19th October 2015 by Nigerian Tribune

nigeria’s most informative newspaper no 16,351

MONDAY, 19 OCTOBER, 2015

www.tribuneonlineng.com

NMA issues 7-day ultimatum to Osun govt over salary —P36 arrears

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

Nigerian Tribune

n150

Police raid Oshodi, Ajegunle, other hideouts, arrest 40 —P8

Police uncover 10-metre hole dug to rob Akure bank

—P44

MINISTERIALScreening

Fireworks continue over Amaechi, Sokoto nominee —P14

•Senators under intense lobbying •Contention over Senate's order 53(5) •Confirming Amaechi minister ridicules Buhari's anti-corruption crusade—PDP Fuel subsidy on petrol now N828m daily —P10

We'll soon explain how Abacha's loot was disbursed —World Bank —P36

From left, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, Mr Edward Dickson; Consultant/Director, ANN Plc, Pastor Segun Olatunji; Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; CNN Multichoice African Journalist awardee, Mr Adewale Emosu and Reverend (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran, during the presentation of the award to the ANN Plc directors, at the Ikenne residence of the Awolowos. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE.

We will continue to make Tribune excel —Awolowo family —P35

Military foils suicide attack in Maiduguri barracks —P44

Monday, 19 October, 2015

CHIEF (MRS) HID AWOLOWO (1915-2015)

PHOTOS: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

9 1. Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran (middle), Ambassador Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu (second left), Venerable Oladele Enike (third left), Miss Funke Awolowo (right) and others. 2. Former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala (second right) and his wife, Kemi (right), presenting condolence letter to Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran. With them is Reverend Olusesan Adebajo. 3. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran (left) with Senator Jim Nwobodo and his wife. 4. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu with NASFAT Women, Remo branch.

5. From left, Pastor R.O. Akinrimisi, Pastor Z.O. Odugbose and Deaconess H.A. Akinrimisi. 6. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran with Hausa community, Ibadan (Arewa) led by the Seriki Hausawa, Alhaji Ahmed Sanni. 7. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran and Ambassador Awolowo Dosumu with Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.a Tokyo) and his entourage. 8. Reverend (Mrs) Oyediran (left) with Chief (Mrs) Olubukola Oni. 9. Mr and Mrs Bolaji Adebajo signing the condolence register. 10. Members of Christian Mission for the Deaf, Onireke GRA, Ibadan, during the visit.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Lagosmetro

Edited By Lanre Adewole olanreade@yahoo.com 0811 695 4647

LAWMA engages 13,000 street sweepers Lanre Adewole

This large heap of waste in the premises of Bola Memorial Primary School, Onigbagbo, Ikeja is not ideal for the health of the little children that attend the school. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Police raid Oshodi, Ajegunle, other hideouts, arrest 40 Olalekan Olabulo

n a bid to check-mate the activities of criminals in Lagos State, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested no fewer than 40 suspected criminals, during a raid on criminal hideouts in many parts of the state. A police source at RRS described the invasion of the black spots as part of the continued efforts by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to rid every part of the state of criminals and hoodlums hiding in the dark to perpetuate heinous crimes. The raid took place in different communities, which include: Oshodi, Jibowu, Victoria Island, Mile 2, Ajegunle, Ijora and Lawschool-under-bridge. The arrested suspects included a 31-one-year old Femi Bajulaye, who was recently released from prison. The RRS Commander,

Olatunji Disu, an assistant commissioner of police, said that the development was an onslaught against criminals in all parts of the metropolis by the state government in order to create a secure environment for prospective investors, as well as securing lives and properties of the residents. The RRS boss said, “We were able to arrest 45 sus-

pects during a raid on suspected hideouts of hoodlums and criminals. The suspects were held up in Oshodi, Jibowu, Victoria Island, Mile 2, Ajegunle, Ijora and Law-school-underbridge. “The arrest will be a continuous one as the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is determined to rid the state of criminals

and create an enabling environment for peaceful co-existence among residents and business owners. In this quest of renewed fight against criminals, every part of Lagos will be covered.” ACP Disu stated further that the spate of armed robbery and criminal attacks would soon be a thing of the past, because of the surveillance of some major black

spots across the state and arrest of criminals in hundreds. Other arrested suspects include, Mohammed Ibrahim, Pius Ofulue, Wale Adegoke, MusbauAkande, Achibong Okon, Charles Itua, Edward Samuel and DamilolaFaloye. The suspects have been charged to court immediately.

13,000 street sweepers, pooled from the 57 local government and development areas, are now in the employ of the Lagos Waste Management Agency (LAWMA). The authority disclosed this to Lagos Metro, just as it said a massive clean-up of Epe just took place. Epe is the home of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. According to the agency’s Principal Information Officer, Adetayo Akitoye-Asagba, “There was massive clean-up in Epe. Removal of backlog of waste from abandoned community waste depots across Epe. 5,500 tones of waste was cleared and transported in a week-long clean-up exercise involving 275 rounds of 20-tons tippers.” Engineering work, according to him, had also been upped, with focus on in -house repair of abandoned operational trucks. “Right now, there is massive rehabilitation of operational trucks, that is compactors, skip truck and so on. There is also the repair of body structures of all operational vehicles to meet up with VIO standard including body reconstruction, installation of amber light, side mirror and so on,” he stated. He noted that 10 skip trucks had already been rehabilitated and made functional. While commenting on the

Why we smoke Indian hemp before lectures — Yabatech students Olalekan Olabulo Two undergraduates of the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Richard and Eze (surnames withheld), have confessed their addiction to Indian hemp smoking and added that they cannot study or live without smoking each day. Eze claimed that he smokes because it was the only way that he could assimilate during lectures in school, while Richard

claimed that he was always uncomfortable when he has not smoked. Richard was a few days ago arrested alongside two of his school mates Aderinsola and Eze by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) during a raid on criminal hideouts in Jibowu area of the state. The RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, while confirming the arrest of the suspects to Lagos Metro stated that the Indian hemp seller,

one Pius was also arrested. Disu also stated that the policemen were able to achieve the success through sustained patrol operations and intelligence gathering around the area. According to him, “Upon gathering accurate information, we continued patrolling some hideouts of social miscreants and hoodlums that are threatening the peaceful atmosphere of the residents of the state. “We launched an attack

on those areas; while we arrested three undergraduates others took to their heels,” the RRS commander said. One of the arrested students Richard, said that he took pleasure in smoking marijuana. The suspect said “If I don’t smoke a day, I will not get myself. I enjoy smoking Indian-hemp. The spot where I was arrested was our base. I do go there morning and evening after closing hours from school.

“I want government to forgive me and I promise to stop smoking henceforth,” he pleaded. Another student, Aderinsola, also admitted to have been arrested at an Indian hemp joint around Jibowu. “At about 8’o clock in the night I was at Jibowu railway smoking marijuana, and all of a sudden policemen in mufti came in and busted the spot where I was arrested amongst other smokers,” he confessed.

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 19 October, 2015

inadequate communication between LAWMA and the populace in the state, the image-maker disclosed that the new management had packaged a comprehensive public and media advocacy to bridge the information gap. In his word, “In ensuring that Lagosians adopt a proper bagging and wastes disposal mechanism, LAWMA has repackaged its advocacy programme. In this wise, officials from the authority visit local government areas on a weekly basis to interact with community leaders, market leaders and other stakeholders on the need for proper handling of waste.” A new management led by Abdulwahab Ogunbiyi said it was poised to give a new direction to the agency. In recent time, the agency had been receiving knocks for below-average performance of its personnel. The leadership said new orientation was being given.

Railway workers beat up passenger over incomplete fee ....They acted in self defence — Mgt Tola Adenubi There was confusion on the evening Lagos Mass Transit train that left Lagos for Ijoko in Ogun State on Friday when workers (checkers) of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) took laws into their hands

and beat up a passenger, Mr. Christopher Iguma over the latter’s inability to provide evidence of payment for the trip. According to findings, Mr. Iguma had joined the train from the Ikeja train station hoping to alight at the Oposuru train station.

However, when approached for his ticket by a checker identified as Wale, he had apologetically given the NRC worker the sum of N190, an amount that is N40 short of the valid economy train ticket which is N230. A heated war of words

ensued between a checker called Wale and Iguma before the situation got messier when other checkers onboard the same train led by another checker identified as Ghadafi joined hands with Wale their colleague to beat Iguma. The checkers numbering

The deplorable state of Idumagbo Street, Adeniji Adele, Lagos Island worsen by flood. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

91-year-old woman drags Ambode to Assembly over school ownership Chukwuma Okparaocha A 91-year-old woman, Madam Roseline Ololo has petitioned the Lagos State House of Assembly calling for the urgent investigation of circumstances leading to the refusal of state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode to return two schools that were seized from her family by the state government to her. The schools, Metropolitan College and Isolo Secondary School, were among the missionary and private schools taken over by the

military administration in 1976. According to Mrs Ololo, she had, through her lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, written series of letters and carried out protests to impress it on the government to return the schools, but these had yielded no positive results. However, in a petition addressed to the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, Madam Ololo is urging the House to investigate the circumstances sur-

rounding the refusal of the government to return the schools after it (government) had confirmed that the schools truly belonged to her, and after the government had promised to return the schools based on gradual disengagement. The petitioner’s lawyer accused the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Education, Olabisi Ariyo of frustrating a peace meeting aimed at resolving the issue with demands which were unknown to law and not rele-

vant to the facts of the case. Omirhobo, who attached recent pictures taken from the schools to the petition, said the schools were deteriorating and the government was not doing anything to fix the dilapidated structures there. “For example, our client’s schools are the only schools in Lagos State without the millennium building. The only outstanding structures in the schools premise are those built by our client’s late husband in the early 70s.

“The current state of the schools shows that they are being used by some government officials to divert public funds hence they are finding it difficult to advise or encourage the government to divest from there because doing so will affect their looting,” Omirhobo alleged. Meanwhile, the petitioner has notified the Lagos State police command and Ambode of the intention to stage another peaceful protest in Lagos to further drive home the point.

around five in number not only beat up the now helpless passenger but also prevented him from alighting at his preferred train station at Oposuru. Iguma was only left off their grip at the Ijoko train station, the last point of call for the Lagos mass transit train. When contacted on the telephone, the Image Maker of the NRC, Mr. Rauf Akinwoye stated that the NRC workers acted in self defence. “The alleged passenger was unruly in his approach towards Wale, the checker who demanded for his train ticket. He even attacked Wale who had to be assisted by Ghadafi in the fight that ensued afterwards. “Ghadafi only came to the aid of Wale when the unruly passenger attacked him,” Akinwoye stated via text to our correspondent. In a separate chat with a passenger who was also onboard the evening Lagos mass transit train, Alhaji Mukaila Oyero, the checkers should have handed over the passenger to men of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) attached to the NRC. In his words, “It is because of issues like this that the Federal Government attached a whole command of the NPF to the NRC. Most of the major stations have police post within their premises. “When the passenger started exchanging words with the NRC checker at Iju where the whole drama started, I expected the checker to inform the police post at Agbado train station of the development. Agbado train station is after the Iju train station if the train is heading for Ijoko in Ogun State. “However, the checker identified as Wale did not do that. He called out to his colleagues who came and joined hands with him to beat up the passenger. The passenger was seriously beaten up and was not allowed to alight at his preferred destination. To me, that is unprofessional of the checkers even though the passenger was unruly.”

businessnews Fuel subsidy on petrol now N828m daily 10

OlatundeDodondawa-Lagos

he Federal Government’s daily spending on petrol subsidy has decreased to N828million from N896.8million as at September 23, 2015, according to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). Following the decline in crude price at the international crude market, the country’s daily payment on fuel subsidy has continued to be on the decline since June from N2.4billion in June to the current less than N900million daily. According to the website of the PPPRA, the Average Platts’ price for October 15, 2015, and at the exchange rate of N196.98 to a dollar, the country’s daily subsidy per litre of fuel has decreased from the N22.42 per litre it earlier recorded to N20.72 per litre. Based on average petrol consumption of 40million litres per day, the total subsidy cost on the product as at October 15, 2015, would amount to N828million at N20.72 per litre. According to the PPPRA pricing template, the cost

LCCI to induct 160 new members Gbemi Solaja -Lagos

THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), will on Wednesday, October 21, induct 160 new members. According to the Director General, LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, “the induction of new organisations on our platform is usually organised to formally accept and welcome organisations that operate within the Lagos business community and other parts of Nigeria. “The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, since its establishment in 1888 has committed itself to the promotion of a conducive business environment for the organised private sector by supporting or opposing legislative or other measures affecting trade, Industry, commerce and agriculture,” he added. According to him, this has made membership of the LCCI very attractive to many private sector operators in Nigeria. According to the Membership and Welfare Committee of the LCCI, “160 new members are expected to join the Chamber during the event, while many more who have shown interest, but have not completed their registration will join later on.”

