Etisalat, Mr Bidemi Ladipo, during a conference on the growth of merchant businesses organised by CNBC Africa and supported by FCMB, ) in Lagos, recently.

Marketers blame LPG scarcity on govt intervention OlatundeDodondawa-Lagos

Stakeholders in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry have blamed the current scarcity of the product on alleged government intervention.

The President, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr Basil Ogbuanu, told the Nigerian Tribune on Monday in a telephone interview that the recent price hike of cooking gas is attributable to perceived intervention by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and delay in product delivery from the suppliers.

According to him, “the vessel, saddled to deliver cooking gas to Apapa port from Bonny in Rivers, is responsible for the rise in price of the commodity. As of today, we gathered that the vessel would berth at Apapa port tomorrow to discharge gas.

“If that is done, it will normalise the market price

of cooking gas. Hopefully by weekend, the price will normalise.

“Some plants in Lagos metropolis are refilling a 12.5 kg cylinder at N2,600,” he said.

Ogbuanu also argued that “LPG is not a controlled product like kerosene and I did not understand why would the oil sector pricing regulator, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulating Agency (PPPRA), ordered us to surrender our pricing templates.

“LPG is a deregulated product and we get our products from Nigeria LNG (NLNG) and Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and why would we give you our pricing templates.

What do they intend to do with it?

We are not receiving subsidy on the product and any attempt to regulate it will create unnecessary scarcity.

“This is because if it happens, we will be getting

supplies via allocations which is what they are doing with kerosene and petrol.

“The stakeholders in the LPG sub-sector have invested a lot of money into building facility and infrastructure which have been lacking in the past. After sourcing for our products, it doesn’t make sense for the PPPRA to come into the business and regulate the pricing.

“However, I know the stakeholders will resist it because we see that some few people are planning to coem together to hijack the LPG as they are doing with kerosene,” he said.

The PPPRA has ordered that the country’s stakeholders and off-takers of LPG to surrender their pricing templates to it.

Stakeholders remarked that some operators of the cooking gas plant are taking advantage to hike the price.

Mr Andrew Gabriel, the chairman of Cooking Gas Retailers Association of

Nigeria, blamed plant operators for hiking the price and not from the retailers.

According to him, “It is what we buy from the plants that we sell to consumers; we have not had gas supply for three months now.

Some plant operators and gas carriers were telling us that gas vessels have not supplied them.

“Government should make the commodity available so that we can reduce the price to customers.”

The Nigeria LNG limited said recently it has increased LPG supplies to the domestic market.

The company said it increased supply from 150,000 to 250,000 Metric Tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Mr Kudo Eresia-Eke, the General Manager, External Relations of the company, said that supply level was raised by 67 per cent to demonstrate the company’s commitment to re-create a domestic LPG industry in Nigeria.

banks and other financial institutions are allowed in practice to deduct similar liabilities imposed under their regulations as specific provisions.”

Similarly, Section 16(9) (b) suggests that after all limited deductions have been granted to life insurance companies, the company must have 20 per cent of its gross income available as taxable profit.

The report states that “This is a type of minimum tax provision different from the general minimum tax provision in Section 33(1) of the CITA which is computed roughly as 0.5 per cent of the higher of a gross profits, net assets and paidup capital plus 0.125 per cent of turnover above N500,000.

“This effectively means that life insurance companies are almost always subject to a higher basis of minimum tax compared to other companies, including banks and financial institutions.”

The report also observes that under Section 16(5)(b) of the CITA, the income of a life insurance company which are subjected to tax include the whole income and other incomes.

“This raises an ambiguity on whether income earned from investment of life policy holders’ funds and annuities are taxable, even though these funds include undistributed amounts that would only be distributed upon maturity of the policy,” the report states noting that due to the nature of life insurance business, it is logical for investment income from such policy holder funds and annuities to be taxed only to the extent that they are distributed during the year.

The provisions of Section 16(5) will therefore need to be amended to reflect this deferral and to remove the ambiguity.”

Another challenge faced by insurance companies in Nigeria, according to the report, is the practice of the FIRS requiring insurance companies to account for VAT on commissions paid to brokers and agents.

It states that based on the VAT Act, all companies are only required to charge and pay VAT on their output or supplies, except in a few instances such as oil and gas companies that account for VAT on their input or purchases.

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business

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

daily summary (equities) for MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER, 2015

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news

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

How we kidnapped Falae —Suspects Confirm receiving N5m ransom

T

he Department of the State Service (DSS), on Monday paraded two Fulani herdsmen who abducted a one time Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) and pan Yoruba leader, Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae on his farm in Akure, last month just as the suspected abductors confessed of receiving N5 million before releasing him.

The suspects, according to Mallam Abdullahi Garba who briefed the Press on behalf of the DSS are Abdullahi Usman (aka Kadri) and Babawuro Kato.

The prime suspect, Kato while speaking with newsmen confessed of leading the operation and lamented that a chief who sent them, coordinated the abduction and absconded with the said N5 million,

without giving the remaining two of them a dime.

Parading the two suspects before the newsmen, Mallam Garba declared that the “abductors were mere criminals” and that “investigations have further revealed that their action was not targeted at Falae as a statesman and

prominent Yoruba leader.”

He said that the duo was arrested by the DSS on October 5, this year at J Zebra Hotel along Ganaja Road, Lokoja, Kogi State, following a tip off.

Garba enjoined Nigerians to live peacefully with one another and shun attempts by mischiefmak-

ers to give the unfortunate incident an ethnic or any other colouration and use same to cause disaffection among the populace.

While appealing to Nigerians to be law abiding and responsible in their commentary on sensitive issues affecting national security, Garba warned that

the DSS would not hesitate to deal decisively with anybody, no matter how highly placed, “In accordance with the laws of the land.”

Kato, told newsmen that they carried out the operation in their desperate mood to source for money for that the Sallah celebration.

Police, protesting students clash in Osun Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

THERE was tension in Osogbo, capital of Osun State on Monday when protesting students of Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree and colleges of education clashed with anti-riot policemen.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the students of Osun State-owned tertiary institutions were protesting over the prolonged strike, spanning almost nine months and non-payment of salary to their lecturers by the state government.

However, the protest reportedly turned violent with harassment of passerby and some shop owners by some hoodlums, who joined with the students and took over the protest.

This was when anti-riot policemen were deployed to quell the demonstration.

The protest grounded economic activities in major commercial areas of the state capital, causing traffic gridlock along Gbongan/ Ibadah expressway as the demonstrating students moved towards the office of the governor to register their grievance to Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

However, when they got to the turning, leading to the House of Assembly along Gbongan/Ibadan expressway, policemen with the backup of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) fired several shots of tear gas canister at the students, culminating in confrontation.

Suspected abductors of Chief Olu Falae, Abdullahi Usman a.k.a Kadiri (left) and Babawuro Kato, during their parade by Department of the State Service (DSS) in Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: BAYOOR EWUOSO

Nigeria’ll benefit more from integrated regional market —EU Dapo Falade-Port Harcourt

The European Union (EU) has said Nigeria, being the largest economy in Africa and the industrial hub of the West African sub-region, stands to be the greatest beneficiary of an integrated West African market.

Head, EU delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Michel Arrion made the disclosure, in Port Harcourt, on Monday.

Delivering his keynote address, ‘Beyond Oil and Gas’ at the 2015 edition of the Rivers Investors Forum, he said “Nigeria must see West Africa as an extension of its domestic economy because Nigeria stands to be the greatest beneficiary of an integrated West African market.”

He said, while Nigeria had only South Africa to contend with in the quest to attract Direct Foreign Investments (DFIs), there were several other emerging economies in Europe

and Asia that were competing to have EU investors.

“I want to make a point on this global question on EU investors interested in investing in Nigeria. You must understand that EU and US are not your competitors.

“Your competitors are the emerging economies of the means and of the bricks. It is Brazil, it is Russia, it is India, it is China for bricks. It is Turkey; it is Mexico, it is Indonesia, for the means.

“The two groups are

CBCIU accuses Aregbesola of contempt of court Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) on Monday accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of being contemptuous of the Federal High Court, Osogbo currently adjudicating on a case over the constitution of the centre’s board.

The centre and its registered trustees had in 2013 dragged the Osun State government to court for setting up a parallel board headed by Professor Wole Soyinka for the centre.

However, the matter could not be heard on Monday as the judge was said to be busy with his col-

leagues at an official event in Nasarawa State and was rescheduled for November 11, 2015.

It would be recalled that Soyinka resigned his appointment at the weekend but Governor Aregbesola on Sunday rejected the resignation even as he claimed that the registered chairman of the board, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola could not constitutionally remain as the chairman.

While interacting with journalists at the court premises on Monday, counsel to CBCIU and registered trustees of the centre, Barrister Adetunji Muraina, criticised Areg-

besola over a press statement which he described as contemptuous and unfortunate.

According to him, “I read the statement purportedly made by Aregbesola. It was an unfortunate statement and contemptuous of the court because the issue he commented upon is the issue before the court. A governor as the chief law keeper of the state shouldn’t have made such an unfortunate statement. He cannot usurp the powers of the court by making claims on what is legal and what is not. That is what the court is there to do.”

South Africa and Nigeria.

So, your first competitor, I will say in sub-saharan Africa, is South Africa”, he said.

Also speaking at the event, the state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, said his administration had achieved much within a short period, through collaboration with the organised private sector.

He said the state government had prioritised the issue of security as a means to attract more investors, adding that investors would not come into an environment that was not secured.

Wike, represented by the secretary to the state government, Mr Kenneth Kobani, said, “As a government, we placed security at the top of the agenda because we believe that, without security, it will be difficult for investors to come into the state and invest.

“We are working hard to ensure that our security agencies are enabled so that they can perform their responsibilities.”

In his opening remarks, the first military governor of the old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, advised the organised private sector to ensure that all issues raised at the forum were put into practice.

Ganduje to attend inaugural meeting in New York Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Sunday left for New York, United States of America (USA), to attend the launch of “Strong Cities Network” and the inaugural meeting of the International Steering Committee of the network.

The event is set to hold at Trusteeship Council Chamber, United Nations, New York, and will be hosted by the Governing Mayor of Oslo, Norway.

The two events will bring together Mayors and other municipal leaders, citylevel practitioners, Strong Cities Network Steering Committee members and other important personalities from across the world.

The occasions will among other things determine how the Strong Cities Network can best support cities in their strategic planning and capacity building in countering violent extremism.

During Governor Ganduje’s week long absence, his deputy, Professor Hafiz Abubakar will act in his stead.

Ajimobi, Fagbemi for book launch on Ibadan OYO State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and Prince Lateef Fagbemi are expected to be guest of honour and chief launcher at the launching of two books in Ibadan, on Thursday.

The book, Ibadan Empire, is co-authored by a retired Permanent Secretary in Oyo State, Chief Toye Ogunyemi.

According to a statement signed by the chairman book launching committee, Chief Adegboyega Arulogun, the ceremony will take place at St John Paul II Centre, University of Ibadan, on October 15.

Also, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade I is expected to be the father of the day.

Other dignitaries expected at the occasion include Chief Adeniyi Akintola, Alhaji Lasun Sanusi, Dr Akin Onigbinde, and Prince Adekunle Oriade among others.

The occasion will be presided over by the President of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Bayo Oyero.

14 news

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

I have forgiven Shittu for paradise’s sake —Ajimobi

By Tunde Ogunesan, Wale Akinselure, Folusho Anjorin and Festus Iyorah

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BSTACLES from Oyo State to the ministerial screening of Mr Adebayo Shittu may have been removed as the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, on Monday, said he had forgiven Shittu in the interest of attaining God’s paradise.

Ajimobi, speaking while addressing representatives of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic

Affairs, Oke Ogun zone, at Governor’s Office, Ibadan, acknowledged that though he had reservations for the selection of Shittu, he had accepted the personal apology of Shittu among other stakeholders to shelve his misgivings.

According to Ajimobi, his reservations stemmed from the fact that Shittu since 2011, when they both contested as state governor, had continued to engage in campaign of calumny and cast aspersions on his person.

Alluding Shittu’s nomi-

nation to God’s will, he said he never opposed the nomination since President Muhammadu Buhari had deemed Shittu fit.

Ajimobi, however, added that he did not nominate Shittu.

“I have always had my reservations as to Shittu’s selection, but never opposed him and since the president nominated him, I will never oppose his nomination.

Shittu has apologised. He knew he was against me and the party. He engaged in campaign of calumny. But to err is human, to forgive is

divine. Many have come to ask for his forgiveness and his sins are forgiven.”

Responding, representative of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Oke Ogun zone, Atilola Adewale, vowed to take up Governor Ajimobi’s charge to speak with Shittu to be of good character and a good Muslim.

Atilola noted that the intervention was imperative so as to address the reservations of Governor Ajimobi for Shittu’s nomination because they were both Muslims and such contradiction

Members of the Oyo State Coalition Group, during a solidarity rally to the Tribune House, Oke-Ado, Ibadan, in support of the ministerial nomination of Mr Adebayo Shittu, on Monday.

Tribunal upholds Omoworare’s election Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

THE Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday, upheld the election of Babajide Omoworare as senator representing Osun East Senatorial District of the state during the March 28 National Assembly poll.

Delivering his judgment in the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, the chairman of the election tribunal, Justice A.G Kwajaffa, declared that Senator Omoworare scored the highest number of votes to emerge the winner of the election.

Prince Fadahunsi had approached the tribunal to cancel the verdict of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared Omoworare as the winner of the election on the ground that the elec-

tion did not hold in some polling units in some local governments in the senatorial districts.

He also alleged that there were violence and massive rigging in areas where the election was held.

... upholds APC senator election in Nasarawa Ademola Adegbite - Lafia

THE National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, on Monday, upheld the election of Senator Salihu Egygbola of the All Progressives Congress (APC),

representing Nasarawa South Senatorial district.

It will be recalled that Senator Suleiman Adokwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the victory of Senator Egygbola on March 28, saying the election was marred with irregularities and rigging.

We adhere to best practices at Kresta Laurel —MD THE Managing Director of Kresta Laurel Limited, Mr Dideolu Falobi, has disclosed that the main objective of the company was to build an indigenous engineering company that will attain global recognition.

According to him, “Kresta Laurel Limited decided from the start to be known for offering products that would last and stand the

In his 90-minute judgment, Justice Kwajaffa who led two other judges dismissed the petition for lacking merit as the petitioner could not prove allegation of violence and electoral malpractices during the election.

test of time, offer technical supports, quality products, reinvent and renovate while at the same time offer excellent service through training and retraining and with proven integrity.”

Falobi, while speaking to newsmen as part of activities marking the company’s 25th year anniversary, stated that the company, though was founded under

the very harsh economic condition of the Structural Adjustment Programme of the Federal Government in 1990 has been able to weather the storms over the years to become Nigeria’s foremost engineering company.

He said the success of most organisations depends largely on government policy and direction.

Delivering his judgment amidst tight security, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Peter Obiora, dismissed the petition for lack of merit, pointing out that the plaintiff failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

Justice Obior, who confirmed that the election was conducted peacefully at Agwatashi ward, further explained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right in rejecting results in some polling units with over voting, admitting results in only six out of 14 polling units in the area.

According to him, some irregularities noticed in few polling units do not entirely invalidate the overall result of the election.

was ungodly.

Meanwhile, as screening of ministerial nominee commences today, the Oyo State Coalition Group has called on the NASS and the senators representing the three zones in the state to do the needful by confirming Shittu as minister.

Speaking on behalf of the group at a solidarity rally to the Tribune House, Imalefalafia, on today, the Convener, Oyo State Youth Assembly, Alhaji Bashir Muyiwa, who came with representatives from the national council, Federation of Ibadan Students’ Union and APC’s ‘Get It Right Integrity Group’ said: “We are using this medium to inform the National Assembly under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki and APC senators representing the three zones in Oyo to do the needful by approving the nomination of Mr Shittu as minister.”

Also, a socio-cultural organisation, Oke-Ogun Development Forum, has commended President Buhari on the nomination of Mr Shittu in the ministerial list sent to the National Assembly for consideration.

The forum, in a release signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Lanre Agoro and Adeagbo Ezekiel respectively, described the nominee who once served as a lawmaker and commissioner for justice and attorney general in the state, as a trustworthy, honest, selfless, transparent, Godfearing, patriotic and detribalised Nigerian, who has distinguished himself in his professional callings.

According to the release, “the entire indigenes of OkeOgun are in full support of the nomination of this rare breed Nigerian of Oke-Ogun stock.”

Meanwhile, the Oke-Ogun professionals have also charged the Senate to conduct the ministerial screening exercise with a view to ensuring that only men of courage and character emerge to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda.

This is just as the group, in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Tiamiyu Adebayo, lauded the listing of Mr Adebayo Shittu as ministerial nominee for Oyo State.

A non governmental group, Oyo State Coalition, has called on the Upper Chamber to confirm Adebayo Shittu’s nomination as minister.

The group, made up of trade groups, professionals, artisans, elderly and the youths, through its spokesperson, Ismail Adewoyin, said the choice of Shittu “is a blessing to Oke-Ogun area of the state.”

A’Ibom gov floats credit scheme, donates bus to traders union AKWA Ibom State Government has boosted its drive towards the realisation of the vision for wealth creation by presenting funds to it citizens to enable them break even in their various enterprises.

The fund, which is made available through the Micro Scale and Medium Enterprises, is to cater for 1,000 beneficiaries who are mostly traders. The percentage of disbursement is 65 for women while the men will access the remaining 35.Speaking at Ibom Hall, venue of the presentation, Governor Udom Emmanuel said that the loan, which is revolving and interest-free, would boost working capital of the traders and enable them excel in their businesses.

He announced plans to organise training workshop on entrepreneurial development and financial management, to equip the traders with requisite skills that would facilitate their business undertakings and made a donation of a Toyota Hiace Bus to the traders association.

Governor Emmanuel charged the beneficiaries to be prudent in the management of the fund to enable other beneficiaries access the loan.

He solicited for their partnership in the administration’s determination to create wealth and improve the living conditions of its citizens.

Setting the tone for the occasion, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akan Okon, stated that the loan was sequel to the Central Bank directive for the empowerment of entrepreneurs.

DAMSEL School of Ministry next edition holds Oct 22 THE next edition of DAMSEL School of Ministry for Women will be held on Thursday, October 22, at Rehoboth Cathedral, Oluyole, Ibadan, Oyo State, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The convener is Pastor Dolapo Adelakun.

Pastor Dolapo Adelakun

15

news

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Alamieyeseigha: Bayelsa govt declares 7-day mourning His death a huge loss —Sylva From Bola Badmus And Austin Ebipade

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he Bayelsa State government has announced seven days of mourning in honour of the former governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who on October 10 died of cardiac heart arrest.

The state government has also announced all flags are to fly half mast pending the expiration of the seven-days mourning.

Alamieyeseigha died last Saturday at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, sequel to a plan to extradite him to the United Kingdom to face charges over money laundering.

The Bayelsa State Government in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Daniel Markson, said, “The 7-day mourning period and the flying of the flags at half mast takes effect from today, while condolence registers have been opened in Government House, the State Secretariat complex and at the Ijaw house in Yenagoa.”

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson in his address said Alamieyeseigha’s demise was a personal loss to him, particularly for been a strong pillar of support to the restoration government in the state.

He noted that Alamieyeseigha has always stood for the Ijaw nation, as an ardent fighter for resource control, even as he condole his wife, Margaret over the loss.

Meanwhile, the former governor of Bayelsa State and governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, described the death of Alamieyeseigha as a huge loss to the state and the country.

Sylva in his statement made available to newsmen, further described the former governor as a mature politician and pillar of democracy who made sacrifices for the Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria, generally.

According to him, the late Alamieyeseigha was an illustrious member of the political class and a political father with whom he shared common interest in the development of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw nation.

Sylva said the news of the death of Chief Alamieyeseigha was a shock to him, pointing out that he shared the grief of the deceased’s family and friends. “The news of the death of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was a very bad shock to me. I share the grief

of his family and friends.

“Chief Alamieyeseigha was an illustrious member of the political class and a political father with whom I shared common interest in the development of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw nation.

“We mourn the passing of his wise counsel, simple lifestyle, and moderate views.

We mourn for the loss of his experience and political sagacity, which had, no doubt, helped to maintain the stability needed to grow our democracy.

“Alamieyeseigha will be

missed by all the people of Bayelsa State, the Ijaw nation, and Nigeria, in general but we take solace in the foundations he has laid.

His memory will continue to be an inspiration to all of us who knew him.”

Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide has said that the Federal Government was responsible for the demise of Chief Alamieyesegha, who was hale and healthy until the plot to extradite him to the United Kingdom by the Muhammadu Buhari-led adminis-

tration.

The group in a statement signed by it spokesman, Eric Omare, and made available to Nigerian Tribune in Yenagoa, said Alamieyesegha’s death was simply caused by the Federal Government.

Omare noted that IYC was privy to the conspiracy and therefore is calling the attention of the world, especially the governments of the United Kingdom and United States.

The statement reads, “Again, it has become very clear to us that our marriage

in the Nigerian state has become most unbearable. We have continually paid very huge price in sustaining this marriage yet we have been treated as unequal.

He enjoined Ijaw people to brace up to the challenges ahead as the days ahead would be very tough, stressing that the persecution of our people which has claimed its first victim would take a more drastic dimension, hence Ijaw people must stand up to protect and defend themselves from this political attack.

From right, winner of the kid’s singing competition, Kareem Arafat; Glo Ambassador and comedian, Helen Paul and the runner-up, Queeyano Onumoh, at the Glo Slide n Bounce concert held at Surulere, Lagos, on Saturday.

Jonathan wanted to replace Diezani with Kachikwu —Metuh The national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, has revealed that former President Goodluck Jonathan, during his administration wanted to name Ibe Kachikwu as replacement for Diezani Alison-Madueke as petroleum minister.

Metuh, who spoke on President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to head the petroleum ministry, said PDP would expose him, if anything dishonest happens in the ministry.

He stated that the PDP under Jonathan discovered the incumbent group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), over two years ago.

“Ibe Kachikwu was supposed to be Minister of Petroleum under PDP, two years ago; he is not a new discovery,” he said.

“If the President handles the petroleum industry and does anything dishonest, we will expose him and tell Nigerians.” He added that the PDP was committed to constructive criti-

cism and not unnecessary opposition of every government policy.

“The style we are bringing is constructive criticisms because the essence is not about winning. It is about serving the people. We want to serve the Nigerian people – that is why we are in politics. When we were in government, the then opposition government (APC) did certain things that were indecent and not good for

the progress or unity of our country.

“Anytime there was a terrorist attack in the country, we had lots of condemnation of the government and it made the terrorists emboldened. The insurgents were dividing us along ethnic and religious lines and the APC were promoting it.

“As an opposition party, we have decided that we will not adopt the same tactics. We have not

abused Mr President; we do not abuse his office. We limit ourselves to issues, providing alternatives and options to his policies and programmes, although we haven’t seen any yet,” he said.

Speaking on the ministerial nominees, the PDP spokesperson said the president chose those he had worked with, knowing full well, where their strength and capacity lie.

Oyo exploring avenues to increase its IGR —Ajimobi Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said that his government is exploring avenues to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Governor Ajimobi who stated this in Ibadan, on Monday, while receiving members of Course 24 of the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja said that the government was already taking a closer look at the tenement rate and property tax, while leakages in tax collection were being blocked.

He said that his admin-

istration would review the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and corporate tax, while the informal sector of the economy was being captured into the tax net.

The governor said that some tax experts had been consulted to assist the state in restructuring its revenue service.

“It is also in the plan of the state government to separate the board of revenue service from the civil service,” he said.

Ajimobi expressed optimism that the state IGR

would rise to “about N5 billion per month,” within the next one year after all the leakages must have been blocked.

He commended the NDC for allowing its officers to engage in the academic exercise and particularly for making Oyo State one of its research centres.

Responding, the leader of the team, Kamorudeen Lawal, said that the 130 participants of Course 24, Team 5 were expected to tour 10 states of the federation.

Subscribers laud Surulere

Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce

The Surulere area of Lagos witnessed an unprecedented excitement on Saturday with the Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce concert held at the Eagles Club, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street.

The subscribers gave tribute to Globacom and eulogised the telecommunication operator for bringing the initiative to their neighbourhood.

Mr Yusuf Adebayo, a Lagos resident who works as an instructor at Nigerian Civil Defence College of Security Management in Abeokuta commended the company for introducing Slide ‘n’ Bounce music show. “The concept appeals to all and sundry and it generally helps Nigerians to unwind and create time for entertainment,” he said.

Adebayo, who said he had been a Glo subscriber since the inception of the company in 2003 also advised it to take the show to other parts of the country.

“Every part of the country deserves to experience this unique entertainment package from the proudly Nigerian Company, Globacom,” he advised.

In the same vein, Mr Christopher Adebiyi, Chief Operating Officer of Water Trade Consultants, Lagos, praised Globacom for coming up with the entertainment package which he said, “will soon bring more Nigerians out of their homes as it gets more interesting and highly entertaining every week.”

ODU marks 80th anniversary Offa Descendants’ Union (ODU), an umbrella organisation for all the sons and daughters of the ancient city of Offa, will be 80 years today, hence various events have been lined up to mark the anniversary.

Speaking on the activities, the Secretary of the union, Chief (Mrs) Wosilat Tinuke Macarthy, said a documentary stating the aim and objectives of the union would be launched.

The documentary will also showcase the achievements recorded by the union since its inception 80 years ago.

The ODU scribe also stated that post-humours award will be given to the founding fathers of the union.

