17th August 2016 by Nigerian Tribune

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,569 WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST, 2016 www.tribuneonlineng.com

School fees CBN sets forex limit for BDCs at $50,000 —P6

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2 policemen killed as robbers attack bullion van in Jos —P4

24 hours to PDP convention

Again, courts give conflicting rulings •Anxiety over deft moves for anointed chairmanship candidate •We are yet to get Abuja court order —INEC •We are ready —Police •PDP BoT endorses national convention, lauds Wike —Pp5,7 •I won't recognise convention outcome —Sheriff

NASS members should work part-time —IBB

—P4

Former President Ibrahim Babangida

•Says, 'I almost shot my wife' •'I'm not an evil genius,' he adds

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

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news NASS members should work part-time —IBB 4

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

•Says trekking to Enugu from Umuahia his toughest task in Army From Adelowo Oladipo with agency report

ORMER military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has said if he had his way, membership of the National Assembly would be on part-time basis. He revealed this during an interaction with newsmen to mark his 75th birthday today, adding that it was one of the novel concepts he had planned to introduce

during his eight-year rule. The gap-toothed ex-leader stepped aside as military president, following the crisis precipitated by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, regarded as the freest in the annals of the country. The presumed winner of the poll, Chief MKO Abiola, later died about five years after under incarceration by the regime of late head of state, General Sani Abacha. Babangida agreed with some Nigerians on the need

to know the cost of governance, as the nation was believed to spend about a fifth of the federal budget in maintaining both the Senate and the House of Representatives. While the Senate comprises 109 members, there are 390 members in the House. The former leader, often called the evil genius by some Nigerians, said he strongly believed in the introduction of part-time legislature to mitigate the cost of running governance in

the country. His regime had operated a diarchy, with elected state governors operating with the full complement of state houses of assembly, while the National Assembly was gagged through the provision of no-go areas at the federal level. He said the proposal for a part-time legislature was one of the major issues he had not talked about since he left office about 24 years ago. “In 1989, we proposed

•I'm not an evil genius, he adds

that the membership of the National Assembly should be on a part-time basis. If I have the opportunity to change the cause of events in this country either as a President, I still believe in that very strongly; all in an effort to cut the cost of governance. I thank you for reminding me about the issue I have not talked about. It has been on the need for a part time basis for the legislature; it has skipped my memories for some time,” he stated.

Troops rescue 88, kill 3 insurgents in Bama, Borno •8,000 Boko Haram members surrendered —Military TROOPS on clearance operations in the North-East have rescued 88 people in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State and killed three during an encounter. A statement signed by Colonel Sani Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, in Abuja, on Tuesday, said 28 people of those rescued, claimed they escaped from Bula Musa village. Usman said the 28 people comprised two men, nine women and 17 children, adding that the troops killed

three terrorists during separate encounter. “They have been taken to Bama town for screening, profiling and possible handover to emergency management and humanitarian agencies,’’ Usman said. He said another 23, comprising a man, five women and 17 children, were intercepted by troops deployed at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Bama. Usman said this was after they escaped from terrorists in Bula Musa general area

No power tussle between Ogbeh, Lokpobiri —Aide Collins Nnabuife -Abuja

THE Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has dismissed a media publication alleging that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Minister of State, Heineken Lokpobiri, engaged in power tussle. This was contained in a statement issued by the Senior Technical Adviser ( Policy) to the Minister of State, Donald Ojogo. According to the statement “the attention of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, has been drawn to a publication in a national daily and an online outlet that there exists a power tussle between him and his colleague, Chief Audu Ogbeh. “To say the least, the pub-

lication is unsubstantiated and misleading. Nothing is farther from the truth. For the avoidance of doubt, as ministers, we have displayed an uncommon brotherliness and resolve to ensure food security in a diversified economy with agriculture as the hub. That vision is resolute and no amount of distraction will deviate both ministers from this path. “It is needless to recall too, that, as ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing our respective states, our allegiance and loyalty are to the president at whose behest we all hold office. In this regard, our responsibility is collective and must align with Mr President's vision for a reenergised agricultural sector. This, we have set out to do as ministers with postive results already underway."

on Sunday. “In Dikwa, the troops also recorded influx of 37 IDPs, comprising two men, 12 women, 12 boys and 11 girls from Gulumba Gana village, which is about 45km astride Gulumba-Kumshe Road axis, Bama Local Government Area of the state. “They were screened by the troops and the Civilian JTF who later handed them over to the Dikwa IDPs camp management for further registration and rehabilitation,’’ Usman said. He said those deployed at Nigeria-Cameroon border, in conjunction with Civilian JTF, also arrested two escaping Boko Haram terrorists named Mohammed Mundilga and Ahmed Ali. The terrorists, who hail from Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area, on preliminary investigation, confessed that they were Boko Haram fighters, and added that they sneaked into Gamboru from Abbaganaram village, Marte Local Government Area after being tired of staying in the bush. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Military, on Tuesday, in Abuja, said no fewer than

8,000 Boko Haram members had voluntarily surrendered to its “Operation Safe Corridor’’ in the NorthEast. The Director of Defence Information, BrigadierGeneral Rabe Abubakar, disclosed this at a lecture organised by the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the lecture with the theme: “Media-Military Relationship in the Fight against Insurgency,’’ was part of the activities marking the 2016 Press Week of the chapel. Abubakar said the surrendered insurgents were in a camp in Gombe waiting to be “deradicalised’’ by the military. He also disclosed that more than 10,000 Boko Haram captives had been rescued by the military. He said some of them were reunited with their families, while others were taken to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Abubakar said Boko Ha-

mand, Mr Terna Tyopev, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos, that the van was ambushed by the robbers. He said three other policemen attached to the bullion van were injured. He also said the bullion van was carrying money

Full interview on pgs 36 & 37

Buhari, Atiku, Niger gov congratulate IBB at 75 Leon Usigbe -Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, on attaining the age of

75, noting that he had contributed to every major episode in the country. The letter personally signed by the president and made available to the media in Abuja, on Tuesday, read:

Robbers attack CBN bullion van, kill 2 policemen, injure 3 others ARMED robbers, on Tuesday, attacked a bullion van belonging to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at Hawan Kibo hills, near Riyom, in Plateau State, killing two policemen attached to the van as escorts. The spokesman of Plateau State police com-

ram had been successfully decimated by the military and government was working hard on the rehabilitation of the victims and reconstruction of the affected areas. The general also said the military would soon launch “Operation Safe Corridor’’ to address the menace of herdsmen across the country. He assured that the military operation would put an end to the wanton killings by the herdsmen. Responding to questions on the recent action by the military declaring some journalists wanted, the general urged the media not to allow sentiments to influence their judgment on the issue. He said the military should be allowed to do its work, while assuring that no member of the media would be victimised unnecessarily. Abubakar said good military-media relationship was crucial to winning the war against insurgency. He said the media drove public support for the military which in turn had boosted the morale of officers and the rank and file.

Meanwhile, GeneralBabangida, has said his toughest encounter in the army was trekking from Enugu to Umuahia, where he sustained injury during the civil war. Babangida also made this known at the interactive session with newsmen. “Movement from Enugu to Umuahia was very tough and challenging, because you need to be physically fit to be able to undertake that kind of journey on foot. “We had to go through the jungles and the hills. I think it was my toughest encounter in the army, because that was where I got wounded in April 1969,’’ he said. He said he joined the army for the purpose of being in the force to protect the country. According to him, being in the military means that you must subject yourself to a constituted authority to execute all the tasks assigned to you by government. He said the constitutional role and international treaties made it possible for military personnel to serve anywhere in the world. The former military president said the military job was more challenging than being the president of a country. “I am not the evil genius that quite a lot of people consider me to be. “I have had a very excellent background and training. We have to love one another. However, I can understand the feeling people have towards me. “By the virtue of the job I was doing, I was bound to be misconstrued and my actions misinterpreted as evil. I consider what people say as an opinion as long as I am not what you think I was; I feel satisfied,” Babangida stated.

from Jos to Lafia in Nasawara State. “It was a clear case of ambush; they were attacked unexpectedly. “Policemen escorting the bullion van repelled the attack; unfortunately we lost two of our men on the spot, while three other were badly injured,”

Tyopev told NAN. The PPRO, however, stated that the robbers were not able to cart away money from the bullion van “because our men responded vigorously; they reacted firmly,” he said, adding that the police had commenced investigation to arrest the gunmen.

“On behalf of myself, my family, the government and people of Nigeria, I wish to heartily congratulate you on the milestone of attaining 75 years. “I equally wish to congratulate you on your service to the country and your commitment to oneness and indivisibility of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “There is hardly any major episode in Nigeria’s short history where your name and contribution does not feature. “On this special occasion, I pray that Almighty Allah grants you many more years to see Nigeria grow and develop beyond all of our wild-

est dreams.” Also, a former vice-president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, congratulated the former president and wished him many more years in good health. Also, the Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, on behalf of the state government, said IBB deserved celebration, describing him as “the most courageous, sensitive, compassionate and generous leader whose role in the consistent growth and development of the country in general and Niger State in particular cannot be underestimated.”

5 news

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

PDP convention: Anxiety over deft moves for anointed chairmanship candidate

S the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holds its national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, today, the Rivers State, stakeholders of the party are anxious over perceived deft move to install an anointed chairmanship candidate. Already, there is a quiet buzz within the stakeholders that the election of national officers scheduled to be conducted at the convention may be marred by irregularities. Unconfirmed reports have it that some PDP governors had concluded plans to tamper with the process so that the candidates of their choice will win at the elections. There are allegations already flying around that the governors had anointed a candidate for the post of national chairman which is causing rumblings among stakeholders. Some geopolitical zones had by consensus endorsed some candidates for the posts allocated to their zones, but at the national level no candidate had been officially endorsed by any organ of the party. Of great concern to some of the members is that the party may relapse into the old days of impunity which it desperately needs to put behind it to regain the confidence of members and the electorate Many stakeholders have begun to question the structure and arrangements for

the convention alleging that it was not deliberately designed to facilitate ma-

nipulation. Already, there are rumours of alleged plans

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last night said that it was yet to be served with the Abuja Federal High Court stopping the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,slated for tomorrow but promised to

supply and the snatching or switching of ballot boxes in the process.

•Only national caretaker committee of PDP has executive powers —P/Harcourt court •Abuja court stops convention, orders IGP to enforce ruling From Dapo Falade and Sunday Ejike THE controversy over the national convention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continued on Wednesday, as two courts, again, gave conflicting orders on the convention. While the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, declared that only the national caretaker committee of the party has executive powers over all matters, including the convention, the Federal High Court in Abuja stopped the convention, while it also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to enforce its ruling. Earlier, the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had affirmed that only the national caretaker committee of the party had executive powers over all matters concerning the party. Delivering a judgment in suit number FHC/PH /CS /585/2016, between Senator Ben Obi for himself and other members of the National Planning Committee of the PDP, and the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, State Security Service and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Justice

Ibrahim Watila ordered the police, DSS and INEC to participate in the August 17 National Convention. He declared: “It is necessary for the defendants to carry out their respective functions on August 17.” The court declared that its judgment of July 4 remained valid until set aside by a competent jurisdiction, which in this case, was the Court of Appeal. The court stressed that all the defendants were clearly and without dispute bound to obey the judgment. “This court will not shy away from protecting the sanctity of its judgment. The court has held that the appointment of the PDP National Caretaker Committee is valid,” he said. Justice Watila stated that the defendants were bound by the judgment because they had made no attempt to set aside the judgment or filed any process in that direction. He stated: “In view of the subsisting judgment of this Honourable Court in Suit No: FHC/PH /CS /524/2016, PDP Vs. Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and others, the defendants cannot lawfully interfere or prevent the plaintiff from organising/ holding the planned Nation-

study the order and would take a decision on it INEC Deputy Director on Publicity and voter education, Mr Nick Dazang. Stated this last night during an interview on the position of the Commission on contradicting pronouncements from the courts According to him,”even though the Commission has been served the Port

Harcourt Federal High Court judgment it is yet to be served the Abuja Federal High Court judgment by Justice Abang “As soon as it (the Commission) is served the Abuja High Court judgment, it will take a decision “In the meantime, and following the Port Harcourt judgement, our monitoring staff are on stand bye.”

al Convention of the PDP to hold in Port Harcourt, on August 17.” In granting the originating summons, Justice Watila declared that the defendants were duly served all the processes of the suit filed by the secretary of the National Caretaker Committee, but chose not to contest the facts. Justice Watila stated that court records indicated that the proceedings and order of August 10 and the interlocutory injunction of August 15 were served on the defendants with proof of service. Addressing journalists after the judgment, counsel for Senator Ben Obi, Mr Dejo Lamikanra, said the ruling gave effect to the judgment of July 4 of the Federal High Court. Lamikanra said: “There is only one judgment with regards to the validity of the convention which held on May 21 in Port Harcourt and that judgment is that of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt given on the 4th of July. That judgment is final and it has completely determined questions on the validity of the convention and the validity of the decisions of that convention. “A ruling or an opinion of a court of coordinate jurisdiction which suggests anything else must be discontinuanced. It is only the Court of Appeal that can set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court.” At the Abuja Federal High Court, Justice Okon Abang stopped the PDP from holding its national convention slated for today in Port-Harcourt. The judge also barred the party from presenting, electing or recognising anybody as national officer.

We are ready for PDP convention —Police THE Rivers State police command said on Tuesday that it had made adequate security arrangements for the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt, the state capital, that the command had carried

edly made to manipulate the election include temporary disruption of power

24 hours to PDP convention: Again, courts give conflicting rulings

We are yet to get Abuja court order —INEC Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

by some people to rig the chairmanship election. Some of the plans alleg-

out necessary deployments for the convention. “The command is prepared for the convention, as necessary deployments have been carried out,” he said. Omoni said the command had made arrangements to protect lives and property in the state while the convention was on. “Remember that there are other Nigerians living

in the state. “The command is aware of this fact and will provide security for all, including those attending the convention and others living in the state,” he said. The spokesman, however, declined to disclose the number of personnel deployed for the convention. Meanwhile, Sharks Stadium, Port Harcourt, venue of the convention, is now

wearing a new look. Security, it was gathered to also be tight, as policemen and other security officials were seen screening people entering the stadium when the NAN visited the stadium. Some officials of the PDP were also seen at the venue inspecting final preparations by various committees charged with organising the convention.

Ruling in a motion on notice brought before it by the factional national chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, seeking to stop the convention, which date was fixed by the Makarfi-led caretaker committee, Justice Abang restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from supervising or monitoring the planned convention, pending the determination of the substantive suit. The trial judge, in the ruling delivered on Tuesday, also ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to enforce his order which stopped the planned convention by the Makarfi-led executive. In the same vein, the judge directed Senator Sheriff to obtain and fill Form 48, so as to commit anybody or group who may disobey the order of the court to prison. He lampooned Justice Ibrahim Watila of he Port Harcourt division of the court for dabbling into the PDP matter, when he knew a sister court in Abuja was in charge of the matter. The judge said that Justice Watila would have done well to refer the suit filed by Senator Ben Obi to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for a directive, instead

of assuming jurisdiction. Apparently furious with the conflicting decision of the two divisions, Justice Abang said the “the Port Harcourt division had set stage for the legal combatants to determine which of the decisions to obey. He, however, said anyone or group that disobeyed his orders would have themselves to blame. Commenting on the alleged desperate remark by a member of the factional caretaker committee of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, Justice Abang said his behaviour is “an act of indiscipline, unbecoming of a person with good culture. Anybody scandalising the court of law without any reason is breaking the bridge he will cross one day. “He is like a person living in a glass house and throwing stones. I have various legal steps to bring him to book, but I will not do so for now, the lenient attitude of this court is not borne out of cowardice. He should show good manners to the court so that he can assist the court to do justice. “The day I summon him before me, I believe he will have a rethink,” the judge declared.

PDP BoT endorses national convention, lauds Wike THE Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared its support for the conduct of the national convention in Port Harcourt, today. This is as the chairman of the national convention planning committee and Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, assured leaders of the PDP that he would continue to work for the survival of the party. Speaking during a solidarity visit on Governor Wike at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, chairman of the BoT, Senator Wali Jubrin, said board members ,at their pre-convention, endorsed the contributions of the governor to re-position the party. The BOT, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Wike on Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, stated that the appointment of Wike as the chairman of the conven-

tion planning committee was commendable, as it had helped to set up a worthwhile convention. Senator Jubrin said all the leaders of the PDP were in Rivers State for the convention. Responding, Governor Wike said members of the PDP must make sacrifices to ensure that the party moved forward. At a press conference, Governor Wike said Nigerians had realised that their hope was in PDP. He explained that all the organs of the PDP, including the national caretaker committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi had been around for the convention. He told journalists that the convention would proceed because of the judgment of Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. Wike said the order of Abuja court was interlocutory and inferior to that of Port Harcourt court.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 6 businessnews Economic School fees: CBN increases forex sales to BDCs to conditions: $50,000 a month Banks, Sanya Adejokun-Abuja

onsidering that parents with children schooling abroad are now preparing to remit school fees while traders are preparing to stock for end of year sales, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased maximum foreign exchange sales to bureau de change operators to $50,000 per month. The apex bank had about two weeks ago, issued a circular pegging maximum foreign exchange sales to BDCs at $30,000 following a decision to shut them out of official market earlier in the year. This was part of the revelations from a post meeting press briefing, which was addressed by Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, Director of Banking Supervision of CBN, Hassan Usman, Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, Peter Amangbo, Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Kenneth Uzoka of UBA and Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director of Corporate Communications of CBN. The thinking is that increase in foreign currency sale to BDCs, will further enhance citizens’ access to foreign exchange and reflate the economy since the bureaux are more accessible than banks. And rather than see this development as policy summersault, Okorafor said it was a demonstration that the bank was being dynamic in its approach to dealing with the challenges of an economy in crisis. Martins disclosed that CBN has also decided to

release part of a chunk of funds it took from banks some time ago called special intervention fund, which however, had never been released till now. The funds will now be released to the banks for the

financing of primary agricultural projects, and projects in core manufacturing that supports import substitution and preserve foreign exchange. This she said will ease current liquidity squeeze

the aim is to increase current level of financial inclusion from the current national average of 60 percent to at least 80 percent although more Nigerians use bank services in some regions than others.

investors rush FG bonds, T-bills Chima Nwokojji-Lagos

From left: MD/CEO, NIRSAL/CBN, Aliyu Abdulhameed; Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture Limited, Danbala Danju and the Ambassador of Ireland, Sean Hoy at the launch of the Agricultural Sector Roadmap by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in Abuja.