Monday, 19 October, 2015

elements that make up the landing cost of petrol include the product’s offshore cost (C+F) N72.12; trader’s margin, N1.47; lightering expenses, N4.09; NPA, N0.77; financing, N0.64; jetty depot throughput charge, N0.8; and storage charge, N3; totaling N82.89 per litre. On the cost of the product’s distribution margin, accord-

ing to the agency, retailers get N4.6; transporters, N2.99; dealers, N1.79; bridging cost is N5.85; marine transport average, N0.15; and the administrative charge, N0.15. The sub-total margin stands at N15.49. When added to the landing cost of N82.89, an Expected Open Market Price (EOMP), which means the total cost,

of N98.38 per litre is arrived at. But after being subsidized with N20.72 per litre, an ex-depot price of N77.66 per litre is arrived at and the recommended retail price of N87 per litre is mandatory for all marketers. Recently, it was rumored that the Federal Government was planning to reduce pump price of petrol to

N57 per litre and the rumor led to hoarding and eventual scarcity of the product. But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) assured the public that it wasn’t planning to do so and that it has enough stock that may last for three weeks and there was no need for panic buying by the public.

From left, Michael Daniels, Head of Marketing, AJEAST Nigeria; Theo Williams, Country Manager, AJEAST Nigeria, and Abdul Akeem Wahab, National Sales Manager, at the AJEAST Regional Commercial launch in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, October 16, 2015.

AJEAST Nigeria storms Ibadan with Big Cola By Doyin Adeoye

AJEAST Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of AJE Group worldwide, has drawn closer to its consumers in Ibadan, Oyo State and its environ. The third largest producer of carbonated soft drinks in the world, which recently launched its product in Lagos, has once again demonstrated its resolve in bringing great quality products to satisfy the yearnings of consumers, as it launched

BIG Cola, its flagship brand, in the Nigeria’s oldest city. Theo Williams, Country Manager, AJEAST Nigeria, explained that the products, which comes in cola, orange and lemon, are carefully made utilising state-of-the arts production lines, which ensure and guarantee the highest hygienic and quality standards obtainable. According to him, the soft drinks will be sold in PET bottles, only in 650ml and other pack sizes. “This is truly remarkable

as no other player in Nigeria has given consumers great tasting, superb quality and a more value for money drink as Big Cola. The ‘Think BIG’ brand will have a recommended retail price of N90 per 650ml bottle, and give consumers more value for less,” he said. Williams added that a communication campaign targeted pan-Nigeria has been developed to support the launch of the drinks. This includes radio commercials, outdoor billboards, in-

NCRIB to elevate industry standard —Okunoren Gbemi Solaja -Lagos

The new President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Kayode Okunoren has stated that his administration will focus on elevating standards and promoting professionalism in the insurance industry Okunoren stated this in his inaugural remark as the 18th president of the council, noting that in order to give proper direction to his administration, he had code named his tenure: “A Regime of Consolidation and Progress,” which according to him, was borne out of the need to consolidate on the solid and positive contributions of past presidents and leaders, as well as move the council forward. “The first consideration that will engage my at-

tention as president is the advancement of professionalism in the insurance broking profession. As the professional arm of the insurance industry, insurance brokers cannot afford to fail in being seen as professionals and acting as such. “We will view and promote professionalism in its holistic form and whilst reckoning with the fact that paper qualification is the first step towards professionalism, more attention will be paid to issues such as ethical adherence, image, comportment, business relationship amongst operators and continuous education to buoy up the competencies of brokers. “In fact, we shall promote a blend of learning and interpersonal relationships. Whilst individual Brokers will continually be attuned

to their professional responsibilities, the regime will also concern itself significantly with how Brokers are perceived by the clients or the public. It may be noted that the horizon of brokers today has been significantly affected by the image clients conjure about the practitioners. “Suffice to state that the wrong and degrading perception of brokers has been responsible for the wrong treatment usually meted to them in bidding for business, unlike other professionals. This must stop. In order to restore or promote the integrity of our practice, this regime will strengthen internal disciplinary process to ensure that members adhere strictly to ethics and integrity in all their professional undertakings,” he added.

store promotions and major events, to mention a few. “An aggressive ‘Think BIG’ sampling promotional campaign will be conducted to avail our discerning consumers a firsthand experience of the uniquely rich taste of BIG brand flavours. The ‘Think Big’ promotional campaign will be at a retail point near you, so gear up to experience the ‘Think BIG’ brand,” he said. The 10th largest producer of soft drink by volume worldwide, which started 27 years in a garage, is now a truly multi-national business with operations spanning Latin America, Asia and Africa. This has in ripple effects, provided gainful job opportunities for thousands of people as well as putting a smile on the consumers’ faces. “Big truly is democratising soft drinks consumption in our great country Nigeria, where everyone can afford to enjoy a Big Cola because it is affordable. “Our discerning consumers strive for quality tasting drinks that they can be proud of with more value for less money spent, which represents who they are and where they are going. Big which is a proud partner of the English FA cup and the Spanish giants, Barcelona FC, is made from our unique signature making process that has over the years, won the hearts of many,” Williams added.

Nigerian Tribune

ABUCCIMA collaborates with other chambers abroad on ICT development Gbola Subair-Abuja

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, (ABUCCIMA) has struck a deal with other chambers across the world with a view to exposing its members to business across the world and boost development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. To make the deal effective, the chamber has also developed a data base of members operating in the various sectors of the Nigerian economy. President of ABUCCIMA, Mr Tony Ejinkeonye, disclosed this in Abuja at the sidelines of a two-day conference on ICT which took place at Sheraton Hotel. According to him, the Chamber came up with the conference to enable its members learn the best business practice through the deployment of ICT, while the data base is expected to assist its members and members of the nation’s community access current trend in business development. He stated, “You cannot seperate business from ICT. Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture is a business concern. ICT is a tool for business. We are doing this conference to enhance the business of our members and members of the business community. “We know that no business can survival without the tools of ICT, so we have to make the opportunities open to them to realise the potential in aligning their businesses with the latest ICT trend. Look at what is happening to organisations like Jumai, and Konga. They don’t have a shop anywhere and yet they record turnovers running in billions.” He added that a communique arising from the oneday meeting would be documented and distributed not only to members of the Chamber, but also to the Federal Government for policy direction. Also speaking, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications, Commission, Professor Umaru Danbatta, emphasised the significance of ICT to business development, particularly in easing business transactions among the people. He stated that “the telecom industry has brought a lot of innovations in the banking and finance industry. It is now very easy to transfer funds from the comfort of your homes and offices.”

businessnews

Monday, 19 January, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

France cautions Nigeria against gas flaring

rance on Sunday urged the Federal Government to caution all relevant authorities to drastically limit gas emissions because of its consequences on the environment. Stephane Gompertz, France’s Ambassador for Climate Change (Africa) made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. According to him, the country should reduce the flaring of its gas, and should also increase its investment in renewable energy. Gompertz regretted that many oil companies in the country still flared their gas and thereby pollute the environment with its attendant consequences. “There are some areas in which emissions could be limited drastically like gas flaring, which is the most striking example. “It is a pity to see so many oil plants where gas continues to run and this is obviously a waste of energy and a waste of money. “It (gas flaring) pollutes the atmosphere. Clearly some efforts are required. Other perspective is that it is good for the gas to be recuperated and then sold in the market. “Perhaps, there should be fine for defaulting companies, which do not comply with the rules and regulations. “But there are other examples of countries which have managed to eliminate flaring gas, which the country could emulate,” he said. Gompertz pointed out that Nigeria was developing and would soon be the emerging power, adding that its emission would continue to grow but should put reg-

ulatory measures in place. According to him, Nigeria will be one of the big industry powers in 10 to 20 years. Nigeria, South Africa and few other African countries are in the same

camp. “The population will continue to grow. So emission will continue to grow and this is inevitable. But the ratio of emission per capital should diminish and

all unnecessary emissions should also diminish. “That is why it is important for countries like Nigeria to make efforts to embark right now on a greener project,” he said.

From left, Member, Global Hygiene Council,Mrs Nneoma Idika; Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser (West Africa), Mr Rahul Murgai; Member, Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikeja Constituency1, Honourable Folajimi Lai-Mohammed; Brand Ambassador, Harpic, Helen Paul and Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser, Oguzhan Silivirili at Reckitt Benckiser’s Global Hand Washing day initiative held at Bola Memorial Primary School, Ikeja on Wednesday in Lagos. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

We are committed to the Nigerian goal —Cadbury ChukmawumaOkparaocha-Lagos

The management of food and beverage production giant, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, has restated its desire to continue to enhance employment generation, create value and redefine the concept of corporate social responsibility in Nigeria. The company made this known last week at the commissioning and public presentation of a new state-of-the-art plant sited within its premises and which is expected to in-

crease the production of one of its key products by as much as 37 per cent. In his remarks, the Vice President of Cabury’s parent company, Mondelez International, Mr Daniel Myers, said locating the plant in Lagos was a demonstration of the company’s faith in the Nigerian government’s development agenda. He said Cadbury was pleased to align with the mega city renewal initiative of the Lagos State Government. “This is a win-win equa-

tion for everyone. We bring our investment, expertise and business to Nigeria. In turn, the people of Nigeria benefit from the jobs we create, the brands we produce, the jobs we help sustain in the wider economy, the technical skills we share, the careers we develop, the taxes we pay and the spending that a plant of this scale makes,” he said. While commissioning the plant, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented

Nigeria, Niger to seal 300 million tonnes of cargoes annually Tola Adenubi -Lagos

Nigeria and Niger Republic are set to finalise a deal on the freight of over 300 million metric tonnes of Niger bound cargoes through Nigerian seaports. Disclosing this to the Nigerian Tribune in an exclusive interview, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Barrister Hassan Bello stated that Nigeria lost out in past years to neighbouring ports due to inefficiency and trade barriers at her ports. According to him, “Up to 2006, Niger was bringing in their cargoes through Nigeria. However, due to reasons like inefficiency, trade barri-

The envoy also cautioned against deforestation, particularly in the northern states to tame desertification. According to him, the gas wasted by the oil compa-

ers (physical and fiscal), the people of Niger now bring in their cargoes through other countries in the West African sub-region. “This does not make economic sense because Nigeria is closer to Niger in terms of proximity. Therefore, it is costlier for them to import their cargoes through other countries. But it is not their fault. An importer will always look at efficiency before deciding on where to bring in his or her cargoes through. “With the port reform of 2006, Nigerian ports are gradually becoming efficient. We have promoted the return of Niger, and subsequently Chad to Nigerian ports. This will bring in

more revenue. “They are not yet back because there are one or two things we are fine-tuning with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The Customs have been very cooperative. They have waived all the barriers except for one or two things that we are set to talk about. “Also, the Niger operators said they will have to discuss with the terminal operators at our seaports and we have brought them together. Currently, they are holding talks because Niger exporters and importers want some concessions. This is normal because the concessions they are getting in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo has to be competitive with what

they will get in Nigeria. “Again, importers in Niger have indicated interest in the use of Nigeria’s Eastern ports to bring in their chemicals. A month ago, the Shippers Council took them on a tour of Nigeria’s Eastern ports. They have seen the efficiencies of these ports and are ready to commit. “We at the Shippers Council will be going to Niger very soon for another round of meeting. This time, we will be going with the terminal operators and the shipping lines. We will be there with the terminal operators and the shipping lines so that they can negotiate concessions with the Niger importers.

by his deputy, Mrs Idiat Adebule, said Lagos would always continue to provide an enabling environment for multi-national companies such as Cadbury to thrive and operate, as this would mean more employment opportunities for Lagosians and Nigerians as a whole. “This development will further increase the strength of Lagos to continue to be the economic nerve centre of Nigeria and Africa at large,” he said. Similarly, Cadbury Nigeria Plc’s Managing Director, Mr Roy Naaman, noted that multi-billion naira investment would boost the company’s production capacity by about 37 percent. “This new plant will boost our production capacity by nearly 37% to meet surging demand for our products. This new plant will also help bring to life our global strategy to protect the well-being of our planet through the design and operation of new growth facilities that minimise our environmental footprint.” “Our investment in this plant reflects the company’s confidence in the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy and commitment to the development of Lagos State as our host community,” he further stated.

nies through flaring could be used to discourage deforestation and control desertification in the northern states. “Deforestation should be stopped, especially in the North. People should be encouraged to use natural gas. This is easy to say but it is not easy to do. “You have to change the habit of the people, you have to make sure that they have enough purchasing power to buy the gas, you have to be able to bring the gas up to the remote villages,” he said. The ambassador, however, told NAN that the use of gas instead of firewood could be encouraged by giving free bottles of gas to the poor people in the rural area.