16

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Femi Ibirogba adefemi2007@yahoo.com 0811 695 4646

Healthy food, friendly environment only possible with organic agric —Stakeholders Stories by Femi Ibirogba

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AFER food, friendly environment and curtailment of foodborne diseases can only be achieved through sustainable agriculture and only organic agriculture is sustainable bearing in mind scarce and shrinking economic resources around the world, experts have said.

Organic agricultural scientists, researchers, practitioners and processors said this at a fiveday international conference at Sheraton Hotel and Tower, Lagos, last week, hosted by the Association of Organic Agriculture of Nigeria (NOAN).

The conference, on the theme, ‘Achieving Social and Economic Development through Ecological and Organic Agriculture alternatives’, attracted farmers, researchers, trainers, academics, extension agents, policymakers, private sector operators, investors, among others in organic agricultural value chain, both locally and globally.

President of NOAN, Professor Gideon Adeoye, while welcoming participants at the conference, said they must take the bull by the horns to intensify sustainable agriculture in their countries, institutes and local communities by extending training, materials and advice on benefits of organic agriculture to humans, animals and the environment.

He recalled how his father, who lived up to 120 years, practised organic agriculture, consumed his produce and made a decent living without a grain of synthetic fertilizer, while maintaining the natural environment.

He argued that synthetic agriculture had caused more harms than good to human and animal health, the environment and this had aggravated environmental degradation, displacement, and undesirable climate change.

President of African Organic Network (AfroNet), Mr Jordan Gama, while delivering a paper on ‘Progress and challenges of ecological organic agriculture in Africa’, said, “1.2 million hectares of certified organic agricultural land (three per cent of world total) is under cultivation, 572’000 producers were reported; the majority of certified organic

From left, President of NOAN, Professor Gideon Adeoye; President of AfroNet, Mr Jordan Gama and representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Allison Loconto during the Interntional Conference of Organic Agriculture at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos, recently. PHOTO: FEMI IBIROGBA produce in Africa is destined for export markets; the European Union is currently Africa’s largest market for agricultural produce.”

Speaking on the progress made so far, he said countries in Eastern Africa were at different levels of putting in place ecological organic policy,

strategies and plans.

Tanzania, he said, had incorporated organic policy statements in National Agriculture Policy 2013, National Livestock Development Policy 2006, and National Export Strategy.

Uganda and Kenya, he added,

were putting in place exclusive organic policy, and Rwanda was in process of developing organic policy.

Development partners are supporting and investing in Ecological Organic Agriculture in Africa and the Swedish government was making efforts.

The challenges being faced, he said, include inadequate budget allocations from national/ regional communities for organic agriculture and lack of a shared comprehensive organic action plan/strategy in most countries and regions.

Unlike in most Western Europe, EU, America and Japan, there was inadequate research and education on ecological organic agriculture in Africa, and there was little investment/support in organising producers into marketing and value chains.

Venancia Wambua, EOA Project Manager, Biovision Africa Trust, Kenya, while speaking on the action plan, goals, vision and mission of organic agriculture initiative, said the goal is “To mainstream EOA into national agricultural production systems, policies, and practices by 2025 in order to improve agricultural productivity, food security, access to markets and sustainable development in Africa.

“The vision is vibrant Ecological Organic Systems for Enhanced Food Security and Sustainable Development in Africa and the mission is to promote ecologically sound strategies and practices among diverse stakeholders in production, processing, and marketing through strategic actions and policy making to alleviate poverty, guarantee adequate and healthy food security, improve livelihoods and safeguard the environment.”

How smuggling is terrorising Nigerian economy —Customs SMUGGLING has been described as an act of economic terrorism aimed at killing the Nigerian economy by enriching cartels behind the illicit behaviour, Comptroller in charge of Oyo and Osun command, Mr M. S. Bawa, has said.

He said this in Ibadan while delivering a lecture on effects of smuggling on the Nigerian economy during a one-day workshop organised by Oyo State branch of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) at Civic Centre, Ibadan, on Wednesday.

Bawa said effects of smuggling of any product, including poultry products, into the country include avoidance of revenue to the government, poor balance of trade, killing of infant industries, damage to people’s health, loss of jobs and struggling economy.

He said smuggling must be tackled using the instrumentalities of the law and law enforcement agencies, such as Nigerian Customs Service.

He however added that without accurate information from the public who know the smugglers, the law enforcement agencies could only do little.

“The Nigerian Custom Service is determined to tackle the menace of smuggling using the instruments of the law and powers conferred on it by the constitution. Specifically, smuggling of chicken would not be tolerated by the Customs,” he said.

Chairman of PAN in Oyo State, Mr Banji Akanji, said though smuggled poultry products could be cheaper, they cause more harms to the public health and the economy, urging Nigerians to encourage local quality production, which, he said, would become eventually cheaper than the smuggled ones.

He challenged members of the association to embrace mass production of broilers, as mass production would bring benefits of economy of scale, helping to

meet emerging local demand of poultry products.

Akanji also commended the customs service for intercepting and destruction of smuggled poultry products in Oyo State recently, saying it would send a strong signal to smugglers that smuggling would not be tolerated in any form.

Permanent Secretary in the Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Gabriel Kehinde, commended efforts being made by the customs to effect the ban on some poultry products and measures being put in place by PAN to rev up local productivity, saying the government had been and would be sensitising the public against patronage of smuggled unwholesome poultry products.

Chairman of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association of Nigerian (NVMA) in the state, Mr Ibrahim Adekunle, lauded the efforts of the association for persistently making efforts to feed the country with wholesome

poultry products as one of the most affordable sources of protein to Nigerians.

One of the guest speakers at the workshop, Dr Jimoh Famoyin, said poultry farmers should ensure that they feed the public with hygienic and fresh poultry products, for all members of the public must be food safety conscious.

Representative of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs O. Dosumu, revealed procedures for approval of poultry processing and packaging centres in the country.

Among the registration procedures, she said, are certificate of incorporation; labeling information, including name of products, pack size, expiry date, manufacturing date, batch number, factory location; quality control mechanism; distribution chain and professional production manager.

17

agriculture

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

NIHORT boss lists reasons students, women should go for agric careers Stories by Femi Ibirogba

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X E C U T I V E Director of the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Dr Adenike Olufolaji, has described agriculture as life “because it supports life by food, without which

humans and animals cannot survive.”

She said this while delivering a lecture during a role modelling event organised by a fellow of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Mrs Bukola Aminu-Taiwo, at Osegere Olukeye High School, Osegere, in Egbeda

Local Government Area of Oyo State, last week.

She narrated to students of the school how Nigeria was reputable in agriculture before and shortly after independence, and how it abandoned agriculture for a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil.

Decreasing oil prices in the international market, she said, had put the Nigerian economy in shambles, and hence the urgent need and emphasis being placed on developing a sector where the country has comparative advantage.

She, however, commended the last and the present administrations for making efforts to revive the sector and its value chains.

AWARD fellow, Mrs Aminu-Taiwo, urged the students to take Agricultural Science and related subjects seriously and further take additional steps to study Agriculture and related disciplines in tertiary institutions for rewarding careers that would guarantee employment opportunities in a country where over 70 million graduates are said to be unemployed.

She added that agriculture

is a means of decent livelihood and instruments of poverty eradication, malnutrition reduction and wealth creation, saying aspects such as crop production for food, industrial raw materials and value addition are worthwhile areas of agriculture.

A guest speaker and mentor to the organiser of the event, Dr Biodun Claudius-Cole, said career opportunities abound for students in areas such as animal science, fisheries, wildlife studies, forestry, agronomy, soil science and

crop protection, among others.

Principal of the school, Mr Taiwo Oladiran, also harped on the imperative of agriculture in the economies of several countries of the world, especially Nigeria and other nations in Africa, saying the resources are naturally available and exploring cheaper technologies emanating from local industries, institutes and tertiary institutions of learning would go a long way in revolutionising the ways agriculture is practised in the country.

Mrs Bukola Aminu-Taiwo, presenting farm tools to Agric teacher of Osegere High School and the school head girl, assisted by the school principal, Mr Taiwo Oladiran, recently.

‘Fish farming challenging but money-spinning’ FISH farming requires patience, skills, persistence and constant knowledge seeking, but it is a profitable venture capable of employment creation, poverty alleviation and steady sources of income to farmers and processors, a guest lecturer has said.

Dr B. B. Adekoya said this during a forum organised for fish farmers and processors by the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, recently.

He said after rice, fish is the second most important food in Africa, accounting for 98 per cent of the market demand for catfish in Nigeria and hence its large-scale production.

Adekoya itemised fish seed, feeds and filtration as key factors in successful fishery business. Fish seed, he said, would go a long way in determining growth rate, mortality rate and maturity period.

Fish feeds, he added, would always play key role in the health, growth and general well-being of fish, while filtration would ensure fish are separated to allow slow-eating and smaller fish to grow at their pace and would avoid cannibalism.

He also said major challenges include water management, post-harvest management, processing input and marketing, saying, however, that

the challenges are surmountable with good practices, consultation with experts and frequent training.

Provost of the college, Dr Funmilayo Adejinmi, said the Department of Fisheries Technologies of the college, organiser of the forum, was capable of putting fish farmers through their challenges, saying that they should not hesitate to take advantage of the expertise of the staff of the college.

Dr Adejinmi added that agriculture had become the bride of the day in the face of dwindling fortunes from petroleum resources and investments in the sector would guarantee returns on investment, urging youths, especially unemployed graduates to go for agricultural training and take up careers in agriculture.

Representative of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the forum, Mr M. B. Akinola, said the apex bank had emplaced several credit schemes to assist both small and large scale farmers in their quest to expand production and sustain productivity.

Dr Wasiu Jimoh, Head of Department of Fisheries Technology of the college, said the forum was aimed at sensitising fish farmers about latest trends in fish farming and to share their challenges with the aim of finding solutions to them.

From left, Mr B.B. Adekoya, guest speaker; Provost of Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan, Dr Funmilayo Adejinmi; Head of Department, Fisheries Technology of the college, Dr Wasiu Jimoh and CBN representative, Mr M. A. Akinsola, during a fish farming forum in the college, last week.

Ecobank steps up funding for agric sector ECOBANK, a leading bank in agriculture and export finance across Africa with presence in over 36 countries, plans to grow its current agricultural loan portfolio of N84 billion in Nigeria significantly in the next four years in line with Federal Government focus on the Agric sector.

Country Manager, Agriculture and Export Finance, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Abel Ajala, who disclosed this in Lagos said it was part of the bank’s deliberate and strategic initiative to increase support to the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

According to Mr Ajala, the bank works closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI), using intervention funds and other schemes to avail credit facilities at concessionary interest rates and single digit interest rate for CBN/BOI intervention funds. ‘’Apart from the bank’s direct lending to the agricultural sector, Ecobank has supported

many stakeholders in the sector to obtain BOI loans and various CBN-support facilities for agriculture such as Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS), Nigeria Incentivebased Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), at a single digit interest rate. Ecobank also plans to grow the BOI/ CBN funding portfolio in the bank significantly in

the next four years.‘’ He maintained that Ecobank was actively supporting agriculture both in the production (including agricultural processing), distribution and other areas of the value chain, stressing that the sector was at the centre of transforming the economy.

“It is part of our deliberate and strategic initiative to increase support to the

Agric sector,’’ he said.

Ajala further stated that “we lend to farmers to procure fertilisers as well as for agricultural products and produce like cocoa, cashew, seeds, leather, skin tannery, rubber crumbs, poultry, fisheries, livestock, crops, in fact the entire value chain. As a bank, we have resolved to take financing of the sector to the next level.”

Nigerian elected VP of Africa cashew body THE National President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Babatola Faseru, has been elected VicePresident of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA).

He is the first Nigerian to occupy this position on the Executive Committee (EC) of ACA, the association’s governing body. The EC is elected every two years by a General Assembly of ACA usually during the ACA Annual Conference.

He was elected at the 9th ACA World CashewFestival & Expo which held

betweenSeptember 21 and 24 at Maputo, Mozambique.

Mozambique is the second largest producer of raw cashew nuts in East Africa.

Commenting on his election, Faseru, who is also the Chairman of Colossus Investments Limited, said his election will open doors for more Nigerians to make inroad into the continental cashew market and also better position Nigeria as a strategic cashew producing and processing country in the world.

According to him,

international cashew kernel demand is active; hence the need to sustain the campaign forimproved farming and processing techniques toensurethat the country presents higher cashew grades.

He said Nigeria has the potential to produce about 500,000 tonnes of raw cashew annually, adding that this can only be achieved if cashew cultivation is encouraged, post-harvest losses are minimised and new high yield breeds are introduced.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

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.

Nigeria is a country of opportunities

N

IGERIA N IGERIA is a country of many opportunities, but Nigerians rarely exploit them. The major reason is that the government lacks the will to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurial development. The absence of such environment has led to poverty of ideas on how to take advantage of the many opportunities.

Notwithstanding, some Nigerians have defied this and are making fortunes from the opportunities that abound. Nonetheless, there are still many

untapped prospects at our backyard which can be money spinners.

Time has come for Nigerian governments at all levels to design how government can create a supportive environment for Nigerians to explore the various potentials for entrepreneurial development.

For instance, farmers produce thousands of tonnes of perishable crops like tomatoes, pepper, onions, lettuce, cabbage etc especially in the northern part of Nigeria.

But most of these are lost due to lack of adequate

Oliseh, resolve dispute with Enyeama PERMIT me to use this opportunity to call on the Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, to show maturity in resolving the disagrement between him and Vincent Enyeama over the captaincy of the squad.

Although Oliseh had given his account of what traspired between the two, it is important to still call the goalkeeper for a oneon-one parley to resolve the issue.

Oliseh said when he was made the coach, he drove from his base to meet Enyeama in France to discuss how they could work together to take the Super Eagles to the next level, but Enyeama was only particular that he had little time left in the team.

This was what made him name Ahmed Musa as the captain. Musa had acted excellently well in that position in Oliseh’s first two matches.

Oliseh should have informed Enyeama privately about his decision; however, if this is not wellmanaged, it might affect the morale of the team, as there will be players who will support Enyeama but will never voice it out.

It will therefore, affect their commitments to the national team.

I think there is need for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to also wade into the crisis, since it can engulf the team if it is not

well-managed.

•Daniel Silas, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State.

storage and packaging facilities. To tackle this, the government can establish local fabrication of small scales storage facilities and packaging machines for perishable crops.

There are many young Nigerians with sound technical knowhow of fabrication of simple and small scale farm machineries- what they need is proper co-ordination, tools and good workshops.

Nigeria has made a huge error by neglecting technical and vocational schools. Most graduates of technical schools can replicate many types of simple and small scale machineries imported into Nigeria today. That’s how China started.

If the Nigerian government can take bold initiatives towards organised and well-tooled workshops to encourage technical knowledge develop-

ment, it will be a viable way for foreign exchange, employment and industrialisation.

Nigeria is definitely a country of opportunities if we know how to tap into it.

The government has a lot to do in this area if the country is to attain economic development.

Focusing only on oil will never make Nigeria develop; we must look at other

areas we can tap into.

•Zayyad Muhammed, Jimeta, Adamawa State. zaymohd@yahoo. com

What the APC govt should do for Nigeria Some months ago, the wind of change blew over Nigerian politics, and the so much awaited and anticipated change of power became a reality. Going by the way young people took to the streets and social media to proclaim their desire and want for change, one would conclude that they expect more from this new administration than any other group of people. Or maybe it is because most of the President-elect’s campaign promises were targeted at youths.

President Muhammadu

Buhari promised many things for the youth, ranging from three million jobs every year, to providing a meal a day for all Nigerian youths.

Well, as much as all of these things are desired and hoped for, there are other things the Nigerian youth crave.

The feeling of being secure is one of the paramount things the Nigerian youth desire.

Epileptic power supply in the country, a condition which mostly affects and frustrates the younger generation is an issue that

needs to be addressed. It is good that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has promised to generate 40, 000 megawatts of electricity in four years; this is important because the everyday life of the youth is wrapped around the need to use power supply, either to charge phones, laptops or other electronics, among others, especially for those who have struggled to own a business.This brings me to fuel. There is also the need to make our refineries work, so that we would not have to depend on imported fuel any longer.

•Orija Oluwaponmile Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Russia is taking over the world RUSSIA is now involving itself in all major conflicts of the world. First, it annexed the Crimea in Ukraine, and its military is supporting rebels in the Eastern part of Ukraine.

Again, Russia has started attacking President Bashir Al-Assad’s enemies in the war in Syria. What this means is that the war will not end anytime soon.

America is probably the only country in the world that can stand up to the Russians, but it is unfortunate that it is not doing enough in this regard.

The Russians are now flexing their muscles all over the world, and it is important that the United States calls President Vladimir Putin to order.

•Nugwa Ojotule, Lokoja, Kogi State.

19

editorial

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

UN: Nigeria’s absence at crucial meetings

N

IGERIA’s participation at the 70th United Nations General Assembly, held in New York, United States recently has unraveled the challenges facing Nigeria’s foreign missions.

At that event, where the world transitioned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the General Assembly, urging world leaders to dismantle safe havens for proceeds of corruption. He appealed to them to do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin. The president was, however, unable to attend a meeting with Pope Francis who was the first Pontiff to address the General Assembly. Worse still, he was unable to participate in sideline events scheduled to address issues relating to Boko Haram and the resulting problems of internally displaced persons.

With regard to the meeting with the Pontiff, President Buhari was prevented from joining his colleagues at the meeting because he did not pass through the gate reserved for presidents.

He arrived late for the event because Nigerian Embassy officials messed up his itinerary. On the session titled “Lake Chad Basin at A Crossroads: Addressing Urgent Humanitarian Needs in An Overlooked Crisis,” which was to address Boko Haram and internally displaced persons, embassy officials failed to list it in the President’s itinerary.

The latter event was organised on the sideline by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and chaired by Stephen O’Brien, undersecretary general of the UN. A highlevel government representative of the Nigerian government was expected to be at the event given the security situation in the North- East of Nigeria.

These two incidents were embarrassing and unacceptable.

They show in graphic terms the ineptitude and poor attitude of the Nigerian mission staff in New York. The Peoples Democratic Party spokesman, Olisa Metuh, denounced the claim by a presidential aide that the meeting on the Lake Chad Basin was not one of the meetings for which the president and his delegation were in New York.

The party accused government of insensitivity to the plight of those affected by insurgency. Indeed, the official brochure of the meeting showed that a highlevel representation from Nigerian government was expected.

There is no doubt that Nigeria lost the chance of interacting effectively with critical stakeholders in the UN and other countries concerning security and humanitarian issues bedeviling the Lake Chad Basin countries. There is also no doubt that it was due to the failings of Nigeria’s embassy staff and the Nigerian permanent mission to the UN who were supposed to brief and escort the president to the meetings. Furthermore, these incidents justify the proposal by the president to prune Nigeria’s foreign missions. He had argued that Nigeria’s foreign representative missions should be based strictly on appropriate needs underlined by value for money principle. The resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is spread too thin because of the high number of foreign missions. The ministry has no Foreign Service Commission and suffers from training deficits. On many occasions, foreign missions run of out of funds putting staff in desperate situation.

It is a good thing that the president has ordered a comprehensive review of the missions. We believe this should be done systematically within a specific and meaningful timeline. The goal of such a review is to find ways and means of having the right number of missions in appropriate countries that serve as effective instruments of soft power and underscore Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa in the interaction between Nigeria and other nations of the world.

For this purpose, training, professionalism and experience must be given pride of place in posting of officials and ambassadors to countries that are of significant strategic interest to Nigeria. Due consideration must also be given to the need for Nigeria’s positive visibility globally.

It is only in the light of these that Nigeria can make the embarrassment such that happened at the UN General Assembly a thing of the past.

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20

opinion

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

veracity

Diezani: A cornucopia of taints, controversies

S

INCE the news about the arrest of ex-minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke on alien shores frittered into the country on both local and international tidal waves, my mind has been hit with a tumultuous storm of perturbation. I would not qualify myself as a fan of the ex-minister, no, but I can assure you that I wore pom-poms and cheered for her on 27 November last year, when she emerged the first female president of OPEC at the 166th OPEC ordinary meeting held in Vienna, Austria.

I danced neither because I was part of the ex-minister’s direct blood line, nor, if you would prefer, a member of her inner caucus who sat at roundtables and broke bread with her.

I felicitated because of that indescribable and unquellable kindred tie I feel for winning women and I considered Diezani as one.

However, her character, which one would imagine would be sterling as is often the case with other winning women, has mostly been under the lens of various electron microscopes, undergoing incredible scrutiny. So, despite my respect for her achievements, I was left with no other choice. Something said, “Would you do this and err against the sacred winning women code?” But something else told me “you cannot err if the eyes of your mind are not cloaked with gender biased sentiments.”

Therefore, after excruciating deliberations, I made my decision to dissect, like a toad spread on the teaching slab of first year biology students, the controversies trailing the enchanting achievements of another winning woman who has harrowingly made a caricature of the role of women in politics.

I thought I never would see a day like this after the mortifying scandal of Patricia Etteh, who made beautiful history as the first female speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, but blew the suis generis chance providence offered her in a sorely patriarchal society by sullying the sanctum of the HOR with malodorous theft and was tossed out three months later.

Similarly, after several years of active service in the national pedestal at three very significant capacities, Diezani’s chicken may be coming home to roost after all. Before we delve into the murky waters of her misdemeanors as a highly influential public office holder in the GEJ administration, we may want to chronicle her geometric progression in national affairs in her over half a dozen years of active play.

Diezani’s first appointment into the federal cabinet was in 2007. The former board member of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) was later appointed Minister of Transport by late ex-President Umaru Yar’adua.

In December 2008, she was redeployed to the mines and steel development ministry and after former Vice President Goodluck Jonathan became acting president, Diezani was appointed Nigeria’s first female petroleum minister in February 2010. A position she held till May 29, 2015.

However, Diezani’’s tenure as petroleum minister was allegedly highlighted by perplexing corrupt dealings as dubious oil markerters carted away trillions of naira of oil subsidy money right under her nose. One would marvel at how she managed to retain her position despite an indictment by the House of Representatives which investigated the fuel subsidy scandal.

Probes by independent audit firms, including the KPMG and PriceWaterhousecoopers, confirmed that billions of dollars of oil money were missing. Several shady deals were linked to the former minister and her cronies.

She was also investigated by the Nigerian Senate on the allegation that she paid N30.9 billion to contractors while she held office as transportation minister.

In 2009, the Senate indicted and recommended her prosecution for allegedly transferring N1.2 billion into a private account of a toll company without due process in breach of concession agreement.

However, the allegations were never taken to the law court

with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688 and the ex-minister maintained her innocence. But, it was extremely spooky to read in various media outlets that she fled the country in May, days before the official end of her tenure after she allegedly booked herself a seat on the same flight with the then President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in an awkward attempt to strike up a conversation but was ignored.

The maxim ‘you can run but you can’t hide’ diffused its truthfulness over the UK atmosphere on Friday, October 2, 2015 as the International Corruption Unit of the British National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Diezani and four other suspects in London. British prosecutors have been investigating Diezani’s properties in the UK going as far back as 2013, but the investigations have been low-key because she was serving in the GEJ administration.

Diezani’s arrest was unilaterally carried out by the Britons without the cooperation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a UK court confiscated over 20,000 pounds in her possession. However, on getting wind of her arrest, agents of the EFCC stormed her Asokoro residence in Abuja, their findings are yet to be confirmed.

Though Diezani and her four colleagues were granted “conditional bail” on the day of the arrest, her travel documents and those of others were reportedly seized, effectively barring them from travelling outside the UK, pending the conclusion of investigation and their arraignment in court.

Diezani totters at the edge of being slammed a jail term of over a decade but will she be honourable enough to go down alone? Her cronies, I am certain, would be living with fiends of permanent insomnia today.

Sadly, this is a woman whose words of inspiration at the 2014 US-Africa’s Leaders Summit stuck onto my grey matter like Velcro. She said “when one woman breaks through a barrier, she opens possibilities for every woman.” Her dream for Nigerians was “to see her job through to the point where Nigeria’s huge and gas sector maximally” impacts the lives of the vast majority of Nigerians positively,” but one begins to wonder how so much evil endured under her watch. Allow me to sum this up with the very poignant words of William Shakespeare: “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!”

Ekiti: Feyi Fayose and the task of assisting the needy

By Gbenga Ariyibi

The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Feyisetan Olayemi Fayose, is seen by various people in various dimensions, but essentially to those who are privileged to have moved closely to her, she could best be described as a woman of substance, a devout and committed Christian, a mother with a large heart and a philanthropist per excellence.

In certain quarters, Mrs Fayose is regarded as a Lady Evangelist, a prophet though she had predicted the second coming of her husband and it has come to pass, she had equally predicted that her husband would scale through all the huddles set on his ways by the former 16 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers in the state House of Assembly and the rest is history.

With all these Godly attributes, Mrs Fayose does not believe that she has to nickname herself with any worldly title, but her conviction in the efficacy of prayers and Christian doctrine in solving human problems was not in doubt. Of course she is exploiting this God-given gift to the fullest in assisting her husband and family.

However, without being immodest, the current First Lady of Ekiti State is a blessing to the people of the state. This is one woman who believes that all human beings are very important human species who deserve special attention and care.

It is not surprising therefore that this woman who in her own right could best be described as a ‘jewel of inestimable value,’ is a perfect match to her loving husband, Dr Ayodele Fayose, the people’s governor, an epitome of development of Ekiti State who has the milk of human kindness flowing in his veins.

This man has contributed in no small measure to put an

end to the suffering of the down-trodden in the state, a feat that may likely become a herculean task to achieve for any governor that may take over the governance of the state after the end of tenure of the present administration in the state.