Buhari directs NNPC to commence hydrocarbon exploration in Benue Ademola Adegbite-Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to commence hydrocarbon exploratory activities in Benue State, as part of efforts to guarantee energy security in the country. The corporation and the state government have, therefore, reinvigorated

their collaboration on the Ethanol project which was geared towards production of biofuels for energy sufficiency. The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikaniti Baru, made this known while playing host to a delegation of the Benue State government led by Terwase Orbunde, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja. Ethanol, according to

Shareholders, analysts commend CBN for banking industry stability Shareholders and public affairs analysts have commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for ensuring the stability and safety of Nigerian banks through proactive measures. President, Renaissance Shareholders’ Association, Ambassador Olufemi Timothy, who spoke on the stabilising role of the CBN, said the apex bank had acted responsively and proactively in the last couple of years to protect the shareholders. According to the leading shareholder activist, who urged Nigerians to decry negative rumour making the rounds, said the interventions of the CBN over the years had ensured that no single Nigerian bank is distressed or in danger of collapse. He said such interventions have preserved shareholders’ interest

in the banking industry. The bankers also agreed with CBN to embark on massive and aggressive nationwide campaign in October on financial inclusion. Idris of JAIZ Bank who espoused on this said

and value. “I can tell you authoritatively that our banks are strong and safe. Despite the global economic recession, and the attendant effect on the financial system, our banks are robust and healthy. The apex bank’s interventions have strengthened our banks”, he said. It will be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had on July 4, 2016 intervened and re-constituted the Board of Skye Bank following the voluntary resignation of some members of the former Board, with the new Board swinging into action. The regulator had subsequently extended guarantees to Depositors funds and other trading instruments of Skye bank in the interbank market to bol-

ster operators’ confidence in the Bank. As a mark of renewed confidence in the board and management of the bank, some state governments, notably Lagos threw its weight by entering into a strategic partnership with the bank, followed by renewal of IGR mandates from others states like Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kano among others. Similarly, a renowned economist, Dr Biodun Adedipe praised the resilience of Nigerian banks in the face of a tough operating environment. Adedipe, who is also the Lead Strategist at Adedipe & Associates, said recent reports from the apex bank have confirmed the position of analysts that the banking industry is stable and safe.

him, when blended with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, would ensure excellent performance of vehicles, as energy sufficiency and proficiency were part of the cardinal objectives of the NNPC. A similar programme in Brazil has a thriving biofuels industry providing quantum economic benefits including creation of hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities for nationals of that country. Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Orbunde, appreciated the corporation for resolving the recent fuel supply challenges and pledged the readiness of the state government to support the quick take off of the Ethanol project, adding that the project would generate jobs for Nigerians. He assured the NNPC of full support and co-

operation from the state government and the host communities, assuring that the government fully identified itself with the energy policy of President Buhari led Federal Government. It will be recalled that NNPC initiated a renewable energy programme in August 2005 which was in conformity with the Kyoto Protocol agreement to which Nigeria was a signatory. The primary aim of the programme was to link the agricultural sector with the Oil and Gas Industry. It was also aimed at gradually reducing the nation’s dependence on imported gasoline, reducing environmental pollution as a result of consumption of wholesale fossil fuel and creating a commercially viable industry that could boast of sustainable domestic jobs.

AS Nigeria auctions N110 billion worth of bonds today, there are strong indications that Deposit Money Banks and other investors will go for government securities despite falling yields. The scramble for virtually risk-free government securities according to some investment advisers is not only to take advantage of higher yields, but to safeguard their funds as high rates of unemployment and slow economic growth or recession thickens . Dealers revealed that average yield across benchmark bonds declined on all trading days of last week except Friday. Generally, investors see bond yields fall when economic conditions push markets toward safer investments. Economic experts describe bond yield as the amount of return an investor realizes on a bond. They identify conditions that might decrease bond yields to include: high rates of unemployment and slow economic growth or recession. Average yield on Monday last week dropped 0.1per cent to 15.2per cent (from 15.3% on previous Friday) as the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) MARCH 2036 bonds saw buying interest despite overall quietness in the market. Average yield according to dealers further decreased by 0.1 per cent on Tuesday to 15.1per cent. On Thursday, average yield settled at 15.0 per cent with increased activity observed at the short end of the curve. Similarly, Nigeria’s interbank overnight lending rate jumped to 23 percent on Friday from 10 percent its previous close, after the central bank sold treasury bills at higher yields to lure foreign investors, traders said

Naira steadies at parallel market, appreciates at interbank Chima Nwokoji-Lagos

The Naira on Tuesday remained unchanged at N393 to the U.S dollar at the parallel (black) market, as it was on Monday, August 15. This would leave Naira’s black market value unchanged for two consecutive days after gaining strength from the N395/$1

rate it was last week. This is even as the Bankers’ Committee has agreed that commercial banks can now sell a maximum of $50,000 foreign exchange (FOREX) to De Change (BDC) operators. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had previously fixed $30,000 as the limit that commercial banks

could sell to BDCs.. In the same vein, the local currency appreciated at the inter-bank market to close at N313.65 from N317.34 posted on Monday. At the same market segment, the Nigerian currency closed at N402.0275 to the Pound Sterling and N449.67 to the Euro.

7 news

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Alleged killing of Chibok girls in air strikes mere propaganda by dying sect —Air Force Chris Agbambu -Abuja

HE Nigerian Air Force has described the latest video released

online by the Boko Haram terrorists group alleging the killing of some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls by the military fighter jets as not only a ruse,

but another mischievous effort by the dying sect to draw public attention to itself. It said whereas the video showed a cross section of

the abducted girls and an airborne aircraft, it provided no evidence that the supposed casualties were as a result of any air to ground attack.

Scene of a fire incident which affected some shops at numbers 42, 43 and 45 Shogbamu Street, Bariga, Lagos. PHOTO: OVADJE ELLIOT.

Properties worth millions of naira destroyed in Lagos inferno Opeyemi Owoaseye -Lagos NO fewer than 10 rooms and five shops with goods and valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno that occurred in Bariga area of Lagos metropolis on Tuesday morning. The inferno, according to the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr Michael Akindele, affected nine rooms at No 43, Shogbamu Street and a room at No 45 of the same street in Bariga, in the New Garage area of Somolu. Five shops in the area, with goods worth millions of naira, were said to have been consumed by the inferno, reported to have been caused by an electrical surge from an electronics shop. Nigerian Tribune learnt that the fire started around 6.00 a.m. and efforts to get officials of the Lagos State Fire Service and Ikeja Electricity Company to the scene failed, a development that made residents resort to self-help, pouring water on the fire to put it out. An electronics dealer in the area, Mr Tajudeen Bakare, said he lost goods worth N105 million. According to him, two people trying to put off the fire were electrocuted and were later hospitalised and discharged. Men of the Lagos Fire Service came late, but were without water to put out

the fire, a development that drew the ire of some street urchins, popularly known as area boys, in the area. "In fact, I was there when my shops started burning, but there was nothing I could do. I was helpless because I didn’t have the capability to put the fire out.

"It was not the meter that caught fire, because I always put off the meter any time I am leaving for home. I own two out of the eight shops that got burnt. I lost property worth 105 million," Bakare stated. Another trader, simply identified as Sherifat, said

the cloth she was putting on was the only thing left with her after the fire incident. "I lost over N2 million. Just yesterday (Monday), I brought some goods to the shop. Pots in different sets, coolers, buckets, among others. Nothing is left," she stated.

I won’t recognise convention outcome —Sheriff Leon Usigbe and Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja CLAIMANT to the office of the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has vowed not to recognise the outcome of today's repeat national convention of the party to be held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He also said he was willing to hand over the party to a new chairman any time a free and fair election was conducted to choose a new leadership, but vowed not to allow the party to be taken over by one or two individuals, as he observed that the PDP belonged to Nigeria. Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, on Tuesday, he said: “I have done what I have done; I want the party to be repaired. If they want us to do a convention and bring new officers, it’s okay as long as it is a free and fair convention which I call in Abuja. “I told them, I don’t even

want to be chairman again because you only like to be a chairman where everybody is happy with what you are doing. “I don’t want to join issues with anybody, but the right thing must be done. That is the bone of contention. “Look at what Wike was saying today that nobody can stop them, that they are going to go ahead with the convention. But already, a pronouncement has been made in Abuja that it must be suspended. “The truth about it is that whatever they do is illegal. For me, it’s not acceptable. I will not recognise any of this gathering. I will pursue the rule of law until justice is done. Then I will leave. “This party is for Nigeria. I am ready to go tomorrow if justice would be done, if elections are conducted in Abuja and people are allowed to choose who they want as leaders, I will be prepared to hand over to that person. “Unless and until we do

that, I have a right. I have been elected by the NEC for a specific period of time. That period will not end until 2018, but I am ready to go tomorrow. “I don’t want to be an impediment, but let this party not be taken over by one person. We cannot allow it.” While conceding that Port Harcourt High Court had not stopped the convention, he said he was shocked that a court that was supposed to be on vacation could be available to hand down the ruling. He was referring to Monday’s ruling which validated the conduct of the national convention and ordering that security should be provided for it. Sheriff alleged that the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had avoided hearing his own side, by allegedly ordering all registry staff to stay away from office until his own legal team made contact with unnamed individuals around the country.

More so, it said there was sufficient evidence to believe that the casualties were arranged, as the positioning of the bodies clearly defied any natural setting of a location that had undergone aerial bombardment. In a late night statement on Tuesday, the air force said the impact and accompanying degree of damage to the bodies would have been more, were they have died from air strike. According to the statement, it was, therefore, clear that the video was a make-up story to discredit the force, and more importantly, a deliberate effort to whip up sentiment among the public, in order to dissuade and discontinue the use of air power which had proved effective and a major determinant factor in the successes recorded in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the North-East. "The NAF has put in place a number of measures to avoid the incidence of collateral damage. "To this end, considerable effort is committed to

undertaking intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, both day and night, to ensure that only legitimate military targets are engaged. "Besides, NAF ISR platforms carry highly sophisticated equipment on-board, which are able to provide pin-point accurate intelligence about target location and description as depicted in the enclosed video on our ISR operations. "And where there are doubts about target status, we do not undertake strike missions. In any case, the NAF, being a professional fighting force, has not and will not engage in unprofessional practices in discharging its statutory duties. "The NAF will like to assure Nigerians, living within the vicinity of its operations, of their safety," the statement read. It also urged Nigerians to disregard the video as a mere propaganda, while it restated its commitment to restoration of peace in the North-East and other troubled areas in the country."

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 10 Homecoming reception and thanksgiving service in honour of ex-JAMB Registrar, Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde, OON, held in Igboho, Oyo State last weekend.

PHOTOS: MOSES ALAO

A convoy of vehicles during the welcome rally organised in honour of Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde, OON, in Igboho, on Saturday, 13 August, 2016.

Ojerinde receiving an award from the chairman of the Ifelodun Omo Igboho, Alhaji Rasaq Olatunde Jayeola, on Saturday. With them are some members of the association.

The Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo (second left); Special Adviser to the Oyo Governor on Solid Minerals, Honourable Mathew Oyedokun (left); Oorelope Local Government Caretaker Committee chairman, Honourable Samuel Okunlade (Ododo); Clerk of the House of Assembly, Mr Paul Bankole and the Commissioner for Environment, Chief Tejubiyi Ishola, during the reception on Saturday.

The Limeri of Awa Ijebu, His Royal Highness, Oba Amos Abib Awobajo, at the church service.

The South-West Zonal Coordinator of the National Examination Council, Dr Kola Raheem (right) and Dr Jimoh Olabisi, during the reception.

Ojerinde exchanging pleasantries with the Chief Imam of Igboholand, Alhaji Ismail Quadri, on Saturday.

Minister-in-Charge of Ojerindeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s church, First Baptist Church, Igboho, Revd. S.A. Adediran, presenting the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award to him, during the thanksgiving service held at the church on Sunday. With them is the church secretary, Prince Sina Oyewole.

The General Overseer of the Redemption Ministries, Port-Harcourt, Reverend Stephen Akinola (left); Olori Omo Oba of Itabo land, Prince Olatunji; Emeritus Professor Ojerinde and Oyo State Deputy Governor, Chief Adeyemo, at the church service.

Ojerinde receiving an award from the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Oorelope Local Government, Most Senior Apostle Z.F. Olabimtan, on Sunday.

Otunba (Engr.) Olawuwo Oni (right); Professor Arimiyau Sanusi and Professor Adeyemi Idowu both of the University of Ilorin, at the thanksgiving service.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

editorial

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The hajj dollar subsidy

HE recent circular released by the Central Bank of Nigeria directing that foreign exchange (forex) be made available to pilgrims at the rate of N197 per dollar has received widespread condemnation. Not a few Nigerians felt it was unreasonable for the Federal Government to subsidize pilgrimage when manufacturers, students and businesses are getting the dollar at the rates of N310 and N400 in the official and parallel markets respectively. Based on this misstep, many have raised the question whether the present administration really appreciates the enormity of the challenges facing the economy and whether it has the capacity to set its priorities right. Not surprisingly, the government’s defence of its action has raised more questions than answers. The Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had said the N197 per dollar exchange rate was approved by the president around May and that Christian Pilgrims benefited from a similar gesture in December 2015. Garba missed the point because Nigerians’ grouse is about the propriety of official subsidy for religious pilgrimage which is supposed to be strictly a private affair. The point to be underscored is that concessionary forex rates for Christians and Muslims is wrong and smacks of national fraud. That was why it was greeted with a deluge of criticisms when a similar inappropriate gesture was extended to Christian pilgrims towards the end of 2015. Government policies like the hajj dollar subsidy which are largely influenced by sentiments and primordial attachments are often suboptimal in terms of their outcomes. And in any case, the dire straits in which the country’s economy is does not recommend subsidy on religious affairs. The major plank upon which the government’s defence of the hajj dollar subsidy rests is weak and cannot withstand scrutiny. The official impression being created is that approval for the concessionary rate had been given before the official adoption of the floating rates scheme for forex. The implication of this is that the pilgrims are simply benefitting from what would appear to be a valid forward contract which turned in their favour. However, this is not really the case. And assuming but

not conceding that a forward contract exists: who were the counter parties to the contract? Could they be CBN and individual pilgrims or CBN and all the pilgrims as a group? Is it appropriate for the CBN, the regulator of the market and the agency fixing the forex rates, to enter into forward contract with the pilgrims? And if the contract was sealed with the bankers of the pilgrims which should have been the ordinary course of events, why then did it become imperative for the CBN to issue a circular to the banks to sell Personal Travel Allowance of between N$750 and $1000 to pilgrims at a concessionary rate of N197 per dollar? What is concessionary about this rate, which could also have gone the other way, say N157 per dollar, if indeed it was an outcome of a forward contract? The officials claiming the dollars were warehoused when the approval for the rate was obtained should state where the forex was kept, when, where and to which account(s) the naira equivalent was credited. At a time when the shortage of dollar at both the interbank and parallel markets is weighing adversely on the value of the naira, this hajj dollar subsidy is wrong-headed and will compound forex liquidity issues, with dire consequences on the value of the naira. This is in addition to sending a wrong message to investors who have been unable to source sufficient foreign exchange for productive purposes. Again, it is imperative to note that the significant rate differentials between the interbank and parallel markets on the one hand and the subsidy rate on the other hand are attractive and tempting enough to generate all manner of abuses, including round-tripping. It would appear that, as in many other cases, the government is finding it difficult to deliver on its promise to make a clean break from the sponsorship of religious pilgrims. Scarce foreign exchange should, we believe, be channeled to critical imports needed to support growth and contribute to helping the economy to exit recession. Save for documentation of intending pilgrims and services that ensure their welfare and safety in the holy lands, government should hands off all matters pertaining to religious pilgrimage. Religion should remain what it is, a personal relationship between the faithful and their God.

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14 LETTERS TO THE

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@tribune.com.ng or by sms to 08053412982. It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

The need for peace in Nigeria

HE National Orientation Agency (NOA), a parastatal under the Ministry of Information and Culture, has a lot to do if we are to have a unit-

ed country; in the wake of the renewed pro-Biafra agitations, I was expecting to see messages on television, listen to jingles on radios and read adverts in newspapers stating why Nigeria

is better-off as a united country. We had a terrible civil war between 1967 and 1970, and those who experienced it will never pray it happens again, but

Economy: Buhari needs time IT is easy to condemn political leaders when is outside the ‘fence.’ One thing Nigerians don’t realise is that governance is not a joke. Even though President Muhammadu Buhari promised certain things during his campaigns, the fact that they are yet to be fulfilled does not mean that he has failed. In governance, circum-

stances change, but Nigerians should know that President Buhari never said anything he could not achieve during the campaigns. What we need to do is just to give him some time to turn things around for the country. While we are still expecting the best from this government, it is important that the citizens play their

role with all honesty; we shouldn’t cut corners, and we should pay our taxes regularly. We can then wait to see how things will go. Nigerians, therefore, need to be patient with this government so that it can deliver on its promises. •Yakub Aishat, Zaria, Kaduna State.

BDCs responsible for naira’s fate IF the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) truly wants to have a control over the foreign exchange sector, then it should reach out to international foreign exchange firms to come into the country to operate. Such companies like Travelex, among others, will have the financial muscle to meet the forex needs of Nigerians. While I know that the naira is suffering as a result of the fact that the Federal Government and our international companies cannot generate enough forex, the Bureau De Changes (BDCs) have not been fair to the country, as they have been speculating against the naira to fall further, thereby enriching themselves. Curbing the excesses of the BDCs will go a long way in stabilising the naira. However, for the CBN to go this way, it will need to repeal its floating forex policy. The meaning of this is that while the naira has no fixed rate against other world currencies, the apex bank will now have to refix the rate for the naira. This will enable the firms contracted to trade in forex to Nigerians to have specific rate to operate on. The CBN should, therefore, not be too ashamed to repeal its floating foreign exchange rate policy. If one is sick and is on one medication, and one finds that that medication is not working, one has the right

to quickly switch to other medications. This is the situation with Nigeria at the moment. If nothing is done on time, things may become more terrible for us economi-

cally, as the rate of foreign currencies affect Nigerians greatly. I hope the CBN will do the needful now. •Vincent Ekpe, Woji, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

with what is happening in the country today, we are at the risk of having another war. The Igbo people have resurrected the Biafra agitation, Niger Delta militants have returned to the creeks, with some of them even threatening to declare a Niger Delta Republic; there is also the killings by herdsmen who are rampaging through the Southern part of the country. Let us take a look at Yemen, Libya and Syria; the wars in these countries started as mere protests, and before the citizens knew what was happening, they had turned into full scale wars. Today, I know Syrians will be regretting ever starting the protests that have ruined their once beautiful country. Almost a third of Syria is empty now, with normal life existing only in the protected capital, Damascus. Even, with all the military protection, Damascus residents are still in a state of fear. So, we may also think

that all the protests and agitations across the country are insignificant, but there are fifth columnists who are ever ready to hijack such peaceful protests. Therefore, the NOA, and other agencies of government, particularly those in the South East and South South, should start projecting the need for peace in the country. The truth of the matter is that we have a bright future ahead of us with our huge population; this is why China and India are destinations of choice for international investors.