FAAN already working on Abuja airport second runway Shola Adekola -Lagos

The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engineer Saleh Dunoma has assured of the authority’s efforts to kick start a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Dunoma who dropped this hint in Lagos at the weekend, declared: “a second runway is very important because it is key to our operations”. Speaking on the importance of the second runway, the FAAN Chief stated that due to the “ increase in passenger and airline movement at the airport, the construction of a second runway would further prevent the deterioration of the existing runway”. According to him, given the present rate of growth in the industry, the existing runway may not effectively sustain the traffic. In line with this, a committee has been set up between the authority and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to determine what the runway would look like in terms of the facilities that should be included in the runway design. Dunoma also said that a survey to determine the location of the second runway at the airport has been carried out so that the new facilities to be provided would work smoothly with the existing facility.

business

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

daily summary (equities) for friday, 16 OCTOBER, 2015

Monday, 19 October, 2015

14 news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Ministerial screening: Fireworks continue over Amaechi, Sokoto nominee •Senators under intense lobbying •Contention over Senate’s order 53(5) Taiwo Adisa - Abuja

IREWORKS continued to rage at the weekend, as senators opposed to the screening of the former governor of Rivers State, Chief Rotimi Amaechi as a minister continued to battle their counterparts who are seeking confirmation of the former governor. Amaechi had, on Friday, written three letters through his counsel to the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, insisting that the chamber should discountenance his indictment for alleged corrupt practices by an administrative panel of inquiry set up by the government of Rivers State. He also declared that the matter was already before the Court of Appeal and the High Court, declaring that the Senate acting upon the matter, could be subjudice. Besides writing the letters, sources in the Senate also confirmed that Amaechi’s camp continued the lobbying spree with repeated visits to senators and other stakeholders. It was learnt that the former governor was also reaching out to senators from his state of origin, who are considered critical to the bid to save him. But a fresh contention was said to have been raised in the camp of Amaechi’s opponents, who have also declared that the same order Amaechi was trying to rely upon to safeguard himself could also be used against him. The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, headed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had, on October 7, received a petition forwarded to the Senate by Port Harcourt-based

integrity group, through Senator George Thompson Sekibo. The group alleged that Amaechi mismanaged some funds belonging to Rivers State while he served as governor. Copies of the White Paper from the governor of Rivers State, indicting Amaechi, were also distributed to the senators last week. Amaechi’s lawyer, Edward Pepple, had, however, told

the Senate Committee that the matter was before the courts and therefore, subjudice. Senate’s Order 53(5) prohibits the Senate from debating matters where judicial interpretation is pending if the Senate President is of the view that doing so could jeopardise the case in question. The Order read: “Reference shall not be made to

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has said the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari will be undermined, should the Senate screen and confirm former governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi as a minister. Rivers State chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, made the statement while reacting to the letter by Mr Amaechi to the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. Mr Amaechi had written Dr Saraki, urging the Senate to disregard the Rivers State Government White Paper on the report of a judicial commission which investigated sale of Rivers asset and other related matters during his administration. The ex-governor said he was already challenging the indictment in court and his supporters believed the commission of inquiry was meant to ridicule and persecute him for his role in the defeat of former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP in the March 2015 presidential election. Mr Amaechi’s letter followed the petition forwarded to the Senate by Integrity Group, believed to be loyal

to PDP-controlled Rivers government. Premised on the indictment of Mr Amaechi by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, the group asked the Senate not to confirm the former governor as a minister. In his reply to the letter, Mr Obuah, in a statement on Sunday, by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said Mr Amaechi’s letter to the Senate President was “an attempt to ignore the White Paper report, undermine the crusade against corruption and expose President Buhari’s fight against corruption as partisan and targeted at only members of the opposition and perceived enemies. “The invitation and interrogation of the Senate Minority Leader, former governor of Akwa Ibom State and one of the leaders of the PDP, Senator Godswill Akpabio, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, while Mr Amaechi, indicted for corruption is freely going about lobbying to become a minister, is a pointer that Buhari’s fight against corruption is targeted at the opposition and

Says I’ll rather be remembered like Awo RENOWNED political economist and public affairs analyst, Professor Pat Utomi, has said his failure to be included in the ministerial list, as touted by many Nigerians, might be his failure to win the approval of the powers that be. Utomi made this revelation in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, on Sunday. Utomi, who spoke against the backdrop of outcry in some sections of the media at his non-selection as ministerial nominee of the Federal Republic of Nige-

But senators opposed to the screening of Amaechi had, on Sunday, argued that the Order firmly precludes the dealing with him as a nominee. One of the senators was said to have argued that if Amaechi’s lawyers were of the view that referring to the indictment and the White Paper from Rivers would be subjudice, the opposition would also argue

Confirming Amaechi as minister ridicules Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade, PDP tells Senate

Why I wasn’t considered minister —Utomi By Wale Akinselure

any matter on which judicial decision is pending, in such a way as might in the opinion of the President of the Senate prejudice the interest of parties thereto.” The Senate had, at different times, invoked this Order as an ouster clause on issues before the courts, especially where it is a party to the suit and where the papers are served on the Senate President.

ria, further disclosed that he was never consulted by any member of government. He said: “Dr (Mrs) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu told me a few years ago, that they seem determined to stop you the way they stopped my father. My reply was that those who tried to stop your father, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, are not worth a fraction of what he is in history. I would rather be remembered like your father is than win their approval.” When asked about his feeling at the development, considering his commitment to the emergence of the All Progressives Con-

gress (APC) and support for President Muhammadu Buhari, he replied: “I was not consulted at all. My commitment is to Nigeria and the Nigerian people. I will continue to serve them as long as I live, even if I am not in government.” On what he made of the people on the ministerial list, he said: “It is inappropriate for me to say something about it.” It will be recalled that Utomi had referred to the emergence of Buhari as the dawn of a new era in Nigeria and expressed his readiness to work with the government should he get the mandate.

perceived enemies. “The monumental fraud discovered by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry and huge revenue lost when Amaechi was governor of Rivers State cannot be ignored. “Amaechi has no defense to allegations of fraud against him as contained in the Government White Paper. He was invited and he failed to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.” Mr Obuah claimed that three sections of the Nigerian constitution – Sections

66 (1) (h) and 147 (5) – “unambiguously disqualify Mr Amaechi from being a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Therefore, Amaechi’s letter to the Senate President should be disregarded. It lacks merit and contradicted the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended. “The letter to the Senate President further makes mockery of Amaechi and amounts to desperation and glorification of corruption,” the PDP leader said.

that screening Amaechi as a minister is also subjudice, since the matters in court refer to the same person. “If Amaechi’s lawyers argue that the Senate should have nothing to do with the petition because it is subjudice, the opposition will also argue that screening him is subjudice since the issue at hand is his eligibility to hold office. The Senate may be jumping the gun to proceed to screen him when it does no know how the case will eventually pan out,” a source close to the opposition had said. It was gathered that while Amaechi has upped the ante of his lobbying, his opponents, at the weekend, also continued to consolidate on using Order 53(5) as a weapon. Senate spokesperson, Dino Melaye, said on Thursday, that the Senate Ethics Committee had written a report, indicating that the issue of the petition against Amaechi was already in court. He said the Senate would screen the nominee alongside others this week.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

INSIDE LAGOS

Monday, 19 October, 2015

pixmart

1. From left, General Manager, RB West Africa, Rahul Murgai; representative of Global Hygiene Councol, Dr. Nneoma Idika; member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Folajimi Lai-Mohammed; and Marketing Director, Dettol, Oguzhan Silivrili and pupils of Bola Memorial Primary School at the launch of handwash site donated to Bola Memorial Primary School, Ikeja, in commemoration of 2015 Global Handwashing Day on Wednesday, in Lagos. 2. From left, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Dr Fidelis Ayebae; Chairman, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei; Company Secretary, Mr Abayomi Adebanjo and Non-Executive, Mr. Emmanuel Imoagene, all management staff of Fidson Healthcare Plc during the company’s 16th annual general meeting held at Sheraton in Lagos, on Wednesday. 3. From left, Elder Adeniyi Oguntade, Head/Shepherd-in-Charge, CCC Ajinde Ayo Cathedral; Sup. Evang. Pro. (Dr) Kehinde Ogundele, Parochial Chairman; Sup. Evang. Taiwo Oyadare and Father of the day, Sup. Evang. Samuel Oladunjoye during the 2015 Adult Harvest and Thanksgiving Service of CCC Ajinde Ayo Cathedral, Lagos East

Alaba Igbaroola: 08155975474

sylvester okoruwa: 08115708541

Province “J” Headquarters, Alagbado, Lagos on Sunday. 4. From left, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, winner of 2015 Indomie Independence Day Award (IIDA); Abbas Nafarya Ibrahim, Public Relations Manager, Dufil Prima Foods; Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, former CBN Governor and Director, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Chief Joseph Sanusi and Group Managing Director, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Deepak Singhal during the Indomie Independence Day Award at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, on Saturday. 5. From left, Jazz Artiste, Helen Isibor; Creative Director, Hearword, Mrs. Ifeoma Fafunwa; Founder of SPAN, Mrs. Sarah Boulos; Vice-Chair of SPAN, Mrs Olufunmi Olajoyegbe and Creative Director, I-Xtreme, Ice Nweke, during the press conference announcing SPANfest 2015 in Lagos, on Tuesday. 6. From left, Mr Olasunkanmi Oguntade; Prince Sunday Ladipo, Prince Abiodun Olatunbosun and Baale Dopemu Agege, High Chief Suaib Ajani Afogunlowo, during the final burial of Princess Abike Omoseinde Olatunbosun-Cole at Gbagada/Bariga Sport Complex, Lagos, on Saturday.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Monday, 19 October, 2015

editor

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

On the demolitions in Aba

LLEGAL structures that dot the length and width of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State have been a clog on the wheel of efforts to reshape and sanitise the city. The immediate past administration in the state discovered that it would take the demolition of 1,800 illegal structures built on drainage and other unapproved locations to its master plan. This was to pave way for easy de-flooding and proper drainage in the commercial city. It was noted that the houses, shacks, hovels are sitting on and blocking gutters and sewage system in the city; and except these illegal structures were demolished, all the investments by the administration in road infrastructure would end up in smoke. This generated controversy as the owners of these illegal structures threatened hell and brim-

stone if the government dares to tamper with their structures. Even though the Aba Landlords Association endorsed the proposed demolition of illegal structures, some disgruntled elements, including some mercantilist human rights NGOs, who cry more than the bereaved and see every opportunity as a gold mine, threatened to institute legal actions against the government if it dare carry out the demolition. From one administration to the other, the threat illegal structures constitute to the sanity of Aba has always been an issue but because of one reason or the other they could not carry out the demolitions. During Orji Uzor Kalu’s administration, consultants engaged to understudy the problem of Aba recommended that over 2000 illegal houses built against flood flow must be

pulled down to sanitise the city so that there will be free flow of flood and storm water. Also, Col. Abdulkarim Adisa the military administrator of the old Imo State, pulled down a multi-storey building located off Faulks Road, Aba and forced the owner to pay cost of clearing the debris. From day one, the new government had demonstrated its courage and will to deal with the dreaded monster called illegal structures in Aba. The government, however, called on all concerned to take appropriate measures before the arrival of the bulldozers. Days after the expiration of the notice deadline, demolition of illegal structures on roads undergoing construction commenced. Hardly had the exercise commenced than the professional fault finder in the state, the All Progressives

Grand Alliance, APGA took to their criticisms. APGA, instead of engaging in an illconceived and misguided aggression against Ikpeazu, should commend him for genuinely seeking to ameliorate the bad situation of infrastructural de-

cay of Aba which has been a major sentiment for a long time now. The party should applaud the governor for mustering the courage and will to tackle the menace called “illegal structures” which defied the efforts past administrations.

Ikpeazu’s developmental strides have gone beyond illconceived and misguided opposition seeking cheap sympathy from Abians. •Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu, Umuahia, Abia State.