The humanitarian gestures of Mrs Fayose are unparalleled; she has provided succour to the under-privileged members of the society. Like her partner, she is a friend of the common people in the society. If Mrs Fayose is not dishing out bail-outs to the needy in one parts of the state, she will be in another hospital paying medical bills of the indigent patients or even in one of the children’s homes or special schools for children making them happy.

In January 8 this year when her excellency was celebrating her 51st birthday anniversary, she did it in a unique way as

she shunned all the fanfares and festivities usually associated with such unique occasions by dining, winning and partying with the high and mighty in the society. Rather she preferred to dine and wine with the under-privileged members of the society, especially the children in Erelu Angela Adebayo Children Home, Iyin Ekiti.

She was in the home with various gifts and there and then made a promise to build two blocks of classrooms for them so as to give room for the expansion of the abandoned children home.

It is instructive that during her birthday celebrations, she equally paid a visit to some specialist hospitals in Ikere, Ikole, Ijero, the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti and the Ekiti State Univeristy Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti where she paid medical bills of some indigent patients.

Mrs Fayose, no doubt has undertaken another round of settlement of medical bills of about 91 indigent patients in different hospitals in the state, a gesture that has cost her office over N3 million.

To show the level of human kindness in her, two run-away patients at EKSUTH, Ado Ekiti, Monday Iseoluwa Ayobami and Ojo Sunday would not forget in a hurry how Mrs Fayose had saved them from possible embarrassment when they both ran away from the hospital because they were unable to pay their medical bills.

Having done so many good things, there is no doubt that this gesture would soon be extended to other communities in no far distant future since Mrs Fayose is ever ready to continue to touch the lives of the under-privileged members of the society.

•Barrister Ariyibi is the Special Assistant (Media) to the Wife of Ekiti State Governor.

21

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 Femi Olukunle Coordinating Editor 08158610216

Members of Civil Defence Corps and Red Cross officals on rescue mission at the scene of Kuje explosion which killed and injured many people.

Kuje bombing and lingering tales of agony, fear Christian Okeke - Abuja

T

ALES of agony and fear still trail the recent and unfortunate bomb attack on Kuje which left many persons dead and scores injured.

At the community, residents have continued to speak on the incident, particularly how the attack shattered the peace there.

A resident, Samuel Abolarin, was one of those that lost relatives to the bomb attack. His wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law all got killed in the attack.

Samuel stated that his late wife, Christiana Abolarin, a student of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, was on her way home with the other family members on that fateful night when the suicide bombers struck.

Narrating the incident, Samuel disclosed that the late wife called around 9pm on the fateful day that they had closed from her mum ‘s garden and that they were all strolling home because it was not far from the house. He stated that he had expected her wife’s call again which did not come till around 11 pm when he heard that there was an explosion in the community which claimed the lives of the wife and the in-laws.

A survivor of the incident, Aminu Usman, stated that he lost his friends to the attack. The orange seller had only left the scene to buy a satchet of pure water when the bomb exploded.

Be that as it may, the security measure introduced in the com-

munity after the incident has since been causing some form of discomfort to the residents.

The source of the discomfort comes from an army checkpoint

which causes gridlock, making the residents to spend longer time than necessary, while either leaving or coming into the community.

Most of the residents com-

plained of getting to work late as a result of the traffic challenge. They lamented that the perennial situation along Maraba-Abuja road now took place daily on the Kuje

road.

Apart from the fact that the residents complained that they currently found it difficult getting vehicles to convey them to their respective destinations, they equally raised concerns that the long queue poses further danger to their lives.

Some residents told Abuja Xtra that they had been living in fear since the attack took place.

They said not even the assurances from security agents could diffuse the fear as they said they were yet to recover from the last incident.

A resident, who spoke to Abuja Xtra, said: “It takes somebody who did not witness what happened to believe that merely telling us not to fear can solve our problem.

Ordinarily, fear will not leave the people just like that; it will take time,” the resident added.

To show how residents currently live in fear in Abuja, rumours of another bomb explosion from nowhere started going round on the night of Saturday that followed the bomb explosion around Karu satellite town.

In the characteristic manner, the rumour spread like wild fire, prompting the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration to issue a statement debunking it.

But before then, the FCT Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu, in company of other security agents, had combed all the nooks and cranies of the area from Orozo to Nyanya and from Karu up to Mararaba, in Nasarawa State without any sign of bomb explosion.

The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr John Chukwu, in a statement, had to tell the residents that not only was the rumour unfounded, but that the security agencies had intensified surveillance of the entire territory in order to nip in the bud any of such unfortunate incidents.

Chukwu called on the residents to be security conscious and vigilant, and to report any suspicious person or movement to nearby security agents.

CREW

1. Christian Okeke chidiabujatribune@yahoo.com 08030947856 2. Clement Idoko idokoajiga@yahoo.co.uk 08034412281

President Muhammadu Buhari condoling with victims of the recent bomb attack.

Lottery workers cry out over intimidation by employers —pg22

UNESCO @ 70: Group commissions national essay competition for students —pg22

3. Kolawole Daniel kolawoledaniels@yahoo.co.uk 08030763782 4. Collins Nnabuife chideraacollins@yahoo.com 08039521408 5. Adetola Bademosi gloriaadetola@gmail.com 08182214290 Abuja Xtra email & GSM: abujaxtra@gmail.com 0805450140

22

abujaextra

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

UNESCO @ 70: Group commissions national essay competition for students Christian Okeke - Abuja A non-governmental organisation, Youth Orientation for Development (YOD), has commissioned a national essay competition to commemorate 70th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The competition, which opens on October 12, is open to students of secondary and tertiary schools.

Speaking in Abuja, president of the organisation, Emmanuel Ejiogu, noted that the primary objective of the competition was to awaken in the youths a consciousness and love for peaceful co-existence.

He stated that it was important to help the youths build up a culture of peace and become vanguard of peace to ensure meaningful and sustainable development.

According to him, the first category, which is for students in secondary schools, has as topic: ‘Building peace in our hearts and world with our words’ while the second, which is for students in tertiary institutions, has as topic: ‘Building peace through nonviolence communities’.

He disclosed that the star prizes for the two categories would include a sponsorship to participate in the 2016 UN Diplomatic Summer Camp in New York, a laptop and cash prizes.

“We knew what great price we paid during the civil war and we know the bitter pains we are suffering as a result of the current insurgency as well as the pockets of communal conflicts and clashes here and there,” he said.

Ejiogu argued that if an end should come to the conflicts, then the youths remained the answer.

He said: “In its early years, UNESCO helped rebuild schools, libraries and museums destroyed during World War II and served as an intellectual forum for exchanging ideas and scientific knowledge “Over the years, the impact of the organisation can be felt almost everywhere in the world.”

Director General of National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Joe Adolphus Ekpe, with the Insepector General of Police, Solomon Arase, when the DG paid him a visit recently.

Lottery workers cry out over intimidation by employers Christian Okeke - Abuja

L

OTTERY workers’ union in the country, under the auspices of National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees, has cried out over what it described as threats and intimidation of its members by some employers in the sector who allegedly coerce their employees to sign letters under duress not to belong to the union.

It warned that such employers should desist from the practice, else the union would be left with no choice than to engage in what he described as unconventional way of enforcement of rights of its members.

In a statement issued on behalf of the

Students get sensitised on space science Adetola Bademosi - Abuja THE National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has organised a sensitisation programme for students from about 85 schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), targeted at raising their interest in space and letting them understand the importance of space science to the country.

The agency, in organising the programme, said it was imperative for the country to be at par with some countries with vast expertise in space science.

Speaking at the programme, themed: “How much do you know about space science?”, the Director General of NASRDA, Dr Seidu Mohammed, said based on reports, a huge percentage of the gadgets used in Nigeria were all products of science and were being imported into the country.

The DG, who was represented by the Director, Engineering and Spacing Systems, Mr Olufemi Agboola, stressed the need for students to develop keen interest in Mathematics at the primary level.

According to him, what led to dearth of scientists in the country was fear for calculations.

He disclosed that the technology involved in putting a satellite in orbit was so advanced that it, if adequately mastered, could bring about the best in a scientist.

He said: “Nigeria has invested in the space because we know the technology that is involved in putting a satellite in orbit. That technology is so advanced that if you master it, every other thing you can do confidently, and not just doing it, but doing it with quality.

“So far, what we have brought the children to do is to sensitise them on science and advise them to take Mathematics serious at school because the beginning of science is Mathematics; so if they take Maths so seriously in primary school, they will find it very easy and one of the main reasons people don’t do science is Maths.

“So, if they begin to develop love for it in their schools and then begin to take science, then they can love these things that lead to final product to make Nigeria great in the future,” he said.

Earlier, representative of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Mrs Onia Mariam, encouraged participants to embrace science as a choice of career.

union and obtained by Abuja Xtra, the national president, Justice Sai, alleged that several lottery employers were involved in the act.

He stated that it became imperative to urge the employers to see the union as partners in progress and allow their workers to exercise their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution and relevant labour laws.

According to him, the union believes that the importance of lottery in revenue generation for government and reduction

of employment in the country cannot be over-emphasised, informing why they encouraged the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to come up with more rewarding business-growth initiatives.

Sai appealed to citizens and friends of the country to support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, especially in the fight against corruption.

He maintained that the anti-graft war would reposition the economy to the benefit of the citizens.

Work begins on Bible translation, literacy materials into 130 languages Christian Okeke - Abuja THE Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) has commenced translation of the Bible and other literacy/evangelism materials into 130 indigenous languages.

The translation work is already at different stages of completion.

Undertaking to commence the project came after the organisation said it believed that achieving national transformation in the country could be realised through the project of translating the Bible and other evangelism materials into local languages.

It said same explained why the NBTT recently organised a national conference in Plateau State where church leaders were acquainted with understanding of the role of Bible translation in national transformation.

Speaking on the conference, the executive director of Wycliffe Global Alliance, which is parent body of NBTT, Kirk Franklin, noted that the organisation targeted transformation of the African society through God’s Word in the people’s mother tongue.

He stated that the association had been working through the years to help every single Christian and non-Christian as well

make God’s Word accessible for holistic growth through mother tongue language development and literacy.

According to him, the activities of the group have helped many communities to produce a written system and literacy materials in their languages.

“NBTT exists with the belief that true and positive transformation in any community comes only when people have access to the Word of God in the language they understand best,” he said.

He said, “We believe that God’s Word translated in people’s heart language through the power of the Holy Spirit is key to achieving this restoration.”

Also speaking, executive director of NBTT, Yakubu La’ah, noted that once the scripture became translated into the languages people could understand, their values and spiritual lives would change.

He observed that countries had come to live peacefully as they read God’s Word in languages they could understand.

He said: “We preach peace, unity and love. Most of the people involved in violence are not literate enough and depend on the interpretations given to them, but when they read it themselves, they have personal understanding that may not come when someone else interprets it.”

23

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

& management leadership

with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

m:08055001708 e:lanresulaimon@yahoo.com t:@lanresulaimon

The 60-second business coach

Things leaders do that drive their teams nut

leaders’ forum

What makes endurance easy

Leadership Quote

What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end.

—Warren Buffet

Humility

Senator Daisy Danjuma, Executive Vice Chairman, Sapetro

The leader’s strength

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

H

umility in leadership is oxymoronic. Leadership bespeaks exaltation while humility signifies lowliness of heart. So, ordinarily the two should be as far apart as the North Pole is from the South Pole. But humility is what makes leadership impactful, inspiring and enduring. A leadership that lacks humility is devoid of the essential ingredient that could make it exceptional.

What humility is not C.S. Lewis, novelist and poet, says humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. Similarly, Rick Warren, an accomplished author, says humility is not denying your strengths; it is being honest about your weaknesses.

So, humility is not self-deprecation, self-debasement or self-denigration. It is not a devaluation of one’s strength or a denial of one’s ability. It is not about being

diffident, undecided or people-pleasing.

It is not going about with low self-esteem; neither is it having a poor estimate of one’s importance, worthiness, or value. Humility is respecting the other person irrespective of his status, station or stature. It is being considerate about others’ feelings even when they have no power over one; it is being conscious of the effect of one’s actions.

The nemesis of leadership - 2

Continued on pg24

Book review

24

25

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

leadership&management

The 60-second business coach

Things leaders do that drive their teams nut

By Carey Nieuwhof HERE are seven common things leaders do that drive their teams nuts. I know this because I have driven my share of team members nuts over my years in leadership.

1. Underestimating how much work it takes You’re in an incredible position of trust as a leader. When you say things, your team does its best to make them happen.

But some leaders are notorious for underestimating how much time a task will take.

Underestimating how much work something takes can seem like an initial advantage because it makes seemingly impossible things happen.

But it can also be incredibly demotivating to your team when you significantly underestimate how much work something will take.

Often leaders are afraid to ask how much work something will take because they fear the team will say no. If you have a good team, that’s almost never the case.

They just want to know that you know and appreciate the effort and will allocate the budget and the staffing the proposal needs. And if you don’t have enough budget or staffing, often your team will say yes anyway and make it happen.

They just need your encouragement and understanding of what it will cost them.

2. Impulsive, emotion-based decision making I asked my amazing assistant what I do that drives her the most crazy. This was her pick.

Yep, leaders are passionate. Even impulsive.

They are used to creating something out of nothing. Sometimes that’s good, as in Hey, why don’t we launch two campuses at once? Or Hey, why don’t we start a podcast and see if anything happens?

Often, the impulsiveness and emotion are driven from a place of discontent with the status quo. That is, after all, the impetus to change.

I may be bothered by something I think needs fixing immediately. I may be discontent about a situation I think the entire team needs to address immediately.

But, to paraphrase Bill Hybels, not all discontent is holy.

Sometimes my discontent comes from having a bad day, or being moody, or just deciding something on the spur of the moment.

And then I almost always reverse the decision the next day or the next week. Or bump what was priority #1 down to priority #32 because it just isn’t as important any more.

That’s frustrating for people.

Just because you’re upset about

something as a leader doesn’t mean it should become the top priority of the organization.

3. Being indecisive I’ve seen indecisive leadership sink more than a few ships.

Your job as a leader is to make decisions that make things happen.

That doesn’t mean you make decisions all by yourself. The best leaders always involve a team in their decision-making.

But you still need to make a decision.

What makes decision-making hard at a senior leadership level is that it’s only the toughest decisions that make it to you. All the easy decisions already got made long before they reached your desk.

And that can lead to delay. Delay leads to paralysis. And paralysis leads to stagnation and decline. Delayed decision-making demotivates your team.

So make a decision, and create a process for making sure decisions get made regularly and quickly.

Sure, every once in a while you need to take a long time to make a decision. But far too many leaders use that as an excuse.

4. Being too decisive and not valuing input Every problem has a flip side, and the flip side of being indecisive is being too decisive.

Some leaders make instant decisions without any input from anyone else, and that is also frustrating to their teams.

I think it’s a good practice for every senior leader to be a part of something they don’t lead.

I work with a couple of organizations on the side where I’m not the senior leader or where I sit on the board. It helps me realize what it feels like to not be the senior leader.

So I know that I really appreciate it when CEOs ask for my opinion, when they value my input, when they seek my counsel. Even if I disagree with their decision, I know they consulted others, and that gives me confidence in their decision.

As Andy Stanley has so aptly said, leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing significant to say.

5. Creating an unsustainable pace You can be tempted to burn the midnight oil as a leader. Most great leaders do at one time or another.

But leaders can also create unsustainable pace for their team.

Your team feels guilty about going home long before you do. And when you’re pounding out emails at 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. seven days a week, it makes your team feel lazy.

Humility: Proof of successful leadership

Peter Eshikena, MD, Friesland Campina WAMCO Continues from pg23

Humility is treating others as one would want to be treated were roles to be reversed. Humility is being strong enough to admit fault or weakness and being courageous enough to receive help from those with competence in such areas.

Humility derives from a leader’s comprehension of who he is and appreciation of who others are. It is a product of confidence based on a sense of security. Humility becomes inevitable when a leader understands that nobody is selfmade but that every successful person is a product of the contributions of people and forces from a variety of places.

Between humility and emotional intelligence In 1995, Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and science journalist, published a book, Emotional Intelligence, where he posits that emotional intelligence is as important to success as intellectual intelligence. Since then, employers

Phillips Oduoza, MD, UBA have been paying as much attention to EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) as they do IQ (intelligence quotient) and successes in many endeavours have been attributed to EQ. But Goleman’s earth-shaking finding is really a reconstruction of humility. In the book, Goleman came up with a framework of five elements which define emotional intelligence. These are self awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. All the five elements of emotional intelligence are features of humility.

According to Goleman, to be self aware is to be cognizant of one’s strengths and weaknesses and to consciously work on both with a view to becoming a better person.

Self-regulation is the ability to rein in one’s emotions and impulses without letting them get the better of one. Motivation with respect to emotional intelligence is the willingness to delay gratification or the ability to subjugate personal interest for corporate wellbeing.

By Eric Harvey ONE of the most important and critical responsibilities of leaders at all levels is to select the best of the best folks for their teams. Here are a few “how to” selection techniques from Nuts and Bolts Leadership: Draw a line in the dirt. Stop hiring (and promoting) people that don’t clearly have the right capability, commitment and chemistry for the job. Don’t fall into the “belief trap” that you

Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand the concerns of others. Having social skills is being a team player. When all the emotional intelligence attributes are summed up the result is humility. Put succinctly, EQ is synonymous to humility.

Humility is critical to successful leadership. Hence the submission

by Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, that every company that transited from being good to becoming great was fortunate to have a leader who combined unflagging humility with unwavering professional will.

How leaders exhibit humility Humble leaders leave traces. Here are some of them.

Comfortable with themselves One of the basic signs of a humble leader is that he is at peace with himself. A humble leader is not bothered by any kind of complex, inferior or superior. He does not feel threatened by anybody and

Book review

Valentine Ozigbo, CEO, Transnational Hotels and Tourism Services Limited he does not go out of his way to overwhelm anyone. He is neither envious nor resentful of others’ accomplishments. He is neither paranoid nor seeks unnecessary self promotion. He does not wear his title on his shoulders like an epaulette. He does not get in the way of his team members as they perform their tasks. He is focused on getting results that will shore up the fortune of his organization and improve the wellbeing of his people.

This disposition engenders trust because the leader himself is trusting and trustworthy. With that, an open environment where everyone is able to discuss their strengths and weaknesses without any fear of negative consequences is created.

This buoys bonding and unleashes creativity which positively impacts the bottom line.

Put others first Humble leaders put others first.

Just like C.S. Lewis says, they think less of themselves and think more

can train for these characteristics at some later date as that rarely happens.

Hire people for who they are. One of the biggest mistakes most employers make is to over-value previous experience above all else.

In today’s rapidly changing world, “experience” may mean “how it used to be done.” Whenever possible, hire people with traits like hard working, ability to learn, ability to deal with change and good team players rather than just the skills

Nnamdi Okonkwo, MD, Fidelity Bank

of the organization and others.

Their ambition is for the growth of the organization; their activities are geared toward empowering and enabling others; their thoughts are targeted at giving wings to others’ dreams. As opined by Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last, humble leaders understand that the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above their own. Thus, they care genuinely about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.

Respect the worth of all persons A humble leader never looks down on anyone irrespective of their station in life. He makes it crystal clear all the time that he values them. A way of showing respect to others is by actively listening to what they have to say before giving his viewpoint. The leader demonstrates to others that their thoughts and ideas

they’ve acquired from past experiences.

Hire for tomorrow’s job. Don’t just hire or promote for today’s position, hire for the future and for skills and talents that are missing with your current team.

Use targeted team interviews. Have multiple interviewers each focusing on evaluating different candidate factors and characteristics. Divvy up things like work history, technical skills, teamwork talents, enthusiasm etc. among your interviewer group.

are important to him.

One other way of showing respect is by not wasting their time. Whenever a leader gives any of his team mates an appointment, he should free up the time allocated to them and fight anything that may want to make him keep them waiting unnecessarily. To show respect to others, the leader should praise openly but give correction secretly.

Open to criticisms A humble leader is not averse to criticism; he does not get angry or bitter when corrected no matter where the correction is coming from. He is conscious of the fact that a leader who wants to keep developing never stops learning and learning comes from diverse quarters. So, he takes the lesson in any criticism and implements same for the good of the organization.

The leader is able to do this because of his conviction that every member of the team adds value to it.

What some really humble leaders do is to openly ask team members to critique policies of the organization they then go ahead to filter the comments and suggestions and execute those with the potential to effect positive changes in the organization. They do not stop at that point but openly commend team members who gave the suggestions.

Openly ask for help Humble leaders are never

Tunji Oyebanji, CEO, Mobil Oil Nigeria Ltd

Humble leaders are never ashamed of asking others for help when they need it. They never consider themselves as the repository of all wisdom and knowledge but are quick to seek counsel, support and guidance when necessary. ashamed of asking others for help when they need it. They never consider themselves as the repository of all wisdom and knowledge but are quick to seek counsel, support and guidance when necessary.

Asking for help does not signify weakness, ineptitude or loss of control. Leadership is partly about getting things done. Outstanding leaders know that to get their desired results, they need to work through people. Hence, they are not ashamed to ask for help when necessary.

Then, one of the very important functions of a leader is building confidence in others. There are very

few more effective ways of building confidence in team members than asking them to help out in one area or the other. The message this sends to them is that they are valuable to the leader and this shoots up their confidence in themselves.

It also teaches them the wisdom in asking for help from others when in need of such.

Acknowledgement of others’ accomplishments Humble leaders are quick to acknowledge the accomplishments of others. They do this because of their realization that as a team, the success of one is the success of all. They know that publicly acknowledging team members’ success gives fillip to more accomplishments.

Give credit to others, take blame One major characteristic of a humble leader is that he is ever willing to take the blame when things go wrong. When things don’t work out as planned, he is not looking for who to blame, rather he takes up the responsibility for what has gone wrong and does everything in his power to address it. On the contrary, he does not claim the success when things work out well; he gives the credit to the team members.

He resists any attempt to link the success to him while stressing the contribution of his team members to the success.

26

tribunebusiness

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Tope Popoola is a Human Capital developement Consultant and Pastor. Please feel free to send questions, feedback comments on this column to

topheritage@yahoo.com or visit http//turbochargedforsuccess.blogspot.com

The nemesis of leadership - 2

A leader with a larger-than-life perception of himself and his position puts himself at great risk. In time, he develops low or no tolerance for dissent or an alternative opinion or perspective on a matter, except of course the person advancing such opinion is able to trace its origin to the leader or something the leader had said sometime in the past. Furthermore, the deluded leader wallows in a morbid desire for affirmation through praise-singing and outright mystification.

An elephant-size ego is the progenitor of megalomania with a monstrous appetite for recognition and self-assertion. Such a leader never passes up an opportunity to ram it into the consciousness of all his followers that he is their leader and so whatever he says is law and everyone must comply or be promptly labeled renegade.

Any leader who does not know how to couch his insecurity and stymied self-esteem soon ensures the sprouting of sycophants around him. Tyrants and sycophants are Siamese twins. They are attracted to themselves like ants to sugar! The first thing that sycophants do to an insecure leader is to draw a ring around him. Then they erect a wall with themselves as the building blocks. Secure in the knowledge that the leader will not go outside the fence to seek an alternative opinion on any issue, sycophants serenade him and make sure that anyone that could draw him close to a semblance of reality has restricted or no access to him. This they do through unbridled praise-singing in the mould of praising the beauty and sartorial elegance of the Emperor’s invisible royal robe. Having put the leader where he wants, they then go ahead to backbite and gossip about others to him, presenting them in bad light as the leader’s enemy while they (the sycophants) come out of the discourse practically smelling like a rose! The usual offshoot of this is the natural distancing of truth speakers who could have helped the leader to avoid the landmines that the conspiracy between insecurity and sycophancy would have meticulously laid for him!

This is how all dictators emerge. In time, hero-worship emerges, to the point of near-deification. In actual fact, in the

ancient Babylonian and Roman empires, the Emperors were actually worshipped. The disdain for dissent leads to the imposition of heavy, sometimes fatal punitive sanctions designed to instill fear into other followers and send the signal to everyone that ‘disloyalty’ to the leader is anathema!

Unfortunately for leaders who fall into this cesspit, what brought them into prominence eventually becomes their nemesis! As time goes on, like the young boy did with the Emperor who paraded town naked, the leader is deconstructed and eventually demystified. It’s a matter of time before people know that idols have clay feet! Whether the leader knows it or not, blocking the known avenues of expressing alternative opinion never permanently silences dissent. It will only lead to the devising of alternative avenues of such expression! And they have an uncanny way of reaching a discontented followership that progressively masses up to volcanic proportions. The case of Radio Kudirat during the late General Abacha’s regime easily comes to mind. The station became a rallying point for civil society groups who had lost their voice under Abacha. Every attempt to locate where the station was transmitting from and the deployment of technology to intercept its signals failed.

The Bible tells an instructive story about a king named Herod.

Herod was a very powerful king. At the apogee of his reign, he had beheaded one and hounded a few others of Jesus’ disciples into jail. On a particular day when one of the vassal states under him that had been in conflict with his leadership had come to call a truce, Herod got up to give a speech. Either bowled over by his oratorical skills or simply to serenade him, knowing that that was what he relished, the crowd shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” As if on cue, an angel was said to have struck him immediately and he was eaten up by worms because he did not give glory to God. The scenario painted above is ever too common in many corporate organizations. I have had the privilege of relating or working with leaders who behave as lords of the manor in their establishments. They have no qualms about sacking even management staff without notice and sometimes at the gate of

leaders’ forum

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the organization in the full glare of subordinates. In the process of time, the organizations, without exception, begin a certain process of decline as good people move on and leave the leader to his gargantuan ego as mediocres continue to pour libation at his ‘shrine’ until they find an another job.