Nigeria should, therefore, use its huge population to serve as catalyst for its economic growth. We have a population that can consume any product; this is a plus for those setting up businesses in the country. In fact, it is better to have a 20 per cent market share in Nigeria than have a 100 per cent share in some other countries of the world. •Gbemi Kehinde, gbmi2002@yahoomail.com

Of Nigeria’s 20 ‘unsafe’ states JUST recently, the United States warned its citizens to avoid visiting 20 Nigerian states. This will not be the first time the US Department of State will be warning its citizen to be extra cautious when travelling to Nigeria. First and foremost, the

US has the right to inform its citizens about happenings around the world, but it is also bad publicity to the image of Nigeria across the world. At a time when we are focusing on diversifying our economy, while also encouraging foreign investors to come and do business in our country, what encouragement will American and other world investors get to come into the country to invest now, even in the states that were not mentioned as being unsafe. What we should be talking about now is how to make Nigeria safe so as to encourage world citizens to visit. Apart from foreign investments, we can also make huge revenue through tourism, but which tourist will risk his life to visit a country that is deemed not safe? I, therefore, want to charge our security agencies to do everything in their power to finish off the remnants of the terror group still operating in the country as soon as possible. I was glad when the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai stated recently that Boko Haram had been seriously degraded to the extent that it could not carry out further attacks on Nigerians. We must not rest on our oars; we must continue to work towards ensuring that we achieve lasting peace in the country. •Yemisi Soares, Surulere, Lagos.

opinion FIRS: The fear of invading tax enforcers 15

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

By Yushau Shuaib

EDIA reports about invasions of business premises by the taskforce of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) could be worrisome. The enforcement exercise by the tax compliance team in shutting down tax-defaulting companies and ordering staff out of the premises is quite discouraging. A mere visit by tax team easily runs shiver into the marrow of business owners because of the reported gestapo-style invasions by official tax-collectors akin to the overzealous antics of anticorruption and security agencies to embarrass and shame their victims to public ridicule. We were discussing the attitudes of the tax enforcers, when coincidentally our security-man at the gate announced, through the intercom, the sudden arrival of members of FIRS taskforce. As young business owners, we were perplexed but still had the courage to ask that the officers should be ushered in. Surprisingly, this particular team from the FIRS looked more humane and courteous. In a friendly atmosphere, they started by stating how the FIRS operates a transparent and an efficient tax system that optimises tax revenue collection and voluntary compliance. They added that the agency, under its current Chairman, Babatunde Fowler, had delivered quality services to taxpayers in partnership with all stakeholders and in making taxation the pivot of national development. They also revealed that majority of taxable adults never pay tax, while most companies in Nigeria have neither registered with the FIRS for the mandatory Companies Income Tax nor up-to-date with tax filings. They then went ahead to discuss the tax liabilities of our firm for reconciliation. Meanwhile, in between our discussion, national issues as regards taxation were discussed. The leader of the team disclosed that with the poor revenue from the Federation Account, which is largely sourced from crude oil sales, the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is looking for other sources of revenue to execute capital projects and provide social services for the people. We were shocked to realise that corporate organisations are mandated to pay various taxes and levies to boost the revenue

of government. Apart from the popular Value Added Tax (VAT), the team disclosed that some major taxes to be paid include Personal Income Tax; Companies Income Tax; Withholding Tax; Education Tax; Stamp Duties; Capital Gains Tax and National Information Technology Development Fund Levy, among others. More alarming is the fact that young employers of labour are also compelled to pay taxes on each staff they employ. We interjected by saying that the government was not doing enough to warrant receiving different taxes and levies from the young business owners who are yet to grow fully. We queried the justification for multiple taxation when individuals and corporate organisations have to provide everything for themselves without palliatives from the same government. Apart from paying heavy tariffs for epileptic power and water supply, Nigerians now pay more for petrol, diesel and kerosene for the electricity supply, transportation and basic human needs. In the face of the ominous hardship, ordinary citizens and corporate organisations have no option than to resort to providing their private security for protection of life and property; private water through boreholes; private electricity through electricity inverter and solar energy; private healthcare system to remain alive and healthy and private school arrangements through exorbitant fees for their wards. In some cases, residents jointly contribute funds for road constructions without any subsidy from the government. We also cited example of how some states, in their desperation

to squeeze the meagre resources of their residents and business owners, demand nebulous taxes and levies on frivolities. A state in Nigeria recently introduced electricity generators tax to ‘maintain ozone layer,’ while another have been alleged to have introduce levies for marriage, new baby and corpses. The evidence of such tax-collections are only obvious in the jumbo remuneration packages and ostentatious lifestyle of political office holders. While the taskforce team listened with rapt attention to our concerns, they nevertheless pointed out that taxpayers have the moral and legal right to demand a culture of accountability once they paid their taxes promptly. We also agreed on the necessity of diversification of the economy from mono-product to other sectors like improved investment in agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing and entertainment industry through enabling environment that motivate willing taxpayers. Though we enjoyed the convivial atmosphere of our discussion, it is necessary to point out that businesses have negative reactions to tax policy because there are no adequate public awareness campaigns to motive taxpayers to respond positively by paying willingly. The right message should be disseminated on a flexible tax system that is easily understood. Tax payers must be encouraged to smile while paying their taxes, not frowning their faces and silently cursing bullying tax-collectors. Therefore, the task of growing tax revenue must be pursued with a human face and sustainability in focus. The government must also streamline the number of taxes and levies that will be permitted within the economy. The prevalence of multiplicity of taxes at all levels of government is the bane of our economy. Tax laws should also be regularly reviewed to minimise avoidable and untoward hardships to taxpayers. The process of tax compliance should be simplified, while tax burden is reduced, especially for small businesses. It is interesting to note that not all tax-collectors are arrogant, power-drunk and extremely overzealous in their collection exercise, some are professional, well-mannered, decent and mindful of their social responsibility of convincing taxpayers on the necessity of compliance. •Shuaib sent in this article via yashuaib@yahoo.com

Comparing Germany, Nigeria’s political ideologies By Chibueze Ebii

I visited Europe recently, Berlin, Germany, to be precise. It was a lovely city, organised, well planned. I have to tell you, I was impressed. Every evening, I would take a very long stroll along the street just to see the city and get a feeling of what Berlin is like - the city life, the people, and the culture. Every time I took these strolls, I could not help but to take my thoughts back home, comparing conditions in Nigeria with what I was seeing in this lovely city. Yes I know - an unfair comparison. But that was all I could think of while I spent time in this city; as I rode the buses, took the subway trains and walked the streets, I could not help but notice how different things were back at home compared to this city. Another thought troubled me while I was there. I kept thinking: why is my country not this way? Why can’t we have wellstructured roads, proper transportation system, steady power supply? Why can’t we have cities like Berlin in Nigeria? These questions disturbed my mind. I wondered how come Germany is able to build such a great city that is so accessible to most levels of the social class. I stayed in a friend’s place. His name is Luis, a single father, who worked at a shop that sold records. Every now and then, he would do small gigs on the side to meet up with his bills. For me, Luis represented the average Berlin resident who did not have a great income but had just enough to get by. I remember asking him about how he was able to meet up with the rent of his nice apartment that was situated in the center of the city. I would never forget his reply. He said: “the rent here is very affordable, it is not a problem.” That struck a chord inside me because back at home, a decent accommodation is a luxury that most people cannot afford. And again, I asked myself why...why is my country not like this? After the Second World War, Germany suffered one of the worst recessions that any country could endure, and yet, with no oil, it still rose to become one of the most powerful and richest countries in the world. I could not help but wonder how this country was able to rise from economic hardship to becoming

a prosperous country with a thriving economy. How did they build this country? How much money was spent on these superb infrastructures? How did they build beautiful cities that are accessible to all? This is a country without crude oil, no precious minerals, and a very terrible weather condition, but how did Germans do it? These questions bothered me so much until, one day, I witnessed something amazing. What I witnessed that day was as shocking as it was impressive. This experience helped me to begin to understand why Germany, probably, is the way it is, and why it may be very difficult for a country like Nigeria to achieve the same feat as this great country. It was a sunny afternoon, the rain had just stopped and the cool breeze began to ease in slowly. We had just concluded a meeting with the President of the organisation I work for. At the meeting were project coordinators from over 30 countries where we have offices. As we all assembled outside, waiting for the rest of us to come out so that we could head back to the hotel as a group, the President, who had completed her job for the day and was heading home, waved us goodbye. Surprisingly, she walked over to where bicycles were parked, unchained a bike from the metal rail, mounted it, and off she went, cycling her way home. I could not believe my eyes; that our global President, the overall boss of an organisation that has offices in 30 countries

of the world, did not have a Bentley with a chauffeur waiting for her, but only riding a bike on the streets of Berlin. It is not that she could not comfortably afford the best of cars, nor could she afford a chain of personal assistants, but everything boiled down to humility. I later came to understand that this kind of attitude exhibited by the President of my organisation is also one that resonates amongst the political leadership in Germany. I was made to understand that the political leadership in Germany is guided by an ideology that encourages conservation and condemns execces. The leaders here believe that democracy is about fairness and equal opportunity, and that development must be accessible to all, and not just a privileged few. In this country as a public office holder, one is forbidden to make financial profits with government money and projects. And to the Germans, this is not just another law, but a code they live by. It is just like the way ‘true’ religious people in Nigeria will view stealing money from the church as an unforgivable abomination. Now I began to understand why Germany is the way it is. Then I thought about my own country and it dawned on me, as well, why Nigeria is so different from this European powerhouse, and why true change in our country is still from being achieved. Of course, I do not expect Nigerian leaders to ride bicycles to exhibit their humility, but they are only concerned about themselves and their families alone as soon as they attain public office. Our political office holders are also interested only in keeping their positions, and this is what they do throughout their four years in office, and because election in Nigeria is not majorly determined by the ballot box, very little of their plans and strategies would involve real development options that will be accessible to all. •Ebii, development communications specialist, sent in this article via chibuezeebii@yahoo.com

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

tribune cartoons

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

GIANT IN THE TROPIC OF AFRICA

SEGELUULU

CHURCH BOY

FUNOLOGY

Hakeem Belo-Osagie •

Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1955. He is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He was listed by Forbes Magazine as the 41st richest man in Africa in 2014.

•

Belo-Osagie started his career as a petroleum economist and lawyer, following his graduation from Harvard Business School. For more than three decades, he has been a key player in the Nigerian economy through his participation in several private sector businesses.

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He is currently the chairman of Etisalat Nigeria. He also has a range of other business interests in Africa.

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Belo-Osagie and his wife, the lawyer Dr Myma BeloOsagie, are noted philanthropists who believe strongly in the power of education. They are among the largest donors to the African Leadership Academy (ALA), a residential secondary school in Johannesburg that works to educate Africa’s brightest students.

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

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

inside

nigerdelta

Hospital for bow-legged patients emerges in Delta Alphonsus Agborh-Asaba

HE hope of being made whole again has come to people living with disabilities, especially those struck with polio virus, the k and bow-legged and persons with deformities in their mouth in Delta State. This is because, a rehabilitation centre that can take in over 30 patients is soon

CUSO to train 12,000 youths on entrepreneurship in Cross River Anthony Ubong-Calabar THE leadership of Canadian University Students Oversea (CUSO international) said it had commenced the process of boosting the technical skills of twelve thousand, three hundred and ninety four youths in their chosen businesses. Briefing journalists in Calabar during the International Youth Day Celebration with a theme, “The Road 2013: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Production and Consumption”, team leader for the project, Jerry Nwigwe, said that the acquisition of technical skills by youths would contribute in no small measure in bridging the unemployment gap in the country. Nwigwe said the skills impacted by CUSO would enable the youths strengthen their capacity to efficiently manage small and medium scale businesses of their choice. He stated that the training would span through a period of five years. According to him, about 200 youths residing in Cross River State had so far benefitted from CUSO`s training, adding that since they came to the state, about 410 businesses had been strengthened. “The most significant intermediate outcome to date is that 410 young people have established new businesses when previously they were unemployed or underemployed” he said. The team leader maintained that the 12,000 skills acquisition training for youths in Cross River State which began in 2014 would be concluded in 2019, adding that about 54 youths had just benefitted from the YEBSP grant and 20 more were still waiting verification while about 16 groups and individuals had so far received loans from MFI partners. Also speaking, Country Director for CUSO in Nigeria, Garry Shea, stated that the target of CUSO was to work with very vulnerable and most marginalised citizens of the state, stressing that N100,000 was being given to less privileged individuals while N300, 000 (three hundred thousand) had been given to cooperatives as grants to kick start their own businesses. He said that the system for providing technical support and credit facilitation for young entrepreneurs fostered by the project had a potential to contribute in meaningful ways to the ultimate project outcome over the life time of the project, stressing that the project had added additional 16 new local government areas after an MoU was signed with these new local government areas.

to be commissioned in Umunede, in Ika North East of the state. The centre, affiliated to the missionary rehabilitation hospital in Gboko, Benue State, is coming on board as the Hope in God Foundation, the initiator of the project, marks its 10th anniversary of service to humanity in November this year. According to the facilitator of the Foundation, Elder James Azubuike, not less than 45 deformed persons were restored physically after undergoing surgery at the NKST rehabilitation hospital Gboko. Elder Azubuike, a farmer, whose four male children out of seven had one form of deformity orthe other, had a revelation in 2005 to take off the streets the physically challenged and care for them.

After pondering on the possibilities or otherwise of the revelation, he had no choice but to bow to the spirit of God which assured him that “with Him nothing shall be impossible” being a poor farmer notwithstanding. Ten years on the journey, Elder Azubuike says the birth of the rehabilitation centre in Umunede was a gift from above as the burden of taking patients to Benue State will soon be a thing of the past. ”This centre, the first of its kind in this part of the country, is being affiliated to the rehabilitation hospital in Benue. “This is because taking patients to Benue was causing me more stress and money. It will interest you to know that since 2006, taking people to Benue has cost me over N 15million without any assistance. People

came to my aid when payment of bills for people I took to Gboko became a problem. “One of such experiences was when an unknown friend came to the hospital in Gboko and paid N2.5million when two of my patients were stranded. Azubuike, however, listed some persons who at one time or the other lifted the hands of the foundation to include Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as a Senator, former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Honourable Sam Obi, Bishop Augustine Iweriedor, Lady Osunde of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, his brother, Alex Azubuike, Dr Kifa of Kifa Hospital, Umunede, Steven Ibite and the Odaze of Idumuesa, Mrs Aigbogwo, among others.

Disabled children whose predicaments are polio-related.

Group laments non-passage of DESOPADEC budget Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri DELTA Oil and Gas Stakeholders Group has lamented the non-passage of the 2016 budget of the Delta State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) six months after it was presented to the Delta State House of Assembly. The group, in a statement signed by its president and secretary, Dr John Tagbiretse and Josiah Ebidenwi and made available to InsideNigerDelta in Warri, Delta State, contended that the state government was to render the board of the commission toothless. “The reason for the comatose state of DESOPADEC is not far fetched: the non-passage of the 2016 Budget of the commission, with barely four months to the end of the year does not augur well.

“If the government is organized and sincere and the House of Assembly is effective, the 2017 budget would have been in the final stage of its development. “Conversely, it is a shame of colossal magnitude that the 2016 DESOPADEC budget is still ‘lost in transit’. “The most painful part of the debacle is that as of today, nobody knows what the budget looks or how much is contained therein. “Nobody knows if the N28b budget presented to the House in March remains or if it has been changed and how it has been altered. “Nobody is able to account for its whereabouts today,” the group alleged. The group warned that the state government’s attitude towards oil-producing communities might prepare the ground for restiveness in the near future if steps

were not urgently taken to halt every hostility against the commission. “For the purpose of emphasis, we want to warn that this present administration’s action towards oil-bearing communities is preparing the ground for restiveness and insurgence of a proportion that might become uncontainable. “As a group with grassroots members drawn from all oil producing communities, we feel the tempo and temperature of the youths and the prognoses are dire. “The long-suffering people of these communities will not sit down, fold their hands and allow their only hope of development to be taken away without a fight. “The state government must address troubling marginalisation and deliberate stagnation of DESOPADEC before an ill wind erupts and consume us all,” the group warned.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

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

Folklore, dances as Oba Abolarin celebrates festival of the aged By Wale Ojo Lanre

NE of the evidences which show that our pre-colonial society has in-built traditional system well laid out which took care of the socio and economic well being of all segments of the people was showcased last Wednesday Oke Ila, Osun State. It was the day, the Orangun of Oke – Ila, Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, Aroyinkeye 1, with glamour, pomp and ceremony gathered the aged in the town inside the Apakimo, the Centre for the Aged and fete them lavishly with sumptuous meals in a convivial environment ever. This act of Oba Abolarin was in fulfilment of the tradition and culture which was laid down by the progenitors and founders of Oke – Ila Orangun called Ilaka, a regime of paying pension and rewarding the aged in the town. According to the monarch “In Oke – Ila Orangun, it is our prime tradition to pay pension in our own way to the aged in their old age. The town has evolved a system where those who have devoted their prime time in servicing the society are not only compensated, but paid their pension every year is as old as the town and I have the onerous responsibility of not only sustaining this festival, but showcasing it to the world that we the Yoruba has instituted the act of paying pension to the aged before the Europeans thought of it.” The tradition which involved the young people going to their farms, bringing out yams and other items for the aged and an act which will be capped by the King hosting the aged in his palace was not only celebrated by Oba Abolarin but enhanced beyond the imagination of the aged. This year’s celebration was unique and more glamorous as Oba Abolarin invited friends, media and many guests to witness how the people of Oke - Ila pay pension to their aged traditionally system before the advent of the Europeans and the formal introduction of pension. Some of these aged were ferried to the

Apakimo, the Centre for the Aged, a multi media centre constructed by Oba Abolarin and equipped with traditional leisure engaging items, like Ayo Olopon and others with large flat screen television. Seeing the aged dressed resplendently in their colourful aso ebi (uniform) by the Kabiyesi dancing, and singing the panegyrics and chanting the cognomen of Oba Abolarin was not only thrilling, but captivating. “Oba Abolarin is doing wonders. Oba Abolarin is performing brilliantly. We feel the impact. His tenure is prosperous. His star and aura push Oke – Ila in the most visible angle of the firmament. He will reign long and longer than his fore fathers. You will conquer your adversaries and crush your enemies. Welcome again, the great Ajagun Ila!” The high point of the celebration was the moment the aged rose up and raised their voices in supplication to God and founders of Oke – Ila for the life of the Oba, the prosperity of the town and abundant advancement of every being that runs the blood of Oke – Ila . The festival brought sparks and ignited vibrancy out of the aged who interacted not only with the kabiyesi and the chiefs led by Obanla, but also with themselves. “I thank Oba Aroyinkeye for this festival of aged which has enabled me to see some of my people who I have not set eyes on due to some reasons in the last two years despite being in this town,” “an 89 years-old woman said. Watching them dancing, chatting and relating tales of old, reeling out stories of their time, stoking memories of their youthful days in Oke–Ila in particular was nostalgic and thrilling “Here in Oke Ila, we did have fun in our own way as dictated by that time. We had the fashion, fads and vogue some of them are resurfacing,” “Baba Obanla revealed. Oba Abolarin never allowed the reverie of the festivity rubbed off the message necessary for such occasion as he commended the aged for their past efforts at building the

town and Oke - Ila society. “You are the builders of today’s Oke – Ila. The modicum of success and development

we have today is your hard work and handwork which is inestimable. You have done well and still doing well. Today is your day as my forefathers used to observe it. It is a day to show gratitude to you for your past efforts and to show appreciation for your unrelenting prayers for the town.” Oba Abolarin praised them for raising children who are not only distinguished, but adding value to Oke – Ila outside the town. He enjoined them to continue praying for their children and encourage them to come home to invest and contribute more to the development of Oke – Ila. The oldest man in Oke – Ila, Pa Owolabi, aged 123 years, who is still prim and proper trekked to the venue as he commended Oba Abolarin for resuscitating and enhancing the Ilaka festival of the aged “the town has been operating on a high pedestal since Oba Abolarin, ascended the throne 10 years ago. Kabiyesi has been using our cultural tourism values in promoting and projecting this town. See how he has injected glamour and fun to project the touristic aspect of Ilaka Festival.” Oba Abolarin pointed out that “Our pre colonial society was not only built on trust, honest, but also on humanitarian and social care. It established the necessary institutions and agenda for every segment of the society. When I studied the Ilaka festival, I realised the ingenuity of our forefathers at taking care of the aged in their own way. I realised the community pension paying system and I feel proud of not only being a monarch but a scion of Oduduwa.”

Winners of the Emirates Cinema Competition, Busayo Ogunshina, and Adetula Abiodun, with the Emirates Regional Manager for West Africa, Mr Manoj Nair, at the Emirates Cinema Grand Finale Event held at the Silverbird Cinema, Ikeja City Mall in Lagos.