Ministerial screening: Attention, Senators Some months ago, the Nigerians were complaining about President Muhammadu Buhari’s delay in naming his ministers, but presently, the music has changed. Our senators have already started screening the nominees. However, I don’t want the senators to just allow the nominees to talk and leave the floor; they should determine if they are truly capable of becoming ministers. The senate should understand that whatever

action they take now will largely affect the country in future, either in a positive or negative way. Politics in Nigeria has always been a ‘man- knowman’ issue, but if a just government is to perform well, such practice should be wiped out and replaced with meritocracy. Already, I know that underground politics is in progress, where both the competent and incompetent are struggling to emerge as ministers. I, therefore, want to use

this opportunity to appeal to the senate to be fair in the screening of these nominees; our senators should not serve as a cover to those found wanting. Conclusively, I want the senate to understand that Nigerians are looking up to them to make the right choice and they should not for any reason disappoint the high hopes of these citizens. •Chinweokwu Ugwuanyi, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Gov. Ajimobi, Ibarapa North deserves a credible commissioner

I am writing this letter on behalf of the good people Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State to appreciate you for your concerns, love and development of our area. Meanwhile, we believe the struggle to form your cabinet is heightened and we are aware that political jobbers are already at work to distract you. It is pertinent at this point in time to inform you that the list sent to your office for commissionership positions from Ibarapa North Local Government is not a true reflection of the electorates’ wish and opinion. The list is borne out of our selfish politicians’ gimmicks. We want to hint that all the names on the list are not closer to the best and they are not that committed and visionary to key into your government’s laudable programmes for the state Also, the rumour doing the round that a former governor’s recommendation for a (Labour Party) Commissioner from a town in Ibarapa North where already existed a serving member of Federal House of Representatives is not

acceptable to people of our local government. We also believe that most APC-controlled states toe the line of President Muhammadu Buhari in the selection of his cabinet. Therefore, we would appreciate if you can use your good office to independently source for credible and resourceful nominees from Ayeteland. However, our fervent appeal is to give us an agile commissioner nominee who has the same zeal, vision and charisma to support your administration. At same time, our people would be proud of such a person. We are sincerely pleading that a selfless, credible and agile Ayete indigene be picked for a commissioner seat, who can actually add value to your administration without undermining the party structure and unity at the grass-roots level. God bless you and God bless Oyo State. •Dare Motunolase, 4, ‘ç— Block D, Adefi Family Layout Adetokun-Ologun Eru Road, Eleyele, Ibadan.

editorial

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Of constant electrocutions

UST one month after Oluchi Aniekwe, an exceptionally brilliant 300-level Accounting student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) died after an electric high-tension wire fell on her within the university campus as she was returning from an evening mass, Afusat Musa, a 15-year-old resident of Idi-Araba area of Lagos State, suffered a similar fate. Both incidents point to the fact that all is not well with the country’s electric power sector in terms of safety standards. Media reports on the sorrowful accounts of witnesses about the incidents confirmed the need for a technical and personnel overhauling of the entire power distribution system in the country. Oluchi’s case suggests a death that was apparently due to the much talked about bad maintenance culture and lack of quality control assurance in the management of sensitive public service installations and equipment in the country. Certainly, it is grossly difficult for the Eko Distribution Company (EKEDC) to prove that Afusat’s electrocution was not rooted in official incompetence, carelessness and charlatanism. Disturbingly, it was right in front of a female hall of residence within the UNILAG campus that an electric wire fell on Oluchi’s left arm. Uju, Oluchi’s younger sister who was also initially electrocuted but later survived, narrated that she and Oluchi had held each other’s hands as they walked to the hostel after an evening mass. While Oluchi lost consciousness immediately and died shortly after, Uju managed to alert passersby. Apparently, the Aniekwe family would have experienced double tragedy if the electrocution had killed both ladies. In Afusat’s case, few days before she was killed, some officials of EKEDC were said to have stormed the Idi-Araba neighbourhood to disconnect electricity supply to houses whose occupants had outstanding bills to pay. In the process, several live wires that were disconnected and left dangling had contact with metal objects in the vicinity. Unfortunately, when electric power was restored in the evening of Afusat’s death, she was electrocuted when she touched one of the metal poles which had contact with the live-wires left carelessly by the said officials. We regret these avoidable deaths and are strongly concerned that these two cases are just few drops of

water in a bucket-full, given the several incidents of electrocution in the country. For instance, in the last two months, while it is on record that a member of staff of one of the electricity distribution companies died in the course of working on a power line, tragedy was also recorded at Jakande Estate in Lagos after a truck touched a high tension power line in the area, electrocuting the driver in the process. Meanwhile, in Oluchi’s case, it was alleged that her life could have been saved if the university medical centre had not failed to give prompt attention and first aid treatment to her when she was taken to the centre. If this is true, it is a malpractice that runs afoul of the oath and creeds of the medical profession. On the basis of throwing light on the allegation and equally ascertaining the technical faults that the electrocution might be consequent upon, we are expectant of the report of the panel of enquiry set up by the UNILAG authorities and also the outcome of the investigation conducted by the special technical team sent to the university by the Federal Government to unravel the cause of the electrocution. These reports must see the light of the day and the revelations therein must not be swept under the carpet. Ensuring that the reports are utilised would be in tune with the terms of reference given to the technical team which read inter alia: “….at the end of the exercise, the team is expected to find out what actually went wrong and which groups or individuals are culpable after which appropriate sanction will be forwarded to the regulator, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Furthermore, the report will also contain future mitigating measures that would prevent future occurrence of this kind of fatalities.” In the same spirit, the NERC should order an investigation into the Idi-Araba operations of the EKEDC officials who were said to have caused Afusat’s electrocution. We align with the agitation for electric power reforms in the country. A pragmatic way of ensuring stable electricity supply coupled with safety is to do a technically- intensive review of the system. It goes without saying that specifications and policies guiding the nation’s operation, control, protection and maintenance of power system plants need to be overhauled.

AFRICAN NEWSPAPERS OF NIGERIA PLC Founder: CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO

GCFR, SAN (1909 - 1987)

Co-Founder/Chairman Chief (Dr) H.I.D Awolowo (CON)

Ibadan Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08077227269; 08034135733

Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Edward Dickson

Lagos Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08055333067; 08033013177

Controller (Business Development) Fola Oke Chief Accountant Oluremi Olufisayo, ACA

South South Regional Office: No. 50 Ikwerre Rd., Mile 1, Diobu, P/Harcourt, Rivers State

Snr. Manager (Advertisements) Kayode Titiloye Sales Manager Omotayo Lewis, Ph.D Consultant/Director Segun Olatunji, Ph.D

GOT NEWS?

Abuja Office: Suites G2. 05-07, PEB04 Plaza, Plot 2027, Dalaba Street, Beside NAPTIP Headquarters, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja Advert Hot Lines: 08033199716; 08078891797 Kaduna Office: AN 20, Lagos Street, by Keffi Rd., Kaduna. Ikeja Marketing Office. Block C, First Floor, Motorways centre, Opp., 7up Alausa, Ikeja.

Contact: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com or call:08055069471, 08116954630

opinion

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Lasisi Olagunju Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053)

olitics is the ultimate jungle. The first lesson dwellers of the jungle learn is how to self-preserve. Only the living rocks the forest no matter how powerful or beautiful you may be. And you cannot live (long) by being meek or gentle or too eager to lift every prostrating beast seeking help. Did you not hear Chief Edwin Clark shooing off defeated Goodluck Jonathan for being too gentlemanly for the treacherous forest of political demons? Tigers are animals of interest anywhere. They kill and eat even animals bigger than them. They are also clannish. They hate opening up to anyone outside their mother’s room. Those who know would tell you that “Tigers do not normally roar at other animals, but instead they roar to communicate with far-off tigers.” Even when a tiger plans to kill another animal, it won’t see that prey as deserving of its roar. It would rather hiss before finishing off the victim. Tigers are not just big and strong; they are clever too and that explains their successful reign of terror. When a Tiger sees you are a big one, it uses wisdom garnished with guile and hunts you down by ambush. Tigers don’t shout their tigritude just as deadly men don’t proclaim their deadliness; they inflict it with summary swiftness. If you wait to hear their roar before they strike, you are dead. Fix your gaze into the predatory eyes of a tiger, “it is less likely to attack.” It relishes “the element of surprise” as the icing on its cake of gallantry. When a tiger marks up a human as prey, sneaking up on him at night is the perfect normal. And you do not spare a tiger ensnared. You assist a troubled tiger to your sorrow. It knows no word called appreciation. It knows only itself and its cult members. I see so many of this around: politicians with no blood. Every culture has a folktale warning against helping a hungry tiger. I listened to at least two in my village days. I have also come across similar stories from other continents which shows that tigers are the same in viciousness everywhere even if they are Asian. My favourite Asian story teller, Sheila Wee, tells this one: There was once a small Korean village that was being plagued by a fear-

Never help a hungry tiger

some tiger. The attacks became so bad that the villagers were too scared to leave their houses, even in the daytime. The village elders got together to work out what to do, because something had to be done. After a night of discussion, argument and disagreement, they finally came to a decision. They would set traps for the tiger by digging deep holes around the perimeter of the village, fill each hole with a bit of red meat, and cover them up with branches and leaves. The whole village set to work, each family providing whatever red meat they could spare. Then they waited in their houses, for the tiger to come lurking. The next morning, the nephew of the village chief, who had come from the city, arrived on foot. As he approached the village he heard an almighty roar. Cautiously, he approached and at the bottom of a pit was a miserable tiger. “Oh, please please help me get out of here. I’m trapped and I’ll die if you don’t help me. If you help me, I would be eternally in your debt. Forever…” The young man was confused. “ You promise you won’t eat me?” “Promise, cross my heart!” The young man looked around and found a long branch

sturdy enough for the tiger to grip onto. He lowered it into the pit and the tiger hauled himself up. The tiger breathed a sigh of relief, then licked his lips, “Why thank you little snack, you’re just in time for tea.” “But, but, but, you said you’d be eternally grateful! Forever! You promised not to eat me!” “Everyone knows that you can’t trust the promise of a hungry tiger. And tigers are ALWAYS hungry.” Just as he was about to pounce, the young man yelled, “WAIT! Lets ask that cow over there if you should keep your promise and NOT eat me.” The tiger liked games; it made his kill so much more interesting, so he agreed to ask the cow. The glum looking cow yawned. “Man makes me work hard in the field, then, when I’m too old to work, they make food and shoes out of me. Tiger, go ahead and eat him.” The tiger prepared to attack, “STOOOOP!” yelled the young man. “I think we need a second opinion, lets ask that little rabbit over there.” “This is your last chance juicy, young man…” The young man anxiously explained the situation to the little brown rabbit. The rabbit had a little think then said. “Before I make my decision, I need to see exactly what happened.” When they arrived at the deep pit, the rabbit said, “Now, show me exactly where you were when this young man passed by.” The hungry tiger, impatient for his meal, leapt into the pit. “Well, I was in this deep pit, and I started roaring because I was stuck. I was stuck….in this deep, deep pit. I’m stuck! Again!” The tiger began roaring with rage. The little brown rabbit quickly told the young man to go on his way, and to think next time before he decided to rescue another hungry tiger. Back to political tigers. They steal and keep territories from anyone whose fortune they covet. I don’t know if you have assisted them and then suffered at their hands before. If you have and providence bailed you out, you do not have to be warned to finish off the next one you see in the people’s pit.

Ncpc’s maiden youth pilgrimage By Celestine Ogugua Toruka

he Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) is the only apex Christian Pilgrimage Regulatory body in Nigeria established in 2007 by an ACT of the National Assembly, but commenced full operation in 2008. The Act empowers the Commission to organise and coordinate the movement of Christians from Nigeria to Israel and other Holy Sites around the world. It is also saddled with the responsibility of licensing and regulating the activities of Private Tour Operators (PTOs) involved in Christian pilgrimage activities. Over the years, the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission under the able leadership of the pioneer Chief Executive, John Kennedy Opara has initiated laudable programmes that have made Christian Pilgrimage a beautiful bride to be loved and admired by all Christians. The Commission started operation with a single pilgrimage destination - Israel, which hitherto was the main pilgrimage of the Commission held annually between October and December and sometimes spills over to first quarter of the following year. This, has changed, so many innovations have taken place thus changing the face of the entire Christian Pilgrimage in Nigeria. In the past four years, the Commission had introduced different pilgrimage programmes within one calendar year for Nigerian Christians desirous to go on Holy pilgrimage to Israel. These are: Easter pilgrimage March to April; Family pilgrimage -August and the latest brand - Youth Pilgrimage recently introduced in July this year. Therefore, the Commission now runs four pilgrimage programmes in a year. The Youth pilgrimage is a specially designed programme that is youth specific with skill acquisition component. As a matter of fact, the youths are unarguably the future leaders of any nation, their programme is tailored to address the critical challenges of the time – empowerment and job creation. The Executive Secretary of NCPC, John Kennedy Opara justifying the reasons for youth pilgrimage did not mince words when he posited that, it was borne - out of the

need to catch them young for Christ. Indeed, bringing the youths to God is the best that can happen to any nation. The foundation is very fundamental as well as the future and that is what the youth represents. To the glory of God on 25 July, 2015, the Commission formally launched the maiden youth pilgrimage programme to Israel at the domestic Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The event was kicked off by no less a personality than the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara. By this, the seven nights and eight days spiritual journey to the Holy Land began on a sound footing. Expectedly, there were great expectations, suspense and anxiety on the part of the youths, many of whom were leaving the shores of the country for the first time in their life, If you were in their shoes how would you feel? Certainly, your guess is as good as mine! Eventually, it turned out to be an experience they would live to remember all through their lives. The Commission for the purpose of achieving this laudable goals, structured the programme into two segments - the first four days, the youths visited various holy sites in Galilee, Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem and the last three days was utilised for skill acquisition programme in Nazareth which also include excursion to fish farms, and Agro Agricultural farms, North West Israel. Just like the Executive Secretary, John Kennedy Opara said in Nazareth, Israel, about 98% of the Maiden Youth