How does a leader escape the trap of this quagmire that has swallowed up many a leader? As a leader, it is important to recognize that even the best of men are still men at their very best.

Such recognition makes a leader remain humble and considerate of the foibles of his followers. Great leaders always have a sense of accountability. They recognize that they owe their position to people, above, around or below them. For leaders who remain conscious of this fact, compassion is always a strong point. Because they never lose touch with their own fallibility, they are not only more accommodating of their followers’ weaknesses but even go ahead to give them the benefit of the doubt when they make mistakes.

To remain on the cutting edge of effectiveness, leaders must keep the purpose of leadership at the centre of their consciousness. Leadership is all about influence and great leadership is about influencing people for a good common cause. It demands a willingness to serve others rather than be served. Effective leaders are also great servants. Great leaders recognize that no one is under obligation to submit to their leadership. People are only permanently and fiercely loyal where they are willfully committed, not coerced.

It pays to have an alternative ‘ear to the ground’. Court the company of people who are in no way dependent on you for their livelihood. Look for people in the organization who can stand out from the crowd and see things differently. Such are the stability of leadership. Learn to create a protocol gap between you and sycophants who only come to you to run others down. Burst their bubble by making them sit face to face with the subject of their gossip. Keep in mind that what goes round comes around. If they gossip about others to you, they will do the same about you to others when the stakes change!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

leaders_forum@yahoo.com

What makes endurance easy A few months ago, I started speaking at some conferences on the subject matter I am sharing with you today, and it has empowered many leaders and would be leaders across the length and breadth of this nation. As an effect of the impact that the leadership issue I am raising today is making, it behooves me to share a little with you in this forum. And I am in no doubt that it is going to empower you to turn out to become better than you are right now.

Before speaking through my pen today, I want to first of all appreciate you for always reading through this column. The calls, emails and text messages I do receive weekly are the wings beneath my hands that cause me to fly effortlessly. I cannot sufficiently thank you for all your priceless words of encouragement. They mean so much to me. Now, let me move to the crucial issue before us for today.

I have come to discover that anyone—who cannot endure hardship in a 3rd world country like Nigeria cannot become great, because no one has ever become great overnight, but overtime. These days, everyone wants to be like Nelson Mandela but not everyone wants to endure hardship. Everyone wants to be like Mahatma Gandhi but not everyone wants to endure adversity and suffering. I see a crop of political leaders, who love to identify with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, but none of them can afford to endure hardship, suffering and adversity.

We have raised a whole generation of those who do not want to endure any adversity. We have wrongly taught them that they could become great without suffering. The truth is this: endurance is the price of an enduring greatness.

What does endurance denote, connote and indicate? It means the act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress.

If you cannot withstand hardship on this continent, you can never become great. You want to leave a mark that can never

be erased? Then you must develop the power to withstand hardship. I do understand that what I am sharing today is very tough. But the truth is; you need to know what I am teaching you, on the condition that you want to be relevant to the future of Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Today’s issue is not for everyone, it is only for those who have made up their minds to become great in the days to come.

I remember reading through the biography of Kwamme Nkrumah. There was a time when late Kwamme Nkrumah was down to nothing and to live to tell the tale, he needed to look for what to eat on the inside of some waste bins on the streets of London. He endured that season of lack, need and hardship in his life. And because he refused to give up, he ended up becoming the pioneer president of Ghana! And till today, we are celebrating him. Do you want to be celebrated in the days to come?

Then you will need to develop the power to withstand adversity till you become on earth what God has created you to be.

Taking this issue a little further, what makes endurance easy?

What will help you not to give up during your own time of adversity and hardship? What made great people of the past not to give up during their times of hardship? It is very simple: the joy that was set ahead of them. This is the only thing that can sustain you during your own time of hardship. It is tough to endure hardship, but what is tough becomes easy when you can see the joy that awaits you in the days to come.

If you cannot see the joy that is set ahead of you, to endure hardship becomes impossible. For the umpteenth time, this is the only thing that can motivate you when the chips are down.

It is when you can see the joy of the day that you are going to be celebrated that to endure hardship becomes easy. When you can see the joy of the day that you are going to graduate as a medical student, to endure the hardship of studying for hours

becomes easy. When you can see the joy of the day that you are going to get married to your own husband, to resist the urge of sleeping around like your friends are doing becomes easy.

Why do people destroy their great future because of momentary pleasure? It is because they are blind to the joy that is set ahead of them. Why do people pack off their businesses because of temporary difficulties? Why do people abandon their marriages because of temporary crisis? It is because they cannot see the joy that is set ahead of them. Why do people drop out of school because of a temporary need? It is because they are blind to the joy that is set ahead of them. Why do some women abuse their bodies? It is because they cannot see the joy that is set ahead of them. Once you can see the joy that is ahead of you, to endure hardship becomes easy.

I cannot touch on this crucial issue without sharing briefly on the issue of purpose. The greatest leveler on earth is purpose.

It is only purpose that can get the sons and daughters of the poor and the sons and daughters of the rich to sit at the same table. It is only purpose that can elevate a beggar and make him sit amongst people of influence and affluence. There are many places you’d never get to in life without living on purpose and there are many people you’d never meet within life without living on purpose. Purpose is very powerful. I pity anyone who is not living a life of purpose. Do not abandon your purpose because of money and what money can buy.

Lastly, when it comes to the fulfillment of purpose, developing the ability to endure adversity is non-negotiable. If you cannot endure hardship, it will be impossible to consistently live a life of purpose. What helps men and women of purpose to endure adversity without giving up? They can see the joy that is set ahead of them.

See you where great people are found!

27

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

property

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Gbemi Solaja

m:07065220616 e:gbemisolaja@gmail.com

Real estate: Experts call for new development plan

Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin (middle), presenting relief materials donated by the Authority to Internally Displaced Persons in Maiduguri to the Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Mohammed Kanar. With them is the FHA’s General Manager, Social Housing, Arc. Maryam Ndalolo.

TOLA Akinhanmi of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Manager Ogun State Housing Corporation, Jumoke Akinwunmi, Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Taiwo Adeolu, CEO, 3Invest Limited, Ruth Obih and Principal Partner, Kunle Omotola & Company, were among experts who dissected the Nigerian real estate space at the just concluded 2015 Real Estate Unite Conference held in Lagos.

Discussing a PwC report that projected an increase in real estate’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria from $9.16billion to $13.65billion in 2016 if the right environment is created, they tasked government on new development plan that would enable the country tap fully into the potential.

He expressed regret at the painful effect of dislocation suffered by the people who had lost their homes and their means of livelihood as well as the thousands of children whose education had been disrupted by the insurgency.

The FHA chief executive said President Muhammadu Buhari had a personal and official passion about the rehabilitation of the destroyed communities and the quick resettlement of the IDPS to their normal lives.

Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Kanar said the FHA was the first organisation to visit the IDP camps in Maiduguri and praised the Managing Director for his concern for the plight of the displaced persons.

The FHA Managing Director and members of his delegation also visited Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai ElKanemi.

FHA pledges leading role in rehabilitation of North East Stories By Gbemi Solaja - Lagos

T

HE Federal Housing Authority (FHA) will play a major role in the post insurgency reconstruction of communities destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, and in the rehabilitation of millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS), the Authority’s Managing Director, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin has assured.

Professor Al-Amin gave the assurance in Maiduguri, Borno State when he led top management staff of the Authority to mark this year’s World Habitat Day with the estimated two million IDPS in their various camps in the Borno State capital.

The World Habitat Day is marked annually on the first Monday in October, to draw attention to the state of the world’s cities and town and to the right of all to adequate shelter.

The FHA delegation visited the IDPS housed in Dalori camp, the National Youth Service Corps camp and at the Yerwa Government Girls Secondary School Hall in Maiduguri.

Professor Al-Amin said the FHA came to Borno State to empathise with the IDPS as well as use the occasion of the World Habitat Day to pass to them the message of hope that the Federal Government was committed to bringing the violence in the affected areas to an end and the reconstruction of the communities.

The FHA, he added, was working tirelessly towards translating that passion into quick action that would redeem the extreme conditions to which the IDPS had been exposed.

Professor Al-Amin who presented various relief materials to the IDPS said the Authority was introducing to them the Rammed Earth Technology by which a four bedroom house could be completed in four days.

Receiving the relief materials, the Zonal Coordinator, National

According to them, a recent PWC report states that the global investible real estate universe will expand substantially, leading to a huge expansion in opportunity, especially in emerging economies like Nigeria.

Tola Akinhanmi, an executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank plc speaking on trends and opportunities in the Nigerian real estate space stated that outlook for Real Estate development remains positive, however, decrying that issues of land, financing, management, construction, had limited real estate assets with increased interest rates and restricted ability to leverage on cheaper USD funding due to new CBN regulations.

She pointed out that emerging trends and opportunities would include a shift from luxury to middle income housing, affordable housing schemes through PPP arrangement, increase in influx of international brands and retailers from Middle East, America and Europe, convenience centres and regional malls in excess of 30,000sqm, dynamic tenant mix with entry of new international anchors and evolution of local retailers among others.

Managing Director, FHA Mortgage Bank Limited, Roland Igbinoba, said that Nigeria‘s real estate market would be driven by demographic trends and urbanisation, adding that unprecedented shifts in population would drive changes in demand for real estate.

VITAPUR acquires new panel plant, to commission fabricated buildings in Ibadan VITAPUR Nigeria Limited, a frontline manufacturer of rigid polyurethane prefabricated buildings, and a subsidiary of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has acquired a world class new sandwich panel plant as part of efforts to step up its operations in the production of sandwich polyurethane panels for walls, ceilings, roofs and floors application and prefabricated structures.

Just has the company disclosed that it has concluded arrangements to commission newly completed two fabricated buildings in Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday, October 23, 2015.

Speaking at the commissioning of the new panel in Lagos last week, the Supervising Director Vitapur Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Abbagana Abatcha stated that the new European manufactured panel could be used for prefabricated structure such as cold room, equipment shelter, wall

cladding, quick shelter deployment, office partitioning, shopping malls, drop temp ceiling among others.

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc’s Chairman, Dr Dele Makanjuola expressed optimism that with the new equipment the construction industry would not remain the same, adding that the brand new technology would take the industry to greater height and make available ready made solutions to construction problems.

“We must realise that panels are used all over the country now, all the multinationals that are into construction bring in panels from abroad and our intention is that at the shortest possible time, all the panels that are used to build houses. Sheraton Ikeja was built with panels and if Sheraton wants to build another now, Vitapur will make the panels for them and all those tall buildings that you see in Victoria Island and Lekki all use

panels.”

The new sandwich polyurethane panel has capacity to produce a length of 14 .7 millimetre with varying thickness of 40 to 150 millimetre. Besides, the panel can produce width in the range of 100 to 1200 millimetres. Its installed capacity is 1350 square meter in addition to the initial production capacity of 300 square meters, thus bringing the total capacity to 1650 square metre.

Vitapur’s sandwich polyurethane panels come as plain or ribbed while customised length and width can be produced according to client’s specification.

This stems from the panel’s versatility. Also, the company produces swing and sliding doors. By this attributes, Vitapur stands out as one-stop-shop that provide necessary accessories such as stripe curtain, U-channels and relevant installation accessories.

The newly acquired multi-mil-

lion Naira equipment, the first of its kind in West Africa is expected to increase the company’s production capacity, enhance product quality, open a new vitsa of an array of innovative products in line with the global best practices and boost its profitability.

Speaking at the colorful ceremony for commissioning of the new sandwich panel in Lagos yesterday, the Supervising Director Vitapur Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Abbagana Abatcha described the equipment as one of the best things that happened to Vitapur Nigeria Limited in recent time.

Abatcha explained that the company operates with a network of professionals who consistently put quality products and competitive prices on the priority list.

The former commissioning of the sandwich panel was done by Vitafoam Nigeria Plc’s Former Chairman, Chief Samuel Bolarinde.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

brands& marketing

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

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

NIPR: The long, tortuous path to reforms Stories By Akin Adewakun - Lagos

O

NE of the cardinal focus of the present administration at the national body of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), is the need to reform and re-position the practice to enable it occupy its pride of place among comity of professions. And, Rotimi Oladele, the incumbent boss of the institute never fails to drive this home at public functions, especially those involving the institute directly.

Perhaps as a way of living up to the age-long adage of charity beginning at home, Oladele decided to begin the reforms from home, and the first set of casualties were some staff of the institute, including the former Registrar, Dr. Stephen Adebayo. According to Oladele, if those glorious of the PR were to be brought back, there is the need to let go some of the elements that might not enhance the quick realisation of such goals.

‘If we are to reform the practice, we have to present ourselves as being able to do that from within.

There are some staff in the institute whose activities were no longer in tune with the spirit of the reform, hence the re-organisation exercise,’ the NIPR boss had explained in a telephone interview with Brands & Marketing, immediately after the re-organisation exercise.

But besides the internal re-organisation, Rotimi Oladele, also has its eyes on the bigger reforms, and that is ensuring non members of the institute are barred from practising PR in the country.

Curiously, not a few see this as a tall order coming from the NIPR since a huge chunk of individuals eking a living from PR practice today are not really members of the institute. And more worrisome is the fact that even a sizable number of members of the institute are not financially active, and as a result may not really be seen as bonafide members of the institute.

But the NIPR boss is unperturbed. He has his strategies mapped out, and he is ready to go the whole hog in ensuring that the institute delivers value. For instance, as a way of providing a soft landing for those that are already practising without an NIPR membership certificates, the institute is giving such individuals an opportunity to regularise their papers with the institute, through its Window of Opportunity campaign.

The campaign, which should have extended few weeks ago, is being extended till November 30, this year, he says, to enable those

that genuinely want to regularise their papers with the institute, do that through a short-term training programme, specifically designed for that purpose.

“Due to popular demands and as a way of giving every interested person this chance, the council has extended the Window of Opportunity exercise, provided for those intending to regularise their papers with the institute, till November 30. So that date remains the new deadline.

“But from that date, nobody would be allowed to practise PR in the country, without meeting all the requirements spelt out by the institute,” the NIPR boss at a

recent press briefing.

While appealing to prospective members, especially those already practising PR without registering with the institute, to avail themselves of the opportunity of that Window; the NIPR boss added that the institute would not hesitate to wield the big stick at the expiration of the deadline on those practising PR illegally.

“We have already started a re-certification exercise which we hope to continue till the expiration of the Window of Opportunity exercise, after which it would become illegal to practise without registering with the institute,” he added.

Oladele also announced the institute’s intention to introduce a practice number for every public relations practitioner in the country as a way of checking quackery in the practice.

According to him, the new number, which would be unique to the bearer, would help the institute monitor activities within the practice.

He stated that the council is currently embarking on some measures, aimed at re-positioning public relations practice in the country, while stressing the need for media practitioners to support the council in this arduous task of putting the institute

From left, Business Executive, Commercial Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Obi Egbarin; Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Lanre Adesanya; General Manager, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr Abdulwahab Ogunbiyi and Assistant General Manager, Administration and Human Resources, Mr Segun Adeniji, during the bank’s courtesy visit to the Executive Management of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in Lagos at the weekend.

NIGALEX boss unfolds growth strategy, seeks government intervention A frontline pioneer aluminum extrusion company, Nigerian Aluminum Extrusion s Limited (NIGALEX) has unfolded a set of strategies that would boost its operation, reinforce its competitive edge and put the company on the greater path of profitability.

Besides, the company has identified some of the problems militating against the manufacturers of aluminum products and appeals for immediate intervention by the Federal Government as a way of ensuring lasting solution.

Addressing journalists at the company’s Head Quarters in Lagos at the weekend, the Managing Director and chief Executive Officer, Mr Iyiola Ishola explained that the company was currently on the next phase of its expan-

sion drive, business growth and re-positioning for optimal performance.

In what amounted to a forecast of the company’s strategic plan in the next five year. Specifically, Ishola identified the efforts being put in place in order to move the company to the next level.

“We have commenced strategic popularisation of our value through effective partnering with the media to create the needed awareness for the company’s products. We are ready to increase production output through our installed capacity of 7, 500 tonnage per annum and develop requisite channels to sell these outputs,” Ishola said.

In his review of the operating environment, he pinpointed

the challenges which have always impacted negatively on the operations of the companies in the sector such as low level of awareness of the major brands like NIGALEX, preference for cheaper but low quality products, unwholesome practices of some dealers and fabricators who substitute NIGALEX specification for low gauged aluminum profiles and almost non-existent Federal Government’s protection for the local manufacturers until recently.

Ishola who commended the Federal Government on its various efforts towards creating enabling environment for the local industries was quick to appeal for more concerted effort to create enabling environment.

back on track.

He however believes that the media must be ready to partner with the institute in its task of reforming the practice; since such reforms would be of immense benefits to men of the pen profession in future.

“The fact remains that it has become imperative for media practitioners to show more than a passing interest in the activities of the institute; since over 80 per cent of Nigerian journalists will end up practising PR,” he argued.

Knorr Nigeria doles out N6.5million to cooking competition winners THREE winners of the Knorr Taste Quest Season 3, Davies Obiekea, Dapo Lambo and Olatunji Onisarotu, have emerged proud winners of a cash prize of N6.5million at the just-concluded cooking competition organised by Knorr, makers of Knorr.

While Davies Obiekea, who earlier described himself as “the Underdog” emerged the competition’s best, winning the grand prize of N5million, lots of kitchen equipment, one year free gas supply from Total Gaz and loads of Knorr Seasoning Cubes, Dapo Lambo emerged the second place winner and was rewarded with a cash prize of N1million and six months free gas supply from Total Gaz. Olatunji Onisarotu went home with a cash prize of N500,000 and three months free gas supply from Total Gaz as the third place winner.

The trio were declared winners at an all male grand-finale, presided over by the guest judge, Chef Orighoye Dore-Job of Nylah’s Catering praised.

Expressing the panel’s delight at the level of innovation displayed by the five contestants, noted that the Competition had provided the young that participated to display their culinary skills to the public, while at the same time enhancing their fortunes at the end of the day.

Describing the competition as a revelation, a chef, Dayo Akinlabi, believed the masculine gender had been able to prove to the whole world that the kitchen ‘is no longer the exclusive preserve of the women.

“The take-away here is that men could even be better cooks, it all depends on the passion being put into it, that is why competitions like this should be encouraged,” he stated, while appraising the competition.

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brands&marketing

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

We are here to democratise soft drink consumption in Nigeria —AjeGroup Stories By Akin Adewakun - Lagos

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HE management of AjeGroup, a multinational company dedicated to the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, has stated that the decision of the company to introduce the Big Cola drink into the nation’s beverage was informed by the need to democratise soft drinks consumption in the country by making it available to every Nigerian at affordable cost.

Speaking at the launch of the Big Cola drinks, comprising of Cola, Orange and Lemon brands, in Lagos, the company’s Country Manager, Mr. Theo Williams, expressed the company’s determination to brave all odds to provide consumers of such drinks with great choice of quality beverage at affordable prices.

“We are here to democratise soft drinks consumption. We dream Big, we think big. In line with our global brand values, we came to Nigeria with the determination to brave all odds to provide consumers of soft drinks with great choice of quality beverage at affordable prices.

“When we came to Agbara few years ago, this place was in a state of decrepit, we turned it around and established our plant. Today, we are producing drinks with the finest of ingredients and the purest of waters in a new state-ofthe-arts factory,” he stated.

While promising the company’s trade partners a more profitable partnership, Williams also revealed further that the BIG brand has been adopted by the English Football Association as the official drink of the English Football and the Spanish giants, Barcelona FC. He stated that unlike the other soft drinks in the market, the Big brands come in 12 pack of 650 ml, providing the consumers with more quantity, but at a lower price.

Williams disclosed that the company would be embarking on an aggressive marketing communication campaigns to drive brands and sensitise consumers in that market segment on some of the unique benefits of the new offerings.

According to him, the production plant which currently has a per hour production capacity of 48,000 bottles (in line 1) and 78,000 (in line 2), will soon be increased with the commencement of full operations.

Describing the new offerings

From left, Senior Brand Manager, Peak, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Nigeria Plc, Omolara Banjoko; Junior Brand Manager, Peak, Adetunji Quadri and Senior Activation Manager, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Grace Onwubuemeli, during the Independence Day Family Fun Celebration with Peak Choco, at the New Apapa Amusement Park, Lagos, recently.

Philips commissions first Brand Shop in Africa AS part of its plans to expand consumer touch points and also step up its fight against counterfeiting, Royal Philips (Personal Health Division), has unveiled a brand shop in Lagos, the company’s first brand shop in Lagos and Africa.

The General Manager, Personal Health West Africa, Mrs. Chioma Nweke, said that the brand shop would provide an opportunity for consumers to interact with Philips’ products, while at the same time showcasing the company’s original products.

While describing the commissioning of the shop as part of the company’s strategies to touching 3 billion lives by 2020 through innovative products that matter to people, Mrs Nweke noted that the citing of the shop in Ajah, a highbrow area of Lagos, would go a long way in providing the people in the area a one-stop shop that has an array of the company’s original products.

“We are excited to unveil the first Philips brand shop in Africa where we can showcase these innova-

Lagos lawmaker commends NB Plc for living up to Gulder promo promise A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and popular Nollywood star, Hon. Desmond Elliot has commended Nigerian Breweries Plc for living up to its promise of presenting brand new Hyundai Elantra cars to premium winners at the ongoing Gulder Ultimate Promo.

The lawmaker, representing Surulere Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, who was a guest presenter at a prize presentation ceremony of the promo, in Lagos, recently, described the company as a corporate organization that had

as a great alternative to other Carbonated Soft Drinks in the market, the company’s National Sales Manager, Abdul Akeem, believed their introductions into the beverage market would open greater business opportunities in that market segment.

shown strong commitment to the development of its host community.

While presenting the keys and documents of a brand new Hyundai Elantra to its winner, Chibueze Gift Chukwuoti who emerged winner via a raffle draw held in Port Harcourt recently, the law maker stated that the company had not only focused on consumers of its products, but had also positively impacted its host community in diverse ways.

He commended the company for empowering youths through such promos as the one currently

embarked upon by Gulder.

Meanwhile, basking in the euphoria of his winning one of the brand new Hyundai Elantra cars in the ongoing Gulder Ultimate Promo, Chibueze in a feat of excitement described Gulder beer as ‘Ekwueme’, a word in Igbo language used to describe someone who fulfills his or her promises.

The University of Nigeria graduate of Medical Rehabilitation/ Physiotherapy emerged winner of the brand new car in a raffle draw held in Port Harcourt recently.

tions and Nigerians can have full access to appliances that would help them achieve healthier lifestyles,” she stated.

She believes the citing of the Brand Shop, in the area would strengthen the company’s ‘Buy Original Campaign’, since it would will ensure that consumers have peace of mind when purchasing original Philips appliances which come with a 2-Year Warranty and seal of quality.

Also, to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness month, Ms. Kate Okeke, BDM Diagnostic X-ray, Health Care division further explained the importance of healthy eating to boost the immune system thereby keeping the risk of breast cancer as low as possible.

Expressing the commitment’s to the nation’s market, Managing Director, Philips Health Tech West Africa, Mr. Ime Umoh, stated that the company would be expanding more consumer touch points to ensure that many consumers get to experience the original promise of the brand.

Renowned Actress, Bimbo Akintola was also present at the ceremony to support the brand. Chef Paul, who has worked with the Philips Arifryer for over 3years was on hand to demonstrate several delicious dishes with Philips kitchen appliances.

Nigerian Tribune

Luminous Inverters trains over 400 Nigerian technicians, installers IN tune with its brand promise of delivering happiness and independence to its esteemed consumers, Wandel International (Nigeria) Limited, a subsidiary of the Simba Group of Companies and the authorized marketers and distributors of Luminous brands (Inverters, UPS and Batteries) in Nigeria has disclosed that over 400 technicians and installers across Nigeria had benefitted from its Luminous Technician Training Programme.

The Luminous Technician Training programme is an initiative designed to create, train and empower electricians and technicians in the field of energy conservation, equipping them with the specific understanding of Inverters, UPS and Batteries and how these alternate energy products can improve the power back up and thus life of their customers, which in turn opens up an altogether new area of entrepreneurship for them.

The Technicians are also trained on the product components, installations and customer service. The training programme which commenced in April this year is set to take place in major towns and cities across the country.

The Marketing Manager, Wandel International Nigeria Limited, Mr. Rajneesh Gupta, described the training programme as a Pan Nigeria project expected, scheduled to hold across all the 36 States of the federation.

The training, he explained, is aimed at empowering electricians, engineers and technicians on installation and management of Luminous Inverters, Batteries and UPS. According to him, the whole idea of the project is to create more awareness for the product and at the same time create new entrepreneurs to deal with the peculiarities associated with the products thus the huge investment in the training initiative.

First introduced last year November, the training, he stated, had been accelerated within the last 6 months, covering key locations in Nigeria such as; Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Minna, Suleja, Warri, Benin, Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Yola.

“Over the past 6 months, we have trained and awarded Simba Training Certificates to over 400 technicians in these regions and also went further to build an association between these certified technicians and our registered distributors so that they can get or access additional support services whenever needed,” he said.