Goldberg beer village enhances THE indigenes of Osun State and visitors to the ongoing Osun Osogbo festival have expressed excitement and appreciation to Goldberg Lager Beer for unveiling the Goldberg Beer Village, an initiative that enhances trade and commerce in the ancient city. The people commended the beer brand at the Ogo-Oluwa area, venue of the Goldberg Beer Village on Tuesday during the official unveiling by the Ataoja of Osogboland, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun Larooye II and the Goldberg brand team. The Baale Elese of Osogboland, Adebayo Moshood, who represented the royal father at the event, showered prayers on the Goldberg team and Nigerian

Breweries Plc for setting up a beer village in the town because the initiative would increase and promote socio-cultural activities during the entire period of the Osun Osogbo Festival. He lauded the brand for championing befitting societal and cultural causes of the people. In his welcome address, Joseph Abodunrin, Regional Business Manager, Ibadan, Nigerian Breweries Plc, thanked to the Ataoja, his chiefs and indigenes of Osogboland for their support and for coming out en-masse to witness the unveiling of the beer village. In his words: “the OsunOsogbo Festival is an age-long traditional festival that must be honoured and celebrated and as the official Beer Sponsor, we want the state to be better culturally by

tourism

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

The world’s biggest hotel is set to open in Mecca THE world’s biggest hotel is set to open in Mecca in 2017, offering an unprecedented level of luxury to travellers and royalty alike in Saudi Arabia. It’ll have 10,000 bedrooms and 70 restaurants. The Abraj Kudai will cost about $3.6 billion, featuring 10,000 bedrooms, 70 restaurants and four helipads. At 45 stories tall, the desert fortress-style hotel boasts 12 towers atop a 10-storey podium, which contains a bus station, food courts, a shopping mall and an extravagant ballroom. But five floors will be off limits to other guests — they’re reserved exclusively for the Saudi royal family. The Abraj Kudai was funded by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and designed by the Dar al-Handasah group.

Shooting films at tourism sites will boost economy —Mbanefo DIRECTOR General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Sally Mbanefo, has described shooting of movies at tourist sites as a good move that will contribute to the promotion of the Nigerian tourism industry. Mbanefo said this while receiving the delegation of diaspora Nigerians of Black Tower Gong Production Limited with Odera Ozoka, led by a Nollywood veteran Mr Mahmood Ali Balogun at the headquarters of the corporation in Abuja. She commended the foresight of Mr Odera Ozoka, producer of the movie, ‘A Forgotten Place’, in complementing government’s tourism development and promotion efforts. The NTDC boss also commended Mr Balogun for lending his support to the movie production company for visibility to the rich cultural heritage in the country. She described the growth of the entertainment tourism in Nigeria as highly encouraging,

being the third largest in the world. The Consulting Producer and Nollywood veteran, Mr Mahmood Ali Balogun, praised Mrs Mbanefo for her visionary approach in seeing the potential of the film, and the possibilities for its worldwide success, due to the historical importance of the film. Balogun said, “With this meeting, Mrs Mbanefo has shown that there are people who truly care for Nigerians’ interest at the top. She was quick to see the potential of this film as an international juggernaut, and in supporting this film and the young filmmaker, Odera Ozoka, she has given me hope in the system.” The Black Tower Gong Production Limited boss in his spirited and passionate talk about the film disclosed that ‘A Forgotten Place’ movie will project Nigeria’s image, promote the tourism assets in the country and encourage international tourists to visit Nigeria.

Ozoka added that the movie, based on the Biafran war, will highlight unifying

narratives at this critical moment in our nation building.

commerce at Osun Osogbo festival giving it life, excitement and pleasurable moments during this period.” He therefore assured the people present at the event that the beer village and the 15-Day Beer Carnival will deliver enormous economic, social and cultural benefits for the ancient city, the state and the nation as a whole. Ms Kunbi Ogunjobi, one of the local beer retailers at the event, said Goldberg has indeed enabled the inflow of money that would enhance her business expansion. She stated: “I am already seeing the signs of profit in all business activities that will happen here during this festival because I am recording high sales already.” She commended Goldberg for providing the platform, which many promoters of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) would enormously benefit

from during the period of the Osun Osogbo festival. Visitors to the beer village had a great time as they were thrilled to comical, dramatic and musical performances from live band of Fuji artistes and game shows involving raffle draws where customers who swarmed the village and purchased Goldberg won various gift items such as generating sets, Plasma TV, kegs of vegetable oil and bags of rice, courtesy of the brand. The venue also provided art sculptors the opportunity to exhibit their craft to the delight of everyone present. For the third year running, Goldberg, a brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries is supporting the Osun Osogbo festival as the official BEER SPONSOR in the beer category.

The Director General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Dr (Mrs) Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo (middle), flanked by Film Director/Producer, Mahmood Ali-Balogun (left) and Chief Executive Officer, Black Power Production, Odera Ozoka, during a courtesy visit to the Director General to seek collaboration in shooting movies at tourist sites to boost Nigerian tourism, held at the corporat 0 headquarters of the corporation, in Abuja recently.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

with Doyin Adeoye

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

ecoscope

No water, no life. No blue, no green —Sylvia Earle

UI Zoo: The transformation story

Dr Olajumoke Morenikeji was the Director of the Zoological Garden, University of Ibadan (UI) between September 2010 and July 2016. She speaks with DOYIN ADEOYE on what it took her to transform the zoo, the intervention of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye and what it actually takes to run a zoo, among other issues.

HE transformation It was an exciting experience because when I started out as the director, we had a very small zoo which had a lot of challenges. I knew from the start that if there was going to be a turnaround, it would take a lot of hard work, effort, advocacies and speaking with individuals and organisations who could help. So I had to do a lot to make people buy into my vision for the zoo. I started with a massive clean out of the zoo because when I got there, I met three refuse dumpsites which were quite huge. I got them evacuated and ensured that all the junks were removed. The maintenance team removed about three lorry loads of junks then. There was just a lot to be done, many of the building were dilapidated, and there was no educational unit. So after the cleanup and after having series of meetings with the workers involved at the zoo, I then embarked on a massive campaign, speaking with everyone I could. However, I really enjoyed the mercy and favour of God because people were really ready to help when I approached them. For instance when I approached a topmost official at Sevenup Bottling Company Plc., who is a white man, he visited the zoo and after that sponsored the painting of the place, which gave the zoo a facelift. I also visited Nigerian Breweries Plc. where they gave us feeds for some of the animals. I approached Coca-Cola as well and we were able to set up a buttery that generates some money for the zoo. I became the director on September 20, 2010 and between then and when the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole came in around December, I had already done so much. So I was invited to make a presentation to him and other principal officers of the university, where I showed them the state of the zoo compared to what a standard zoo should look like. I’ve visited some zoos in the world and I know what a standard one looks like. I presented the budget at the end of the presentation and almost everything on the list was approved. Also I remember Pastor Adeboye came on a visit and I spoke with him about having an educational unit. I don’t know how I said it, but

I know that whatever I said, God backed it up because the next time I heard from him, he sent a cheque of N5 million. Architectural facelift We had a new architectural design for the zoo and the transformation was really impressive. I remember Pastor Adeboye visited the second time and was really impressed with what we had achieved that he then gave us N20 million. So that was how the architectural facelift started. We had the wildlife cleaning and laboratory in place; we built more enclosures and fixed the reptile house. The reptile house before then was absolutely empty. So we simulated the natural environment of all the animals in all the cages. We also built a library and I remember visiting Mr Adeniyi Oladehinde of Ladson to solicit for help. After that he gave us 10 complete sets of computers. So people like these made it a wonderful experience for me and I cannot thank them enough. Also Baba Adeboye came the third time and was impressed with what we had done in just one year, because by then the clinic and administrative block were all set and everywhere had a different look. So gave us N20 million again to make N45 million altogether. So that was how the zoo had its facelift. The garden was commissioned in January 2015 by Baba Adeboye. Animal welfare For the first time since 1949, we got a giraffe which costs over a million naira, because animals are very expensive. It takes a lot to transport them. So we got more animals which we never had before. We also got them in pairs so that they could breed. Also, with about six lions, we had to do a lot of maintenance on their enclosure. So the manager of Sweetco Foods Limited donated N1 million for the renovation of the lion enclosure and we drew up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), where he said he would take care of a lion for the next five years. So there are so many donors like that. Some even gave us animals. Mr Kodi Ogbonna gave us a baboon which he said was given to him as

a baby from the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tony Daboul and late Alhaji Abdulazeez Arisekola Alao both gave us lions. The beauty of the upgrading of the garden is that we now have more animals breeding. For the first time, the crowned crane bird, which is an endangered species laid its own eggs and hatched it. The same thing goes for the peacock. So there was no need for us to go to hatcheries anymore. The owl also laid eggs and hatched it itself. Also, we never had the crocodile breeding before, but now they are breeding and we have over 30 crocodiles at different stages of development now. Our lion gave birth to four cubs which is a very rare thing even in the wild.

What it takes to be a zookeeper It takes a lot to run a zoological garden. Animals cannot speak, so you become their eyes, nose and feel for them. If there is anything amiss, you must be able to react fast enough. You also need to be observant as a zookeeper. Before, when the crowned crane bird lays its eggs, it breaks. So I went to the cage and observed it for a while and realised that the eggs rolls off as it fidgets and breaks. So we had to restructure the place and that was how we secured the eggs. So it takes a lot of dedication,

Africa: Unplanned, uncontrolled tourism an environmental threat —Study By Doyin Adeoye ALTHOUGH the travel industry has being rated as a significant economic engine for many countries across the world, however, if not properly managed, poses a threat to the environment. “Tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economic sectors, responsible for nine per cent of gross domestic product globally and providing one out of 11 jobs,” a report published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Kenya, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisations in France, and Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States said. But the very tourists whose dream vacations support those economies are also a threat. According to a recent study titled: ‘World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate,’ carbon emissions from tourism contribute some five per cent of total global emissions and are predicted to more than double in 25 years. “If unplanned, uncontrolled or poorly managed, however, tourism can have a wide range

strength, observation and passion. They don’t employ people as zoo keepers in advanced countries except they know that they have a passion for animals. It also takes a lot of money. For instance, it takes over a million naira to feed a lion in a year, and that is if you feed it with goats every other day. I sometimes pass my night at the zoo. I remember before the renovation, there was a heavy rain one night, which broke down the fence of our eland, which is a large antelope. So I called the zookeeper who lives on campus and we both held the fence up with sticks until daybreak, so that the eland wouldn’t escape. So it takes a lot of hard work. Wildlife consciousness in Nigeria Unfortunately there is no dedication of government to zoos. Zoos are the most visited place in many of the developed countries, but unfortunately, Nigeria is not tapping into that. There is a need for awareness that wildlife is important because government is not doing enough when it comes to zoos and parks. In fact, every state should have a zoo. We have indigenous animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, which people will travel down to see it. Kenya is solely dependent on tourism and it is such a lovely place.

ecofact

E-WASTE are electronic devices and gadgets nearing or at the end of its useful life. • According to the United Nations, 20-50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are discarded every year • Only 12.5 per cent of e-waste is recycled. • Plastics in e-waste can be recycled into garden furniture. Battery

Ogun govt seeks stakeholders’ cooperation on Ogun Green Project Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta THE Ogun State Government has sought for stakeholders’ cooperation for its project on the busiest highway in Nigeria, the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway, stating its readiness to make the environment “green.” The state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said this during a sensitisation meeting on the ‘Ogun Go Green Project,’ which is aimed at making the highway beautiful and more importantly, to ease traffic gridlock on the highway. Held at the OPIC Event Centre, Isheri, Amosun, who was represented at the meeting by the Head of Service, Mr Sola Adeyemi, noted that the meeting became pertinent so that the stakeholders can key into the project. The governor explained that the initiative would cover 25 metres out of 70 metres setback on the

highway. The State Commissioner for Forestry, Mr Kola Lawal said the government was concerned by the chaotic and deplorable conditions of the 70 metres setback. Lawal, who is the chairman of the project said the first phase on the project would cover alternative route, tree planting, walkway, amongst others, submitting that the project would start from Berger end of the road. He reiterated that about 220 illegal structures, 41 abandoned trucks, over 100 articulated vehicles and many filling stations would be affected by the project, adding that owners of structures with approvals would be compensated. The commissioner further explained that structures without the approval of the government would be demolished with no compensation while they would equally be punished.

The state Commissioner for Environment, Bolaji Oyeleye, also assured the stakeholders that all markets along the route would be relocated to other designated areas, while his counterpart in the Ministry

of Urban and Physical Planning, Adebola Adeife, pleaded with shop owners whose structures have been marked for demolition to remove it their wares before government moves to the site.

components can be reused in other batteries. Metals can be used in jewelry and automotive parts. • According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 350,000 mobile phones are disposed of each day. That equates to more than 152 million phones thrown away in one year. • There are more mobile phones in existence than there are number of people living on earth. Based on the number of active SIM cards in use, there are more than 7.2 billion mobile devices being used, while there are less than 7.2 billion people on the planet. The growth rate of mobile devices compared to the population growth rate is five times greater.

Solar-powered ‘ATM’ delivers clean water in Sub-Saharan Africa FOR most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, access to safe and reliable water remains a major challenge. In Kenya alone, 16 million people do not have access to clean water. Increased incidences of drought linked to climate change is worsening water scarcity, particularly in areas that have limited and sporadic rainfall, leading to migration and increased urbanisation. Grundfos Lifelink Water Solutions helps build resilience to the effects of climate change by providing access to safe, sustain-

able and affordable water to people in developing countries. Lifelink systems can be installed in large or small water schemes in both urban and rural settings. In urban areas, the systems can be connected to the water network or to a water storage tank. In off-grid rural areas, Lifelink systems take the form of communal water points and mini-grids, drawing water from the ground or water treatment systems through solar-powered pumps. To collect water, people charge a smart card with credit bought onsite or via their mobile phones,

insert it into the dispenser and pay for the water they need. The cloud-based water management system receives and publishes all transactional and operational data from each water dispenser. The system also includes an alert function, which allows utilities to immediately detect – and respond to operational problems so that maintenance can be carried out in a timely manner. This helps minimise operational downtime of the water kiosk.

of negative consequences for World Heritage sites and their local communities,” the report said. If poorly managed, tourism is also a threat to the wildlife people want to see. “International tourism is heavily reliant on energy-intensive transport modes, particularly aeroplanes and cars, and the sector’s contribution to global carbon emissions, five per cent in 2005, is predicted to more than double by 2035,” the report said. Tourism’s reliance on fossil fuels is “incompatible with the need to decarbonise the global economy,” it said. It also noted a 2016 recommendation from the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection that the carbon emission standard for aircraft could be strengthened over time.

How climate change is increasing forest fires around the world SCIENCE has suggested that over the past few decades, the number of wildfires has indeed increased across many countries. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), forests are endangered by increasing wildfires, as the trend has been that wildfires are burning more areas around the world. “In recent years, there have been big fires in various places around

the world where we typically don’t see large-scale wildfires,” Jason Funk, a senior climate scientist with the UCS, said in an interview. Projections by the UCS suggest that wildfires could get four, five and even six times as bad as they currently are within this century. These “ignition events” don’t have a major effect on the scale of the fire, says Funk. But what does affect scale are prevailing climate conditions. And these have become warmer and drier, due to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions, via the greenhouse effect, are causing the global temperature to increase and the climate to change. This enhances the likelihood of wildfires. “The areas where wildfires are taking place are always areas that have become drier and hotter, and where spring has come earlier,” Funk said. Drier conditions and higher temperatures increase not only the likelihood of a wildfire to occur, but also the duration and the severity of the wildfire. That means when wildfires break out, they expand faster and burn more area as they move in unpredictable ways.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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

‘Why Nigeria must save for future investment despite low crude oil price’ —Utomi

Professor Patrick Okedinachi Utomi is a professor of political economy and a management expert. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and a former presidential candidate, with a passion for the dignity of the human person and the spirit of enterprise. In this Interview with OLATUNDE DODONDAWA, he looks at how Nigeria became a mono-economy and proffers suggestions on how to be less dependent on crude oil exploration.

OOKING at agitations across Nigeria since the discovery of crude oil, would you say that oil discovery is a blessing or a curse to the nation? There has been a global conversation for years on whether oil is a curse or a blessing. But if you look at countries that have managed their affairs very well, you will realise that oil has managed to be a blessing. Classic example is Norway. But for developing countries, you can see a comparison between Indonesia and Nigeria. Indonesia has always been considered Nigeria’s development twin. Both nations are growing, but in different directions. A friend of mine at the School of Advance International Studies (SAIS), in Washington, Professor Peter Lewis, wrote a book years ago, titled: “Growing Apart, A Comparison of Nigeria and Indonesia.” In the early 1960s, people said they wished Indonesia could be like Nigeria, but by the 1980s, people were saying they wished Nigeria could be like Indonesia. They are very similar countries; they are both populous and oil gifted countries. Indonesia, however, has managed to harvest and harness its oil while keeping its economy diversified. Most of the pharmaceuticals you have in Nigeria are imported from Indonesia. Indonesia which did not have palm oil now has huge palm oil plantations. Their agriculture is thriving, the industry and oil is still there. When Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi was the Minister of National Planning, he led Nigeria’s delegation to OPEC meeting at the time oil price was very low in 1998. Oil price was below $10 per barrel. While everybody at the meeting was fighting for increase in quota, Chief Gbadamosi noticed that the Indonesia Oil Minister wasn’t bothered. Gbadamosi then asked him why he wasn’t bothered about the low oil prices, and the man looked at him and said Nigerians are not serious. He said Indonesia does not depend on crude oil because they are making more

money from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Nigeria started LNG before Indonesia. Oil is not supposed to be a curse, but the way Nigeria has been running it has unfortunately made it a source of damage rather than advantage. If you look at history, you will notice that crude oil price regime is cyclical. We have had a period of boom, doom, boom and doom. There was a time we had oil doom, we went into recession. Oil boom resurfaced again and oil price went as high as $140 per barrel in 2014. Now there is oil price crash and nothing has changed about 40 years after, it is still the same story. How did we get to where we are today when states are struggling to pay salaries, pensions, gratuity and provide basic infrastructure? I pray that oil drops to as low as $4 per barrel and stay there for about four years, then Nigeria will have an economy. There is something wrong with the way we behave, such that we wait for oil price to go up and we will be in a more dangerous situation. Things got so bad that in 2003; two famous economists from Colombia University wrote an IMF paper in which they said that Nigeria is better off without a government. They said that if you take all the receipts for oil proceeds and send out the portion that each Nigerian is entitled to from that proceeds, Nigerians will be better off without a government. These two economists are Irvin Subramanian and Xavier Sala-I-Martin. The problem is not oil, but the people who have run Nigeria for the last 30 years. We are repeating the same mistake we made in 1984 today. We have repeated them between last year and this year. What were the mistakes made in 1984? In 1984, we made a classic Venezuelan error which is why though Venezuela sits on the largest global oil reserves, they are lining up right now to buy sugar. In 1984, we were also lining up to buy sugar and other essential commodities. People are now going down the road to buy sugar, milk, because we refused to understand that we have to produce and exchange with others. Once you don’t produce and the price of commodity

that is giving you revenue crashes, you are stupid. I repeat the word ‘stupid’. I repeat again ‘stupid.’ If you pretend to believe you can continue to consume the way you were consuming before and the exchange rate is what you used to moderate behaviour. Last year, we said we will not devalue, yet we are not producing anything. You are consuming what you are not producing, it is not an option to devalue, the economy will just crash and it happened. All the banks that have credit for Nigerian banks withdrew them, we couldn’t import anything and we began to queue to buy sugar back then. That is what we have been doing since last year. My argument for years has been that when you are in a commodity-driven economy and the commodity is in boom, you save a significant part of your earnings. And you use your savings to attract further savings from outside the country and make investment in the alternative areas of growth. In the case of Nigeria, Nigeria has strong endowments in several areas. But unfortunately, we have lazy elites that want to extract rents from oil income as government officials, even the businessmen. And the country continues to wallow in poverty and the income gap continues to widen. A few people with access to power are buying private jets and our presidents are describing prosperity with how many private jets there are in Nigeria. But there have been agitations for re-structuring, what is your take on that? I am an advocate of restructuring and I have no question about that. Nigeria made more progress when it had regional government. For instance, someone told me a story by a senior Northerner, although I cannot verify its authenticity. He said Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, attended a meeting in Lagos, being the Capital of Nigeria, and it was announced that the Easterners will soon be exporting crude oil. After the meeting, Sardauna met with his cabinet in Kaduna and informed them about the potential oil export by the Eastern region. He was so happy that his cabinet

members were worried and asked why he was happy about the development, and he told them that it is an opportunity for them to develop their agriculture and begin to feed the Eastern region. He said this is because once oil proceeds begin to come, the Easterners won’t be able to farm anymore. He said that if they developed agriculture, they will be taking oil money from them in exchange for the food they will eat. Nigeria started industrialising when Chief Obafemi Awolowo moved to set up Industrial Estate in Ikeja. The Premier of Eastern region said the West cannot be ahead of them so he established two (industrial estates) simultaneously, one in Aba and the other in Port Harcourt to compete against Ikeja. Northern region established Kakuri Industrial Estate in response and Kaduna became the hub of textile industry in Africa. The same happened in television when Western region established the first television in Africa, WNTV in 1959, the Eastern region also quickly set up their television station. So when the Westerners say WNTV, first in Africa, Enugu will reply, Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Television, second to none. And that was the competition that brought progress. All these have been lost by lazy governors who now just collect fat accounts. During the Obafemi Awolowo administration, the entire Western region from Lagos to Asaba had 12 ministers (now commissioners). But today, each has several commissioners and if you count today, we cannot have less than 300 commissioners and several advisers within the same region that was managed with 12 ministers. In your opinion, what is the way forward? The pain from oil is self afflicted. I have argued for years that Nigeria should have a benchmark price for spending. I have suggested $40 per barrel and everything from $40 to $70 should go into a Stabilisation Fund, which we can borrow from if there is a downturn to ensure we have a stable $40 per barrel investment. If it goes above $70, the excess should go into a Future Fund (Sovereign Wealth Fund) so that we will be investing the Future Fund.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Deregulation: IPMAN, NIMEX