Pilgrims were sponsored by Churches and individuals. This goes to underscore the self sponsorship drive of the Commission. It is interesting to note that the maiden youth pilgrimage was made up of youths from Salvation Ministries, Port-Harcourt, Anglican Church, House on the Rock Church, Abuja and self sponsored pilgrims across the country. We saw synergy, love and common purpose written all over their faces. They were determined to go back home and replicate the experience garnered in Israel and transformed not themselves alone, but others. The first batch of maiden youth pilgrims departed Israel to Nigeria on 2nd August, 2015 after eight days sojourn in the Holy land. They went back to Nigeria spiritually rejuvenated and with new acquired skills that would make them less dependent on government with transformed minds. The second batch of youth pilgrims to Israel arrived on 5th August, 2015 to begin their pilgrimage exercise. The third and fourth batches of youth pilgrims followed suit. The skill acquisition programme of the Youth Pilgrimage was a collaborative effort between the Commission and Institute for National Transformation (INT) under the programme, the youths were subjected to various leadership training such as Singapore story from 19652000, reflections on leadership in post – Transformational Leadership – the spirit and skills, taking responsibility for change, the story of Nehemiah, etc. Their excursion tour to a fish farms North West of Israel as well as Agro Agricultural farms exposed the youths to various skills in the area of Agriculture where Israel has made a name for itself. Indeed, the wisdom of the Commission to appoint a Spiritual Leader for the maiden youth pilgrimage is commendable. Pastor Goodheart Ekwueme who was the Spiritual leader of the youths was at his best. At every Holy Site visited, he was able to guide the youth through the Bible to bring out the spiritual significant of the Holy Site in the bible passage. Even at River Jordan, he was instrumental in baptizing new converts both Nigeria youths and other nationals. As a youth pastor, he was able to interface with the youths which cut across different denominations. •Toruka sent this piece from Abuja

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor

tribune

business

Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

Counting the gains of ports regulation By Tunde Ogungbesan

OR many years, doing business in Nigerian ports was roundly condemned as a harrowing experience. This stemmed from the high level of inefficiency that characterised the operations at the ports such as unnecessary delays in the turnaround time for ships and high cargo dwell time. The consequences of these were that substandard goods found their ways into the country, the national treasury was denied its due accruals, youth unemployment blossomed and the masses were short-changed as the image of the country dimmed in the comity of nations. The fear of an unfriendly ports climate therefore became the beginning of wisdom for a lot of foreign investors. Unfortunately, Nigeria, since independence and until recently, was conducting affairs at the seaports like a typical civil service set-up. A tinge of reforms introduced in 2006 when the ports terminals were concessioned to the private sector by the Federal Government yielded little results. Concessionaires reportedly capitalised on the absence of a regulator to introduce scathing charges that have swelled the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports. Empirical evidence abound of the Federal Government’s port reform programme. A Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) report released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption (TUGAR) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Nigerian ports, established that an importer or agent will require a minimum of 79 signatures of government officials to clear his/her goods at the nation’s gateways. This was viewed by stakeholders as rather unfortunate because the concession of ports to the private sector was aimed to accelerate the pace at which the country’s ports will become the preferred cargo destination for not only Nigerian importers but also, shippers from some West African and Central Afri-

can countries. Several years into the implementation of the seaport concession scheme, the cost of doing business at the nation’s seaports kept going up with shippers and their agents alleging that terminal operators have continued to maintain a regime of arbitrary charges for port services. There were also complaints over similar cost regime by foreign shipping agents, the multiplicity of levies on imports and inadequacies of other stakeholders in the seaport sector. No doubt the concessioning of the seaport led to the modernisation of the operations of the ports and a great level of efficiency. Yet, the gains did not translate to reduction in cost of doing business at the ports, a development blamed on the fact that the Federal Government did not immediately appoint a regulator for the ports sector. Then came the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), declaring the economic regulator of the ports by the Federal Government in February 2014, eight years after concessionaires took over the management of the seaports. The gazetting of the functions of NSC under the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (Port Economic) Regulations 2015, has lent credence to the endorsement for its activities and the excellent manner it has discharged

Without doubt, Nigeria is the regional maritime hub. But the NSC must also be equipped and supported in its drive to help reduce the number of days spent in clearing goods at the ports.

its responsibilities and thus, affirming the agency as an economic regulator and strengthening and protecting it against unwarranted disobedience to its directives from the stakeholders. The NSC has acquitted itself by ensuring that all the stakeholders comprising of representatives of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food & Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) and freight forwarders among others, are regulated and work for common good. The executive secretary and chief executive officer of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, has been lucky to act as a mobilisation and stabilising factor to all agencies at the port. But the NSC must do more. Beyond what is in the statute book, there is a need for the council to harness other potential areas of the port sector with a view to enthroning real competition and bringing down the cost of doing business at the Nigerian seaports. The uncompetitive nature in the nation’s seaports, cargoes and vessels have, over time, been diverted to ports located in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries such as Cotonou, Republic of Benin, Accra and Tema, Ghana; Lome, Republic of Togo and Dakar, Senegal. Despite diverting cargoes to these foreign ports, these cargoes later find their ways into Nigerian markets through smuggling. In the end, while Nigeria loses huge income in import duties, levies and other charges payments, these neighbouring countries gain. It is rather strange that as strategic as our ports are to commerce in the African continent, our ports operated only eight hours daily. Fair enough, a 24-hour operations that NSC introduced is a good development even though it ought to have come much earlier than now, never again must our ports be allowed to operate the bureaucracy of the civil service. They must be seen and operated as businesses to make them the desired maritime destinations to service not only Nigerians, businesses and corporations in the sub-region. Available statistics from the Federal Min-

istry of Finance indicate that about 60 per cent of goods shipped into West African countries are meant for the Nigerian market. However, the poor management of our ports has resulted in the bulk of the goods destined for Nigeria going through the ports in Ghana and Benin Republic. This has resulted in a backlog of uncleared goods at major ports, in particular the Lagos, Onne, Warri, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Sapele, and huge demurrage to importers. It also encourages the smuggling of goods from neighbouring countries into Nigeria. Interestingly, since the NSC took up the leadership role, we, the port users have witnessed tremendous improvement in complaint and arbitration mechanisms; prompt issuance of Ship Sailing Certificate, and the consequent avoidance of demurrage accumulation against shipping companies and other effects. This is in tandem with international best practices. Also, government now enjoys improved revenue generation; improved infrastructural development; creation of efficient market; reduction of cost of doing business; improvement of the nation’s Global Competitive Index and consequent attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The ports regulator has equally ensured the professionalisation of freight forwarding practice. This on its own leads to touting, sanitisation of the ports environment, harmonisation of clearing processes and procedure, and consequent reduction of clearing charges. Without doubt, Nigeria is the regional maritime hub. But the NSC must also be equipped and supported in its drive to help reduce the number of days spent in clearing goods at the ports and for it to achieve the much vaunted quest to make the ports more competitive. What this means is that the government must not lose sight of other problems hindering the effective operations and management of our ports which the ports economic regulator has already started addressing. •Ogungbesan wrote in from Apapa, Lagos

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

corporatefocus As controversies trail Stanbic IBTC Holdings Chima Nwokoji examines far-reaching concerns being raised by stakeholders of the company and its subsidiaries.

by 10.6 per cent (equates to $104.7 million) from Financial Year FY 2013 - 2014. Unresolved legal cases Checks reveal that 16 fresh legal cases were instituted against the bank during the fiscal year 2014 with claims against the bank amounting to N181.4billion (Equivalent to about $1 Billion using the official exchange rate applicable in December 2014). On average, each new plaintiff is seeking $62.5 million against the bank. Analysts are concerned that the bank did not make a provision on its books given the potential hefty legal exposure (pretty much every Nigerian bank does not make legal provisions on its books for impending lawsuits) deciding to wait for final resolution of the cases.

TANBIC IBTC Holdings Plc may not be physically engaged in argument with any particular entity but, activities in recent past have generated reactions from stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, finance experts, the media and the company›s board. Just when this storm reached its crescendo, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC came out with a statement to its stakeholders. The statement read: “Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC (“Stanbic IBTC”) notes the suspension by the Securities and Exchange Commission of its proposed rights issue, pending the resolution of enquiries from certain relevant regulatory bodies…. The real issues Stakeholders are suspecting that Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of South African Standard Bank Group, had presented balance sheets from 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 that did not show true and fair positions of the state of the company. The bank is suspected to have engaged in creative accounting that led to a boost to profit of approximately $5 million and claimed to have paid an average interest rate on its current accounts of 11.3 per cent to attract these current account deposits (NB: Nigerian banks charge interest on current accounts and do not pay). Some shareholders of Stanbic IBTC Bank are not happy that it is paying Franchise/Management fees to Standard Bank when the latter is the majority shareholder of Stanbic IBTC. The bank, with its subsidiary capital market trading firm, IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, is alleged to be linked to share price manipulations of some equities traded at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Also, 16 fresh legal cases were instituted against the bank during fiscal year 2014 with claims against the bank amounting to N181.4 billion (Equivalent to about $1 billion using the official exchange rate applicable in December 2014). On average, each new plaintiff is seeking $62.5 million against the bank. On September 8, 2015, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew its earlier approval for the proposed N20.4 billion rights issue of Stanbic IBTC Holding Company Plc in view of the notice of an investigation into allegations of financial impropriety by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) on the group’s financial statements. The SEC stated categorically that the rights issue exercise had been suspended until proper resolution of issues raised by FRC, after shareholders blew the whistle in a petition against the bank. Proceeds of the offer, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Arthur Oginga, had told investors recently, would help Stanbic IBTC to “maintain adequate capital.” However, SEC informed the investing public, particularly the shareholders of Stanbic IBTC, to beware of the proposed rights in view of letters received from the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the FRC. Account manipulation When the US telecommunication giant Worldcom accounting manipulation case was discovered, its auditors Arthur Anderson said it never expected the company would use the fraudulent accounting practices that were so ridiculously simple and dumb that they oversee those potential fraudulent misrepresentations. As the auditor Arthur Anderson said, “in reality who would think that a chief financial officer or anyone for that matter at the second largest telecommunications company in the world would take almost $4 billion of expenses and book them as assets.” That of Stanbic IBTC may be a little different, according to the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Analyst at Thaddeus asset management, Mr Jude Fejokwu.

Atedo Peterside In its audited financial results for 2014, Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ interest paid, which is cash and should tally with interest expense on the cash flow statement and the income statement, did not tally in Financial Year (FY) 2014 but, did in FY 2013. Though investors and analysts typically do not bother with the cash flow statement of a bank, the cash flow statement for a bank does provide a very good quality check for the income statement. “In its FY 2014 Interest paid on the cash flow statement (not a line item on the income statement) was $3 million more than interest expense on the income statement. The same thing happened when assessing interest income (a line item on the income statement) as interest income exceeded interest received on the cash flow statement by approximately $2 million. Combining the two figures together leads to a boost to profit of approximately $5 million (N1 billion),” the Principal Analyst, who is also a prime brokerage expert for North America and Africa at Thaddeus Asset Management, observed. The bank was also fined by the Central Bank of Nigeria b(CBN) for under-reporting public sector deposits as of August 29th, 2014, which by implication, freed up some amount of deposits for use that should not have been available to the bank. Meanwhile, term deposits actually increased over the same period by 46.3 per cent, representing an increase of $303 million year-on-year which ordinarily means that interest paid on those deposits should increase as well. Analysts frown on Stanbic IBTC for claiming to increase term deposits by 46 per cent while on average reducing its interest paid on term deposits to 8.3 per cent in 2014 from 15 per cent in 2013 on average. The question is: Why didn’t interest paid on term deposits increase in tandem with term deposit? How did the bank manage to increase term deposits by 46 per cent while on average reducing its interest paid on term deposits to 8.3 per cent in 2014 from 15 per cent in 2013 on average? “Every bank in the world will love this scenario. Term deposits were actually responsible for 75 per cent of the $430 million (18.4%) increase in total deposits from fiscal year 2013-2014. The driver of the bank’s deposits increase during fiscal year 2014 was achieved by offering significantly lower average rates on term deposits. This is an anomaly,” said Fejokwu. Another area that drew analysts’ interest is current (checking) accounts. This account typically worldwide do not earn interest and rightfully so. These are on-demand funds. Stanbic IBTC›s current account deposits increased

Capital raising controversy Stanbic IBTC Bank is in dire need of an equity capital injection as it is currently nine times leveraged which is excessive. Therefore, on June 8 2015, it celebrated the listing of its N15.4 billion corporate bonds which it said would be applied to fund the bank’s asset growth in the personal and business banking segment, while shoring up capital adequacy in the form of Tier II Capital, in line with the CBN’s regulatory framework. The same June 2015, it announced plans for a rights issue to raise a gross amount of N20.4 billion, which was estimated to take its total Net Assets to about N140 billion. According to the company, the Rights Issue would be made on the basis of two new ordinary shares for every 25 ordinary shares held, while the qualification date was fixed on June 10, 2015. This explains the urgent need for capital. So, the N20.4 billion fresh capital would complement the Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc’s N15.54 billion Series 1 (Tranches A & B) 10-Year Subordinated Notes. Another question agitating the mind of stakeholders is: “Why did Stanbic IBTC deplete retained earnings by N9 billion to pay dividend to the same shareholders it wants to go back to for rights issue of N20.4 billion? Why did Stanbic IBTC propose a Rights Issue? In answering this question, Peterside said this was part of Stanbic IBTC’s long term capital plan to raise capital in order to drive future growth and that this is in line with the bank›s long term capital raising plans. Commenting on this rights issue, foremost international rating agency, Standard&Poor’s Ratings Services while affirming its ‘B+/B’ long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Nigeria-based Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (Stanbic) said “Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC faces large credit losses in 2015 and higher operating costs than top-tier peers’, but we expect its capitalization to stay sound following a rights issue later this year.” Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ response as a group Responding to these allegations in an interview on West Africa Investors’ Conference, Atedo Peterside categorically said that Stanbic IBTC did not remit fees without NOTAP’s approval. “Our Accounts were audited in line with International Financial Reporting Standards and accounting policies. I have said repeatedly that we conform to all known accounting standards. We have always also used some of the most reputable accounting firms,” he had said. Peterside agreed that there was an ongoing suit and some people decided to start publicising it now perhaps because they were incentivised to do so. “As the chairman of the subsidiary, I help to ensure that the board takes the appropriate decisions in line with regulatory directives and known accounting standards. I am for honesty and fair play having regard to international best practices. In addition, you must be mindful of the published fact that I am a significant shareholder in Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, and so why will I ever support an unjust action that will harm my own financial interests. We did not invent accounting standards. We simply follow them. If there is a post-balance sheet event, then we know what to do,” he defended.