Also commenting on the initiative, the Chief Technical Instructor, Simba Group, Mr. Napoleon Idisi stated that the training programme serves a remarkable platform for technicians/installers to empower themselves and gain the required technical-know-how about the installations and repair of Luminous Inverters, Batteries and UPS.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

infotech

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

Why we want to offer voice services —Buitelaar, Smile boss Mr Michiel Buitelaar, the Managing Director, Smile Nigeria, in this interview with ICT journalists speaks on the company’s planned rollout of voice over 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) service offering in Nigeria, its recent partnership deal with Samsung Electronics West Africa, and many other industry issues. BODE ADEWUMI brings excerpts from the interview:

S

INCE Smile made its debut in Nigeria in 2012, the company has been known for its data service offering, but you just announced a new line of business with Samsung to offer voice over LTE, what prompted this change of business model?

This is not a change of our business model; we are only diversifying our business plan. The new line of business as you rightly said, which is voice over 4G LTE, is a way of diversifying our service offerings in Nigeria, in line with global technology trend. We are still the foremost broadband data company that you know, and we will still provide data services to our numerous customers. But while we are still in the business of offering our data services, we will also be offering the voice over 4G LTE services, which is a new line of business for us. We have the capacity to do so and we are assuring Nigerians of the new experience that they will get from Smile on our voice over 4G LTE service offerings.

How will the company’s partnership with Samsung address the challenges of voice calls in the telecoms sector?

Before we pioneered 4G LTE broadband in Nigeria, voice and data communication have been riding on the 3G network, which is fraught with several challenges like incessant drop calls, delay in delivering text messages, poor voice quality, among others. In order to address these challenges and to offer Nigerians enhanced communication experience, we decided to rollout our voice call services, which will run on our 4G LTE broadband network and we are partnering Samsung on its Galaxy S6 edge 4G LTE enabled smartphone device to drive this first of its kind initiative in Nigeria.

Our partnership with Samsung is to further deepen voice communication with our supper fast 4G

Long Term Evolution (LTE) service offering, using the Samsung mobile device. Although, we welcome all devices from other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that are 4G enabled, but we decided to partner Samsung on its Galaxy S6 edge mobile device, because it is not only 4G enabled, it also comes with unique features that will give Nigerians wonderful experience on the super fast broadband service that we offer to customers from our 4G LTE network.

Samsung is one of the first OEMs that has come up with 4G enabled mobile device and we are very happy to enter into this partnership deal because Samsung has over the years, proved to be innovative, in line with modern technology trend.

Is there any plan in the near future to extend this partnership deal to other mobile phone manufacturers?

It is good to give customers ample opportunities that will allow them make their own choice of the brand of mobile phones they want to use, because customer is king in any business, but we decided to partner Samsung on its Galaxy S6 edge mobile device because it is 4G enabled and the brand fits into our vision of offering Nigerians the fastest 4G LTE broadband service, which Smile is pioneering in Nigeria. We may consider partnering other phone manufacturers if they approach us, but for now, we are in business with Samsung to further drive 4G LTE broadband service in Nigeria.

What would make Nigerians dump the 3G network on voice calls, for voice over 4G LTE? Apart from experiencing a super fast and reliable internet service, it will enable Nigerians to create a digital economy through technology innovations, and it will also help recreate existing services in a more dynamic way that is much better from what it used to be in

Mr Michiel Buitelaar, Managing Director, Smile Nigeria the past. It is about voice communication that is built on data communication that is expected to bring ample opportunities for Nigerians to access the internet and explore new things.

Again both the caller and the call recipient will be able to see themselves and hear themselves clearly, with super fast connectivity, when making voice calls over the Smile 4G LTE network, using the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge smartphone.

Smile Communications Nigeria is not only the first authentic 4G LTE provider in Nigeria but the first to go into this performance enhancing partnership with Samsung, a global technology giant.

Smile

recently

got

$365

Samsung is one of the first OEMs that has come up with 4G enabled mobile device and we are very happy to enter into this partnership deal because Samsung has over the years, proved to be innovative.

million loan financing from foreign and local banks, and plans to use the money for network expansion. Will this expansion plan cover the voice over 4G LTE, and how do you intend to go about it?

Yes, we got $365 million loan financing recently for the expansion of our business, which includes voice over 4G LTE. We have commenced work in that area of business expansion, because the money is already in our hands. So, what we have done is to enter into partnership agreement with infrastructure vendor to supply us with the necessary equipment for the rollout of our voice over 4G LTE network.

We have made a massive order from Ericsson and some of the equipment have started arriving Nigeria. We are opening new centres in Nigeria to enable us have a wide coverage area for our 4G LTE service offerings. We have commenced installations of towers in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja and other major cities of the country.

Smile service offerings depend so much on broadband, even though we have lots of narrowband service offerings in Nigeria, owing to the 10 per cent broadband penetration level of the country. How is the country’s low broadband penetration affecting your business?

There is nothing wrong with narrowband, since it depends on usage and the need for it. Some people just need broadband for social networking like Facebook, WhatsApp, among others, but if Nigeria wants to experience the real power of internet, then there is need for real broadband service of-

fering, which is exactly what Smile is offering Nigerians. We appreciate the objective of government to grow broadband penetration from 10 per cent to 30 per cent by 2018, through its five-year broadband plan and we believe that should this be achieved, it would deepen broadband penetration and also help more Nigerians to feel the power of real broadband services.

The cost of broadband services in Nigeria is still high, compared to other countries of the world; what is Smile doing to cut cost of broadband services, in order to enable all Nigerians have unlimited access to the internet?

It is our wish at Smile Communication that broadband services should be made available to more people in Nigeria in the most affordable way. Our vision at Smile is to offer ubiquitous broadband services to Nigerians to enable all Nigerians have easy access to broadband that is affordable. Our plan is to cover the whole of Nigeria with our broadband data and voice services and once these are achieved, the cost of broadband services will be a lot cheaper for Nigerians.

Again, the introduction of 4G LTE enabled handsets will help achieve easy and affordable broadband connectivity, and this is the reason why Smile is partnering Samsung on its Galaxy S6 edge mobile device that is 4G LTE enabled, in order to help more Nigerians have easy and cheap access to the internet. As more people are connected to the internet, the cost of broadband access will reduce, because then, there will be need to increase broadband penetration, based on demand for broadband contents.

infotech NATCOMS welcomes NCC boss with 5-point demand 31

Stories By Bode Adewumi

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HE National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has sent a message of congratulation to the new Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta on his appointment as the helmsman of the telecommunications regulatory body.

In a release issued and signed by the National President of NATCOMS, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, the association said it celebrates with the NCC boss, whose appointment it said coincides with the appointment of another Nigerian, Mr Shola Taylor, who was appointed as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

The association, however, said while welcoming the new NCC boss, that it expects him to look into some of its pending demands with a view to finding solutions to them.

Some of these demands, according to NATCOMS, include, the issue of poor quality of services, with particular reference to the vexed issue of dropping\breaking calls; undelivered but paid for text messages; data services deductions\internet poor quality; unauthorised call card deductions, all without adequate reward and compensation.

Also, NATCOMS tasks the new boss to take drastic action against the lingering issue of unsolicited text messages to the extent that telecoms operators should supply subscribers with an irrevocable code to unsubscribe whatever text messages that comes through

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

their network, just as it is provided for with Internet Electronic Mails (e-mails).

Furthermore, the association said in order to reduce mobile phone\cyber-crime, that the commission should interface with the police and other law enforcement agencies in order to make mobile

stressful, very cumbersome and excessively engaging.

In addition, NATCOMS said the new NCC helmsman should ensure that he puts in place Subscriber’s Compensation Policy Plan, which will aim at compensating subscribers with free airtime, anytime the telecoms op-

erators perform below the Key Performance Parameters (KPI) as set by the NCC. The current practice, according to subscribers body, where telecoms operators fall short of KPI parameters and are given huge fines, which goes to government coffers, is to say the least, highly exploitative and unsavoury on the part of the subscribers, who it said suffers the injury and the brunt of poor quality service and other unauthorised deductions.

Experts rates LG premium Door-in-Door refrigerator high

From left, Business Development Manager, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr Olumide Ojo; Managing Director, Namzy Store, Ikota, Mrs Nwokecha Yetunde; Director, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr Emmanouil Revmatas; Managing Director, Fussy Tech Store, Mrs Olanibi Olumide Fusika; Head, Regional Operations Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr Anthony Akindele and Marketing Manager, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Ms Olajumoke Okikiolu during the launch of the latest addition to its Galaxy Note family, the Galaxy Note 5 in Lagos, last week.

Samsung introduces King of Notes into Nigeria SAMSUNG Electronics has launched the latest addition to its Galaxy Note family, the Galaxy Note 5, in Nigeria. Blending an advanced S-Pen with superior viewing experience, the Galaxy Note 5 provides users with a unique and powerful mobile experience. The device was formally unveiled at a media launch, which

Future of Africa’s economy lies in Digital Mobile Technology —Diamond bank boss THE Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank plc , Mr Uzoma Dozie, has hinged the sustainable growth and development of Africa’s economy, on the proper use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), saying that in this digital age, massive deployment of ICT tools, is a major panacea to the sluggish development on the continent.

According to him, the internet, a major backbone of ICT, has shrunken the world to a global business village, thereby altering the way businesses are transacted across continents; pointing that for African countries to catch up with the rest of the world, there is an urgent need to incorporate and optimize mobile technology in the respective countries daily economic activities.

He made this assertion at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Roundtable on “Leading by Empowering: Youth, Skills Training and Unemployment in a Changing Economy”, which held recently in Lagos.

He stated that promoting regular and increased IT skills acquisition would not only act as an accelerant to sustainable industrial growth and development but will also en-

phone\cyber-crime a step-by-step reporting process that is less cumbersome and without any encumbrance. This, it said, will encourage the reporting of mobile phone\ cyber-crime as well as make tracking of fraudsters easier. The current mobile phone\cyber-crime reporting process, it acers, is very

Nigerian Tribune

sure that there is sufficient supply of competent hands to match employers’ demands and eventually slope the unemployment curve.

Drawing from his experience in online banking, Dozie stated that Nigeria’s financial services sub-sector has deployed and grown mobile technology to a level that most developed economies are yet to attain.

“Nigeria has one of the best payment systems in the world and this is enabled by our internet system which is one of the best in Africa.

Over time, bank transactions have become easier compared to what they used to be in the time past and this is basically the result of improved internet banking in Nigeria. The implication of this growing trend is the increasing need for employable hands with requisite skills,” he said.

He noted that there has been a paradigm shift that has made the acquisition of ICT skills an imperative for business growth in Nigeria.

According to him, the biggest problem for businesses in Nigeria is not capital, as there are many organisations out there with available funds for businesses, but lack of information on how to access these funds remains a big challenge.

took place in Lagos last week.

Samsung continues to improve the Note series with every new version. Crafted with metal and glass, the Galaxy Note 5 boasts a beautiful screen, suite of helpful productivity apps to accompany its super precise stylus, the S-Pen. In addition, it is the first device to come loaded with 4GB of RAM. The device also features a curved backside, perfect for the edges of your palm.

“Smartphones have become so central to our lives; so has the demand for larger screens,” said Mr. Brovo Kim, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa. “The first galaxy Note was a breakthrough, not just for Samsung but for the entire industry.

Bigger screens have gone from nice-to-have to a must-have and the display once called a gimmick is now the norm. With the Note 5, our customers can achieve more with their devices, quickly write down ideas and notes at

meetings or wherever inspiration strikes, video conferencing with colleagues or family delivering an immersive viewing experience,” he added.

The beautifully designed Note 5 flaunts a 5.7-inch screen with QHD Super AMOLED display, which allows for clearer videos and images. The larger screen size is also great for productivity, as emails can be penned quickly, editing and cropping photos and videos are much easier, and reading an ebook is possible without having to bump up the font size.

Samsung has enhanced the S-Pen, which continues to be one of the integral features of the Note. The stylus has been upgraded with a clicky top and a nib that looks more like a ballpoint pen. The little wave of shortcut buttons, which appear on the screen when the stylus is popped out, can easily be customized and the device will send an alert whenever the stylus is not in its holster.

LG Electronics (LG) earns top ratings in the United Kingdom and China for its premium Door-inDoor refrigerators’ energy saving capabilities and for being incredibly convenient. LG’s 4-Door refrigerator with Door-in-Door got top marks from Innovative Electrical Retailing (IER) and Trusted Reviews, the United Kingdom’s leading electrical retail trade magazine and online tech review site respectively.

Meanwhile, China’s Household Electrical Appliances Association (CHEAA) awarded LG’s 5-Door refrigerator with Door-in-Door the China Appliance Grand Prize at the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) 2015 held in Shanghai.

“We were so excited when we learned that our products were getting such high marks from industry experts,” said Mr. Hyunwoo Jung, General Manager, Home Appliance division, LG Electronics West Africa operations. “It reinforces our drive to maintain our role as an industry leader by wowing consumers with even more innovative appliances,” he added.

The United Kingdom’s leading monthly electrical retail trade magazine Innovative Electrical Retailing (IER) awarded LG’s 4-Door refrigerator with Door-in-Door its Eco/Energy Saving Award, highlighting how the Door-in-Door helps reduce cold air loss by up to 47 per cent. It accomplishes this by providing a space for frequently used items in the Door-in-Door so users need not open the main door as often.

Cyberoam appoints Presales Manager in Nigeria CYBEROAM, a leading global provider of network security appliances, has announced the appointment of Mr David Sodeinde as its Presales Manager to assist the partner network in Nigeria.

It is known that the African Cyber Security market is registering a phenomenal growth, with some reports pegging it at around 20 per cent. Being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria will be driving majority of this growth, making it central to Cyberoam’s market plans. Thus, Cyberoam has given a larger impetus to partner appointment and empowerment activities in the region.

Expressing his views over this appointment, Mr Sodeinde said: “I am excited to be a part of Cyberoam. The company is making rapid strides with its value proposition for the SMB segment.

Hence, in emerging economies like Nigeria the company has a huge potential for growth. I have worked closely with organisations in Nigeria and can easily see how Cyberoam can bring the security transformation and make these organisations compete at global levels.”

Sodeinde will be working closely with Cyberoam Country Manager, Mr Jimi Falaiye to leverage on the

opportunities in the Nigerian network security market. Cyberoam constantly engages with the end customers and partners in the region via its security seminars. After this appointment, Sodeinde will be taking charge of such seminars, product awareness programmes, assisting partner skill development, delivering product certification trainings, solution presentations and product updates.

He would also be involved in handling comparison discussions, assisting tender responses and compliance discussions, as well as assisting product deployments and technology, where needed.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 Group Politics Editor Taiwo adisa 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

Ambode: The burden of governance KUNLE ODEREMI writes on the challenges of governing Lagos State from the era of Mr Babtunde Fashola (SAN) to incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

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AGOS State occupies a prime place in the country. Famous for its aquatic splendor, the state is rated as the most populous in Africa and the commercial hub of Nigeria. Lagos is considered as a microcosm of Nigeria given the ethnic heterogeneity of its population. So, whoever is the governor of the state ids bound to face most challenges that characterise the Nigerian nation.

For incumbent governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the last five months has given him the opportunity to either consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), or re-jig the policies and programmes he inherited, with a view to giving them a ‘human face.’ The review would have been in the spirit of the social contract he signed with Lagosians on the day he took oath of office.

He had promised to be fair, just and open in administering the state.

His words: “I pledge to you that I shall devote myself to bringing even greater prosperity, growth and development to every inch of this state; that I shall build on the legacy and progress of the Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola administrations….”

The PDP also kept the administration of Fashola on its toes throughout his eighth years of four years each. The party challenged him on the impact, necessity or otherwise of some policies and programmes of the administration. The media manager of the administration consistently tried to put most of those issues in proper perspective each time the opposition launched the verbal missiles. At one of those occasions when Fashola had to render the account of the ‘robust achievements’ of his administration, he described the claims and allegations of the PDP against his government as “bold and stark ignorance.“ He labeled the State Budget under his administration as an Article of Faith, thus spanning every sector, just as he faulted insinuations that his administration was building for the elite. On the impact of the budget on security, Governor Fashola noted “Let me be clear that this is not our responsibility. But when a government and a party choose to export your money in private jets in the search for security equipment, we must respond to support Policemen and women who have shown a great commitment to keeping all of us safe in spite of neglect by their employer, who denied them a merry Christmas by not paying their salaries,” Fashola said.

Like most of the other state governors, Ambode had hit the ground running without constituting a cabinet since May 29, when he assumed office. Relying on the machinery of the civil serve, he had taken a number of steps, which he said were meant to reposition the state. But, his efforts did not in any way impressed the main opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It used the opportunity of

the traditional 100 days in office of a new government to fire the first salvo at the administration of Ambode. In the opinion of the PDP, the administration could not make any appreciable impact during the period. According to the PDP state publicity secretary, Taofik Gani, “The examples of lack of cabinet; internally generated revenue and introduction of Treasury Single Account; LASTMA operations; the LASU crisis; Delay in Local Government elections; unclear salaries and wages for civil servants; human rights abuses; etc continue to linger even when they can be resolved within 100 days.”

Miffed by the comment, his counterpart in the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Joe Igbokwe wondered how a party that wrecked Nigeria in 16 years of disastrous leadership could assess performance of a party that had taken Lagos to new heights as one of the few mega cities of the world. “We see the laughable outings of Lagos PDP in the media after its last disastrous electoral woes as tortuous efforts to stave off its certain death.We see their laughable efforts to critique the government in Lagos as borne out of the near death struggle to survive its own huge liabilities as a failed party that ran a failed government that prodded Nigeria to the precincts of a failed nation,” Igbokwe stressed.

More than five months down the line, Ambode has personally taken the initiative to X-ray his tenure and arrive at a conclusion. To underscore the significance of the exercise, he had brought together a large number of main stakeholders in Lagos to the Abesan Mini Stadium, Lagos, Abesan Housing Estate, Ipaja,. The roll call include Dr Idiat Adebule; Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central District; Senator Solomon Olamilekan, representing Lagos West; All Progressives Congress APC) Chairman, Lagos Chapter, Chief Henry Ajomale; members of the state House of Assembly; Oba Rilwanu Akiolu I; Chief Kemi Nelson, APC Women Leader, Lagos Chapter; Permanent Secretaries; traditional chiefs; as well as leaders of market women and men.

Ambode gave a painstaking analysis of the activities of his administration since May 29 during the town hall meeting. He gave account

I shall devote myself to bringing even greater prosperity, growth and development to every inch of this state

Ambode of stewardship, moving from one sector to the other. But the most striking feature of the analysis was when he asserted that his efforts to stabilise the finances of the state had helped to save about N3 billion monthly.

Specifically, he said his administration reviewed the revenue and expenditure framework of the state, saying the efforts, coupled with the realignment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, culminating in the government saving almost N3 billion every month.“This has provided us with more funds to inject into capital projects and the initial funds to establish the Employment Trust Fund which we promised our youths,” he said. Reiterating his vision to make Lagos globally competitive in all sectors, Ambode said he had mapped out long-term programmes that would lead the state on the path to becoming a truly competitive city-state.

He explained that his government used the period under review to set up an institutional framework to fast track the programmes and policies of his administration, as well as initiated remarkable interventions and reforms in very critical sectors like road rehabilitation, health care, security, service delivery, transportation and education.

There is a fresh concern among Lagosians that some of those issues that constituted a cog in the wheel of progress in the state are beginning to resurface. They range from security matters to infrastructural challenges, which many residents contend a strong political will by the authorities to tackle. While some have blamed the problems to the delay in the government forming a cabinet, others said the situation was based on leadership style, following the change of guard in Alausa, the seat of power in Ikeja.

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Mu’azu not planning to float a new party —Ahmed Alhaji Bashir Ahmed is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and an ally of the immediate past national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu. In this interview, he spoke on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, politics in Bauchi State and other issues. CHRISTIAN OKEKE brings excerpts.

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OW would you rate the All Progressives Congress government led by President Muhammadu Buhari after about five months in power?

Let me say that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, like any other administration, is trying the best it can for the country with a view to meeting the expectations of Nigerians. And you should know that Nigerians are impatient. But what I would say generally is that on issues such as power, the Boko Haram insurgency among others, Nigerians are now respected in the comity of Nations. I pray that he succeeds. But if what I am hearing about him is anything to go by, he needs to sit up and face the task ahead, because Nigeria is very easy and at the same time very difficult to govern. In just five months of APC administration, there are series of complaints from states governed by APC; there are corruption allegations against the state governors and this is very unfortunate. This goes to demonstrate that the issue in Nigerian politics is not about party but individuals, because some of the best governors are from the PDP. Look at the performance of former governor Mu’azu in Bauchi State, he did very well. I will appeal to Nigerians to only vote for merit in subsequent elections in order to save our polity from some people who use party platform to achieve their selfish end.

President Buhari made some appointments that generated criticism concern from far and wide. How did you feel about the appointments?

The appointments made by President Buhari, to me, are okay, as it is his prerogative to appoint whoever he thinks can work with him and can help him deliver on the mandate given to him. To be candid, there is no political appointment that will not attract criticism from some quarters. Nigerians will certainly criticize and accuse him of favouringa certain section of the country or some religious group. However, as a leader, he should be able to develop a shock absorber that will enable him to remain focused in the discharge of his state duties.

The President promised to bring treasury looters to book especially those that served the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Some people view that as very selective. Do you share the same view?

I totally support the fight against corruption but in doing it, let there be no sacred cows and for Buhari to win the fight, I think the first think he should do is to start from his party, the APC and I believe Nigerians will give him the necessary support.

The former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suffered defeat in 2015 presidential election, despite its vow to rule for 60 years.

What do you think was responsible for that?

The answer is simple. Nigerians wanted to have a taste of another political party and see if it is different from the PDP. But let me

Mu’azu, the party was at the verge of disintegration. But as soon as he stepped in, he stabilised the party. How then can any rightthinking person accuse him of being responsible for the party’s defeat? The truth is that Nigerians wanted change and there was no magic the Mu’azu could have performed to redeem the situation.

Are you saying that Mu’azu did his best within the circumstance he found himself?

Of course, yes! And you know that many factors were responsible for PDP’s defeat.

But if you look at the role Mu’azu played as the national chairman, you will come to appreciate and give him kudos despite the defeat. However, you know our people always comment on the negative side. But believe it or not, Mu’azu is a leader with great reputation. His love for Nigeria is second to none, and as I am talking with you, I will do everything possible to help him in whatever he intends to do for Nigeria.

Do you want him to contest for any political office again or something?

Time will tell. But the little I know of him, if you ask him to be a messenger, he is ready to do it, but we are presently studying the situation in order to know which direction to take in 2019. Nevertheless, for now, we want the present administration to settle down first.

Ahmed

As soon as he stepped in, he stabilised the party.

How then can any right-thinking person accuse him of being responsible for the party’s defeat? The truth is that Nigerians wanted change and there was no magic the Mu’azu could have performed to redeem the situation.

tell you, no one can deny the fact that PDP brought a lot of developments to the county which, I believe, a time will come when Nigerians will appreciate the PDP.Having said that, if you look at the APC, their coming together is a marriage of convenience. For that reason, the APC as a ruling party might not go beyond 2019. If you look at what is happening in the National Assembly, especially the Senate, you will surely agree with me that the party will not make much headway.

The PDP suffered its electoral defeat under the chairmanship of the

former governor whom you mentioned earlier. Do you share the belief that he was responsible for the party’s failure?

I do not agree with that assertion that Mu’azu was responsible for the defeat of the PDP. If you look at the circumstances that brought Mu’azu as national chairman, you will agree with me that he stabilised the party and gave it direction. In fact, that was why they nick-named him the “game-changer.”

In politics, people come up with spurious allegations just to make themselves relevant.

You should know that before the coming of

The PDP in Bauchi State was speculated to have witnessed leadership crisis. Do you think that the development, if true, is good enough for the party in the state?

From what I heard, the crisis in Bauchi PDP is between two political gladiators who could not resolve their differences amicably. Their differences brought about factionalisation of the party in the state.

Ordinarily, what they could have done is to put their differences aside for the common interest of the state. From what I heard from a reliable source, one of them wants to contest for PDP national chairman and the other one kicked against the choice of the party because he has a preferred candidate. I will use this opportunity to urge the national headquarters of the PDP to intervene in order to save the party from total collapse in the state.

There were also speculations that Mu’azu is planning to form a new political party. To what extent is this true?

It is absolutely not correct. The former national chairman has never for one day thought of leaving PDP, let alone forming a new political party. Mua’zu is a founding member of the PDP. He served as a governor for eight years. He even attempted to contest for the office of the president in 2007 under the party’s platform and later he served as the national chairman of the party. So tell me, with all the opportunities PDP has given him, how will he leave the party? Some people have the right to leave PDP, but for Mu’azu, no. The issue of forming new political party is handiwork of some individuals who are afraid of him and since it is in their character to defect from one political party to another and later come back to their former party, they assumed that every politician has such idiosyncrasy. We are just waiting for time to expose them.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Buhari’s anti-corruption war not selective —Lagos lawmaker A member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Honourable Kazeem Alimi representing Eti-Osa 1, in this interview with BOLA BADMUS, speaks on President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, the ongoing anti-corruption war, among other issues.

Governor Fashola or consolidating on them?

He should consolidate on what the past government has left behind which I believe has been his own focus, to work especially on the grassroots. He should put local government administration as his priority.

He has said that he wants to bring his own government to the grassroots and we have seen him doing that. He has been visiting local government councils And you know if we have good roads in our local government areas, I mean the inner roads, the people would be happy and commercial activities would go on smoothly.

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OW do you assess President Muhammadu Buhari administration?

As regards the federal level, the ruling party has tried in the last 100 days. It is very clear to all of us that infrastructural facilities are working. Talking of electricity, virtually everywhere, especially in Lagos, we have witnessed over 70- 80 per cent improvement. We can see the president going all over the world, talking to world leaders. As regards security, we can say that we have seen an improvement with the president making moves and receiving support of the international community.