Nigerian Tribune

Petroleum to import 100,000MT of petrol

HE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said it has entered into a strategic partnership with NIMEX Petroleum Group to import 100,000 metric tonnes (MT) to complement deregulation policy of the Federal Government. This is contained in a statement issued and signed by its National President, Mr Obasi Lawson, after it signed a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) with NIMEX Petroleum Group. It stated that NIMEX Petroleum Group will import the products, while IPMAN will distribute the products nationwide. The IPMAN boss stated in the statement that the aim is to ensure products availability across the country because allocations from the NNPC is insufficient for its over 10,000 members. IPMAN commended the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, and Dr Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for their efforts in ensuring that products are available for the consumers. “With membership of well over 10,000 marketers across the length and breadth of Nigeria, IP-

MAN has over the years grown to control well over 87 per cent of the petroleum products retail outlets in Nigeria with a reach that auspiciously spreads to every nook and cranny of the country. “This commendable spread by IPMAN members in the establishment of retail outlets across the country necessarily requires a steady supply of petroleum products in order for its positive effect to be felt both by government and Nigerians. “The NIMEX Petroleum Group was founded by Azmat Mahmoud, an astute German Businessman, a global name in the provision of solid services in the petroleum sector. The Group has a global footprint in more than 15 countries in Africa and it has garnered three decades of experience in the provision of solid services in petroleum-related trading and in fostering relationships globally recognised and aimed at delivering consistent value for its patrons. “It is in recognition of this global reach by NIMEX, that IPMAN has decided to partner with it in order to bring its huge experience to support IPMAN in capacity building in the strategic area of satisfying the growing needs of its members for availability of petroleum products,” the statement read.

SSAEAC lauds FG over TCN takeover Warns against privatisation THE Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has applauded the Federal Government’s decision has over the management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), following the completion of a four-year management contract by Manitoba Hydro International (MHI), Canadian power firm. The union commended the Federal Government for conceding to its counsel which it gave in a letter to the President and Commander-in-Chief of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, dated 26 May, 2016. It will be recalled that MHI Management Contractors won the bid to manage TCN in April 2012, for an initial three-year period, subject to renewal. The contract was signed on June 16, 2012, while MHI commenced work on 1 July, 2012. The three-year contract expired in 2015 and was renewed in a controversial circumstance for another one year up to the end of July, 2016. It was believed that Manitoba deceived the new government to get the last extension and fought very hard for another but for SSAEAC’s petition to the President. In a press statement issued in Lagos, the SSAEAC President-Gen-

eral, Comrade (Engr) Chris Okonkwo (FNSE) and the Secretary-General, Comrade (Barr) Umar Dubagari expressed their satisfaction because the government heeded the union’s advice not to renew the MHI’s management contract. ‘‘We commend the Federal Government for its decision not to renew the foreign management contract. It is a step in the right direction. It is our considered opinion that the Nigerian counterparts who worked closely with the eight-man MHI team during its four-year contract period and who now constitute the new management team, are well equipped to properly administer the affairs of the company,” the statement said. Besides, the union proposed that the new management team can be reconstituted to ensure that professionals without “baggage” administered the hub of the power sector. This is acknowledgement of the fact that some Nigerians in the team have questionable background and intentions. The union further advised the government not to think of privatisation of TCN, as some self-seeking and portfolio carrying business men and women have started campaigning.

NAEC Conference: Kachikwu, Fashola, Maikanti confirm attendance THE Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and his counterpart, Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, have confirmed their attendance at the forthcoming annual Conference of National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) in Lagos. The conference which holds annually will bring together stakeholders in the oil and gas industry including captains of industries and leading private sector chief executive officers to deliberate on burning issues confronting the nation’s oil and gas industry. Kachikwu, while confirming his participation, said that he is looking forward to address oil and gas stakeholders and participants at the conference. He stated this during a courtesy visit by the executives of the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) led by the Chairman, Mr Yusuf Tunis. The conference, with the theme: ‘Low Oil Price: Impacts and the way Forward’ holds on Thursday, 18 August, 2016, at the Banquet hall of Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, by 9 a.m. The sub-themes include ‘Attracting Investment in the Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector’ with emphasis on ‘Gas to Power: Challenges and Opportunities.’

The lead paper and the keynote address will be delivered by Kachikwu while Fashola and the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru will present papers as guest speakers. Stakeholders in the oil and gas and power sectors, including International Oil Companies (IOCs), downstream oil and gas operators, independent producers, new owners of the privatised power assets and other stakeholders, would also be at the conference to proffer solutions to issues to be discussed. These stakeholders, including captains of industry and other industry chief executives as well as the lawmakers, are expected to brainstorm on the ways to attract investment into the oil and sector sector considering the impacts of low oil price regime in Nigeria. They will also brainstorm on finding a lasting solution to the challenges of gas to power. The conference is expected to provide a veritable platform for the government and the industry operators to rub minds on the ways to address the energy challenges confronting the country. Confirmed speakers include: Mr Sanders Mai-Bornu, Deputy Managing Director, Nigeria LNG Limited, Mr Dolapo Oni, Head, Energy Research, ECOBANK

PLC; Mr Clay Neff, Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria Limited; Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN); Mr Bismarck Rewane, CEO Financial Derivatives Company Limited; Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, Director-General, West African Institute For Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM); Mrs Sotonye Iyoyo, Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA); Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Mr D.V.G Edwin, Group Executive Director, Dangote Refinery. Others include: Mr Saidu Mohammed, Group Executive Director, Power and Gas, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Professor Barth Nnaji, Chairman, Geometric Power Ltd; Mr Dada Thomas, Managing Director, Frontier Oil Limited; Mr Bolaji Osusanya, Managing Director, Oando Gas to Power; Dr Oladele Amoda, Chief Executive Officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company; Mr Sunday Olurotimi Oduntan, Executive Director, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr Chiedu Ugbo, Ag. Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NPDHC) and Dr Vincent Onome Akpotaire, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

PDP: A convention like

no other

Group Politics Editor, TAIWO ADISA, previews the National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), painting the scenarios of things to come.

EADERS and followers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are already gathered in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for the second time this year. Their purpose is to hold another national convention, aimed at strengthening the party. It is a follow: up to the similar convention held in May, where the National Caretaker Committee, headed by former Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi. Just as it was with the May 2016 National Convention, when a plethora of court cases threatened to truncate the process, the August 17 convention is not faring better. The Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the executive, which was dissolved by the Port Harcourt. Convention in May, has continued to drag the leadership of the party through the courts, while also recruiting converts by the day. As at the last count, the party is engrossed in no fewer than 15 court cases, all relating to the struggle for the control of its soul. All was actually set for the convention in May in Port Harcourt, but forces loyal to Sheriff, suspecting that he might come out of the convention an orphan had secured an injunction at a Lagos Federal High court, stopping the replacement of the national Chairman, and other key officers of the party at the convention. Sheriff himself, after days of denial, came off his shell and took ownership of the legal tango when he announced the postponement of the planned convention at a press conference. Before the bubble burst, insinuations were rife that Sheriff was planning not only to succeed himself as national chairman but also to emerge the PDP presidential candidate in 2019. Governors of the party, who blew open the insinuations confirmed at closed circuit meetings held ahead of the May convention that Sheriff had promised to partition the party and allocate same to his allies ahead of the next general election. But with the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), the Governors Forum and the National Assembly Caucus as well as the State Chairmen who constitute the bulk of the National Executive Committee (NEC), not on the same page with Modu-Sheriff, the coast appeared clear to push him out of the window. But did that se-

The National Assembly caucus, which fought the choice of Sheriff till the last minute, appears to be taunting the governors for bringing the party to its present travails through their choice of the Borno politician.

Bode George Agbaje

Adeniran

Wike

Adedoja cure respite for the PDP? Nay. As it indeed appears that the channel for trouble only became enlarged. As the former Borno stile governor found his way out of Port Harcourt, the national convention was held. The party tried to play safe off the long arms of the law by refusing to hold elective convention which had been

barred by the Sheriff-induced court order. The deputy national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, took charge of the Convention in line with the party’s Constitution, which vests the power on him in the absence of the National Chairman and the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee came into effect. It was a sharp way of evading the punishment of the courts which had granted interim orders stopping elections into the office of the National Chairman and other seats. What was designed as an easy way out has, however, further landed the PDP in more troubles. From its day one in office, the Makarfi-led team has never really known peace. The National Secretariat of the party has remained under lock and key, while Modu-Sheriff has also continued to hold court as rival National Chairman. A last minute effort by the BoT to secure Sheriff’s appearance and endorsement of the August 17 Convention fell flat earlier in the week as the man came up with what was considered impossible demands.

Continues pg 25

politics&policy

Sheriff

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Makarfi

Ekweremadu

The dynamics of 2019 Continued from pg 24 In an attempt to keep faith with the dictates of the Port Harcourt convention held in May, the Makarfi team fixed another convention for August 17. The hope was that all contentious issues would have been resolved before that date and that the party would have been in a position to elect a unifying executive. Despite all the efforts by the BoT which appointed the Prof. Jerry Gana-led Committee to broker peace with ModuSheriff, the former Borno state Governor remained a thorn in the flesh of the party. Earlier on Monday, the PDP heave a sigh of relief, when Justice Ibrahim Watila of the Federal High Court Port Harcourt ruled in favour of the party and ordered all relevant agencies to monitor the August 17 convention. But the Sheriff faction was to throw spanners into the works later in the day when Justice Okon-Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled to stop the convention. The suit in Abuja was brought forward by Sheriff and his supporters. But the party had chosen to go ahead with the convention, choosing to rely on the ruling of the Port Harcourt judge. Ordinary watchers of the development would merely interpret the development as an issue of conflicting rulings of the courts. Incidentally the two courts are of coordinate jurisdiction. But political watchers are bound to see more than that. Some observers are already insinuating that the push behind Modu-Sheriff is attributable to external influence. Such observers would liken the situation to the period of PDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dominance when its leaders set the smaller parties against themselves until the opposition was able to galvanise itself ahead of the 2015 election. Whatever the permutation is, the battle is already fierce ahead of the all-important convention. The number one position in the party is already pitching the old against the new in the party, creating a sort of bitter feud among erstwhile alter egos. In Lagos, the party is already sharply divided along the Chief Bode George and Mr. Jimi Agbaje lines. Agbaje was the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 election, while George was a former deputy chairman of the party. Besides George and Agbaje, there are three other candidates, including Chief Raymond Dokpesi, the only candidate from the South South, Professor Taoheed Adedoja and Prof Tunde Adeniran. Each of the

candidates have their links and alliances which either provide succour or discomfort for loyalists of the party across the states, but one thing that is clear is that the contest this time is set to throw up intriguing politics. Sources in the party indicated that the Governorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Forum, having accepted the blame for the Modu-Sheriff debacle, is seeking to clean up the system and bring in a candidate they could vouch for. At the same time, the National Assembly caucus, which fought the choice of Sheriff till the last minute, appears to be taunting the governors for bringing the party to its present travails through their choice of the Borno politician. Somehow, opinions coalesced and it was resolved that the Chairmanship slot be zoned to the South, the same way the Presidential candidate should be zoned to the North in 2019. It was however gathered that the thinking among some of the party chiefs was to zone the chairmanship slot to the South West, the zone that was yet to produce the chairman since the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inception but another thinking to the effect that the Presidency might have to also be micro-zoned if the post of national chairman is taken directly to the South West. Sources in the party said that the thinking among members of the party was to ensure that the South East produces the vice presidential candidate in 2019, after a candidate might have emerged from the North. The thinking above was said to have informed the decision of Southern leaders of the PDP, who met recently and announced the micro-zoning of the chairmanship to the South-West. Another meeting in Akure Ondo state was said to have toyed with the idea of reserving the slot for Ogun and Lagos states, but the contention among members from the zone, as well as the push from outside the zone had indicated the slow

loyalty to zonal caucuses with a promise of tomorrow will eventually define who wins the coveted chairmanship slot at the end of the day.

Fayose move towards that agenda. Will the South-West lose out? On paper, the only candidate to have toured all the six geopolitical zones ahead of this convention is Dokpesi, the media mogul turned politician. With Dokpesi being the only candidate in the race from the SouthSouth, things ordinarily should come easy. But, affairs of the PDP are not that simple to predict, especially as the ballot to be cast today will certainly be done with eyes firmly set at tomorrow. Even though the party has not zoned the positions to each of the six geopolitical zones, it is certain that the minds of the party faithful is already being averted to the reality of zoning that would emerge in 2019. Thus, the South East, which has an eye on the number two slot in 2019, will certainly deploy their votes to the candidate who pops up with assurances towards that goal. The same for the South-South and the Northern states. With only 12 governors in the party at present, some opinion moulders have argued that the caucus might not wield the sort of influence it used to amass but in reality, it could emerge that number has done only very little to whittle down the influence of the caucus to lobby other influential forces across the zones. In essence, rather than relying solely on the power of campaigns or popular votes that would emanate from independent will of party men, loyalty to zonal caucuses with a promise of tomorrow will eventually define who wins the coveted chairmanship slot at the end of the day.

politics&policy

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Why I opted out of PDP chairmanship race —Akin-Deko

Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko, who has been involved in politics since 1978, founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He is said to be eyeing the national chairmanship. In this interview with SULAIMON OLANREWAJU, the convener of Majeobaje Movement, a socio-cultural group dedicated to better governance in the country, speaks on the national convention of PDP and other issues. Excerpts:

OME PDP members like Professor Taoheed Adeoja and Professor Tunde Adeniran, who like you contested for National Secretary in 2012 are contesting for the national chairmanship. why are you not in the race? In my opinion, the PDP is not yet ready to choose a new chairman. There is still a lot of house cleaning to be done starting from 2015 when we lost the presidential election and then heard that party funds had been horribly mismanaged. This needs to be investigated. There are currently about 15 cases in court challenging the actions of the party leadership. This shows that a lot of genuine members are unhappy with certain decisions. But even more importantly, we need to allow the courts time to resolve their own squabbling so that we can have a single judgement, possibly at the superior Appeal Court. Then of course there are the many PDP leaders that are at political daggers drawn, waiting to settle scores or run for the 2019 presidential nomination. So, though I believe I am amply qualified to be national chairman, I won’t contest under these conditions. I don’t want to be the product of a faction or God forbid preside over the disintegration of the party. All our PDP governors, Assembly members both state and national, ex-ministers, ex-this and that, who are currently dominating the headlines with their legal manoeuvres are doing so because they are in PDP. They have to realise that they are holding power in trust for all PDP members. We are the ones that do the work to win elections in our respective states and therefore all PDP officeholders are answerable to us. The tail cannot wag the dog, no matter how rich and powerful the tail becomes. So for now, PDP elders and leaders should be given time to first arrange a truce between these warring groups, reinforce the BOT to include more of our wise and less ambitious grassroots elders, and then support Ahmed Makarfi or a similar leader to run the party for a few more months while all these court cases are resolved. They can at the same time investigate the state of our party finances. After that I will, God willing, contest for the chairmanship if the position is still vacant and if my Idanre constituency wants me to. You are the convener of Majeobaje Movement, which evidently supported the emergence of this administration. As an economic consultant, would you say President Buhari is doing the right things to resolve Nigeria’s current economic problems? The man has been in power for just 15 months or so, and the recent conclusion of our Majeobaje Group was that he has not been in power long enough for us to assess his performance. President Buhari and most of us never realised just how deep and wide the rot had eaten into the economy at the time he was sworn in. He is also in an emergency coalition of political parties each with an eye on taking over from him in 2019. Let’s give the man time to implement his change agenda and to groom a good successor before we assess him. But in the meantime there is no getting away from

Akin - Deko growing criticism that he is nepotistic and has filled Aso Rock with his relatives, and that he does not consult enough especially with key elders in the society. Does this mean that President Buhari is on the wrong track by focusing only on fighting corruption? People voted for President Buhari in 2015 because of his integrity and because they saw an urgent need to kill corruption because it had reached dangerous levels in all areas of life. On this fight against corruption, Buhari has done well; very well. What his 15 months in office has shown is that it isn’t only politicians that are corrupt, but public office holders generally: soldiers, civil servants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and so on. People who by their professional training, oath, salary and exposure, should know that much more is expected of them than from the average person. But recent revelations show that once some of them get into public office and are surrounded by the trappings of office, they

forget everything including basic home training and join the corruption train. Look, INEC officers that accept bribe to rig elections are worse than soldiers who plan coups. NASS members who pad budgets without the knowledge of the executive are worse than armed robbers. Corruption is today a way of life in Nigeria. Yes, Buhari is definitely doing very well in confronting corruption. But it will take more than one good man as president or another as EFCC chairman. The entire justice system must be seen to be systematically and transparently investigating corruption cases, prosecuting suspects and jailing the guilty ones regardless how high and mighty they are in our society. We just must move away from this current, knee-jerk frenzy to expose a few highly visible and very greedy officeholders. There is also need to have an ethical revolution to bring back good old moral values. Our social leaders and people we look up to such as religious leaders, teachers, judges, traditional rulers and professionals, must

What the president’s 15 months in office has shown is that it isn’t only politicians that are corrupt, but public office holders generally: soldiers, civil servants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and so on.

come under closer scrutiny with the bad ones humiliated and rooted out. Fighting corruption must become a permanent mindset of all Nigerians at all times.