+ entrepreneurship

Nigeria’s

anchor

biggest cash cow for small businesses?

Ruth Olurounbi

m:0811 695 4637 e:ruth.olurounbi@tribuneonlineng.com t:@Olurounbi

By Ruth Olurounbi

ne of the fastest growing industries on the continent, the multimillion dollar wedding industry in Nigeria, offers an array of business opportunities for small business owners and or anyone who is interested in investing in this industry. The industry, which according to Funke Bucknor-Obruthe an event planner, did not exist until 12 years ago, although many people may beg to differ, offers a wide range of opportunity for anyone – make-up artists, hair stylists, designers, decorators, engineers, organisers, photographers, sales and marketing, publicity – the slist nowhere near exhaustive, who has the skills and passion to make it in the business. Although wedding ceremonies date as far back as the beginning of time, now more than ever before, the industry is becoming very attractive to investors willing to do business in the sector. Although the industry isn’t as structured and organised as some people may have liked, but as someone said the “chaotic industry is a potential goldmine for whoever is patient enough and skilled enough to swim in the murky waters.” So, today, I have itemised some of the aspects of the industry that you can operate in, whether as a small business owner, or as a big time investor.

wedding industry,

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 19 October, 2015

INSIDE

How internet could kill your business

4 strategies for standing out of the crowd

Event design and décor If you’re someone who passionate about decorations and venue styling, or you went to a wedding and you thought the styling could be better, it may be time for you to consider putting your skills and passion to a good use – start an event design and décor company. Granted, the first few years may be rough and patchy, but if you keep at it, you will get the eventual big break that will turn things around for you. Other tips that could help is pitching your creative work – make sure you have samples – to event planners, ask to style your friends’, family members’ or colleagues’ event and take pictures of them. You could politely ask them to consider adding your business name on the wedding brochure too. If you’re looking to start a business in this sector of the industry and you do not have prior experience, you could a) go to a training school to learn; b) volunteer at an event design and decor company, or c) go in as an intern. Weruche Majekodunmi’s Newton & David in Lagos is a good place to start. Continues on pg25

+ entrepreneurship Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigeria’s wedding industry, biggest cash cow for small Communication This consists of marketing, advertising (yes, there is a world of difference between marketing and advertising), media, publicity, etc. Now, contrary to what you may have thought, media do not only consist of news reporting in newspapers, radio, television, radio and more recently, the internet. Media, in broader sense, are the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver information or data, as Wikipedia puts it. Therefore, it is safe to include video, magazines, photography and other form of storage avenues in this

category. If you’re interested in publicity for instance, think Bella Naija Weddings and WED Magazine as examples to guide you. You may want to check YouTube (The Wade Family) and movies like “27 Dresses” for ideas. Thank God for Instagram, that is also another avenue to promote your client’s weddings. Akin Eso, publisher of WED Magazine, who has been featured on Entrepreneurship+ once said: “People want others to see how beautiful their wedding has been – it is a sign of pride.” Beauty and aesthetics This is one aspect of the wedding ceremony that is very important to the bride, as well as the guests. If you are a beautician, cosmetologists, or a makeup artist, the burgeoning wedding industry is where to be. Other than this, however, is the wedding dresses, the flower bouquet, table placement and placement cards, flowers, decorations, etc. The list is endless. Depending on your budget, you could partner with bespoke wedding dress designers or high end label designers to carry their lines exclusively, or otherwise. Continues from pg23

Wedding planning More than ever before, brides are hiring wedding planners to relieve them of the stress that comes with the territory. You can participate in this sector as a wedding planner and a trainer. Elizabeth Badejo’s Africa Dream Wedding Company does both. As many entrepreneurs push the envelope in Nigeria’s wedding industry, it is important to have this at the back of your mind: Whatever you do in the wedding industry, or any other industry for that matter, always remember that people are looking for creativity, value/quality and more importantly, trust. Your clients have to trust you otherwise, your business is toast.

Foods, drinks and cake This is no brainer actually. There are a lot of entrepreneurs playing this feed. But what I’d like to focus on is the cake business, which is a lucrative business. This may be one of the reasons why the industry is an ever booming one. While there are many business opportunities in baking cakes, just as there are many specialties to cake baking, some people may be overlooking the fact that there are many elements to cake business that they can take advantage of.

For instance, instead of just learning how to bake cakes or pursuing a career as a baker, you could play in some fields that can as well guarantee you business success even in the cake industry. You could be a supplier of cake ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, milk, eggs, flavours, etc. I know of someone who supplies hundreds of eggs every day to a cake outfit here in Lagos. Also, you could supply cake equipment too. Some of these essential cakes baking equipment are: baking tins and parchment, cooling rack, food mixer and processor, greaseproof paper, measuring jugs and icing smoother, among others. Some people may not have what it takes to be cake bakers, but there is nothing stopping them from playing the field. You could be a trainer. The fact is, in Nigeria, there is still a huge need for more trainers in the cake industry and

y o u could open a school, training people how to bake cakes. Cake consultancy is relatively new in Nigeria, but a few people are already operating in this field. A cake consultant focuses on creating a wide range of cakes suitable for occasions. They specialise in creating personalised and unique cakes just for their clients. Event centre This may sound huge, but according to those in the industry, it really is a lucrative business, depending on the location the centre is sited. The cost of building and maintaining a centre is high, so is the risk. But as business people say, the higher the risk, the greater the potential for profit. Entertainment and equipment leasing Entertainment is as important to a Nigerian wedding as food is, therefore, this is a huge business opportunity for anyone to invest in. Equipment leasing is also another aspect a business owner can look into.

4 strategies for

standing out of the crowd By Christie Garton, Founder of UChic

hough social enterprises often tackle diverse issues and function under a variety of business models, I’ve found that we all face a very similar set of challenges. One challenge in particular has been plaguing my own social enterprise community here in Kansas City: With the growing number of businesses adopting practices that promote social good, how can we differentiate ourselves, ensuring our missions and impacts stand out from the crowd? On the surface, this question may seem counterintuitive. There’s something inherently altruistic about social enterprise, so it’s easy to feel strange about concerning yourself with product sales and profit. But the bottom line is that the success of social enterprise is measured on the impact you

can make in our community through the success of your business. The more successful you are, the greater the capacity for social good. For social enterprises to maximize their impact, they must effectively reach and activate their target audiences, something that’s more difficult than ever with the amount of likeminded companies competing for consumer attention. 1. Align your cause with your consumer. If you’re supporting a cause that doesn’t resonate with your customers, you’re already off on the wrong foot. Take time to understand the issues your target audience cares about, and insert your company into the conversation. For example, at my company, UChic, we found that our target market of high school and college-aged women valued out-ofclassroom experiences, like study abroad trips and internships, yet lacked the means to fund them. With

this knowledge, we created a scholarship program that provides necessary funding to our very same consumers, funded by our product sales. Align your social good efforts with your customers’ values and they’ll be more willing to advocate for and support your brand. 2. Show your impact. Storytelling should be at the heart of your social enterprise. It’s not enough to simply spout numbers about total dollars given to your cause; go one step further and show the total impact of your efforts on a personal level. At UChic, we highlight the stories of the girls we support with our scholarship program, giving a face to those young women our customers are helping through product purchases. Try creating a landing page dedicated to your cause, your goal and your tangible impact. Share photos, narratives and in-depth looks at the

good you’re doing. Make it clear to your customers that you’re following through on your company’s philanthropic missions – and promise – and you’ll have advocates for the long term. 3. Get customers involved. People feel more connected to social enterprises when they’re invited to participate in the process. TOMS Shoes has built an entire army of social good-driven supporters through this model. They encourage their customers to join “TOMS Tribe,” leading their own philanthropy efforts across the world – all backed by the power of TOMS. By doing so, they have people around the globe sharing stories of the companies impact. Whether it’s inviting customers to join humanitarian trips, asking them to share their own stories of social good or simply asking them what social issues matter most, involving them in the philanthropic process will help them feel connected

on a deeper level. And change them from customers to ambassadors. 4. Deliver a stellar product. You could follow the best social enterprise practices and support an amazing cause, but if your product doesn’t appeal to your market, your business won’t gain traction. A successful social enterprise combines appealing to the cause your target consumer supports and offering the products that resonate with their needs and wants. Warby Parker is a shining example. They attract busy, cash-strapped millennials with quick, easy and affordable eyewear options, and then seal the deal with their impactful social good mission. It’s a win-win. By truly understanding your consumers and effectively articulating the story of your mission, you’ll set your social enterprise up for success, and ultimately, greater impact. This article was first published on entrepreneur.com

How internet could kill your business By Olufemi Babalogbon “Managers also must not let the distractions of day-to-day business prevent them from contemplating the future. They must find time to consider the changes new technologies could soon bring to their businesses” - McKinsey Global Institute (The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity, 2011). Internet will kill some businesses, even if they reside on the web. The year was 2001 when Marketing Strategist, Michael E. Porter wrote in Harvard Business Review that internet will jeopardize competitive advantage. Fast-forward to 2015 when almost everybody is on the internet, everybody on the internet claim to be a professional, facebook is seen to be

more efficient than billboards and twitter breaks news faster than cable-based televisions. The internet has brought a bank of data nearer to companies than researches have ever done. Companies may now be victims of extreme competition, as all information about them, their strategies, product portfolio and clients can be gleaned from the internet. It is easy for competing companies to copy each other and whatever Unique Service Proposition (USP) means is sunk in competitive convergence. Therefore, the need for digital capabilities emerged as the trends change faster. Only companies that are fast developing new capabilities will survive. Perhaps the worst harm the internet is doing to the business landscape is the opportunity given

to everybody to be whoever he/she wants to be on the web. Amateurs can launch a website which is even more competitive in contents than the websites of professionals. Online content has superimposed the need for value and structures; social media savoir-faire is the new professionalism; and copied pictures and false testimonials seem more adequately credible. The implication of this is that smaller companies can do damage to bigger corporations. The founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum summarized the reality of the e-market:”In the new world, it is not the big fish which eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish which eats the slow fish”. The third threat to businesses is that the internet has replaced the physical marketplaces with just

one single market-space. The Internet of Things (IoT) has placed all companies from all over the world into a single space of market where your biggest competitors are not the next-door shops, they are rather the virtual shops based in far away Asia who are willing to offer low prices for quality products. The effect of this is new pressure on prices and profit-margin, as competitors struggle to out-match themselves in offering discounts instead of offering superior value. The internet might have brought a lot of opportunities to businesses, and even economic gains to nations, it is however important to re-position one’s business not only to leverage on it but to match the emerging challenges of competing in a global market. The internet comes with both digital opportu-

nities and threats; we must prepare for the future of digital uncertainty. Babalogbon, Chief Market-

ing Strategist, Brand Soulhouette Limited, sent this from Ibadan.