What of the corruption war?

Tackling corruption issue is a gradual process. You need to establish facts before you can accuse somebody of corruption. I know he has evidences, he is just taking his time. Buhari is a man that believes in due process. I believe that in the shortest possible time, the name of those that are indicted would be out and justice would take its course.

The president’s appointments so far are seen in some quarters as in favour of the North. Do you share this view?

Going by the categories of the appointments, the first one has to do with the security chiefs, and the other one has to do with his kitchen cabinet. The two categories are very, very sensitive positions. If you are talking of the service chiefs, you have to put sentiments aside. Therefore, you need to go for those you believe can do the job and I believe that those that were appointed as service chiefs are capable of doing the job.

As regards the kitchen cabinet, the Chief of Staff and the SGF, he believes those are the people that can do it for him. He has a mission and his mission is to set Nigeria on good record, and he believes these are the people he can rely upon to do the job. Buhari is a man that believes in merit, he goes for merit not just anybody.

People say when you are looking for merit, you can get it everywhere and it is not in a particular place.

Maybe you need to look at the results of those appointments, those that were done by past leaders. You can hardly see the positive effect of those appointments. He believes those people that can deliver Nigeria from these mess are the people he appointed, there are more appointments that are coming. The ministers are to be appointed in every state. The appointments of ministers would go round the entire country and there are also other appointments, especially for those people from the Eastern part of the country. The GM of NNPC is an Easterner and it is a key position. So I wouldn’t agree with those that believe that you can get merit from any other part of the

Alimi

Buhari is a man that believes in due process. I believe that in the shortest possible time, the name of those that are indicted will be out and justice would take its course. country. Yes, you can, but it doesn’t really matter where the person comes from, it is just a matter of the person that can do it.

You have listed the achievements of the government, part of them is that the power sector has improved and the refineries are working. But the PDP claims the government was only appropriating Jonathan’s achievements.

Why the sabotage? Why are they not doing it now? Are they saying that those people that were there are APC members? So all the appointments made by them, are they APC members? They are all PDP members, so why should PDP sabotage PDP’s efforts? So, that’s their own belief. What we know is that they know Buhari would not take nonsense from them and if you look at the power and refinery sector, you would know that they know that the fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom for them, so they just have to perform. So, it is their own government that is not active then.

Buhari’s anti-corruption has been described as selective.

Some people have been saying this and I don’t know where they got their own evidences from. He has never indicted anybody so far. Nobody has been arrested as a result of corruption. Why are they saying that he is selective. He has not told anybody whether EFCC or DSS to go and pick anybody.

How has the Lagos State House of Assembly fared so far?

I would not say that we have achieved much because we came in June and our traditional recess was in August. So, we are presently on recess. We have not done much though there are some motions that have been passed to the governor, which even the governor has implemented, including most especially the one those to do with the dissolution of the judicial commission. There were other motions that had been passed and the resolutions sent to the governor. We have 10 adhoc committees that are working, so even if we are on recess, we are working.

Do you suggest Governor Ambode’s policies depart from those of former

Do you also prefer the autonomy of local government councils as some are seeking?

If you look at the area of the basic responsibility of local governments, they are responsible for payment of primary school teachers. When they were in charge, they were unable to do it and if you ask those teachers in those local governments, they would never support the autonomy. Before we can talk of autonomy, there must be an amendment to the constitution. Creation of local governments falls within the purview of the state and at the same time, we are saying local governments should be given autonomy. But you need to balance it, it is either you remove that clause that says the creation of local governments is in the purview of the State House of Assembly, and then leave the autonomy. If you are saying that and the State House of Assembly is saying that the creation of local government councils is within its own purview and at the same time, some people are saying they want autonomy for them, so you need to do the clarification.

Who should manage local government councils?

There is no way you can tell any state to give autonomy to local government. No state would support that.

How do you want to address challenges facing your constituency them?

My constituency is a rural one and at every occasion, I always make it known to people that my constituency is a rural one.

I have over 70- 80 per cent of roads within my constituency that are not tarred and it is a challenge which I have discussed with some of the agencies that are concerned and I believe when the governor settles down, he would definitely look at my challenges. The other one is the traffic within Ajah axis and I want to thank His Excellency, he has been there and he has promised that within a short period there is going to be a relief, that he is going to do something within that area.

What do you think is the solution to that?

In fact the permanent solution to that is construction of a flyover. Within the Ajah axis, there is a roundabout in Ajah, so the flyover is just to cross the roundabout, so people that are coming from Lagos, and going to Sangotedo axis would just go straight without any problem. And those that are going to Langbasa- Ado would have to pass under the bridge to their left, but if you are coming from Lagos to Sangotedo, you just have to go straight. A flyover there is the permanent solution.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

tribunelaw

For enquiries, Lanre Adewole - 0811 695 4647 olanreade@yahoo.com

Retooling the anti-corruption war

By Yisa Eneyiramoh esq.

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LBERT Szent-Györgyi, a Hungarian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1937 was reputed as saying that “while politicians think of the next election, the statesmen think of the next generation.

People elect the best politicians and then are astonished when they discover they have gotten poor statesmen.”

Many Nigerians felt under the prevailing circumstances penultimate 2015 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari was adjudged the best politician to deliver the nation from the predicament. But there are ominous signs that except he makes a hard choice at the risk of sounding immodest, the soldier turned politician may as well become a “poor statesman”.

On June 9, 2015, in what could be described as the perfect coup d’etat, Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Yakubu Dogara defied orders of their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), by emerging Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in a contest that was characterised by subterfuge and skillful guile.

The emerging scenarios can be likened to the reign of the concubine in the erstwhile Forbidden City in China, and it is dogged with grave consequence for a sitting president hoping to seek for second term in office.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty— the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 ha (180 acres). It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government for almost 500 years. Jin or “Forbidden”, referred to the fact that no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor’s permission. Entry to this edifice was forbidden to all except the members of the imperial family and their servants.

In 1861, a simple concubine, one of 60 women serving the Xianfeng Emperor, rose to become the de facto ruler of the Qing dynasty. This is the story of Cixi, who, using charisma, political shrewdness and manipulation, governed the Forbidden City through the latter half of the nineteenth century, and who, by breaking with tradition,

heralded the end of an empire.

The PDP had suffered a similar fate when in 2011 lawmakers on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) helped Hon Aminu Tambuwal and Hon Emeka Ihedioha to defy the zoning formula of the PDP to emerge speaker and deputy speaker in the House.

That act of defiance by its members was later to haunt the PDP, resulted in the eventual defection of Tambuwal along with several other PDP lawmakers to the APC, and was one of the factors that led to PDP’s woeful performance at the 2015 polls.

The second scene has to do with the trial of Senator Saraki by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for alleged false asset declaration when he was governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

President Buhari’s sudden invitation to Saraki and Dogara last week to parley over his ministerial list before the senate for clearance has raised questions in many discerning minds. Many thought it was a moment for trade-off, in other words, “stop the trial and let me clear your ministerial nominees”. Though the Presidency quickly came out smoking, insisting that President Buhari has no intention to interfere in the trial proceeding of Saraki, but supposing the trial begins to go through a doubtful winding route of other high profile corruption cases in our courts, what becomes of President Buhari’s explanation? Will it be wrong to link such to this august meeting? Besides, what becomes the fate of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war?

In his report on the court’s work that in 2000, 1,292 judges in the country were punished for violation of Party and administrative rules, and 46 others were prosecuted for violation of the law

Upon taking office, Xi Jinping, Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party, vowed to crack down on “tigers and flies”, that is, high-level officials and petty civil servants alike. He launched an unprecedented campaign targeting Party, government, judges, military and state-owned company officials suspected of corruption after he came to power in late 2012.

So far, 40,000 government officials have been disciplined for graft violations. A further 10,000 have been fired from their jobs, allowing the government to recoup $65 billion in illicit funds.

China’s ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai have been jailed for life - the most senior politicians to face corruption charges under Communist rule.

Zhou Yongkang who had held a seat at the very top of the Chinese government pyramid was found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and “intentionally disclosing national secrets”, China’s official source.

According to media report on June 11, 2015, Zhou, 72, pleaded guilty, and while responding to the judge, he said he would not launch an appeal. “I’ve realised the harm I’ve caused to the party and the people. I plead guilty and I regret my crimes,” he said.

In a breakdown of the ruling, it was reported that Zhou received a life sentence for directly accepting bribes worth 731,000 yuan ($117,000), seven years for abuse of power and four years for “deliberately releasing state secrets”. His family was said to have received bribes of 129 million yuan. All political rights have been stripped and his property confiscated.

To achieve decisive and formidable corruption war, there must be impartial, incorruptible and fearless judiciary in place.

China’s chief judge and chief procurator said on 2 January 2001 that the country’s court and prosecuting systems dealt seriously with corruption cases involving judges and prosecutors in the past year.

Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), said in his report on the court’s work that in 2000, 1,292 judges in the country were punished for violation of Party and administrative rules, and 46 others were prosecuted for violation of the law, according to Xiao.

Han Zhubin, procurator-general of the Supreme Continued on pg38

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lawnews

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Corruption: Any judge found wanting will be handed over to ICPC —Nasarawa CJ Ademola Adegbite- Lafia

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HE Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Justice Suleiman Dikko, on Monday, said his office has received series of petitions, boadering on corruption from judicial staffers in the state, declaring that whoever involved after the investigations would be handed over to Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in line with the Federal government‘s efforts to eradicate corruption in the country.

He made this declaration at the 2015 Second CallOver Special Appeal Session in High Court 1, Keffi, Keffi Local Government Area of the state.

Justice Dikko, who set up five appeal panels to review and dispose 104 judgments delivered by lower courts in the state, however, lamented that despite several measures to curtail corruption in the state judiciary, some officials still continued in such devilish act.

According to him, “we

have received reports about corruption from the staff, particularly in Mararaba axis; I want to assure you that anyone caught will face the full wrath of the law.

“We will set up committee to investigate those allegations and anyone caught will be handed over to ICPC in line with efforts

of the Federal government to eradicate corruption in the country,” he added.

On 104 cases, the CJ announced 82 civil cases and 22 criminal cases to be reviewed, explaining that out of the 82 civil cases, 51 were old, 31 were new, while out of the 22 criminal cases, 12 were old, while ten were new.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Keffi Branch, who was represented by Barrister Shishi John, appealed to the state government to build more courts and renovate old ones, saying some of the problems confronting judiciary in the state included inadequacy of

judges, facilities in courts, enforcement of judgments among others.

He, therefore, commended the CJ for organizing the session and promised that the BAR would support the bench in the state to ensure success of the appeal session.

Also, a senior member of the BAR, Barrister

Ogunche Akunsun, who spoke on behalf of others, said the CJ should take note of corruption in the judiciary, particularly around Mararaba axis.

He said that the corrupt practices which were prevalent among judges and even lawyers needed to be checked in order to safe the image of the judiciary.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, revealed recently that he had directed the NJC to implement the new Revised NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria 2014; because the need for a change in the criteria for the appointment of Judicial Officers in Nigeria is at a point of no return.

“It was clear that the old Guidelines and Rules had become unworkable as it saw anachronisms such as the limitation that saw only Justices of the Court

of Appeal, as of right, making it to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Under the new, more rigorous and transparent rules, any qualified legal practitioner with the requisite intellect has the opportunity of making it to any Court in the land and even to the posts of Heads of Federal and States Superior Courts, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria”, CJN had said.

The CJN must be encouraged and supported to carry out this Judiciary’s self-cleansing reform to logical conclusion.

Eneyiramoh wrote in this from Ebiya, Ajaokuta LGA, Kogi state.

Retooling the anti-corruption war Continued from pg37

People’s Procuratorate (SPP), said 494 rulebreaking prosecutors were investigated and punished in the past year, with 54 of them prosecuted.

Experience has shown that once a sitting government is ruminating over the next election to usher it into its second term in office, the tendency to take necessary bold and decisive steps in governance is lost; it loses the steam to make historical impact.

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan feebly handled anti-corruption war for fear of stepping on toes that may cause him his second term in office. And he lost both.

No Chinese President after Chairman Mao has ever earned the same popularity of the Chinese like Xi Jinping who is just two years in office. “Corruption” was among the top 10 issues of concern to the Chinese people when Xi became the president, and consequently took up the fight against corruption as a way to restore popular confidence in the government. It is also a skillful means of adjusting to the hatred-for-the-rich mentality so popular among the Chinese public in recent years.

Buhari’s fight against corruption must begin with judicial reform and the judicial corruption.

Legal implications of collective investment scheme IT is commonplace these days to see companies and individuals canvassing for funds from the public into various investment schemes.

They come in different nomenclaturesMutual Fund, Ethical Fund, etc, but they have common objectives, chief of which is to encourage people to contribute money into a common pool for the purpose of investing the funds into profitable ventures.

The relevant law, which regulates Collective Investment Scheme is the Investment and Securities Act, 2007. This law sets out the obligations of those who invest in the funds and those who manage the funds on behalf of the investors.

Section 153 of the Act defines “Collective Investment Scheme” as “a scheme in whatever form, including an open-ended investment company, in pursuance of which members of the public are invited or permitted to invest money or other assets in a portfolio, and in terms of which (a) two or more contribute money or other assets to and hold a participatory interest in a portfolio of the scheme through shares, units or any other form of participatory interest;(b) the investors share the risk and the benefit of investment in proportion to their participatory interest in a portfolio of a scheme…”

I have endeavoured to quote the above section of the Act in order to bring this discussion into proper perspective. From the statutory definition, every investor must bear in mind two things: a collective investment scheme usually involves two or more people and the risk and benefits are

shared according to the proportion of what each investor has put on the table.

The law requires that every collective investment scheme must be approved by the Securities and Investment Commission.

So, you as an investor must do a thorough check to be sure that the scheme you want to invest in, is approved by the commission.

It is expected according to Section 155 of the Act that a manager of the scheme should administer it honestly and fairly, with skill, care and diligence and in the interest of the investors and the securities company.

Also, the manager of the scheme must make full disclosure about the scheme to the investors.

Having stated the major legal principles governing collective investment scheme, it is pertinent to say that investors must cautiously choose the investment company they want to use and ensure that the management of the company is made up of men of integrity.

If at any moment you intend to opt out, you should know from the beginning the procedure for so doing and you should be ready to comply with the procedure before you seek legal redress. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal (Lagos Division) in OLADAPO V STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC & ANOR (2015) All FWLR (PART 783) 1887 is quite enlightening, eye-opening and instructive. I would do a summary of the fact of the case and the decision of the Court for all to learn from. In the case, the Appellant, a customer of the Respondents (the 2nd Respondent is the investment company of the 1st Respondent) invested

Our criminal laws that prescribe hasher punishments for vegetable or cell phone thief more than for people who steal billions of dollars is unacceptable to Nigerians.

This has to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.

A surgical operation must be carried out to fish out the “exparte or court injunction merchants’’ in the judiciary. It doesn’t matter if Buhari bends backward to deal with those that frustrated corruption cases by granting “perpetual injunctions’’ in the past.

Such judges must be tried and sent to jail to serve as deterrence.

legal clinic

By Olatunde Femi Abegunde Esq.ACOArb

m: +234-0803 967 7683; +234-0809 401 7911 e: pinnacle.chambers@yahoo.com, femabed2007@gmail.com f: Olatunde Abegunde & Associates-Pinnacle Chambers

N24, 000,000 (Twenty Four Million Naira) with the Respondents in what is called IBTC Ethical Fund.

After investing in the Fund which of course is a form of Collective Investment Scheme, the Appellant changed his mind and opted out. He instructed his lawyers to write the Respondents to freeze his account by stopping all investment on same.

The Respondents in response wrote back to say that they cannot freeze the Appellant’s account since his fund was now part of a pool of funds and that if he desired to end his investment, he should fill Redemption Form which they attached to the letter they wrote. The Appellant did not fill the form but rather instituted an action against the Respondents. The trial Judge dismissed the Appellant’s case and he appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Upholding the judgment of the trial court, the Court of Appeal held that by the nature of the Fund, the Appellant added his money to a pool of funds collected from many investors for “investment in a portfolio of equity securities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and in selected fixed income securities.”

The Court further held that the Appellant ought to have filled the form and submitted same to the Respondents when they sent

the form to him to fill so that he could have his investment redeemed, before approaching the trial court. As at the time of filing the appeal, the Appellant had lost over twelve million naira of his investment because in the eyes of the law, the investment was still revolving as long as the Appellant had not filled and returned the Redemption Form.

No doubt, the Appellant has the right of appeal to the final court of the landthe Supreme Court of Nigeria-but some thoughts occupied my mind as I read the report. I know that N24, 000,000 is not the kind of money you come across so easily and if you have it, it is certainly not something you want to allow to waste away like that.

Rather, you would want the money to increase from your investment. If this investor succeeds on appeal to Supreme Court, lucky him, but in the event that the Supreme Court upholds the decision of the Court of Appeal, the loss may just be forever. Maybe filling the Redemption Form and returning same would have saved this huge loss. Dear readers please get the benefits of professional opinions from the experts and legal opinion from your lawyers. A stitch in time may just save nine!

37

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

features

Editor: Bayo Alade featurestribune@yahoo.com 0805 500 1747

The sight of rickety vehicles is becoming a common occurrence in Lagos, with their attendant breakdown on major highways thereby causing traffic logjam on daily basis, writes BOLA BADMUS.

I

T is no longer news that Lagos State harbours the largest number of vehicles in the country as it also has the largest number of road networks. To that extent, all manners of vehicles are a common sight from the new ones just coming out from the factory commonly referred to as “tear rubber” to the serviceable, the fairly used and down to the smoking and rickety ones, which are neither road nor environment friendly. These vehicles which come in various brands, include long buses tagged LAGBUS and LAMATA, owned by state Agencies, for mass transportation of passengers or commuters, the popular molue and danfo, trucks, including those used for evacuation of filth called refuse disposal trucks, trailers, commercial and private cars, among others. The list is endless.

By merely looking at some of these vehicles, the impression one instantly gets is why should they still be allowed to ply the Lagos road in their physical condition?

This is because oftentimes, they are the ones that easily break down on the roads, causing traffic logjam in a state that is already terribly afflicted with worst traffic congestion compared with any other cities in Nigeria.

On the morning of Monday, October 5, 2015, a radio programme on Bond FM Station concerning traffic situation reported that two LAMATA buses said to have broken down not far from each other on Ikorodu Road, caused terrible traffic logjam in that axis of Lagos. A LASTMA officer in charge of that area, who spoke with the radio presenter, confirmed the report, and even went ahead to ascertain that the affected buses broke down because their batteries were bad.

Elsewhere same day, a driver, whose vehicle was said to have broken down around 5am, causing traffic build- up, was said to have refused to allow his vehicle to be towed by the authority responsible for road traffic management.

Recently at the popular Ojota BusStop, the sight of a smoking car was too terrifying as it made to journey through the little traffic jam around the area at a particular time one evening. Indeed, this correspondent initially thought there was a fire incident occurring at that spot before it finally dawn on him that it was a smoking car that was performing this wonder! The fume from the exhaust pipe of the car enveloped the entire environment at that moment, and it was so heavy to the extent that one could not see ahead for some seconds. Were the road to be free and other vehicles coming behind at a speed, perhaps there could have been one form of accident or the other, unless the affected drivers exercise patience to manoeuvre their way.

That was not the only instance anyway.

It is happening on daily basis and even, vehicles belonging to state government or

Rickety vehicles

The menace of rickety vehicles on Lagos roads agencies of government are not left out.

Some motorists can recall how they have had to take their time, exercising a lot of patience by waiting for an opportune time before they could overtake on the highways smoking trucks, including articulated vehicles. And the vehicles in this condition have a peculiar character, they are very sluggish on the road because their engines, so to say, are gone and, therefore, needed to be replaced completely or repaired through what they refer to in common parlance as “re- ring” of the engine.

But what is the agency of government responsible for safety on the road doing about the problem? Speaking recently, the Assistant Corps Marshal of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Zone 2 Command of Lagos and Ogun states, Nseobong Akpabio said the Commission has not been folding its arms watching the situation, but has always been ensuring that offenders were always brought to book each time they were arrested.

According to Akpabio, road traffic offenders have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment within the Zone 2 Command of Lagos and Ogun states for driving overloaded vehicles on the highway contrary to the FRSC Act, National Road Traffic Regulations, Lagos and Ogun states Laws, among other subsisting laws and regulations.

Specifically, he said 400 drivers had been arrested between January and May, 2015 within the zone for driving overloaded

vehicles, while, according to him, 200 vehicles were arrested during the period for excessive smoke emissions.

However, Akpabio said the Corps did not pay premium to the payment of fines but education of road users so as to change their negative attitude.

“If we were to focus on fines, nobody would pass the roads without being apprehended. We work with the mindset of changing the attitude of road users, in line with the FRSC Act, which empowers the corps to work towards making the highway

Boboye Oyeyemi, had earlier in the year warned operators of rickety vehicles plying the nation’s highways to remove them or face prosecution and confiscation of the vehicles.

safe for motorists and other road users,” he said.

It would be recalled that the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi, had early in the year warned operators of rickety vehicles plying the nation’s highways to remove them or face prosecution and confiscation of the vehicles.

Oyeyemi said the Corps took the decision in order to further reduce road traffic crashes across the country.

The exercise, which, according to him was to have commenced on March 1, 2015, was part of the Corps’ commitment towards sustaining the tempo of its operational activities and to create safer motoring environment in the country as well as reduce road traffic crashes by 20 per cent and fatalities by 30 per cent.

Oyeyemi, while recalling the common sight of poorly maintained vehicles on the country’s highways which often broke down, resulting in obstructions of traffic flow, warned motorists to ensure regular maintenance of their vehicles in view of inherent traffic hazards associated with abandoned broken-down vehicles especially at night.

But with the warning already issued, the question Nigerians would want an answer to is: to what extent has such order been complied with by Nigerian motorists and what has become of the violators and their vehicles?

38

features

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

An unusual job creator •How youth corps member empowered 1000 graduates

Oderinu

Graduates at the training programme

Uduakabasi Patrick-Port Harcourt

T

aking heed of the age-long anthem of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), “Youths obey the clarion call; let’s us lift our nation high; with dedication and selflessness..Nigeria we serve”, Joseph Oderinu, currently a 2014 Batch C corps member serving in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, picked up the gauntlet and decided to do the unusual in his quest to give succour to the unemployed in the society.

It is a usual thing for youth corps members to embark upon various forms of projects for their Community Development Service (CDS) while serving in their areas of primary assignment. Some of these projects included building of toilets facilities in schools and public places, libraries, ICT centres and billboards, among others.

However, Oderinu, who hails from Osun State and a graduate of Accounting from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, chose a different path as he embraced a training programme for graduates in the local government area where he is currently serving. His targeted beneficiaries were about 1,000 graduates, from all disciplines, he told Nigerian Tribune during the graduate training programme, held recently in Port Harcourt.

When asked what informed his departure from the norm, Oderinu, the third child out of six children born to Pastor and Mrs Femi Oderinu of the Gospel Faith Mission International, said he was passionate about seeing people, especially youths, making improvement in acquiring skills and having financial freedom. This according to him, has made him to embark on training of about 1,000 fresh graduates in a series of workshops and to also seek to provide jobs for about 100 participants as part of his CDS, instead of embarking on the usual project of painting and building of classrooms as a CDS project during the service year.

Speaking further, the youth corps mem-

ber said he had collaborated with some telecommunication companies and ITC firms to make the project a reality adding that: “When I came to Rivers State, I discovered that the government gives amnesty to young people and when this is done, they (the youths) still remain the same. So I thought it wise to organise a training programme for fresh graduates to improve themselves.

“If 1,000 people are enlightened and trained and 100 get the jobs in this project, it will go a long way in making our society a better place. The other 900 graduates who could not get the job would be trained on how to create jobs for themselves.”

The young man also described the project as humanitarian, disclosing that, while he personally approached some of the companies for assistance, he also prevailed on some of his well-established uncles in Lagos who have links to help him in actualising the project.

He said one of the current challenges facing Nigeria was unemployment, adding that he had however seized the opportunity to link up with these firms, knowing that corps

If 1,000 people are enlightened and trained and 100 get the jobs in this project, it will go a long way in making our society a better place.

members could walk into any organisation in their uniforms.

“I wore my NYSC Khaki to some companies and there they also directed me to some other firms who needed staff. I went through the Human Resources Departments of companies; I called some of their offices in Lagos to link us up with their offices here in Port Harcourt and I made calls to some of my big uncles who know some of these prominent recruiting companies and followed them up on my behalf. Now, we have about 15 companies that have given us their word,” he said.

Oderinu mentioned some of the companies which had assisted him include Quantum Project, Linksnet Institute, Ben and Christy Consulting, Dietams International School and Cooperative arm of Total Nigeria. He added: “For the recruitments, some companies have already started interviewing some persons who made it through the first stage. They will be in three batches; the second and the third batches will be contacted by the companies very soon. We are having this set of people today because their course of study tallies with what the companies want. It is not that they are too fortunate but the ICT firms, communication firms and logistics firms need these set of people.

The corps member disclosed that it took him about six months to bring the project together, adding that getting across to the companies was very challenging because some of the companies had to change the time and pattern of recruitment. He, however, stressed that the project was not his first CDS. “ I did a project for my CDS by getting 30minutes free air time on a private radio station. When I came to Rivers State, I discovered that the NYSC in the state was using the government station. So I decided to contact other private stations in the state and they gave us the time and we ran a programme tagged ‘AJUWAYA’. The programme is supposed to continue running

even after I might have finished my service year,” he said.