But would this resolve the nation’s economic problems? It would be a useful first step to resolving the fundamentals. Something like pruning a tree to make it grow stronger and to become more fruitful. The fact is that the Nigerian economy often seems to defy economic logic because we do not apply the needed medicine in large enough dosage or for long enough to get the desired effect. What we need is a medium term Rolling Plan, which government will stick to and which carries all stakeholders along. Not just the usual group of government, IMF, organised labour and the private sector, but also the informal sector which still forms 60-70 per cent of the economy and includes market women, artisans and traditional rulers. The plan must show how to get students to leave the comfort of life in a city which has roads, water, electricity and viewing centres to go and get land to start farming without too much hardship. Government must help to provide land, build roads, source equipment, provide extension services and help with unsecured loans to make such shifts in attitude and lifestyles a reality. Would you subscribe to the view that restructuring Nigeria would make the country work better? Interestingly, the conclusion at a recent Majeobaje Movement forum was that the term restructuring is so vague that it can be taken to mean anything, for example, reorganising to have less waste in government or operating true federalism or amending the Cconstitution entirely. There is no doubt that the current three-tier structure of one Federal, 36 States and 774 Local Governments is too expensive as it needs very many employees most of them highly paid technocrats enjoying fat allowances. But that can be sorted out if the government, especially at state and LGA, is ready to follow Buhari’s footsteps in cutting waste and laying off workers. But restructuring by changing the constitution needs to be very carefully handled and must be done without ulterior motives such as settling political scores or promoting sectional interests. Keep in mind that the basic reason for restructuring Nigeria after independence, during the military rule, was to strengthen Nigeria’s unity and to share oil money equitably amongst the regions. Today the pressing need is for efficiency and fairer representation amongst 350 clearly identified ethnic groups. Therefore any platform to review the current constitution must reflect the interest of all these ethnic groups and also recognize that all Nigerians above 18 years of age are qualified to talk on the matter. It’s not like the widely over acclaimed English Constitution, which was drawn up over 800 years ago by a king and a few barons, his feudal landowners who ruled over about 3 million people. Or the American Constitution, that was written 250 years ago by just 55 men, that represented less than 20% of the 3 million population because in those days women, native Indians and blacks could not vote. Nigeria has a population of 175,000,000 in 350 ethnic groups where everyone above the age of 18 can vote. Any constitutional amendment must be under a well-thought out, all-embracing plan to avoid the same crime of non-representation that the current Constitution is accused of.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

features

Editor: Kehinde Oyetimi featurestribune@yahoo.com 080111845048

Polio resurgence: Where did Nigeria go wrong?

A year away from being certified polio-free, a resurgence of polio cases has dented Nigeria’s attempt at being certified free. Two new wild-polio cases in the north-eastern state of Borno returned the country to the global map of countries with polio. SADE OGUNTOLA examines factors involved in Nigeria’s recent near miss of complete polio eradication.

year away from being certified polio-free, a resurgence of polio cases has dented Nigeria’s attempt at being certified free. Two new wild-polio cases in the northeastern state of Borno returned the country to the global map of countries with polio. With the setback, Nigeria must now wait at least until mid-2019 without new outbreaks to receive polio-free certification. “So we are starting all over again. Those two years are now gone with all the money and efforts put to work. So that is the problem,” said Dr Adekunle Adeniji, Director of World Health Organisation (WHO) National Polio Laboratory, Department of Virology, University of Ibadan (UI). Adeniji stated, “It is a sad thing because these are indigenous viruses that have been circulating since 2011 but were not found because our surveillance is not sensitive enough not to pick them. “If they were the imported ones, we would have been given 90 days to clear it. And if nothing again was found, then we would have continued with the process of being certified polio-free.” Nonetheless, Dr Adeniji said the two cases of polio in this migrant population may have arisen also because of poor immunisation coverage due to Boko Haram insurgency in the area. He said, “North-eastern Nigeria is still a challenge because of Boko Haram and

getting health workers there is an issue. Recently, some health workers were killed in the area. This is aside the UN operatives that were recently killed.” Dr Adeniji, noting the possibility of the wild polio spreading south wards because of migrant such as Fulani herdsmen, stated: “We are praying that this does not occur. The way we are in Nigeria, there is no barrier to movement. The migrant populations like the herdsmen cannot be pinned down to any particular place.” Professor Georgina N. Odaibo, Head, Department of Virology, University of Ibadan, declared that the resurgence will give opportunity for the routine and regular immunisation to take place, and as such reduce the possibility of the virus reoccurring in the community. Odaibo declared, “It is wild polio actually and that is why it is a problem. If it is vaccine strain, there is no problem. We are vaccinating people and we expect to have the vaccine strains around.” The medical expert said access to health facilities, including vaccination may be an issue with internally displaced persons and as such there health needs must be taken more seriously. According to her, “It is a well known phenomenon that in areas where you have insecurity, the health of the people is also a problem because they do not have access to the level of healthcare that is required. It is not new.” Can this also be a pointer to worsening

malnutrition in the area? Professor Sunday Omilabu, a professor of virology at the University of Lagos, stated that in some instances vaccine strains of polio virus in circulation can also present as the wild polio virus strain in the individual’s with lowered immunity. Omilabu, who remarked that only genetic testing could determine whether the discovered cases were not really vaccine strains of polio virus, declared that even a single case of polio virus was enough to be cause for alarm as it could rapidly spread and infect more people. President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Alhaji Toyosi Raheem, however, said that the resurgence polio in Nigeria was a multi-dimensional problem. Winning the polio fight, he said, re-

This complacency meant that polio eradication activities were no longer backed by adequate and timely counterpart funding at the state and local government area levels.

quired in-country production of this vaccine as well as quality control of polio vaccines imported into Nigeria. “When a different strain from what is circulating locally is used to prepare vaccine, it may not be protective. That is why in the 70s and the 80s when the vaccines were produce in-country, they were more protective and more effective to an extent that Nigeria was exporting this to foreign countries especially those in West Africa.” Also, Alhaji Raheem questioned individuals’ responsiveness to the Polio Laboratory Containment Committee set up by the Federal Government this year to collect and destroy all potential polio infective chemical sample or materials, a requirement for Nigeria to be polio free. Raheem said many laboratories did not allow the committee to do its job, adding that such a material could be a danger in future polio control if individuals refrain from complying with such government’s directives. President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Mike Ogrima said the two new wild-polio cases were indicative that routine immunisation exercise nationwide should not be a ceremonial, but part of our culture and tradition so that all children can get immunised from time to time. Professor Ogrima declared: “Mothers and parents should take immunisation exercise very serious. When children are not immunised, they stand a chance of getting infections like polio that end up making some children paralysed.” President, Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Oyewale Tomori said the new outbreak of polio was because government’s commitment waned on polio eradication and complacency set in. He declared: “This was particularly evident at the levels of the National Assembly, governors and local government area chairpersons. “This complacency meant that polio eradication activities were no longer backed by adequate and timely counterpart funding at the state and local government area levels. This was despite a public and often vocal commitment to polio eradication from Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari. As a result, gaps remained in the quality of immunisation and surveillance activities. These were especially prominent in the country’s security compromised areas.” Nevertheless, Professor Tomori said that the situation was serious enough for the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication to be convened urgently. Previously, Health Minister, Professor Issac Adewole, explained that the discovery and confirmation of the polio outbreak was a result of strengthened surveillance, only made possible by successful military action in liberating more communities in the north eastern region. “The overriding priority right now is to rapidly boost immunity in the affected areas to ensure that no more children are affected by this terrible disease,” he said. The Nigerian authorities, along with experts from WHO, are currently investigating the situation to find out where the virus has spread. In 2012, Nigeria had more than half of all polio cases worldwide, according to the WHO. The country has since taken big steps to eradicating polio, marking two years without a case on July 24, 2016 before this setback.

communitynews State of link roads: Imalefalafia, Ososami residents berate water contractor

By Tunde Adegbola

ESIDENTS of Imalefalafia and Ososami areas of Oke-Ado in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State have decried the state of their link roads damaged by the contractor handling the laying of the yet-tofunction water pipes in the area. The people described the action of the contractor as uncalled for. Community News learnt that some of the link roads are no longer motorable due to the damage done by the contractor. Speaking with Community News, a resident of Ososami, Mrs Christiana Adeoye, said the laying of water pipes had affected the free flow of vehicles on the roads. According to her, “when they were laying the pipes, they promised to repair the excavated roads within the shortest period of time but it is unfortunate that the roads have been abandoned. They are now worse than they were before.” Mr Adeolu Ogunkoya, chided the state government for not compelling the contractor to repair the roads after laying the pipes. According to him, “I’m really disappointed. The state government does not care about those of us living in this area let alone those plying the roads. The water they promised us has not been flowing; the roads they destroyed have not been repaired. Permit me to say that the present administration in state lacks ideas and proper planning. Since they knew the project would not be completed why did they embark on it?” Mr Taofeek Olabanji of Olawale Street in Imale-

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

falafia said many of the affected roads were in bad state and unmotor-

able, noting that the work done by the contractor had worsened the situation.

THE annual socio-cultural festival of indigenes of the ancient town of Offa, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, popularly called Ijakadi Festival, has been scheduled to hold between December 26 and 30, 2016, in Offa town. Speaking with journalists in Offa on Tuesday, the Secretary General of Offa Descendants Union (ODU), Chief (Mrs.) Wosilat Macarthy, said a central working committee to organise this

tractor handling the water project to repair the roads without further delay.

Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

One of the damaged roads.

Ajiwogbo gets relief from water shortage RESIDENTS of Ajiwogbo in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State recently breathed a sigh of relief with the provision of borehole by a nongovernment organisation, Akin Alabi Foundation. The residents, who spoke with Community News, expressed their gratitude to the foundation for the gesture. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the foundation, Chief Akin Alabi, said he was propelled to make the donation because the people had suffered scarcity of water for decades, leading to water borne diseases in the area. The donor promised that more amenities would be provided for the

people of the area, while charging them to protect the borehole against vandals. Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Ademola Adewuyi, commended Chief Alabi for his selfless service to humanity and called on other eminent Nigerians to emulate him so that the people in rural areas would have a sense of belonging. The Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the area, Mr Olu Opawale, also applauded the donor for the gesture. The Baale of Ajiwogbo, Chief Timothy Adeagbo, said water shortage was a perennial

Offa holds Ijakadi Festival December Biola Azeez-Ilorin

The respondents appealed to Governor Abiola Ajimobi to order the con-

Ekiti deputy gov empowers indigent, students

year’s fiesta, headed by a don, Professor O.S. Adegboye, had been appointed. Chief Macarthy, who spoke on behalf of the national president of ODU, Alhaji Usman Yasin, said the fifth Ijakadi festival was aimed at promoting the town’s cultural heritage and to serve as template for development of Offa town. She also said that the festival would serve as an avenue to foster unity, peace and development of the town, adding that

since its inception five years ago, the festival had impacted positively on the town. She appealed to sons and daughters of Offa both at home and in the diaspora and friends and well-wishers to contribute towards the successful hosting of the festival. Chief Macarthy charged members of the central working committee and the sub-committees to live up to expectation as a way of justifying the confidence reposed in them by the community.

problem in the area, and that politicians had made promises to end the problem, but to no avail. He, therefore, commended Akin Alabi Foundation for addressing the problem. According to Mr Ojeyinka and Mr Olagoke, who reside in the community, shortage of water had always been the major problem in Aji-

wogbo. They said further that if not for the philanthropic gesture of the donor, they would likely witness another outbreak of epidemic in the area this year, calling the attention of the state government and well meaning individuals to provide more amenities in the area, including good roads.

Ahmed seeks royal fathers’ support on primary education Biola Azeez-Ilorin

GOVERNOR Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has called on traditional rulers in the state to assist the state government in promoting qualitative primary education through monitoring of primary schools in their domains. The governor made the call when traditional rulers from Kwara South Senatorial District paid him a ‘Thank You’ visit for the recent elevation of four traditional rulers in the zone to first class status. He noted that if the traditional rulers had good synergy with the state Ministry of Education, monitoring of primary school teachers at that level would be better. He also implored the royal fathers to assist the state government in the quest for less dependence on revenue allocation from

the federation account through the promotion of agriculture on commercial and inclusive platforms. According to the governor, since the royal fathers are custodians of the cultural values of their communities, they are better positioned to encourage their subjects to be actively involved in agriculture as business. He promised that his administration would support their communities in land acquisition, cropping and other enabling strategies in the quest to transform the state into agriculture hub of the country. Earlier, the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they were on the thank you visit in appreciation of the elevation of four of their colleagues in the south senatorial district.

THE deputy governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, has financially empowered to some members of Christ Apostolic Church, Chapel of Salvation, Ikere-Ekiti in Ikere Local Government Area of the state. Presenting cash to beneficiaries during church service, Dr. Olusola said the gesture was in line with the stomach infrastructure programme of the administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose, to cushion the effect of the current economic hardship in the country. He explained that the decision was also informed by the need to reach out to the underprivileged as commanded by God, particularly those who continue to worship the Lord faithfully not minding the economic challenges confronting them. The deputy governor also promised to give them monthly stipend which will reduce the harrowing effects of the economic hardship. Three Senior Secondary School (SS3) students were among the beneficiaries as Dr. Olusola promised to pay their WAEC fees. Dr. Olusola also admonished members of the church to continue to serve God with sincerity and be prayerful while expressing his optimism that Ekiti State and Nigeria as a whole would overcome the present economic challenge. He used the forum to call on the rich and groups in the society to cultivate the habit of giving and making meaningful impact on the people around them, especially the indigent and the vulnerable. In an interview, some of the beneficiaries, including Mrs. Mayowa Alofun and Mrs. Grace Oyebola, thanked the deputy governor for the gesture with a promise to utilise the money well and share with others in line with the deputy governor’s admonition.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

31 news

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Investments: We must avoid past mistakes —Buhari Leon Usigbe - Abuja

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration is trying not to repeat the mistakes of past governments in its investment drive. Speaking on Tuesday, at the State House, Abuja, while receiving executive members of Association of Africa Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), led by the chairman, Mr

Jeff Nemeth, he explained that Nigeria, as a country, recognised her problems early enough, but remained potential for too long and so did not achieve much results. President Buhari said in order to reverse the trend, “we must avoid the mistakes made in the past by both government and manufacturers,” adding that “we are ready to get investment from all quarters, so that we can improve the

lives of our people.” The president lamented that Nigeria failed to develop on automobile initiatives started in Bauchi, Kaduna and Ibadan, but depended too much on oil as mainstay of her economy. “We are making efforts

to start our steel industry all over again. I see vast opportunities for both the country and those who invest here,” the president said. Nemeth said the association comprised potential investors, who were ready

to unlock investment potentials on the African continent. “We are ready to offer strategic partnership with Nigeria. We want to promote investor-friendly regulatory frameworks and sustainable manufacturing.

“We will equally promote infrastructure development, job creation and skills transfer,” he said. The AAAM chairman sought the support of the Presidency in the realisation of the vision and mission of the association.

Army/Shi’ite clash: Buhari assures

on human rights Leon Usigbe - Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has assured international and local human rights groups of appropriate response to the report of the judicial commission of inquiry into the clashes between soldiers and members of the Shiite movement in Nigeria, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja, on Tuesday, said the President was studying the details of the report before announcing appropriate response in due course. The statement added that the President’s commitment to human rights remains unchanged, being a cardinal component of the democratic order. It recalled that when the clashes occurred in December, President Buhari had told the nation during the Presidential Media Chat that he was awaiting

the outcome of the report of inquiry into the incident before making appropriate response. The statement further said: “The present administration believes in due process and the rule of law; therefore any response to the report would follow this principle. “The Federal Government will continue to act in the larger interest of the public to prevent such violent incidents.”

From right, Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah; President Muhammadu Buhari; President/CEO, Ford Motor Company, South Africa and chairperson, African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), Mr Jeff Nemeth, Managing Director/ Raf-S (Nissan) and National Association of Auto Manufacturers, Mr Mike Whitefield and the Director, Ford Middle East and Africa Region for Government Affairs, Ms Simonetta Verdi, during a meeting at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Rescuing over 200 Chibok girls more important than protection of oil, gas installations in Niger Delta —Kachikwu Ademola Adegbite - Abuja MINISTER of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has stated that rescuing over 200 abducted Chibok girls from Boko Haram captivity in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, was more important than the protection of oil and gas installations in the Niger

Delta region. Dr Kachikwu, who dismissed allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari led the All Progressives Congress (APC) government was paying more attention to the protection of oil installations than to rescue the missing girls, made this known on CNN’s Quest Means

Business Monday night. According to him, “if you remember, most of his first state visits were to neighbouring countries, trying to gather alignment among neighbouring countries military forces in fighting this issue and the military has been engaged in that territory. “One of the crises the

Annular eclipse to occur all over Nigeria Sept 1 AN annular eclipse that will be visible all over the country, with different degrees of totality, will occur on Thursday, September 1. In a press statement, the Head, Media and Corporate Communications of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr Felix Ale, said the highest degree of obscurity in Nigeria during this natural occurence would be in the Southern part of the country, particularly in Lagos, where it was expected to have 80 per cent obscurity, while the lowest degree of obscurity would be about 45 per cent and this would be observed in the Northern part of the country, particularly in Sokoto. The annular eclipse will

be observed as a partial or near total eclipse across the nation, with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) expected to be about 60 per cent. The annular eclipse is expected to occur between 7.15 a.m. and 10.03 a.m, with slight variations in actual timing across the country. In Lagos, the first contact will occur at about 7.15 a.m, while the maximum eclipse will occur around 8.30 a.m. and will end by 10.03 a.m. The eclipse is expected to commence in Abuja around 7.17 a.m, with maximum eclipse to be recorded at about 8.32 a.m. and the eclipse will end around 10.00 a.m. It should be noted that

eclipse is not a spiritual issue, but a natural occurrence that can be accurately predicted by science. Hence, the NASRDA has developed the capacity to accurately make this prediction as part of its mandates. The Space Agency has also put in place a viewing centre at her headquarters in Abuja, with provision of proper eclipse viewing apparatus for school children to observe the annular eclipse as part of its continuous programmes to expose Nigerians and students to matters concerning astronomical environment. While appealing to the general public not to panic or adduce any mystical interpretations to this event, it is also necessary to advise that nobody should observe

eclipse with naked eyes. Looking at the solar eclipse with naked eyes can lead to permanent damage to the eyes, as the obstruction does not reduce the luminosity of the sun. Therefore, NASRDA has also concluded arrangements to provide limited number of special solar filters to members of the public to savour the rare natural occurrence in appreciation of science and nature. An annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun, hence, the sun appears as a very bright ring or annulus surrounding the dark disk of the moon.

president had to inherit was the fact that once he came in, he found that monies that were allocated to the military to be able to deal with these issues, were largely diverted and he spent a lot of time trying to find funds. “He first had to deal with that problem, but once he dealt with that, the army has got more brisk in its business, however, we haven’t found the girls and its sorrowful for every Nigerian who thinks about it. “I have children, the last thing I want is for people’s children to be in the forest abandoned and we are doing everything we can, I sympathise with all parents, who are in this situation, but the president hasn’t given upon this,” he reassured. A critic of the Buhari-led administration, who was aired on the programme anchored by Richard Quest, had said the military was leaving the North-East for the Niger Delta to guard the pipelines. Dr Kachikwu disagreed by saying: “Not quite so, at all. On the contrary, since President Buhari resumed, I think his first steps were targeted at the North-East and the Chibok girls.” He stressed that Nigeria

needed to produce as much as 900,000 barrels of excess crude per day to make up for lost crude and to meet the benchmark of the 2016 budget. “It is a difficult time, production is about 1.5 million barrels a day, but we intend to get that up. We are putting a lot of energy around it, a lot of dialogue, a lot of engagement, a lot of security meetings to try and resolve it. “President Muhammadu Buhari is very concerned about these things, a lot of executive time is being given to this. We are expecting that over the next one month, two months, we would find some final solution that would bring production upward. “Beyond that, the reality is that we have lost a lot quite a lot of months, about five, six months of continuous problems. So, it is going to be difficult to catch up with the 2.2 million barrels on which the 2016 budget is based. “But we are certainly going to try, once things are calmer. We need an average of 900,000 barrels per day, excess production to catch up. That is going to be very tough, but we are going to work on that,” he explained further.