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 19 October, 2015

moneymarket

anchor Chima Nwokoji

m:08032637535 e:chimatitus@yahoo.com

Liquidity level to remain high on equal inflow, outflow of N138bn

he level of liquidity this week is expected to remain at last week’s high levels as Treasury Bills (T-bills) maturity worth N138 billion is expected to hit the financial system while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be conducting a Primary Market Auction (PMA) of the same amount in 91-day, 182-day and 364-day instruments. “We expect the level of liquidity in the system to remain at same high level from last week, while we opine that T-bills rate will continue to respond to short term macroeconomic manifestations,” dealers said. Yields on Nigerian bonds are expected to fall, dropping near a 1-year low with the interbank market awash with liquidity as central bank cash injections filter into the bond market. Traders said yields across maturities dropped last week. The central bank injected N280 billion ($1.4 billion) into the banking system from retired open market bills, increasing liquidity to over N1 trillion . Thus, there are expectations that liquidity totaling around

NIBOR October 16, 2015 Tenor

Rate (%)

Change (%)

O/N

1.1433

-0.01

13.4347

0.17

15.5754

0.40

16.8238

-0.06

15.9805

0.56

12M

15.9725

-0.03

12M

0.00

NIFEX October 16, 2015 Bid

Offer

Change

Spot($/N)

199.0000

199.1000

Bid

0.00

Offer

CBN Clearing Rates of October 16, 2015 Bid

Offer

Change

Spot($/N)

196.00

197.00

0.00

NITTY October 16, 2015 Tenor

Rate (%)

Change (%)

3.7756

0.11

4.6321

-0.71

8.7341

0.24

9.8927

-0.10

9.9021

-0.30

12M

11.4094

-0.49

12M

0.00

N600 billion may hit the banking system within the next two weeks,

as most are being invested in fixed income assets by commercial banks

From left, Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Director, UBA Plc, Chief Kola Jamodu; Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr Phillips Oduoza and Acting Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Babatunde Fowler, at the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja, on Thursday.

the last few weeks. Average yields during the week pegged at 9.1 per cent after declining to 8.3 per cent from the open of 9.5 per cent. Money Market Review and Outlook Bullish sentiments on the shorter term The financial system last week remained awash T-bills instruments drove down short term with liquidity following the inflow of N1.1tril- yields to an average of 5.8 per cent from 6.5 lion that came in on Friday (09/10/2015) which per cent in the previous week. brought the opening balance on Monday to N1.2tn. Consequently, the Open Buy Back (OBB) and Foreign Exchange Market Review Overnight Rate (O/N) opened the week at 0.8 per The Naira on Friday depreciated against cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. the dollar at the parallel market. The Naira According to investment research and advisory lost N0.5 in the afternoon as it exchanged for firm, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, the liquidity N225.5 against the dollar, slightly less than its condition stayed upbeat but gradually moderated previous value of N225. Meanwhile, at the into N756.4billion on Wednesday as the OBB and terbank window, the Naira exchanged at N197 O/N firmed at 0.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent in that to the dollar. order. However, with the inflow of N283.7billion Traders at the market said that the demand in Open Market Operation (OMO) repayment on for dollar had been on the increase as busiThursday, liquidity level improved to N1.0 tril- nessmen and travellers bought it for various lion while the OBB and O/N remained stable at reasons. Wednesday level. In general, the foreign exchange market at At the close of trade on Friday, average liquid- the interbank remained relatively stable at ity level closed at N986.0billion while the average the CBN’s peg with an average of N198.48/ OBB and O/N rates settled at 0.8 per cent and US$1.00. Last week, the Naira depreciated 1.1per cent accordingly. against the Dollar by 0.3 per cent to settle at Dealers at Afrinvest said investors’ appetites for N198.92/US$1.00 against the previous week’s short term securities continue to gain traction as level of N198.36/US$1.00. The Apex bank reevident in the trajectory of Treasury-bills yields in mains committed to its resolve to defend the

weeklyreview

FGN Bonds

CBN Exchange Rates (8/27/2015)

Date of Auction

10/14/2015

Currency

Buying(NGN)

Central(NGN) Selling(NGN)

Security Type

FGN Bonds

Tenor

3 Year

Maturing On

5 Year

196 302.6828

196.5 303.455

197 304.2271

2/13/2020

8/16/2016

2/13/2020

Amount Offered (N mn)

Subscriptions (N mn)

102.71

Tot. Successful (N mn)

40.00

US DOLLAR POUNDS STERLING EURO SWISS FRANC YEN CFA WAUA

222.4992 205.8824 1.6468 0.3218 276.4495 30.8516 52.2611 29.8271 276.9284

223.0668 206.4076 1.651 0.3318 277.1548 30.9308 52.3944 29.9032 277.6349

223.6344 206.9328 1.6552 0.3418 277.86 31.0099 52.5277 29.9793 278.3413

YUAN/RENMINBI

Net Sales (N mn) Range of Bid Rates

10.0000 - 13.0500

Successful Bid Rates

10.0000 - 11.0000

Marginal Rate

and pension funds, driving yields lower.

RIYAL DANISH KRONA SDR

local currency against the greenback amid the plunge in global oil prices and the shaky external reserves. In a note to investors, Afrinvest observed that between August 31st and October 14th, the external reserves has consistently declined, daily losing 4.0 per cent after having accrued up to US$31.3billion post-the ban of 41 items. Last week also, the reserves depreciated 0.5 per cent to settle at US$30.1billion. “This development in our view

The 10-year bond yield, which has traded as high as 17.4 percent, fell 20 basis points on Friday to 12.90 percent. At a primary auction last week, the benchmark note yielded 13.87 percent. The liquidity surge has gone on for over three weeks, with the central bank unwilling to issue new open market bills to mop up the funds, wanting banks to lend to businesses. “Markets will continue to be awash with liquidity (but) this is not long-term funds for lending until banks know what the central bank wants to do,” one trader said. The central bank has kept its benchmark lending rate at 13 percent but lowered its cash reserve requirement to 25 percent from 31 percent, seeking to get lending flowing in Africa’s biggest economy after lower oil prices hit the currency.

is connected to the demand pressure at the interbank and the CBN’s blatant commitment to keep the domestic currency strong,” analysts at the investment research company stated. At the Bureau De Change (BDC)/Parallel segment of the market however, the Naira firmed at N225.00/US$1.00 for most part of the days of the week though it depreciated slightly to N225.50/US$1.00 on Thursday. “In our opinion, the true state of the market for Foreign Exchange (FX) will continually be pictured by the BDC/parallel market pending when the interbank can reflect the real demand-supply dynamics,” the dealers said. Bond Market Review The bond market continued its bullish trend last week as yields across maturities and classifications further trended downward in response to clearer macroeconomic signals following the clearance of some ministers by the Nigerian Senate during the week. Dealers at Afrinvest said average yields during the week declined by 43 basis points (bps) to close at 14.1 per cent from 14.5 per cent in the previous week. Most activities in the bond market last were witnessed across benchmark bonds in line with huge liquidity in the system which seems to be impacting significantly on yields. The Debt Management Office (DMO) during the week conducted October 2015 bond auction which re-issued a total of N80.0billion in line with its earlier plan. The result of the auction, which was carried out on FEB 2020 and MAR 2024 instruments, further buttresses the fact that the local bond market remains principally driven by domestic investors. The FEB 2020 instrument was planned to raise N40.0billion but was 157 per cent oversubscribed with a clearing rate of 13.11 per cent while the MAR 2024 instruments auctioned to raise N40.0billion was also 105 per cent oversubscribed at a marginal rate of 13.87 per cent.

27 moneymarket

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

NDIC hosts 2015 media capacity building conference ...Highlights challenges of MSMEs

he Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has concluded arrangement to host its 2015 annual capacity building workshop for Finance Correspondents and business editors in Ilorin Kwara State. This is just as the corporation has identified inadequate funding as a major challenge that has continued to hamper the operational efficiency of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) in Nigeria. The corporation said amidst the myriads of challenges facing the nation, inadequate funding of the MSMEs had remained a major challenge, expressing dismay that as of June 30, 2015, deposits mobilised by the 936 microfinance banks were a meager N173.3billion. Speaking at a one-day sensitisation workshop for operators of microfinance banks held in Enugu State, the MD/CEO of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim however said all hopes were not lost, as effective risk management implementation would not only assist microfinance banks to respond to risks but would also help them to promote profitability and objective decision making Ibrahim said that microfinance banks had to be seriously interested in enhanced risk management standards since their loan portfolios remained on a variable rate and therefore sensitive to Monetary Policy Rates fluctuations. “For instance, an increase in the interest rate could make micro-loan repayment difficult. Furthermore, new loans could become less attractive for small borrowers due to affordability pressures.

“Therefore, micro-finance banks should be able to assess borrowers’ capacity and willingness to continue with loan repayments in the case of an interest rate rise. Lack of thorough and effective assessment of market risk could have devastating impact on banks,” he said.

Ibrahim, who was represented by Mr Joshua J. Etopidiok, Director, Special Insured Institutions Department of NDIC, also said that the Central Bank of Nigeria had in September, 2013 issued the “Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Microfinance

Banks in Nigeria” aimed at not just introducing a riskbased approach to the supervision of microfinance banks, bUt also in response to the changing financial landscape. He said the enterprise risk management framework was “developed to provide

From left, Chief Executive Officer, Chellarams Plc, Aditya Chellaram; Group Head, Food and Beverages, Keystone Bank, Ladi Garba and Chief Operating Officer, Afro Beverages Distillers Limited, Reuben Onwubiko, at the Afro Beverages and Chellarams product launch in Lagos on Friday.

Festac robbery: ‘Why banking will resume immediately’ Banking sources have revealed that though the armed robbery operation that took place at the Festac branch of two banks may have affected the psychology of the workers and residences of the area, it may not have affected the ability of the lenders to bounce back due to systems already in place in modern banking space. A top banker who preferred not to be named, told Nigerian Tribune that apart

from being insured, most banks as part of efforts to ensure business continuity, strengthen operations and at the same time entrench operational excellence, have upgraded their systems with additional securities measures. “For instance, Access Bank plc was recently conferred with the ISO 27001:2013; ISO 22301 and has also upgraded its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certi-

fication. All these refer to security and ability to return to business in case of unexpected occurrence. “ISO 22301 will help the bank identify potential threats and unexpected disruptions to business and ensure there is a robust plan and solution in place. “Therefore, as this incident happened, the bank is prepared and in a position to respond effectively,” the top banker said. Meanwhile, addressing the

Access Bank designs more car loan schemes for current account holders Access Bank and Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) have teamed up to provide ease of access to car loans, for customers. The partnership was borne out of the desire to improve the welfare of Nigerian customers. Both companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect. According to Victor Etuokwu, Executive Director, Access Bank, the automobile financing scheme would last one year and customers will be able to fully repay the car loans within four years. Partnerships between Nigerian banks and automobile companies to aid vehicle financing have become

a proactive process to assess the safety and soundness of all microfinance banks operating in Nigeria,” but warned that microfinance banks must reduce risks on their own terms through effective management oversight and performance evaluation.

a norm. Access Bank partnered with Hyundai earlier this year, the leading financial institution also partners with Nissan and KIA for the same purpose. KIA Motors is partners with Sterling Bank. According to Etuokwu, under the scheme customers will get the best price ever, will not suffer unnecessary changes in interest rate due to economic conditions and will have flexible pay-back conditions. He further said the agreement with PAN Limited is in support of the Federal Government’s automobile policy, adding that the bank as a top financial institution is happy to partner with another top brand in Nigeria’s

automobile industry. “This means that two institutions are concerned about the welfare of the people, providing an opportunity for those who do not have enough money to own a brand new car. Customers of Access Bank riding on this scheme can own a Peugeot car after fulfilling all the conditions. They can walk into a Peugeot car dealer, make their choices, come back to Access back for necessary documentations and walk away with their Peugeot brand,” he assured. Considering that commercial bank loans in Nigeria today attracts between 25 to 29 per cent interest rate, Etuokwu said that a customer

who is expected to have current account with Access Bank stands to get a 24 per cent or lower interest rate with a lot other benefits. In his remarks at the event, the Managing Director, PAN Nigeria Limited, Ibrahim Boyi said some other auto-companies have lured some customers into buying cars cheap, only for the buyers to spend almost half of the cost of the car in repairs and spare parts replacement during the lifespan of the vehicle. “But for Peugeot, as much as we price competitively, customers get more benefit in the servicing and management of the brand due to its durability,” Boyi stated.

media in Lagos, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr Fatai Owoseni, confirmed that Access Bank was set to commence operations again, while Diamond Bank was still repairing some damaged properties. Though Access Bank’s management is yet to make official statement to this effect, its Executive Director, Operations and IT, Mrs Ojini Olaghere, had in a keynote address during the presentation of the International Standard Organisation (ISO) certificates to the bank in Lagos recently said Access Bank would continue to make the protection of confidential and sensitive customer data its priority. She had assured stakeholders that the bank remained committed to continuous review and improvement of its security. “In line with the board and management commitment to ensure continuous improvement and security of the bank’s information assets, our accreditation in 2012 with the ISO 27001:2005 certificate is again being upgraded to the most recent ISO 27001:2013 of Information Security Management Systems (ISMS)” She said.