Oderinu also disclosed that he embarked upon a sensitisation programme during the last general election, adding: “During the elections, we worked with an NGO in Port Harcourt. We went round about eight local government areas and we sensitised people on election violence; we tagged it ‘Election no be war.’ We acted drama on the street for people to see and we shared fliers and posters.”

He added that he was spurred into action because he, as a young child, was not expected to have any appreciable chance to survive. According to him, he had some health challenges when he growing up and the medical doctors had said that he was not going to pull through but God had seen him through all.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune at the graduate training programme, a young graduate who was among the 100 persons invited for job interview, Akinrinbola Oluwatosin Samuel, said that he was a serving corps member in Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state and that he would be rounding off his training later this month. He said he decided to be a part of the programme having come across the information through the internet. He said, on confirming the authenticity of the programme, he registered and took part in the training which had exposed him to many things he never knew before. Akinrinbola maintained that he was shortlisted for the interview and was assured that he would be called shortly.

Another beneficiary, Ayodele Oluwaseyi Damilola, said he was surprised that his fellow corps member was embarking on such a huge project by seeking jobs for fresh graduates. He said he confirmed the authenticity of the programme by checking if money would be extorted from him and the other participants. According to him, this had not been the case up to the point of the interview.

39

news

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

Tribunal upholds Melaiye’s election Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja

T

HE National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Monday, affirmed the election of the senator representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaiye.

The tribunal, in its judg-

ment that lasted two hours, dismissed the petition brought by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Smart Adeyemi, against the declaration of Melaiye as the winner of the election.

According to the Justice Akon Ikepeme-led tribunal, the four issues formulated for determination were resolved in favour of the respondents.

The court said the petitioner did not prove the allegation of corrupt practices made against the respondents as he did not justify the claim that votes were allotted to the first respondent indiscriminately.

It also said since the onus of proof lies on the petitioner, he had failed to show the ward by ward, polling unit by unit malpractices that were alleged to have been

Kwara Central election: Saraki, Abdulrahman know fate today Biola Azeez - Ilorin THE Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, is billed to deliver judgement in a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 28 Kwara Central Senatorial election, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, against Dr Bukola Saraki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) today.

The three-man tribunal panel is led by Justice Josiah Majebi.

The PDP candidate, in a petition marked NAT/LEG/

EPT/IL/2/2015 is challenging Senator Saraki’s victory, claiming that he won majority votes and he should be declared winner.

The Nigerian Tribune also gathered that the Justice Josiah Majebi-led three-man tribunal panel would on the whole deliver four judgements.

Other matters are Lola Ashiru vs Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South Senatorial District); Babatunde Olusola vs Olufunke Adedoyin and Tajudeen Abioye vs Tope Olayonu both House of Representatives cases.

Appeal court strikes out Otti’s appeal to call more witnesses THE Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri on Monday struck out an appeal for extension of time to call more witnesses filed by Dr Alex Otti, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in 2015 poll.

Otti had challenged the decision of the lower tribunal sitting in Umuahia which refused his application in a petition against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In his judgment, Justice Jimmy Bada held that the tribunal did the right thing by refusing the application.

Bada, who delivered judgment written by the five-man panel, held that it would amount to waking up a dead person if after the parties had submitted final addresses and fresh witness were allowed.

He noted that the application failed on three issues presented before the court, saying, “it was also wrong for the applicant to fail to front load the pre-trial material from the lower tribunal.”

He said that non-front loading of the pre-trial materials amounted to acceptance of the decision of the lower tribunal, adding “the appeal court can only decide based on evidence before it.”

He upheld Chief Wale

Olanipekun, counsel to Ikpeazu, argument that Otti’s decision to file the appeal was “mere academic exercise.”

“Though counsel to the applicant noted that there would be life in the matter if the appeal succeeds, reopening a matter for fresh evidence when final addresses have been submitted is alien to our law.’’

It was gathered from lawyers involved in the matters that the tribunal had communicated the judgment date to them as promised by the chairman on September 4, 2015 when final written addresses were adopted.

While adopting his final written address, counsel to Saraki, Mallam Yusuf OlaOlu Ali, had asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition, saying the petitioner failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

Mallam Ali also observed that a Forensic Report tendered in evidence was dated March 28, 2014, a year before the contested poll was conducted.

“The date shows the document was prepared in anticipation of the election,” the legal luminary submitted.

He also said that the four volume of forensic analysis report suffered “incurable and fundamental afflictions.”

He said the report was prepared by a Lagos-based forensic analyst, Mrs Nkolly Asika Obumse, who is also the wife of Abdulrasaq’s counsel, Francis Obumse.

perpetrated during the March 28 election.

The tribunal also held that Adeyemi was unable to prove the case of non compliance with the Electoral Act, saying though there were cases of malpractices but such did not substantially affected the results of the election.

It stated that it could not uphold the petition as the petitioner failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he scored the highest number of lawful votes cast in the election.

On the allegation of non

just as He delayed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory for the right time. Our victory came at the right time, as it was eagerly expected all over the world.

It also removed the tag of ridicule and stain, which our opponent’s false emergence placed on the good, morally upright and hardworking people of Ogun East Senato-

Jude Ossai - Enugu REPRIEVE came the way of the former governor of Enugu State, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, on Monday, as the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu nullified the result of the Enugu East senatorial election held on March 28 and ordered that fresh election be conducted in the senatorial district within 90 days.

Ex-governor Nnamani, a one time senator and founder of Ebeano political group, is of the Peoples Democratic Change (PDC) while Senator Gil Nnaji is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The tribunal held that the election did not comply with the 2010 Electoral Act as it was marred by irregularities.

Delivering judgement on the petition on Monday, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Matthew Adewara, said allegations of altera-

rial District.”

“Our people knew the social, political, economic, cultural, and even religious position and marks of our senatorial district in Nigeria. They knew the right and befitting candidate they voted for. My victory at the tribunal is therefore the victory of the people of Ogun East Senatorial District.”

tion of results, mutilations and cancellation were proven by the petitioners and nullified the result.

Relying heavily on the evidence of the forensic ex-

CROSS River State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Calabar on Monday dismissed a petition filed

by Labour Party candidate, Dr Alex Egbona, seeking the nullification of the election of Honourable Bassey Ewa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Abi/Yakurr federal House of Representatives election.

The Labour Party candidate had challenged the declaration of the PDP candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the March 28, 2015 election.

He had prayed the tribunal to nullify the election, claiming that the election was not conducted in compliance with the provisions of the electoral act and that it was fraught with irregu-

pert, who testified on behalf of Nnamani, the tribunal held that irregularities alleged in the conduct of the election were “gross and fundamental.”

... upholds PDP senator’s election in C/River Ubong Anthony - Calabar THE Cross River State National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, upheld the declaration of Mr Gershom Bassey of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the Southern Senatorial district election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The candidate of the Labour Party in the said election, Prince Bassey Otu, had filed a petition, challenging the declaration of Gershom as winner of the March 28, 2015 election.

Bassey had alleged that the election was characterised by irregularities and electoral malpractices, alleging breach of the guidelines set out by INEC for the conduct of the election.

He had also alleged that the PDP candidate was not duly fielded as the party’s candidate for the election, urging the tribunal to order for a fresh election.

Delivering judgment, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice O.A. Adeniyi, dis-

C/River tribunal dismisses LP candidate’s petition Ubong Anthony - Calabar

mary election.

Justice Ikpeme, however, said the tribunal had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the reports brought by the witnesses as the results attached to them were the same.

The tribunal, therefore, said it found and held that Melaiye was validly returned as the candidate of the party who polled the majority of the lawful votes cast, refusing all the five reliefs sought by Adeyemi.

It dismissed the petition as lacking in merit.

Tribunal nullifies Enugu East senatorial election, calls for fresh poll

The judgement is God’s doing—Abiodun

By Seun Fayiga THE All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ogun East Senatorial District during the last general election, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has described his victory at the Election Petition Tribunal, which nullified the election of business mogul, Mr Buruji Kashamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the handiwork of God. In a statement issued in Iperu Remo, on Monday, he also described the success of his petition as a victory for the people of his senatorial district.

He said the victory did not come only at the right time but also saved Ogun East people from ridicule.

“My victory, though delayed, came at God’s time, which is the best. It is to serve a purpose. God delayed the victory of Joseph in the Bible for the right time,

qualification of Melaiye to contest the election over failure to participate in party primary election, the court said two reports were tendered on the conduct of the primary election.

The tribunal noted that while one originated from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja claiming there was no primary, another one was tendered by the respondents, which was said to have emanated from INEC headquarters affirming the conduct of the pri-

larities.

The petitioner had also prayed the tribunal to order for a fresh election.

But chairman of the reconstituted tribunal, A. O. Adeniyi, in his judgment dismissed the petition and resolved all issues in favour of the respondents.

The tribunal ruled that the petitioners have failed to establish evidence of electoral malpractices to warrant nullification of the election.

missed the petitions and resolved all issues in favour of the respondents. He also set aside earlier rulings given by the erstwhile Chairman, Justice Christopher Awubra, following an application by lead counsel to PDP candidates, Paul Erokoro, challenging his competence to sit as the chairman since he is a customary court judge and not a high court judge as required by law.

Tribunal upholds Lam-Adesina’s victory THE National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan on Monday struck out the petition of Accord Party candidate, Olugbenga Adewusi, challenging the victory of Dapo Lam-Adesina of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Adewusi had challenged the declaration of Lam-Adesina by INEC as the winner of the March 28 election in Ibadan North East/ South East Federal Constituency.

He had prayed the tribunal to declare the election of Lam-Adesina as void, alleging non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act as amended.

But delivering the judgment, the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, said the petition lacked merit.

She consequently struck out the petition and declared Lam-Adesina as the winner of the election.

Taiwo stated that the petitioner invited nine witnesses, with most of them raising the issue of wrong ballot papers used for the election in the federal constituency.

news UNICAL shut down over students’ protest 40

Ubong Anthony-Calabar

A

fter hours of demonstration by students of the University of Calabar, on Monday, the institution’s authority has closed the school for two weeks.

Speaking to journalists on the outcome of management meeting, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Eyo Offiong, said the closure is meant to address the issues raised by the students.

“Yes, I can confirm that the school has been shut down to address the issues raised by the students.

The school will be closed for two weeks and that will decide what happens,” Eyo said.

Crisis erupted at the University of Calabar, as protesting students blocked roads linking the university in protest against the manner the Vice Chancellor, Professor James Epoke, is handling the affairs of the

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

students.

The protest, which reportedly began at about 5.30 a.m., created panic and confusion as workers and traders got stranded along the adjoining roads linking the university, especially Etta Agbor and Mary Slessor roads.

According to a student leader who did not want his name in print, students have been staying without light and water in the hostels for more than three weeks and the school authority was doing nothing about it.

“Do you know that rats come to eat our legs when we sleep because everywhere is bushy and there is no light for more than three weeks now? Again, we have not had water for months now and students have to go long distances into the town to fetch water,” he complained.

He blamed the situation on the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Epoke, alleging that the VC was not concerned about students’ welfare because his tenure expires next month.

A student from the English and Linguistics department of the university who gave his name simply as Jerome, claimed that the Vice Chancellor was the reason for the crisis, saying the students had to demonstrate outside the university because “the last time we demonstrated within the school premises, they charged us for damages.”

He claimed that students were tired of the nonchalant attitude of the Vice Chancellor and “the protest is to send him out be-

fore his tenure expires next month.”

There was heavy security presence as armed policemen were stationed at the Mary Slessor/Marian roundabout, about 700 metres away from the main gate of the university while the students massed in front of the gate, chanting anti-Epoke songs.

When contacted on telephone, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Epoke said the students have the right to protest, but assured that the situation would soon be resolved.

‘Oil boom has become oil doom’

By Oluyomi Fashakin

THE Bishop of Ilesa South West, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt Reverend S. O. Egbebunmi, has lamented that Nigeria had been milked to the extent that her oil boom has become oil doom.

He, however, charged every Nigerian to be in tune with the present change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Egbebunmi, guest preacher during the 49th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the Immanuel College Chapel, Ibadan, on Sunday, further encouraged the congregation to persevere and endure as it was only a difficult time for the nation.

Also at the event, Presbyter and chairman, Chapel Committee, Very Reverend W. A. Egbetakin, called on Nigerians to be patient and cooperate with the current administration for a safe landing.

“We should be patient with the incumbent, President Muhamadu Buhari.

We thank God that he has sent the list of the first batch of ministers to the Senate to be screened.

“Though this people might not be saints, but they are people who would cooperate and do this nation proud so that the nation will not be dragged into disrepute before the international community,” he said.

Protesting students of University of Calabar, on Monday.

Drama as 88-year-old pensioner storms pension agency after receiving payments Christian Okeke-Abuja

IT was a melodrama of sort as an 88-year-old civil service pensioner; Pa Joshua Jegede stormed the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), in Abuja, to express his appreciation on

the timely payment of his monthly pension.

Jegede, who said he was elated receiving his pension after a long wait noted that he decided to approach the agency in order to express his appreciation.

“Nigerians should learn to say it when things are

working well and not only when things go wrong,” he said while speaking at the agency.

Jegede disclosed that he started his civil service career in January 1951, adding that although he is retired but he, certainly, is not tired.

Abia disburses N14bn bailout fund to MDAs CelestineIhejirika-Umuahia

IN its determination to keep to the promise to use the Federal Government bailout strictly for the purpose of clearing workers’ salaries arrears, with end of October as deadline, the Abia State government has commenced the disbursement of its share of N14.152 billion.

This is even as the total debt so far captured by the committee, constituted by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to handle the disbursement of the fund as at its last week’s sitting, was about N8 billion.

Chairman of Abia State Council of Nigeria Labour

Congress (NLC), Comrade Uchenna Obigwe, who is a member of the committee, disclosed in Umuahia that the money for the payment of Local Government workers has been paid to the Joints Accounts Committee with instructions for the opening of a Local Government Bailout Account where the money would be transferred and disbursed to the workers to ensure transparency.

According to Obigwe, the workers in the sectors so far captured would begin to receive bank payment alerts from this week, and urged the workers to be patient, assuring that ev-

erything was being done to ensure that the disbursement was smooth.

Meanwhile, the state Public Service Negotiating Council (PSNC) has dissociated itself from the demand made by the factional NLC chairman, Comrade Obigwe, for an additional N25billion for the state.

Reacting to the demands made by Comrade Obigwe, the state chairman, JointNegotiating Council, Comrade Chris Okoro, wondered why the factional leadership of NLC should make such unwarranted call since the committee have not concluded its assignments.

He commended the Director General of PTAD, Nellie Mayshak, for cleaning up the pension register and ending corruption in the payment system.

Responding, Mayshak expressed delight at the visit and assured the pensioner that the agency was committed to ensuring that the pensioners get their due benefits.

She disclosed that a total of 750 regular police pensioners and next of kins have already started receiving their gratuities and monthly pensions.

According to her, the 750 pensioners comprise 529 regular police retirees and 221 next of kins.

The DG recalled that PTAD, which is charged with the responsibility of pension management of the Defined Benefit Scheme for pensioners who did not transit to the Contributory Pension Scheme, had conducted verification exercise for police pensioners in March this year, in which over 18,000 police pensioners were verified.

Bursary: Delta govt warns banks, students over collusion Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

Banks which collude with students to defraud Delta State Government under the Students Special Assistant Scheme (SSAS) have been warned to desist or face the music.

Executive Secretary of the Delta State Bursary and Scholarship Board, Comrade Elijah Ologe, who also warned students of the state origin against double entry in the scheme, noted that students who have since graduated from school still apply for assistance using forged documents.

Ologe, who spoke to reporters in Asaba, on Monday, said the board would not condone any fraudulent act, and has set machinery in motion to fish out such dubious students, adding that it was no longer going to be business as usual.

While enjoining student’s union leaders not to betray the confidence reposed on them by indulging in illicit acts, he said the board would not hesitate to expose anyone trying to use the names of students to enrich himself.

FRCN boss, Ladan Saliu, tasks broadcasters to be more committed Bola Badmus-Lagos

Director-General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr Ladan Saliu, has tasked broadcasters in the country to rededicate themselves to quality service delivery, declaring that broadcasting is about the public and being a broadcaster makes one a citizen of the world, irrespective of whether one was of Hausa,Yoruba or Igbo background.

The director-general said this at the Merit Award ceremony organised by the Lagos zone of the corporation in recognition of staff, members of management and radio stations that had distinguished themselves in service delivery over time.

Saliu also charged the staff and management to appreciate the fact that today’s audience was getting very sophisticated.

According to him, the demands of the public are getting very intellectually robust coupled with the onslaught of the social media, saying that in itself was redefining the general landscape of the media industry generally.

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Tuesday, 15 October, 2015

Almajir syndrome, time bomb in need of urgent attention —Kano gov Kola Oyelere - Kano

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ANO State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has described the Almajir syndrome in northern Nigeria, as a time bomb that should be addressed urgently.

He also commended the Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha’s foresight in establishing Rochas Foundation College, Kano.

This was just as Chief Okorocha said that his aim in establishing the Rochas Foundation College was to assist children of the less privileged in the society to acquire qualitative education which their parents could not afford.

Ganduje, who disclosed this on Monday, in Kano, at the graduation ceremony of over 2,000 students of the school, held at Rochas Foundation College, said the establishment of the school by Okorocha has gone a long way in boosting education standard in the state, as most Almajirs benefited.

Speaking at the occasion, Alhaji Maitama Yusuff, the ‘’Danmassanin Kano,’’ who noted that the Rochas Foundation School, Kano has opened the state to another world, adding that Governor Okorocha’s gesture would make parents of these children not to forget him in life.

According to him, if other notable and wealthy individuals in the society could emulate Governor Okorocha, by providing education to children in

the society, they would have helped in building a future society.

However, in his own speech on the occasion, Okorocha called on the 2,000 students to see the establishment of the school as part of his contribution

to the society.

Talking to the students, Governor Okorocha said, ‘’you owe me nothing, but you owe the country something,’’ even as he charged them to be good ambassadors of the country.

He also promised to

build more of the type of the school in Sokoto, Niger, Nassarawa and Gombe states, noting that education is the only veritable legacy parents can bequeath to their children.

Governor Ganduje promised to donate a school bus

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State (right), registering Nasara Ibrahim into Primary One at Sada Primary School, during the launch of 2015 pupils enrollment drive campaign, in Kankia, Katsina State, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Hajj stampede: Kano confirms 16 pilgrims dead The Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board said, on Monday, that 16 of its pilgrims had so far been confirmed dead during the recent stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

Alhaji Nuhu Badamasi, the Public Relations Officer of the board, disclosed the figure in an interview

with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Kano.

“As I am talking to you now, 16 of our pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the stampede in Mina,’’ Badamasi said.

He said the deceased had since been buried in the Holy land as requested by their relations.

On the number of Kano pilgrims that have so far been transported back home, the public relations officer said 1, 700 pilgrims had returned.

He said the pilgrims who were transported back

by Max Airline, in three flights, were from 10 local government areas of the

Treat psychiatric patients with dignity —CMD, Akure Neuropsychiatric hospital Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

A call has gone to the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to formulate policies and legislations that will protect and prohibit inhuman and degrading treatment of people suffering from psychosocial disabilities.

The Chief Medical Director of Neuropsychiatric Specialist Hospital, Akure, in Ondo State, Dr Sajo Sunday, who stated this during the 2015 World Mental Health Day, said this will help to protect people with mental health issues against inhuman and degrading treatment in the society.

Dr Sunday, while speaking on this year’s theme of the World Mental Health day, titled “Dignity in

to the school.

Among important personalities that graced the occasion were governors from Sokoto, Niger, Kano, while deputy governors from Gombe and Jigawa states were also in attendance.

Mental Health,” identified stigmatisation, shame, discrimination and lack of access to care as some of the factors militating against successful treatment of patients with mental disorder in the country and sought the assistance of the government in reducing these challenges faced by people with psycho-social disabilities.

The CMD noted that some of these factors prevent people with mental illness in the country from seeking treatment on timely basis and sought for the need for dignity in mental health services and change in public perception.

He said “Dignity is every individual’s birthright.

But too often, people with mental health challenges have had their dignity

taken away by stigma, discrimination and forceful or negative treatment.

“In addition, they are subject to emotional, physical and sexual abuse in mental health facilities as

well as in the community.

“Poor quality of care due to a lack of qualified mental health professionals and dilapidated mental health facilities can also lead to further violations.”

state.

“The pilgrims that have so far returned home are from Municipal, Gwarzo, Karaye, Kiru, Rogo, Shanono, Tudun Wada, Doguwa, Kura and Bunkure local government areas,” he said.

Badamasi said the fourth flight, carrying about 530 pilgrims, was already on their way to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, for their onward journey to Nigeria.

He commended Max Air for keeping to its flight schedules since the commencement of the return transportation exercise, and urged the company to sustain the tempo.

NDC commends Ondo giant strides, begins facility tour The National Defence College, Abuja, has lauded the infrastructural and human capital development put in place by the Ondo State government, even as members of Course 24 from the College, begin a geo-strategic study tour of the state.

The Commandant of the College, Rear Admiral NP Agholor, while acknowledging what he described as the Dr Olusegun Mimiko led government’s visionary and purposeful leadership, achieved through courage, foresight

and legendary style of governance, said the theme for the Course 24 geo-strategic study tour is ‘Internally generated revenue as catalyst for development in the state: Challenges and prospects in ondo State’.

In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Honourable Kayode Akinmade, activities lined up for the programme include: facility tour of the medical village, Agric Village, Isikan Neighbourhood market, mega primary school, semi-

mechanised abattoir, international event centre (Dome) and Cocoa Board, among others, as well as courtesy visit on the Osemawe of Ondo and Deji of Akure.

As part of the tour which is expected to end on Sunday, there will also be briefings and presentations on the profile of the sunshine state, prospects for improving internally generated revenue, economic and investment opportunities in Ondo State and challenges of optimising internally generated revenue in the state.

Rape culprit risks 14-yr jail term Kola Oyelere - Kano

DISTURBED by the high rate of rape cases in Kano State, the state has finally approved a 14-year jail term without option of fine as minimum punishment for rape culprits.

Solicitor General, Mukthar Daneji, noted that it was worrisome that many innocent children have become victims of this gruesome attitude from the hands of disgruntled elements in the society.

Disclosing this while speaking on Monday, during Justice for All Conference in the state, the Solicitor General added that the punishment for rape, which used to be one or two years or fine was renewed to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Daneji noted that the punishment was increased because of the rapid rise in rape cases in the state.

Gov Badaru leads Jigawa delegation to trade fair Adamu Amadu - Dutse

THE Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, is going to China for six days to attend Chinese International Medical Equipment Trade Fair.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Abba Zakari Umar, disclosed this on Monday, while speaking to newsmen in Dutse, capital city of the state, said the governor would use the opportunity to see and place order for medical equipment in line with his policy to equip the state’s health facilities with modern working materials for effective service delivery.

Dr Umar explained that, “I’m among the state’s delegation to accompany the governor.”

“The state government likes to attend International Medical Equipment Trade Fair in China to use the opportunity to purchase some medical equipment in the trade fair.”

The Commissioner explained “after my appointment, I went round the state and inspected all our hospitals and discovered that there is shortage of working facilities. The governor agreed to attends the fair and purchase the facilities for two reasons, first to get modern facilities and the second at cheaper prices.”

42 news

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

INEC recruits 13, 052 ad hoc staff for Kogi guber election —Official

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HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has recruited 13,052 ad hoc staff that will assist it in the conduct of the governorship election holding in Kogi State, on November 21.

Don’t release Kogi’s bailout, group tells FG Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja DESPITE threat by workers in Kogi State over nonrelease of bailout fund to the state government, a youth group in the state, the Kogi Youth Leadership Summit, on Monday, asked the Federal Government not to release the fund until the governorship election in the state had been conducted.

The group, during a protest at the Lokoja office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), also urged the apex bank not to release the money meant for the payment of salary arrears of workers in the state.

The president of the association, Silas Egbita, said they were predicating their position on the history of the present administration regarding disbursement of public fund, noting that the money might be misappropriated.

The placard carrying youth which marched through the stadium to the CBN headquarters to deliver their message, had placard with inscriptions like, “we don’t want bail out now”, “CBN hold the release of bail- out fund till after election”, among others.

It will be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, had last weekend, threatened showdown over the continued withholding of the N51 billion bailout due to the state.

Secretary in INEC state office, Mr Mailafia Adison, who disclosed this on Monday, in Lokoja, said the ad hoc staff were 12, 536 poll officials, 255 supervisory presiding officers, 239 registration collation officers, 21 registration area collation officers and one state returning officer.

He said the ad hoc staff were picked after a thorough screening, to ascertain their suitability for the jobs, adding that they would undergo training soon.

Adison, who spoke at a forum organised by INEC for

civil society organisations, youth groups and people living with disabilities, said that additional 584 voting centres had been created with more than 1, 000 registered voters.

He stated further that designated voting centres for the election had increased from 2,548 to 3,134.

He also reiterated INEC’s readiness to conduct free and fair election, urging people living with disabilities to come en masse and vote as adequate measures had been put in place to make the

process all- inclusive.

The INEC Deputy Director in charge of voter education and publicity, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony charged election observers to take the coming election seriously and carry out the assignment with patriotism and high sense of responsibility.

She urged people living with disabilities to participate in the exercise with their votes, saying adequate measures had put in place to accommodate them and other vulnerable groups during the election.

Oriaran-Anthony said

Gridlock on the outer northern expressway at Kagini near Kubwa in Abuja, on Monday. Photo: NAN

PDP accuses Audu of incitement, violence Allegations baseless —Audu Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, on Monday, accused the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Abubakar Audu of engaging in incitement, violence and hate campaigns.