south-westnews

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Ondo guber: APC chair suspended

Mrs Ajimobi honoured at Rotary investiture

It’s a drama good for the season —Kekemeke Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

ESS than two weeks to the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to produce the party’s candidate in the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State, members of the party, on Tuesday, suspended the state chairman of the party, Honourable Isaac Kekemeke. The party members, who are supporters of some aspirants and leaders of the party in the state, converged at the APC secretariat, Oyemekun Road, Akure, sacking the whole executive members of the party. The aggrieved group, known as the Movement Against Imposition (MAI), who arrived at the party secretariat as early as 8:00a.m. with placards of various inscriptions, blocked the entrance to the secretariat and vowed to resist any form of imposition from the sacked chairman and the national leadership of the party. The members subsequently appointed Saka Yusuf Ogunleye as the new chairman of the party in the state. Speaking on the development, the convener of the protest, Tolu Babaleye, accused Kekemeke of allegedly enforcing the endorsement of one of the 25 aspirants as the candidate in the primaries. “Kekemeke has made serious efforts to enforce the endorsement. He openly informed the state executive committee that a leader of the party has endorsed an aspirant and has instructed him to tell the leaders and delegates. “We are not oblivious of the role played by the state chairman who we collectively described as the architect of the current impasse in our party,” he said. He warned that if the grievances and resistance were not checked, it may mar the chance of the party again in the next election like it robbed the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2012 election. He stated that every leader had the right to support any of the aspirants, but faulted the conversion of the party’s machinery and structure to favour an aspirant and accused Kekemeke of working against the interest of the party. “It is absolutely wrong for anybody to force the same structure, jointly owned and financed by the aspirants, to work for one of the aspirants.” But Kekemeke described his sack and action of the party members as a mere blackmail by privileged few

who wanted their decision to override the majority, saying “It’s a drama that is good for the season.” Kekemeke explained that every individual and party members had the freedom and liberty to express their grievances under constitution of the party but said “those behind the protest are those who want to impose their way on the majority, they are desperate members of the party that want to hijack the party.” He denied the imposition rumour being spread

around in the party and said most of the aspirants had received one form of endorsement or the other. He said “anybody can express his preference. Endorsement simply means the preference for a particular aspirant and this everybody has been doing. This is different from adoption. “They are just being afraid because nobody has even forced anybody nor announced to the party members where we are going. The truth of the matter is

that the losers shout and the winner will celebrate and I have just become the scapegoat. No matter the blackmail and intimidation, it will not make me shift ground on the constitution of the party.” However, the aggrieved members accused Kekemeke of undermining the chances of the party in the November 26 governorship poll, saying “Kekemeke manipulated the delegate list of almost all the wards and local government areas in Ondo State. He is on the

prowl working against free and fair primaries and by extension against democracy. “Kekemeke must not be allowed to conduct the primaries since he has compromised his office. “The list of delegates submitted by Kekemeke to the national secretariat is wantonly manipulated; the delegate list is a cancer to a free, fair and credible primaries. “Kekemeke is hereby suspended to pave way for free, fair and credible primaries.”

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola (third left); Honourable Tunji Olalekan (third right); the Akirun of Ikirun, Oba AbdulRauf Olawale Adedeji (second left); Lead Consultant, Osun Job Centre (O-JOBS), Mrs Mobolaji Akande (right); Honourable Aloba Israel (second right) and the Elende of Eko-Ende, Oba Abdul Rauf Olaniyan, during the official commissioning of Osun Job Centre, in Osogbo, on Tuesday.

Oyo IGR drive: Ajimobi allays fears as revenue board commences enforcement GOVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has allayed the fear of the citizens who have been expressing concerns about the new tax regime commencing today. Governor Ajimobi said that government was only intensifying efforts to increase the state revenue base.

The governor said the tax drive was not meant to create hardship for the people but to block loopholes affecting the state economy. Speaking through the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, on a live programme on the Federal Radio Corporation

of Nigeria (FRCN) SouthWest broadcast station, the governor said government was not introducing new tax laws, but enforcing those that had been in existence. According to him, “what we are doing is backed by law. We are not introducing a new thing. We are

OYSCATECH to honour OBJ, Ajimobi, 3 others at maiden convocation tomorrow By Saheed Salawu THE Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, will, tomorrow, honour former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, by conferring on them its Distinguished Fellowship Award, at the grand finale of its maiden convocation ceremony and 10th Founders Day anniversary. Other notable Nigerians that have been pencilled in for honour by the institution at the ceremony, where a total of 2,065 students will

be graduated, are the Chief Executive Officer of BOVAS Petroleum, Mrs B. A. Samson; Chief Executive Officer of Owotutu Petroleum, Alhaji Fasasi Adesope and Alhaji Rahman Alayande of Dangote Sugar Company. The provost of the institution, Professor Jacob Adewale, who addressed a press conference on Monday, said out of the 2,065 graduating students, 1,888 will bag the Ordinary National Diploma certificates, while 177 will receive Higher National Diploma certificates. The ceremony, Professor

Adewale said, was organised for seven sets of graduands, which go back to 2009/2010, from the faculties of Animal and Fisheries Technology, Home and Rural Economics, Engineering and Technology, Plant and Environment Sciences and Faculty of Science. The don called on government at all levels to initiate schemes that would encourage young people to go into modern agricultural practices, particularly, in view of the shifting focus from petroleum as the mainstay of the economy.

Nigerian Tribune

only trying to enforce payment of tax through our Board of Internal Revenue (BIR). “We have met with associations and market leaders, intimating them of government’s improved tax drive and they have shown readiness to cooperate with us during the engagement.” He also noted that “some citizens are law-abiding and they pay their taxes, levies and duties when due, but some have decided not to. It is the civic responsibility of every citizen to pay tax. “Over the years, we have not been fully enforcing the tax laws in the state. Most states of the federation were comfortable with the revenue from the Federal Government, but now that the economy is dwindling, we have to look inward and increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). “I assure you that we are not going to create unnecessary hardship for the people,” he stressed.

THE wife of Oyo State governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, has extolled the Rotary International for its commitment to humanitarian services. She commended the club for its several interventions to uplift the status of women and children in Nigeria and Oyo State, in particular. Speaking as the Chairperson at the investiture ceremony for Rotarian Oluseun Osuntokun, as the 28th President of the Rotary Club of Iyaganku-Ibadan, Mrs Ajimobi said she was once a member and a past president of the Bodija Lions Club in Ibadan. Mrs Ajimobi said she remains committed to the welfare and well-being of people, especially women and children and expressed her readiness to work with the Rotary Club of Iyaganku in the area of community projects. Mrs Ajimobi, who was inducted at the ceremony as an Honorary Rotarian, said she accepted the honour with pride. In his speech, the new president, Oluseun Osuntokun, expressed the pains of Rotarians in Nigeria at the recent two fresh cases of wild polio in Gwoza, Borno State, just a few days after Nigeria celebrated two years of a poliofree nation and only one year to the World Health Organisation’s Certification of the country as polio-free.

Power of Resurrection Christian Church celebrates eighth anniversary THE eighth anniversary of Power of Resurrection Christian Church holds on Monday, August 15 to Tuesday, August 16, 2016 between 5:00p.m and 7:00p.m at the church auditorium, at No. 71/73 Olaleye Ogunsola Villa, off Agbamu Road, Power City, Sanyo, Ibadan. The theme of the anniversary is “Who is like our God?” Praise night will take place on August 17, at 10:00p.m till dawn while the grand finale comes up on August 21, 2016, at 8:00a.m. Ministering at the event are Pastor and Prophetess D.O. Adebowale and other anointed men of God, with songs inspiration, deliverance and breakthrough.

Pastor and Prophetess D.O. Adebowale

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

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35 CHANGE OF NAME

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 CHANGE OF NAME

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I, Ajimibi Segun Ibrahim my name was mistakenly written as Ayerin Bambo instead of AJIMIBI SEGUN IBRAHIM. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as AJIMIBI SEGUN IBRAHIM and my correct date of birth is 16th June, 1966. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

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This is to certify that my correct name is Oke Olabanji and not Agbona James Odunayo. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as OKE OLABANJI. All former documents remain valid. UBA Plc., and general public take note.

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Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor tai_adis@yahoo.com

Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida marks his 75th birthday today. In this interview conducted at his top hill residence in Minna by journalists, he speaks on some secrets about his life, how he proposed marriage to his late wife, Hajiya Mariam Babangida, among other issues. ADELOWO OLADIPO brings the excerpts:

How I narrowly escaped air crash —IBB recruits people (into the Army) because it is a noble profession that requires much of courag. It is a profession where you find much of courage because of the services we render in the country .

OU spent eight years as the military president of the country. Before then, you had distinguished yourself as an officer in the Nigerian Army. How would you compare the two positions? I think being a military officer was more challenging than being a military president. It was challenging because as a military president, you still to had to seek people’s advice; you had to interact and discuss with people based on the situations you found yourselves before you could take any decision. But being a military officer, you were only responsible for the troop you were commanding. And as an officer, you were leading men into what was not necessarily good, but you were leading them into danger and if you led them well, you would keep a lot of them alive and they would depend on you and they would also protect you as a commander. If you had any challenge, you would also fall along with them. As a result of this, your life and their lives depended on one another and especially on you as a commander. So, I considered being a military officer as being more challenging than the political one. But being a military president, has some limitations.

Can you tell us why you have been misinterpreted over the years by some Nigerians following your refusal to debunk some of the things they said about you, as you are being described as an evil genius? I think I am not the evil that quite a lot of people think I am. I have had a very excellent background and by training, we have to love one another and my feeling is that—I can understand that by virtue of the job I was doing, I was bound to be misconstrued — people would take that as one’s true character. But I consider it as an opinion as long as I am not what you thought I was, I feel satisfied. I joke sometimes about this. When you said I stole N12.8 billion, in those days I used to say if I had N12.8 billion, I had no business staying in this country; I would have left for abroad. But that was one of those things one has to live with. I am hopefully thinking that the younger generations, who are going to come after you might come out with a research on leadership, about people, about individuals and what roles they played. And then, they may come out with a different thing from what is currently being said.

You fought to keep the nation one between 1967 and 1970. Which period would you say was your closest to death during the war? I think it was the movement from Enugu to Umuahia. It was very tough, it was very challenging. You needed to be physically fit to be able to really undertake certain things because we were mopping up our fields and you had to go through the bombs, and so on. And you could never tell whether it was safe to pass through certain areas, that was when I got wounded. During periods like this, you may wish that your wife was alive to felicitate with you. Now that it has been long since she died, how do you feel? Well, it was not easy, but I thank God I have got children who show remarkable understanding and some of them are doing well by trying to improve on what their mother used to do for me. And I have started getting grand children who are also occupying my time. From my heart of hearts, I feel great and believe that what I was able to do 20 years ago, I cannot do them again. But despite all this, I am grateful to God for sparing my life till today to mark my 75th birthday. We joined the Nigerian Army for the purposes of doing our best to protect our fatherland, and that has not changed. First, you subjected yourself to the constituted authority and for that reason,

IBB you had to undertake jobs or tasks given to you by government. And before you signed treaties and the rest of them, you were expected to serve in other situations.

You must serve in the Economic Community of West African States, African Union or the United Nations. So, on the whole concept, I think the Nigerian Army still

It is only three things you don’t know about death: you don’t know the cause, you don’t know the time and you don’t know the place.

How did you feel, reading about your own obituary in the social media and some traditional media organisations who did not confirm their reports before they went to press? The first thing that came to my mind was that it was not new in this country. They did it to the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, they had done it to Shehu Shagari not long ago and they did it to quite a number of people. So, what they were saying was not a surprise to me, coupled with the fact that, as a Muslim, whether I like it or not, I just have to die. You are stating the obvious, but only for you to find out it is not true. But with time, I cannot escape it, God Has seen certain hands. It is only three things you don’t know about death: you don’t know the cause, you don’t know the time and you don’t know the place. Why are some people describing you as a cat with nine lives? Maybe those who said I am a cat with nine lives know what dangers I went through and I escaped! What should have happened to me and it did not happen— those are all perceptions of the people. The first time I had a close shave with death was when I was in Lagos. I had a flight from one of the African countries back to Lagos and suddenly, the engine Continues on pg 37

politics&policy

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

The first time I had a close shave with death was when I was in Lagos. I had a flight from one of the African countries back to Lagos and suddenly, the engine of our aircraft was hit by a stone and from 29, 000 feet we came down to 15,000 feet. I knew her, I knew the family, I knew everybody in the family , so I had no problems whatsoever, signifying the relationship. I delivered my manifesto to her straight to the point . Yes, I told her I wanted her to marry me. How did you join the military? Thanks to my training as a military officer. On the first question you asked, in my secondary school days, my principal wanted me to go into Administration at the higher institution. He was a British. I personally wanted to become an engineer. Then, politics came. The Minister for the Army, a late gentleman called Tanko Galadima, from Bida Local Government in Niger State, came to our school on a recruitment drive. He wanted people from this part of the country to enlist into the Nigerian Army because they were not many as at that time. He asked how many of us were interested, then a lot of us raised up our hands. He took all our names and the following morning, we had forms to be filled for our enlistment into the Army. We went and sat for the examinations, we were determined to pass that exam because we did not want to disappoint him. There were about 15 of us. We went; we passed the exams. We had the interview, the medical tests and the aptitude test . So, myself and two of my friends, said maybe, the Army was going to be our profession. We decided to go into the Army through there were others who wanted to read other courses. Besides, there was a many vacancies for northern candidates in the Nigerian Army, hence the late minister decided to encourage people like us from this part of the country to enlist into the Army and the rest is history today.

IBB

‘If I were president today, ...’ Continued from pg 36

of our aircraft was hit by a stone and from 29, 000 feet we came down to 15,000 feet. But the good boys (pilots) were able to pilot the plane, we taxied (down) to 100 meters at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, and the other engine just went up. I had my entourage, before the sudden drop, everybody was drinking tea and cuddling and shouting. Suddenly when they heard it, nobody was talking again until when we disembarked from the airplane. I tried to chat them up, but I was not successful. That was the first time somebody said it and said I was a cat with nine lives . Could you tell us one particular thing Nigerians and indeed the media practitioners are yet to know about you? Well, you mean things that the people have not heard before about me? Is there anything? I have said everything that I wanted to say and the only addition, if you may decide to have one thing or the other with me (Laughs)—say when you have an additional thing, you may decide to. Well, during my public life, there were quite a number of the institutions that I knew either as a military officer or a political officer (military president), when I was rehabilitated. I will give you one example that, if I had a chance I would have taken a honourary doctorate from some of them. In 1989, we proposed that membership of the National Assembly should be on a part time basis. If I have the opportunity to change the cause of events in this country, whether as a president, I still believe in that very

strongly; all in an effort to cut the cost of governance. And I thank you for reminding me about it, because it skipped my memories for some moments. Assuming you were involved in an accidental discharge as a military officer, how would you reconcile with the families of the deceased, and how would the Army react? Well, accidental discharge, I almost had one but when I did, the person involved was not dead. I had one during the course of my service and it was in Dodan Barracks, Lagos. The person who witnessed it was my wife, so she escaped it. But, I also had a situation where I was moving with some of my junior officers. As we moved along, an ammunition came and hit one of them and he just dropped dead there. There was nothing we could do. As a commander, if you witnessed such a thing, you should be preparing to die also. Of course, I knew the families of that particular deceased officer; he was my brother. I went to them and I told them what happened and they accepted it as good Muslims and that was how God wished it then. But it was a very painful thing to me. Recently, we saw a picture of your late wife in the 60’s in the newspapers as ravishing beauty, a very delectable a lady. Can you share with us, when you met her, how did you deliver your manifesto to her? You must have studied William Shakespeare (Laughs). Well, when I was delivering the manifesto, she did not believe some aspects of the manifesto because of the reputation I had as a playboy . But I assured her that no, it was not going to be a problem, I was going to be a changed person completely. And I am glad, I was. Before then,

It was also noted that during your stewardship in the public pffice, you were hardly interested in taking honourary degrees from the nation’s tertiary institutions, what was responsible for that? First of all I, decided not to take honourary degrees awarded then although I have one or two now from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the other one from the Federal University of Technology Minna. I accepted that of the FUT, Minna may be because it was established in my town and thank God, I brought about the institution being recognised as a university of technology during my time in office. On the issue of chieftaincy titles, yes, I took one or two also. I refused to take plenty of these things because I did not need it to get a job and I had already got a job, so I turned down quite a number. Recently, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency warned about dire consequences for people living along flood plains, asking them not to move to up land in view of likely heavy downpour that this period of the year, especially in Niger State. What is your advice to the people? That is a tough point and I have known there is always this problem here. During rainy season— and I will use Minna as an example — a lot of people lose their offices, home and properties, while quite a number of children get drowned as a result of floods . So, the first thing I did was to make a big drainage for the city. I am happy it is one of the first modern drainages you can find in the country. I hope the government will look at those areas that are prone to flooding and start putting measures in place to avert loss of lives and property. It is good if the money is there, then one can take the required measures. But now that the money seems not to be there again, Nigerians, especially those who are living in the flood plains, should heed the advice to move upland and away from their home lands for their own safety at least until towards the end of the raining season.

news

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Oyo by-election: APC, LP, AP select candidates By Wale Akinselure

HREE political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC), Accord Party (AP) and Labour Party (LP) will participate in Saturday’s by-election for the vacant seat of member representing Oorelope constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly. The seat became vacant following the killing of Honourable Gideon Aremu, on July 1. This was confirmed by Administrative Secretary, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oyo State, Mr Ebenezer Fakorede, at the close of submission of nominations, on Monday. Contestants that emerged at the end of parties’ primaries and processes are Mr Gbadamosi Jimoh (APC), Mr Olabisi Oladayo (Accord) and Balogun Lukman (Labour). Fakorede affirmed that the parties had fulfilled the criteria to participate in the election, adding that INEC had put necessary logistics in place for the successful conduct of the election. Also, the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, on Tuesday, led a campaign rally in Igboho for the APC

candidate in the election, Mr Jimoh Gbadamosi. While noting that the culprits in the killing of their representative, Honourable Gideon Aremu, were being brought to book, he assured the people of his government’s commitment to ensuring peace and security in

the state. Presenting Gbadamosi to the people, Ajimobi said that the immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde, had become a member of the APC. Present at the rally were

Olayinka Olukoya -Abeokuta THE Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has screened 903 councillorship candidates, ahead of the October 8 local government election. This was disclosed by the Commissioner 111 of the electoral body, Mr Mutiu Agboke, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Abeokuta. He said the candidates were thoroughly screened according to guidelines as stipulated by the commission. He said that 17 political parties participated in the exercise that lasted for five days, saying that the commission might likely not disqualify any candidate. Agboke, who is the chairman of the screening committee, explained that candidates which failed to fill their forms correctly were

given enough time to regularise them within a stipulated time. He added that 269 candidates without evidence of tax payment in the last three years were also given time to address the matter. Agboke said “What the commissions did, as we have on our timetable, was to commence the screening of councillorship candidates which we did without any hitch. Virtually all the candidates of 17 political parties participated actively in the screening. “So far, we have 903 candidates that appeared with a view to contesting the election, and we still have others whose names are still pending, because of one irregularity or the other. “On the day of the screening, we discovered that there are lots of irregularities in terms of information they supplied in data form, credentials, non willingness of

CITI HK GC PLATINUM CITIBANK DUBAI NESTLE NIGERIA PLC RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED SGS INSPECTION SERVICES (NIG) LTD. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC CITI HK GC PLATINUM CITIBANK N.A LONDON CLINTON HEALTH ACCESS INITIATIVE RBC INVESTOR SERVICES BANK S.A CITI HK GC PLATINUM CITIBANK N.A LONDON NOVARTIS NIGERIA LIMITED SINOPEC CHANGJIANG ENGINEERING CITI HK GC PLATINUM CITI NY GC PRIORITY CITIBANK DUBAI DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN NOKIA WEST AFRICA (NIGERIA) LIMITED CITI HK GC PLATINUM SOCIETY FOR FAMILY HEALTH

the candidate to perform their civic duties. “Our intention was not to disqualify any candidate or to

commitment to ensuring a free, fair and violence-free election. Speaking, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, said that several patrol teams had been deployed to patrol identified flash points in the local government area.