Addressing newsmen in Lokoja, the state capital,

the publicity secretary of the party, Bode Ogunmola, alleged that Audu had been going about inciting his supporters to “kill” members of the PDP that he branded as thugs.

The party expressed worry that the peaceful atmosphere in the state is being threatened, due to assignment given to the supporters of the APC by its gover-

norship candidate.

“We in the PDP are excited that this season offers us a rare privilege to give account of the tenure of our governor of the state, Capt Idris Wada and to showcase his superlative achievements in the year under review, despite the daunting challenges of perilously reduced resources.

“It also offers us an op-

I am not an ethnic candidate —LP candidate Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja GOVERNORSHIP candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Kogi State, Dr Phillips Salawu, has said his candidacy was not meant to represent sectional interest.

He said he was contesting the election in order to rescue the state from the situation it found itself,

the forum was organised to fashion out ways to ensure a peaceful, secure, all-inclusive and successful election that would serve as a benchmark for subsequent elections in the country.

The state chairman of the Association of People Living With Disabilities, Mr Ahmadu Hassan, in his remark, commended the commission for the steps taken to guarantee participation of disabled persons in the coming election.

This was just as he requested INEC to recruit members of the association as ad hoc staff in the election.

under the governments of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last 12 years.

Salawu, who said this in Lokoja, the state capital, during the inauguration of his campaign committee, said although he supported power shift in the state, he was not a candidate of any ethnic group.

The former deputy gov-

ernor under the PDP administration of governor Ibrahim Idris, said there was the need for the people of the state to come together and salvage it.

According to him, the people of Ebira, Okun and Igala belonged to one entity that could not be divided by any divisive tendencies.

“This project has been popularly named ‘The idea

of the time’. It is a project specially designed by God to rescue, revive and restore the lost glory of Kogi State which will be achieved through fairness, equity and justice to all.”

The deputy governorship candidate, Yusuf Dantale, urged the people of the state to vote for the LP because he had been part of them.

portunity to unfold our programmes for the people of Kogi State for the next tenure, these we have resolved to do responsibly and within the confines of law regulating electioneering in our country.

“We are, however, jolted that one of our challengers, the APC candidate has adopted incitment, to hatred and violence as a fulcrum of his campaign,” Ogunmola said.

Reacting to the allegations, however, the APC governorship candidate said the allegations were baseless and only meant to tarnish his image.

Audu said the allegations were tissues of lies fabricated by the PDP to paint him black before the electorate that had decided to vote en masse for him.

He said as a statesman he could not have incited his supporters to be killing the people he is aspiring to rule.

Kogi, Bayelsa: PDP mocks APC’s anti-corruption stand JacobSegunOlatunjiandLeon Usigbe - Abuja THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, wrote off the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

A former Kogi State governor, Prince Abubakar Audu is the governorship candidate of the party in the state while former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, will represent APC in the state.

The party in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Monday, by its national. publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, drew the attentioin of “Nigerians, particularly the people of Kogi and Bayelsa states to note the corruption credentials of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship elections in the states.”

It described as “a shameful irony and display of crass hypocrisy, the fact that a ruling party that prides itself as an anti-corruption crusader, will field candidates being held on corruption charges, saying such has further exposed the insincerity of the APC.” According to the PDP, “it is a mockery of strategy that the APC which has been touting the fight against corruption as its major policy, would present to the people the two candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship elections in the states.”

The statement read in part: “In Kogi, we have the APC brazenly fielding for the November 21 governorship election, Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor of the state that was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption, and who is now facing charges before the court, of breach of trust, embezzling and appropriating the sum of N10.9 billion meant for the development of his state.

“In the same vein, in Bayelsa State, the APC is fielding for the December 5 election, Chief Timipre Sylva, also a former governor of the state, who is similarly before the court on charges of embezzlement of a staggering sum of N19.2 billion belonging to Bayelsa State.”

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08050498505, 08055444397 tribunecommunitynews@yahoo.com

Town hall meetings aid rural development —Owo residents hakeem gbadamosi akure

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he people and residents of Owo community, in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, have commended the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, for his regular town hall meeting with the people of the state, saying this has aided development and helped to boost the scorecard of the governor.

The people, who stated this last week Wednesday during a town hall meeting of the state government and the people of the community, noted that the meeting affords government the opportunity of knowing the needs of the people.

Speaking on behalf of the people, Chief Tayo Aisida, noted that many communities in the state had benefited from the present administration in the state through the town hall meeting.

Aisida recalled that a similar meeting was held in 2011 where the people of the community demanded

for certain facilities which the Mimiko administration promised to execute, saying that “today to the glory

of God, most of the projects promised by the governor have been executed.”

He listed the projects

executed by the Mimiko administration to include the dualisation of major roads in Owo town, construction

The Commander of the Medical Services and Hospital, 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Adekola Dada (second right) and another doctor attending to community members, during the medical outreach at Ojoo Market in Ibadan, at the weekend. PHOTO: TOYIN MALIK.

Nigerian Army renders medical service to communities in Ibadan by oluwatoyin malik

The Commander, Medical Services and Hospital, 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, Brigadier-General Adekola Dada, has said that the medical services extended to civilians was because the military believes in civil-military cooperation and does not operate in isolation.

He stated this recently during a free medical outreach organised by the 2 Division for residents of Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. The outreach took place for a week, starting from Thursday, October 1 to Wednesday, October 7, 2015, and was carried out at Ojoo and Kara markets, both in Akinyele community.

Community News learnt that the outreach also took place concurrently at different medical facilities of the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army in Benin, Akure and Warri, though coordinated from the headquarters of the 2 Division Medical Services and Hospital.

A wide range of services were rendered to the com-

munity members as they were treated for dental problems, with dental surgeons carrying out scaling and polishing of the teeth; blood pressure measurement, screening for diabetes, malaria and eye examination, among others.

The commander disclosed that the beneficiaries were primarily civilians.

He said: “We don’t operate in isolation, we operate as a sub-set of the Nigerian population.

What we are doing today spans over a wide area of the division’s area of responsibility. The civilmilitary cooperation is in keeping with the vision of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, that is, the professional responsiveness of the Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.”

Brigadier-General Dada further said the outreach was also “to make sure that we take care of the communities around us.

We do that on a daily basis. When emergencies come to our facilities, we

attend to them. We don’t drive them away because they are not military people. We attend to them, stabilise them, and advise them on how to further their treatment.”

A 62-year-old beneficiary, Madam Faderera Oladejo, told Community News that she heard of the outreach through a friend and decided to ac-

cess the services. She stated that she has high blood pressure and cataract in one eye which was almost affecting the other eye. She appreciated the services rendered and the way she was treated with respect.

Also, Oti Ikechukwu, who lives at Cocacola area of Ibadan but trades at Ojoo Market, said he saw some military men who in-

formed him of the medical outreach.

“On the third day, I decided to be a beneficiary because I believe in the services of the military. I was well attended to when I complained of the health challenges I had. I was given some drugs and asked to do a follow-up at the military hospital at Odogbo Cantonment,” Ikechukwu added.

of a mega primary school, renovation of existing schools, among others.

He, however, said “inasmuch as we appreciate this government for the development of our communities, like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more.

We want the governor to provide street lights for our towns like we have in other towns and cities in the state.

“We also request for the upgrade of our health centre to a specialist hospital while we so much appreciate the establishment of a Mother and Child Hospital in Owo.” Aisida also solicited government’s support in the provision of stable power supply and potable water in the area.

Speaking earlier, the state Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, said the purpose of the meeting is to interact with the people and to know their immediate needs.

The state governor, on his part, assured the people of the state that his government would continue to offer uninterrupted developmental projects in the state especially for grass-roots people.

Mimiko said no fewer than 22 projects have been executed and inaugurated within the local government, assuring that more developmental projects that would touch the lives of common people would be executed as soon as the economy of the country improves.

NIPOST partners banks to enhance rural banking in C’River ubong anthony-calabar

The Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) in Cross River State territory has said it is partnering with banks to bring banking services to rural dwellers in the state to afford them the opportunity to access loans to boost agriculture and smallscale businesses.

The Area Territorial Manager of NIPOST, Mr Christopher Utuk, who stated this during the 2015 World Post Day celebration in Calabar, said several millions of Nigeri-

ans resident in rural areas have no access to banking facilities which accounts for the need to partner with banks to reach them since NIPOST has a wide branch network across rural areas of the state.

“This partnership involves bringing the rural populace the majority of who have no access to banking facilities into the mainstream of the Nigerian economy through our rich post office network.

The idea of the partnership is for banks with a few or no branches in rural areas to

utilise NIPOST facilities in those areas and serve their customers in a secure and convenient environment.

“Here in Cross River, we are partnering with a number of banks and consulting with some to key into the Central Bank of Nigeria initiative to extend their banking services to rural populace. This rich network will afford small and medium scale enterprises in rural areas the opportunity to access loans and boost their businesses,” he said.

The Area Territorial Manager said NIPOST has 1,500

departmental post offices across the country while in Cross River State, there are 18 departmental post offices, six counter extensions, nine postal agencies and 11 post shops and, therefore, well equipped to offer customers best services.

He said ICT had further enhanced the performance of NIPOST. “The post has actually and rapidly responded to the dynamics of technology by turning what it perceived as threat to its existence to opportunity for growth and effective customer satisfaction,” he said.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 With Tommy Adegbite 0811 695 4631 tommyabijo@yahoo.com

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8 1. From left, Pastor Joseph Olayemi, Rev. Dr. Aiah Khatenje, Reverend Dr Dachollor Datiri, Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed and RevEREND Johnson Adeyemi during a courtesy visit by Nigeria Evangelical Fellowship (NEF) to Government House, Ilorin, recently.

2. From left, Managing Director/CEO, IT Worlds Limited, Chief Obinna Obienu; Thought Leadership Keynote Speaker and Managing Director, Connect Marketing Services Limited, Mr Tunji Adeyinka; Founder/CEO, Technology Times, Mr Shina Badaru and the Managing Director/CEO, Brian Computers Limited, Mr Tunji Balogun, at the official unveiling of the forthcoming Computer Village Expo ’15 organised by Technology Times, at GRA Ikeja.

3. From left, Specialist, Enterprise Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Femi Oguntimehin; Chief Financial Officer, Netplus Advisory, Mr Deji Salami; Chief Executive Officer, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr Ladi Balogun and the Head, Enterprise Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Bidemi Ladipo at the Etisalat-sponsored Webmall Connect Commerce Conference 2015 held in Lagos, recently.

4. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Aderonke Makanjuola (second left), Principal, Wesley College of Science, Mr Kunle Adeosun (second right) and the

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president, Wesley College of Science Old Student Associaton (WESCOSA Class of ’95, Mr Folarin Adesemowo, during the commissioning of the renovated Chemistry laboratory of the school, recently. PHOTO: VICTOR OGUNYINKA Choir members of The Apostlic Curch, Idi-Ose Assembly, Ibadan with Pastor Andrew Igbigbisie, Assembly Pastor (fourth right) during the launch of an album, recently.

From left, Senior Brand Manager, Gulder, Mr Onyeka Okoli, winner of Ibadan Gulder Ultimate Promo, Mr Charles Ozalo and the Gulder Ultimate Search Winner 7, Mr Kunle Oluremi, at the occasion held at Trans Amusement Park, Ibadan, on Saturday. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE Mr. and Mrs Adetutu Ariyo, flanked by the bride’s parents Pastor Kehinde Lawrence (JP) and Mrs Lawrence, during their wedding at Igando/Ikotun Local Council Marriage Registry, Ikotun, Lagos State, recently.

From left are Mr Akinlolu Akinwale, Mr Seun Egbedeyi, Mrs Bukola Egbedeyi, Pastor Ibukun Akinkunmi, Mrs Oluyola Adeleke, Honourabel Dele Amoo and Mrs Iyabo Amoo, at the funeral service of Pa John Akinwale Akinkunmi, held at the Cathedral of St Peter, Aremo, Ibadan, recently.

For bookings, contact ’Laolu Afolabi on 08116954645 or Tommy Adegbite on 08116954631

46 tribunesport

Tuesday, 13 October, 2015 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Jibrin Baba-Ali wins Heineken Independence Golf Mr Jibrin Baba-Ali recently, emerged the overall winner of the Heineken Independence Cup 2015 Golf Tournament held at the prestigious IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja.

Playing with a handicap of 10, Jibrin returned a Gross of 78 and a nett of 68 to take home the Heineken Cup in the keenly contested competition which had over 250 players in attendance.

Speaking at the event, Captain of the Club, Hamid Addo (MFR), described this year’s edition as the best as it witnessed a large turnout of golf enthusiasts from across the country.

He commended the Nigerian Breweries Plc, makers of Heineken premium lager for its “unshakable faithfulness and partnership, particularly in sponsoring this event over the years.”

NCF takes cricket to schools in Kaduna Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna NIGERIA’S U-19 national cricket team coach, Mr Joe Onoja Oche has said the recent clinic organised for primary schools in the North West by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) was aimed at producing national team players and promote the game in schools.

The clinic which had over 60 pupils in attendance was held at the Murtala Mohammed square, Kaduna, last weekend.

Onoja said the game is gaining ground in the country adding that it was for this reason that the NCF invited schools and their game masters to participate in the clinic which was aimed at promoting the game at the grassroots.

He noted that cricket which is now becoming popular needs the support of government to take it to the next level.

Onoja said at the end of the exercise, “we will give the participants local equipment and organise a competition for them after which they will go for another competition at the international level.”

Oche who is also the chief coach of Kaduna cricket team appealed to the governor of the state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai who he describes as a sports lover “to support cricket through sponsorship as well as providing equipment in order to promote the game.”

In a goodwill message, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Nicolaas Vervelde, said the sponsorship was part of Heineken’s support for sports development in Nigeria and the company’s way of celebrating the nation’s Independence in a unique way.

Nicolaas who was represented at the event by the Head, Government Relations, NB Plc, Mr Vivian Ikem, reiterated the company’s commitment to sustain the sponsorship.

Ambrose dedicates goal against Cameroon to wife

The overall winner of the Heineken Independence Day Cup, Jibrin Baba-Ali (middle) receiving his trophies from Head of Government Relations NB Plc, Mr Vivian Ikem and the Captain of IBB Golf and country club, Abuja, Mr Hamid Addo.

Principals’ Cup:

FCT schools warned against use of mercenaries Saliu Gbadamosi-Abuja

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eltic defender, Efe Ambrose has dedicated his goal in Nigeria’s 3-0 win over Cameroon in a friendly on Sunday night in Belgium, to his wife, Adenike Sarah Ambrose.

Ambrose scored the opening goal for the Super Eagles in the 39th minute, when he headed home Mikel Obi’s free kick.

“I give glory to God for the goal. The goal is dedicated to my lovely wife, Adenike Sarah Ambrose, this is because of her prayers and support to my career. She is always there for me during good and bad periods,” Ambrose told AfricanFootball.com.

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner said the game was not easy and also expressed his gratitude to coach Sunday Oliseh for giving him a second chance in the national team after he was out of the team for over a year.

His last game before now was a 2015 AFCON qualifier on September 6, 2014, which Nigeria lost 3-2 at home to Congo and he scored a goal in the game as well.

“It was not an easy game, but we played to the tactics the coach told us. I bless God for coming back into the team with a goal after a long time and I appreciate the coach for giving me the chance to play for my country again,” the former Kaduna United defender said.

Ambrose

PARTICIPATING schools in this year’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Principals’ Cup have been warned against the use of nonstudent players, also know as mercenaries.

This is even as they were admonished to strictly abide by the rules and regulations guiding this year’s tournament, as well as to avoid any act of hooliganism on the part of their students.

Giving the warning at the pretournament seminar organised for school games masters and coaches, the FCT Football Association (FA) chairman, Musa Saaed Talle, declared that the association will not tolerate any form of act of indiscipline on the part of any school.

According to him, serious sanctions await any schools found wanting during the tournament, adding that fair play must be the watchword of all participating schools.

“The FCT FA would not tolerate any act of hooliganism at any level, neither will we tolerate any form of cheating, especially the use of nonstudents, popularly called mercenaries at any stage of the competition,” Talle told the games masters and coaches at the seminar.

He added that the tournament was meant for bonafide senior secondary school students of participating schools, declaring that, “we are ready to disqualify any school that uses non-student for the competition at any level.”

He stated that the seminar was organised with a view to intimating the games masters and coaches with the rules and regulation of the Principals’ Cup as well as to warn them against any act of indiscipline, including use of mercenaries.

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Tuesday, 13 October, 2015

2 Nigerian para-table tennis players grab 2016 Paralympics slots

Glo salutes Falconets after DR Congo fall

By Niyi Alebiosu NIGERIA’S Ahmed Owolabi Koleosho and Chinenye Obiora have qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games following their exploits at the just-ended ITTF Africa Para Table Tennis Championship in Morocco, which served as qualifiers for the Games.

The duo were part of the four-man team which featured at the tourney and they joined six others who have secured their places at the 2016 Paralympic Games.

However, Francis Chukwuemeka who had earlier at the Morocco Open won two gold medals failed to make it, while Emmanuel Chinedu Nick was also unlucky to make the list.

From the eight athletes who qualified, five of them were Egyptians, one South Africans, while Obiora and Koleosho completed the list.

To qualify, Obiora was unbeaten in the women’s singles class 1-5 to emerge as winner ahead of players from Morocco and South Africa, while Koleosho caused an upset to book his place at the Paralympics Games.

He accounted for the exit of Egypt’s Aly Mohamen Nasr, the top seed, in the final of Class 1-3 (11-8, 116, 11-7).

Nigerian Tribune

Iheanacho celebrates after scoring

I want to be

great at Man City

— Iheanacho

N

IGERIA junior international, Keleci Iheanacho insists he wants to be a Manchester City “great” and is banking on hard work amongst other factors to help him achieve his objective.

The youngster has made an impressive start to life at City scoring once in four

league appearances for the Citizens.

Iheanacho who inspired Nigeria to win the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) says playing for City represents a “dream come true.”

“It’s a dream come true for me to play at this level.

There is enough confidence

given to me from the manager and team.

“I’m hoping to be part of the great things that happen to this team. I hope to be one of the great players - it’s my dream to be a great player in this team,” Iheanacho was quoted as saying on the club’s official website, www.mcfc.co.uk.

2015 Glo-CAF Awards:

Nigerians hail nomination of Musa, Enyeama

The inclusion of two Nigerian internationals on the preliminary list for 2015 African Player of the Year Award has been hailed

by Nigerians.

A cross section of Nigerians favoured the nomination, with the majority hoping that one of the nominees will emerge the con-

tinents’ number one player at the Awards night.

Ahmed Musa of CSKA Moscow and Lille of France goalkeper, Vincent Enyeama were included on the 37-man list released by the Confederation of African Football on Sunday in Cairo.

“It’s a good development, hoping that the players will make it to the last three and one of them will pick the award after no Nigerian has

won the award in many years,” said Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, President General of Nigeria football Supporters Club.

Also, ex-international, Chief Segun Odegbami stated that Nigerian players need to work harder in order to have more of them on the list next year.

Odegbami added that “the nomination of two players is good but we need to have more of them on the list in order to be sure of making it to the top three.”

The lad who featured at the just-ended FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand added that scoring his only goal of the season so far remains one of his highlights especially as the goal helped his side amass all three points on the day.

“It was a great moment scoring at an away game (against Crystal Palace) and we needed a win.

“You can see from the celebration I was very happy,” he said.

He praised his teammates at City who have been providing inspiration as he continues his professional football education.

“They give me confidence, many of them – Yaya (Toure), Sergio (Aguero), (David) Silva, Samir (Nasri), Gael Clichy as well - he encourages me every time to keep going, keep going, keep chasing the defenders.”

Globacom, has congratulated Nigeria women’s U-20 team, the Falconets after they defeated their Congo Democratic Republic counterparts 2-0 in the second round, second leg match for the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup billed for Papua New Guinea in 2016.

The Falconets, who chalked up a 4-1 aggregate win after beating the Congolese 2-0 in the reverse fixture at the National Stadium, Abuja, on Saturday, will now meet Basetsana of South Africa in the final round of the African qualifiers.

“We are delighted with the convincing win by the Falconets, especially after we earlier expressed our belief in the team to fly over their opponents,” Globacom said in a statement in Lagos on Monday.

“The victory, coming at a time that our national women football needed fresh boost after recent run of bad results, made it more glorious,” the statement added.

“These Falconets have demonstrated their desire and capability to be the future Super Falcons.”

The major sponsor of the Nigeria national football teams also commended the team’s technical crew for what it called a job well executed.

“We enjoin the coaching crew not to rest on their oars until the ticket to Papua, New Guinea is firmly secured,” the statement further said.

“We also urge the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to do everything to motivate the players ahead of the final round of the qualifiers.

The Falconets will host the first leg of the final qualifier against the South Africans on Saturday October 24 at the National Stadium, Abuja, while the return leg will hold in Johannesburg on November 7.

Another ex-FIFA executive, Makudi, suspended

Enyeama

FIFA’s ethics watchdog on Monday banned Thai football chief, Worawi Makudi for 90 days as acting president Issa Hayatou delayed his arrival at football’s corruption-hit ruling body by 24 hours.

The ethics committee said it had moved to sideline Worawi “on the grounds that a breach of the code of ethics appears to have been committed and a decision on the main issue may not be taken early enough.”

Worawi was a FIFA executive

committee member for 18 years until May - including for its 2010 vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups - and has faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing.

The 63-year-old was found guilty in July by a Thai court of forgery in his reelection as head of the Football Association of Thailand.

Worawi told AFP he would fight to save his name and intended to stay in the Thai election even though he is banned immediately “from all football

activities at national and international level for 90 days.”

“I am confused by this, I just heard the news,” he said.

“I am not guilty of anything.

Under Thai law I still have the right to appeal (the July court decision). I did not falsify anything, what I did was absolutely legal.”

His ban follows matching suspensions handed out to embattled outgoing Fifa president, Sepp Blatter and European football boss, Michel Platini last Thursday.

Peter Dedevbo, Falconets’ coach

SIDELINES

no 16,347

n150

Tuesday, 13 OCTOBER, 2015

One Edionwele Jessica reportedly arranged with her boyfriend in Abuja to kidnap her in a ploy to extort money from her father who is a lawmaker, but they were both arrested later. Very smart lady, perhaps what she failed to realise was that no matter how smart a con man may be there is always a day of reckoning.

Agents ruin Brazilian stars —Pele

B

razil still produces the world's best footballers but the growing influence of agents on the country's leading players has created a mountain of woes for the national side, Pele said on Monday.

The legendary Brazilian, Pele who remains the only player to feature in three World Cup-winning teams, said the passion for football was as strong as ever but acknowledged the "Selecao" were struggling with a host of problems.

"We have not lost passion for football," Pele said in the eastern city of Kolkata at the start of a visit to India.

"Individually, we have the best players but as a team we've a lot of

Brazilian Neymar in action

problems.

"In my time the players belonged to clubs but today players are managed by their agents," Pele was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

After their 7-1 World Cup semifinal humiliation by Germany last year, Brazil were eliminated from the Copa America in June at the hands of minnows Paraguay.

And their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup got off to a disastrous start last week when they lost 0-2

to Chile, their first defeat against their opponents in 15 years.

Nearly all of Brazil's leading players play abroad and there are regular complaints that they are too often exploited by agents who are only interested in making money.

The agents have often been at loggerheads with the football authorities.

Star striker Neymar's representative, Wagner Ribeiro called the then-coach Luiz Felipe Scolari "arrogant, repulsive (and) conceited" after Brazil's 2014 World Cup flop.

CAF Awards: Either me or

Enyeama will win —Musa Platini has 'no evidence' for payment from Blatter —Report UEFA chief, Michel Platini produced no documentary evidence for the 2m Swiss francs (£1.35m) payment made to him by FIFA, the BBC has learned.

Its ethics committee is investigating the "disloyal payment", made nine years after Platini carried out

Blatter (left) and Platini

consultation work for FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Platini, a FIFA vice-president, and Blatter are serving 90-day bans while corruption claims are being investigated.

In September, criminal proceedings against Blatter began in Switzerland.

BBC sports indicate that a written contract did exist for Platini's work for Fifa between 1998 and 2002, according to sources. A total of SFr 1.05m (£710,000) is believed to have been paid to the Frenchman.

It is an additional SFr 2m (£1.35m) that was paid in February 2011 that is under scrutiny - and for which no written contract is said to exist.

Both Platini and Blatter are believed to have told investigators that the additional payment was an oral agreement for SFr 0.5m to be paid for each of the four years (January 1999 to June 2002) the Uefa president was employed by Fifa. In a statement this month, Platini said "the remuneration was agreed at the time".

Nigeria captain, Ahmed Musa has tipped himself or compatriot, Vincent Enyeama to win this year’s CAF African Footballer of the Year Award.

Musa and Enyeama have been outstanding for CSKA Moscow and Lille of France respectively as well as for the Super Eagles.

They are the two Nigeria stars nominated alongside

35 other players across Africa for the continent’s biggest individual gong.

"I believe either myself or Vincent Enyeama can win the award this time round.

We deserve the nomination and I think we are good enough to win it for Nigeria," Musa told AfricanFootball.com "I am happy to be nominated for the African Footballer of the Year award

again. It's a good thing when one gets such recognition because Africa is blessed with lots of good players.”

It is the third straight year Musa has been nominated for the award.

Nwankwo Kanu was the last Nigeria star to be named Africa’s best player in 1999 after Rashidi Yekini (1993), Emmanuel Amuneke (1994) and Victor Ikpeba (1997) had won the awards.

Ahmed Musa

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. 13/10/2015.