DATE OF FUND PURCHASE

EXCHANGE RATE

CCY

AMOUNT

8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 12-Aug-16 12-Aug-16

242.59 315.00 349.70 318.00 318.00 318.00 243.92 320.00 318.00 318.00 245.74 320.00 318.00 318.00 246.88 320.00 320.00 356.50 320.00 246.36 320.00

AUD USD EUR USD USD USD AUD USD USD USD AUD USD USD USD AUD USD USD EUR USD AUD USD

119,403.86 4,126.98 126,953.02 238,574.83 100,000.00 9,391,935.78 84,082.61 148,593.75 100,000.00 6,479.19 20,362.69 150,000.00 445,959.47 80,000.00 10,741.08 15,962.41 22,250.00 16,000.00 36,960.00 16,750.12 500,000.00

put stumbling block on the path of anybody. Our intention is to ensure that large number of individuals partici-

pate in the exercise and what we have done is to allow people who did not fill the form properly correct them.”

Edo 2016: Crown Prince demands level playing field for candidates Banji Aluko - Benin City THE Benin Crown Prince, Edaiken N’ Uselu, Ambassador Ehenede Erediauwa, has demanded from the police a level playing field for candidates contesting the September 10 Edo State governorship election. He made the call while playing host to the newly posted AIG Zone 5, Benin, Mr Adeyinka Kolawole Shodipo, in his palace at Uselu. The Crown Prince said he was pleased that the AIG made the remarks in his welcome address that he was going to provide a level playing ground for all candidates participating in the election.

BANK: CITIBANK NIGERIA LIMITED WEEK ENDED: AUGUST 5, 2016

BANK: CITIBANK NIGERIA LIMITED WEEK ENDED: AUGUST 12, 2016

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Local Government Area, Mr Samuel Okunlade and other members of the state executive council. At a stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday, in Igboho, political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, non governmental organisations, expressed

OGSIEC screens 903 councillorship candidates for LG polls

RETURNS ON SOURCES OF FUNDS SOLD TO CUSTOMERS FOR THE WEEK

S/N CUSTOMER

Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Adeyemo; wife of the state governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi; Chief of Staff, Dr Gbade Ojo; Chairman, Oyo APC, Mr Akin Oke; members of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Wumi Oladeji and Olusegun Olaleye; Caretaker Chairman, Oorelope

Nigerian Tribune

He said the Benin Palace was praying to God and their ancestors to let peace reign before, during and af-

ter the election, adding that the police, as an important stakeholder in the election, should play their part.

Ooni, Awujale for Imeside festival By Tunde Busari THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, are set to grace the 2016 edition of the annual Imeside Diaspora Festival in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. The Co-ordinator of Imeside Diaspora Initiative (IDI), Kola Bamigbade, said

the event, which holds at the Olisa Palace Square, in Ijebu Ode, would kick off on August 19 with a lecture entitled ‘Imeside: 2nd Cradle of Yoruba Kingdoms,’ to be delivered by High Chief N. Ade Ajayi, at 2:00p.m. It will be followed by a cultural parade at 4:00p.m. The first day’s activities end with a praise and prayer vigil starting from 10:00 p.m.

RETURNS ON UTILIZATION OF FUNDS SOLD TO CUSTOMERS FOR THE WEEK

SN CUSTOMER

ITEM OF IMPORT

1 ACCESS BANK PLC 2 CITI GC NBIM 3 CITI GC NBIM 4 ECO BANK NIGERIA LIMITED 5 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC 6 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 7 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 8 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 9 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 10 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 11 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 12 RETAIL SUPERMARKETS NIGERIA LIMITED 13 CHI LIMITED 14 CHI LIMITED 15 CITI GC NBIM 16 CITI NY GC PLATINUM 17 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 18 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 19 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 20 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 21 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 22 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 23 SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES CORPORATION 24 SEVEN-UP BOTTLING COMPANY PLC 25 SEVEN-UP BOTTLING COMPANY PLC 26 CADBURY NIGERIA PLC 27 CITI LN GC PLATINUM 28 CITIBANK N.A LONDON 29 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 30 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 31 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 32 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 33 PROCTER AND GAMBLE NIGERIA LIMITED 34 RENCAP SECURITIES (NIGERIA) LIMITED 35 UNIVERSAL NIGERIA INDS. CO. LTD 36 UNIVERSAL NIGERIA INDS. CO. LTD 37 CITI LN GC PLATINUM 38 CITI LN GC PLATINUM 39 DIAMOND BANK PLC 40 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

INTERBANK SALES REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS INTERBANK SALES INTERBANK SALES VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS VARIOUS SUPERMARKET ITEMS INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIALS FOR SANITARY PADS RAW MATERIALS FOR SANITARY PADS NET TICKET SALES REMITTANCE MIXTURE OF ODORIFEROUS SUBSTANCES MIXTURE OF ODORIFEROUS SUBSTANCES INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS CHARGES ON EXPORT PROCEEDS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIALS FOR SANITARY PADS RAW MATERIALS FOR SANITARY PADS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCING PAMPERS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS REPATRIATION OF EQUITY SALES PROCEEDS INTERBANK SALES INTERBANK SALES

DATE OF FUND PURCHASE

EXCHANGE RATE

CCY

8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 8-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 9-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 10-Aug-16 11-Aug-16 12-Aug-16 12-Aug-16 12-Aug-16

318.50 318.45 318.45 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 318.50 315.50 315.50 318.45 318.50 315.50 315.50 315.50 315.50 315.50 315.50 318.50 320.50 299.75 356.36 318.50 315.57 356.36 356.36 356.36 318.50 318.50 320.50 356.36 358.54 320.50 320.50 353.75 357.52

USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD EUR USD EUR EUR EUR EUR USD USD USD EUR EUR USD USD USD EUR

AMOUNT 1,810,113.43 99,858.69 90,959.90 6,231,747.35 1,350,000.00 21,340.76 7,729.15 41,217.60 83,655.74 34,598.75 36,293.14 13,739.69 58,992.60 72,458.64 56,928.88 478.25 24,796.76 27,095.87 27,295.36 26,629.53 24,670.24 84,758.40 100,000.00 148,593.75 17,983.10 91,371.59 15,710.92 17,246.42 23,652.20 30,256.56 55,276.12 28,850.34 4,757.99 75,000.00 258,158.57 66,990.43 24,211.32 12,875.38 3,000,000.00 18,000.00

Wednesday, 17 August, 2016 39 news Isiaka mourns Adu, Make public office holders accountable, OBJ tasks journalists condoles with Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta

IGERIAN journalists have been admonished to hold public office holders accountable to the people through objective and fair journalism. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said this while delivering a keynote address at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Media Summit 2016,at the Green Legacy Resort, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The theme of the threeday summit was tagged “The media and national unity.” The former president, who was represented by the former executive secretary, Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, said journalists were not empowered to execute judgement on public office holders but to monitor their activities. The event was attended by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, the Lagos and Kwara State governors, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed ,represented by the Secretary to the State Government(SSG) ,Mr Tunji Bello and Mr Mahmud Ajeigbe, respectively, the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd ),former national president of the union, Mr Lanre Ogundipe, among others. Chief Obasanjo stressed that journalists must possess high level of integrity, be honest and incorruptible before they could hold office holders accountable and also decried the low premium placed on investigative

journalism. “Newspaper houses, television, radio stations and social media now use mass media to torture public office holders, forgetting that the Constitution makes it clear that the press is not given the power to execute judgement of public officials, rather, their duty is to monitor and make public officers accountable. But

those who will hold others accountable must also have the necessary diligence, integrity, honesty and incorruptibility that their job entails. They must be monitored and also held responsible for their actions.” He faulted journalists for not paying attention to accuracy, coherence, truth ,clarity, fairness as well as objectivity and urged them to support

the efforts of the government in fighting internal security challenges. While declaring the event open, Governor Amosun, urged media practitioners to work towards the unity and peace of the country. “It is imperative that journalists, as professionals, should always be on their guard against forces that seek to take advantage of the for-

Head of delegation/Head of Culture Division, Department of Social Affairs, African Union (AU), Ms Angela Martins (left), presenting the All Africa Music Award (AFRIMA) trophy to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a visist of AFRIMA officials to the minister, in Abuja, on Tuesday. PHOTO: NAN

TETFUND: No plan to extend intervention to private varsities, others —FG Clement Idoko - Abuja THE Federal Government, on Tuesday, disclosed that it has no plan to extend intervention fund being provided by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to private tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Dr Abdullahi Bichi Baffa, said this while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja. He also revealed that the N3 billion set aside by the government under the fund’s High Impact Research Intervention Fund was on course.

According to Baffa, the mandate of the agency is clear on its areas of intervention, which he said, are public tertiary institutions in the country, specifically Federal and state universities, colleges of education and the polytechnics. “We don’t have any plan to

South South states to brainstorm on militancy in N/Delta —Clark Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

STATES in the South-South geopolitical zone, will, on Friday, in Warri, Delta State, brainstorm on the renewed militancy and vandalism of oil pipelines by militants in the region. A former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, said this while addressing journalists last Friday, in Warri. The Ijaw leader said there was the urgent need for the coastal states to meet and deliberate on ways to halt the lingering crisis in the region. “There is the urgent need to dialogue. The current problem is not Ijaw problem alone. It is pertinent for the six NigerDelta coastal states to dialogue and chart a way forward with the Federal Government on how to end the crisis.” “Vandalism and bombing of pipelines is very worrisome. Dialogue is the answer. We are part of Nigeria

midable power of the profession for their selfish ends. The national president of NUJ, Waheed Odusile, said the summit was in furtherance of the union’s commitment to promote national unity and also aimed at providing a platform for media practitioners to brainstorm over problems facing the country and how to solve them.

and we believe in the unity, development and peace of this great nation,” he said. Clark, who is the leader of the South South People’s Assembly, said the convocation would attract former governors, traditional rul-

ers, politicians, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders. Meanwhile, the former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, who also underscored the importance of the urgent

convocation, said that Nigeria belongs to everybody. “We have been appealing to our youths to give peace a chance, insisting that no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of violence.”

Kogi raises the alarm over security agents/ criminals collaboration Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja

THE Kogi State government has raised the alarm that some security personnel were colluding with criminals to terrorise the state. The special adviser to the state governor on security, Jerry Omodara, said this at the Kogi East senatorial district stakeholders’ meeting on security, held at the palace of the Attah Igala, Dr Michael Idakwo, in Idah, Idah Local Government Area of the state. He warned that any security agent found collaborating with criminals in the state would be shown the way out of service and prosecuted. He expressed worries over

the rate of criminal activities in the state, adding that government was ready to take decisive action against the perpetrators of such act. He said that the eastern part of the state had the highest rate of criminal activities, including kidnapping and cultism. According to him, security was paramount to the “New direction” agenda of Governor Yahaya Bello-led administration, as it was poised to bring local and foreign investors to the state. Bello, who was represented by his special adviser on Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs, Abubakar Ohere, said

without adequate security, he might not be able to deliver on his promises. The governor also presented a blueprint for the development of the eastern senatorial district of the state, adding that the contractors handling road projects in the area had been remobilised . He, therefore, solicited the collaboration of all relevant stakeholders to reduce the level of insecurity in the state. The state Commissioner of Police, Abdullahi Chafe, charged traditional rulers in the state to always preach peace in their respective domains.

extend the intervention fund to private institutions,” he said. He noted that research remains one of the core mandate of the fund as well as bridging the infrastructural gaps in public tertiary institutions. The new Executive Secretary of TETFund reiterated the commitment and readiness of the agency to supporting development of cutting edge research that would support the industrialisation drive of the government. “We have been supporting research institutions, where we allocated up to N15 million for academics in the universities and up to N10 million to academics in polytechnics and colleges of education. These are research grants awarded to qualified scholars that participated in a rigorous process of screening, after sending their proposals. “About N3 billion has been earmarked to support the high impact research at the National Research Fund level. “We also distribute research funds annually to universities to support degree research, where staff of benefiting universities are conducting research and they are supported, and individual or independent research are also funded through the National Research Fund.

Buhari

THE Ogun State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general election, Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, has expressed sadness and shock over the untimely death of the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Economic Matters, Mr Ayoleke Adu, who died in an Indian hospital on Friday. He also condoled with President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osibajo as well as the government and people of Ekiti State over the death of the Ekitiborn technocrat. In a condolence message entitled: “We lost a gem”, Isiaka said “Leke was my colleague in the then Leadbank. He was a strong member of the investment banking team I once headed and was a very intelligent, calculative and daring financial professional. Even on his sick bed early July, he still spoke with me brilliantly and passionately on the nation’s economy and other issues of concerns.”

Scholars laud FG’s change agenda policy By Kehinde Adio

SCHOLARS from various tertiary institutions in the South- West zone of the country have commended the ongoing change agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari -led administration. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 12th annual national Conference, organised by the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, Oyo State, held recently. According to the communiqué issued which was signed by the chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Hameed Lawal, the conference said that in managing change, certain questions are critical: How do the stakeholders buy-in? Who are the critical mass of change agents? and what are the institutional frameworks for implementation? It urged the current administration to establish appropriate organisational structures necessary to bring the change process to fruition The conference said that the current war against corruption needed to be intensified and made more holistic, adding that viable mechanisms needed to be put in place to curb corruption in public life.

SIDELINES

NO 16,569

N150

WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST, 2016

The Lagos land grabbers (omo onile) who have been terrorizing people for ages will now spend 21 years behind the bars under the Lagos State Property Protection Law. This law is most welcome, because holding on tenaciously to the rope after selling the proverbial goat is nothing but robbery!

Havelange, ex-FIFA president, dies at 100

Havelange

ORMER FIFA President, Joao Havelange has died at the age of 100. The Brazilian was predecessor to Sepp Blatter at world football’s governing body, serving from 1974 to 1998. He resigned as FIFA’s honourary president in April 2013 following an investigation into bribery allegations and was admitted to hospital the following year with a lung infection. He was an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member from 1963 until 2011, resigning because of ill health. Havelange represented Brazil in swimming at the 1936 Olympics - the year he qualified as a lawyer before his election to the IOC. As FIFA president he led the World Cup’s expansion from 16 to 32 teams, with six competitions held under his tenure. In 2010, a BBC Pan- orama programme accused Havelange and sonin-law Ricardo Teixeira of taking millions of dollars in bribes f r o m Swiss marketing

Rio Olympics:

We’ll win gold for Siasia —Mikel JOHN Obi Mikel has revealed that coach Samson Siasia’s ideal birthday gift is the Olympic football gold medal. The Nigeria U-23 captain, who scored one of Dream Team VI’s goals in the 2-0 defeat of Denmark, disclosed this during a surprise party organised to mark Siasia’s 49th birthday. During his speech in which he recounted the long relationship with the Super Eagles’ legend, Mikel appreciated the tactician for helping his football career while promising that the team will do all it takes to win the Olympics gold medal for him.

“We rejoice with you our dear chief coach on the celebration of your Birthday. On behalf of the team, I’m promising you that we will work very hard to make sure we win the football gold medal of this Olympics to present to you as your birthday gift,” said Mikel. “You have been a very good leader to us and we will continue to do our best to make sure you are happy and our football loving fans at home.” Nigeria face Germany today in the men’s football event of the Rio Games, and victory for them would mean they face either Brazil of Honduras in the final.

Mikel

Dream Team needs prayer to overcome Germany —Kanu ATLANTA ‘96 gold-winning Dream Team captain, Nwankwo Kanu has called on Nigerians to rally behind the team when they face Germany in today’s Rio Olympics semi-final match. The Nigeria Olympic team, Dream Team VI, will take on Germany at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo tonight for a place in the gold medal match. And the two-time African Footballer of the Year, said the coach Samson Siasialed side were on the threshold of history and must be supported to go and

win yet another Olympic soccer gold 20 years after they first achieved this feat. “The Olympic Eagles have done well and they deserve a pat on the back; and I want to use this opportunity to call on well-meaning Nigerians to support them at this point,” former Arsenal striker said. He continued: “Coach Siasia has done really well despite all the challenges they have faced and I want to commend captain Mikel Obi for leading by example and everyone in the team has done well.”

Kanu said the team must be on top of their game and surmount Germany so as to qualify for the gold medal match at the weekend, adding the players need prayers as well. “We are just two matches away from making history as the first African country to win the soccer gold medal twice after we won 20 years ago in Atlanta,” he said. “Now is the time to support them with our prayers so that the team could make us proud again.”

agency International Sport and Leisure (ISL) to retain the company as FIFA’s sole official marketer. His resignation from the IOC five years ago avoided an investigation into the ISL allegations, which Havelange had denied. In 2012, Teixeira stepped down as head of Brazil’s football federation, a position he filled for 23 years, and resigned from the 2014 World Cup organising committee after coming under pressure over corruption allegations, which he also denied. Apart from swimming at the 1936 Olympics, Havelange was part of the Brazilian water polo team at the 1952 Helsinki Games and was chef de mission for the Brazilian delegation at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. And it was as a sports administrator, particularly in football, that Havelange made his mark. He embarked on a career which began as president of the Metropolitan Swimming Federation in Brazil. He also became a member of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and joined the International Cycling Union in 1958. After becoming vice-president of the Brazilian Sports Confederation, he served as president from 1958 to 1973, before he became the most powerful man in world football. In 1974 he succeeded Britain’s Sir Stanley Rous to be elected Fifa president, marshalling support among those unhappy at the perceived European domination of the world governing body. An imposing figure, with piercing blue eyes, his astuteness as a politician and his adeptness at retaining power enabled him to hold the FIFA presidency for 24 years until being succeeded by Blatter in 1998. When Havelange was elected president, FIFA’s Zurich headquarters housed just 12 staff members. But that figure increased almost tenfold over the next two decades as FIFA’s organisational responsibilities and commercial interests grew. Increasing the size of the World Cup to 32 teams gave countries from Asia, Oceania and Africa the chance to shine on the world stage, Cameroon becoming the first African country to reach the quarter-finals in 1990. It was Havelange who launched a wave of new tournaments, notably the world championships at Under-17 and Under-20 level in the late 1980s and the FIFA Confederations Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup at the start of the 1990s.

NPFL week 31 fixtures Nasarawa Utd vs Kano Pillars FC Sunshine Stars vs Ikorodu Utd 3SC

vs El-Kanemi

Rivers United vs Heartland IfeanyiUbah

vs Rangers

MFM, Lagos

vs Warri Wolves

Enyimba

vs Wikki Tourists

Lobi Stars

vs Abia Warriors

Tornadoes

vs Akwa Utd

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