Heritage Bank packages N200m for graduate entrepreneurs Heritage Bank Limited has packaged a N200 million loan facility for young graduates willing to advance their dreams in small scale businesses. The bank also gave a cash prize to Miss Onwura Onyinye Chima for outstanding performance during the service year that won her the Lagos State National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Director’s Award. Chima, 23, a graduate of Microbiology from Federal Polytechnic, Nekede was posted to Army Children School, Ojo, Lagos for her primary assignment. While in the school, Cyril Akhanehme, the Lagos State NYSC Co-ordinator said Chima was dedicated, hardworking and diligent. The facility, according to the bank, is a revolving soft loan which comes with a financial and management advisory to support National Youth Corps members who upon passing out demonstrate serious intentions of starting up small scale businesses. Speaking during the passing out parade of the Corps members at the Orientation Camp in Ipaja-Lagos on Thursday, Mr Ola Olabinjo, Executive Director Heritage Bank, who represented the Managing Director of the bank, congratulated the young graduands for a successful service year and commended the NYSC for its commitment to youth development. “The country is facing huge challenges and you hold the key to solutions. As you venture out into the workforce or enterprise, you owe yourself and future generations to be the catalyst for change,” he said. He stated further that the strategic thrust of Heritage Bank is hinged on the future, which translates into creating, preserving and transferring wealth across generations. This, he explained, informed the setting up of a department for the youth by the bank. Olabinjo emphasised that the idea of the loan became necessary because small businesses form the engine of the economy. “With a business, you can bequeath a legacy that will outlive you,” he added.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

capitalmarket

anchor Olatunde Dodondawa

m:08029370304 e:mrdodondawa@yahoo.com

Market capitalisation dips by 1.10%, as investors lose N60bn Stories By Olatunde Dodondawa - Lagos

he market capitalisation depreciated for two consecutive weeks as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index and market capitalisation depreciated by 1.10 per cent to close at 29,834.21 and N10.253 trillion on Friday respectively. However, the trading summary revealed that investors lost N60billion after one week of trading. The market capitalisation closed at N10.253 trillion as against market capitalisation of N10.513 at the end of trading the previous week. Similarly, all other indices finished lower during the week with exception of NSE Banking, NSE Insurance and NSE Oil/Gas that appreciated by 0.67 per cent, 2.81 per cent and 3.75 per cent respectively, while NSE ASeM Index closed flat. A turnover of 949.675 million shares worth N10.280 billion in 14,833 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of The Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.390 billion shares valued at N12.170 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 14,821 deals. In total, 29 equities appreciated in price during the last week trading, higher than 23 equities of the preceding week; 39 equities depreciated in price, lower than 48 equities of the preceding week, while 122 equities remained unchanged, higher than 119 equities recorded in the preceding week. The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 577.298 million shares valued at N4.874 billion traded in 8,006 deals; thus contributing 60.79 per cent and 47.41 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Oil and Gas Industry followed with a turnover of 228.997 million shares worth N1.639 billion in 1,798 deals. The third place was occupied by the Conglomerates Industry with 50.980 million shares worth N275.452 million in 794 deals. Trading in the Top Three Equities were Capital Oil Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 370.170 million shares worth N2.386 billion in 2,042 deals, contributing 38.98 per cent and 23.21 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Also traded during the last week were a total of 3,740 units of Exchange

Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N2.035 million executed in 19 deals compared with a total of 3,180 units valued at N1.150 million transacted the previous week in 18 deals. A total of 1,000 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N1.165 million were traded this week in 1 deal compared with a total of 29,472 units valued at N30.711 million transacted last week in two deals. Leading the top gainers was Okomu Oil which gained N6.97 to close at N35.63; NASCON

was next with an appreciation of N0.76 to close at N7.73; AXAMansard gained N0.26 to close at N2.68; Forte Oil Plc gained N25.02 to close at N280.00; Zenith Bank International Plc gained N1.21 to close at N17.51; R.T Briscoe gained N0.04 to close at N0.60; Redstar Express gained N0.27 to close at N4.25; Academy Press Plc gained N0.03 to close at N0.63; FCMB gained N0.10 to close at N2.19 while Trans National Express gained N0.05 to close at N1.13. The top losers during last week

trading were Transcorp Hotels Plc which lost N0.68 to close at N6.42; Access Bank Plc lost N0.48 to close at N4.72; Learn Africa Plc lost N0.08 to close at N0.84; Unity Bank lost N0.12 to close at N1.50; Honeywell Flour Mills lost N0.20 to close at N2.55; Oando Plc lost N0.70 to close at N9.30; Flourmills lost N1.30 to close at N20.70; Cutix Plc lost N0.90 to close at N1.71; E-tranzact lost N0.15 to close at N2.85 while Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc lost N0.16 to close at N3.05.

From left, Mr Mbanugo Udenze, Company Secretary, C & I Leasing Plc; Mr Oscar N. Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Mr Emeka Ndu, Managing Director, C&I Leasing Plc; Mr Alex Mbakogu, Chief Finance Officer, C&I Leasing Plc and Maureen Ogbonna, Managing Director, C&I Motors, at the closing gong ceremony at the NSE.

Forte Oil adopts cost-saving strategy to balance debt-equity ratio While many companies are finding it challenging to adopt the cost-saving strategy due to unfavourable economic conditions in the country, the management of Forte Oil Plc may have devised a means of adopting which may have reflected in their unaudited financial statement released to the public last week. The cost saving strategy otherwise called cost reduction is a strategy used by companies to reduce their costs and increase profitability. According to the company’s unaudited financial results, the management of the company was able to reduce finance cost by 74.44 per cent, which means the cost of servicing debt (interest payment on loan stock) was reduced drastically from N1,145,418,000 as at September 2014 to N292,715,000 as at September 2015. During the same period under review, turnover declined by 25.26 per cent from N122,580,687,000 in September 2014 to N91,615,603,000 in September 2015. Gross profit also declined by 28.05 per

cent from N13,294,799,000 to N12,979,486,000 within the same period. The company also witnessed a decrease in operating profit from N6.3billion to N5.6billion. However there was a sharp increase in Administrative expenses which rose from N5.7billion to N8.2billion. Profit Before Tax (PBT) and Profit After Tax (PAT) increase by 1.63 per cent and 6.69 per cent respectively. PBT rose from N5.2billion to N5.29billion while PAT rose from N4billion to N4.3billion. Recently, Forte Oil Plc sold 17 per cent equity stake to the world’s third largest independent energy traders and asset operators, Mercuria Energy Holding SA, in a deal worth $200million. Through this investment, Forte Oil Plc said it has secured additional working capital to continue its meteoric growth and dominance in the downstream sector, upstream services, power generation and upstream exploration in its bid to becoming Nigeria’s premier integrated energy solutions provider.

Nigerian Tribune

“Mercuria is joining forces with Forte Oil at an auspicious time when equitable funding and expertise is needed to expand and intensify its market penetration to give the company the leverage to further create a positive impact for all shareholders. This is another step towards projecting Forte Oil as the investment of choice as reflected in our mission statement,” the company stated in a statement. The investment, which has been approved by the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission is geared towards improving the group’s working capital and would be used for the expansion of the downstream and power generation businesses in Nigeria as well as positioning itself for future opportunities in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Sector. The deal is not expected to have an impact on the company’s unaudited financial results under review but going forward, it means the company may have increased its working capital and reduce its debenture portfolio in the long run.

UBA posts 44% growth in profit, as gross earnings hit N247.2bn Pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has released its 9 months unaudited financial results for 2015 showing a strong 44 per cent rise in profit after tax to N48.6billion and a 17 per cent rise in gross earnings to N247. 2billion. The third quarter results also show Net Operating Income (NOI) recorded a strong 21 per cent growth to N167.4billion. The cost to income ratio remained within management’s guidance of 65 per cent, compared to 68.7 per cent in the corresponding period of 2014. In other indices, UBA closed the third quarter with total assets of N2.87trillion, loan book of N1.01trillion and a deposit base of N2.18trillion. “We have continued to sustain our financial performance in 2015, leveraging our unique pan-African platform and the strength of our committed work force in gaining competitive edge in the market place” said Phillips Oduoza, the Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc. He also attributed the impressive performance of the bank to enhanced balance sheet efficiency and improving extraction of value from the bank’s channels. “We have also maintained our discipline on how, where and with whom we do business and I am happy with the results, as reflected in our earnings and asset quality” said Oduoza. In the period under review, UBA maintained a Non-Performing Loan ratio of 2.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent cost of risk. These ratios are amongst the lowest in the banking industry. Highlighting some of the significant achievements in the third quarter, the bank’s GMD/CEO disclosed that UBA led a consortium of local banks to facilitate a $1.2billion syndicated facility for the National Oil Company in Nigeria (NNPC). Further reflecting the strength of the Bank, Global Credit Rating (GCR) affirmed UBA’s AA(LCY) and BB- (FCY) credit ratings. Also speaking on the results, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh, noted that the bank’s entrepreneurial persistence continues to yield results as the Group increasingly extracts synergy opportunities across its African network. “Our business in Africa, excluding Nigeria, contributed a quarter of our profit after tax in the period; a resounding benefit of our geographic diversification” said Nwaghodoh.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

labour NDAP partners NDDC on employment for ex-militants Soji-Eze Fagbemi

HE Niger Delta Amnesty Programme (NDAP) has gone into partnership with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to ensure sustainable re-integration of the ex-militants from the Niger Delta region. To this end, the NDAP and the NDDC have jointly come up with a plan to have an all inclusive summit on Niger Delta that will involve all stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Niger Delta, all the state governments in the region, and the multinational oil companies, with other relevant bodies. The partnership was activated when the Managing Director, NDDC, Chief Dan Abia and his management team visited the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, General Paul Boroh, at the NDAP office in Abuja on Friday. The meeting between the two organisations was to synergise and look at a way they could work together to sustaine what had been achieved in the area of amnesty programme and ensure more employment opportunities are provided to curb the trend of kidnapping, oil theft, vandalism, smuggling and other forms of militancy in the region. General Boroh, who was the host, told his the NDDC director of the urgent need for the two bodies to work together, and added that the Ministry of Niger Delta was also very important to the amnesty programme. He said the Federal Government had to jealously guided the Niger Delta because of the very importance of the region to the socio-economic and political development of the country. Already, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta said 17,000 delegates (ex-militants) had been trained in various skills, while about 400 had been gainfully employed in various companies and reintegrated to the society. Besides, he pointed out that 1,300 were currently in various schools over the world, 1,583 were enrolled in Nigerian universities, and many others in universities across Africa. He stated that the NDAP was seeking new partnership for sustainable integration of the ex-militants. He called on the NDDC to employ its trained delegates and award contracts to them. He believes that the NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta with the involvement of the NDAP and engagement of all stakeholders, kidnapping, smuggling and vandalism would stop. “To achieve the task given to us, it requires synergy. By the time we synergize our efforts, the world we know that we are ready for the development of the region and Nigeria at large,” he said. However, on the issue of some group of Niger Delta youths who were coming out to protest their exclusion from the amnesty programe, Gen. Boroh said the agency had no power to include any other group apart from the one handed over to them at the beginning of the programme. He added: “We don’t have any power to in-

clude any other group or person. We are to take care of 30,000. We are so transparent. So there should not be conflict. “We have details of persons given to us by the military who did the disarmament. They gave us the list. Any person protesting should go to their general as to why their names were not included or tell Nigerians why they did not come out during the disarmament.” Also presenting his position on how the NDDC would partner the NDAP, the NDDC Director, Chief Abia, described the meeting as very unique, adding that it was the first time key institutions that oversee the affairs of Niger Delta at the highest national level came together. To him, this was an indication that change has come to Nigeria and the Niger Delta. “We can’t continue to chart our own course differently, we must work in circle, walk hand-in-hand, review our programmes together and chart a way forward,” he said. He warned that the various government agencies and the ministry are bound to duplicate Programmes, and waste the limited resources available to them if they refused to work together. “So, the convocation of Niger Delta Summit is long overdue,” he said, adding, “because of high expectation, they believe that NDDC can do everything but has no capacity to do all.” He said the key thing was to facilitate sustainable development of Niger Delta region, but he hinted “you cannot develop a region where there is no peace, you can’t have peace where your youths are not gainfully employed. We must explore areas of collaboration, and we can’t keep doing things as if Niger Delta is segmented.” According to Chief Abia, “I see Amnesty

Office as a very dependable ally in the development of Niger Delta region. There will be meeting of stakeholders by the NDDC soonest and the Amnesty Office ranks highest at the top in the programme.” He, however, stated that the commission was not satisfied with the level of security in the region, saying, “We will be sleeping if we are satisfied. I can’t tell you we are, you can never be because we are always aiming to improve on what we have. We are not satisfied, and that is why we are working together to improve it.” He regretted that there were a lot of misinformation about the NDDC, and explained that the issue of funding is one of this. According to him, against the popular belief that all the states in the Niger Delta also contributed to the funding of the commission, Chief Abia clarified that none of the nine states in the region contributed to the funding of NDDC. He further explained that according to the Act setting up NDDC, no state was part of the funding but the funding is solely from the Federal Government and international oil companies. The NDDC director also confirmed that funding was one of the major problems. He said the Accountant-General of the Federation had also confirmed that there had been serious shortfall statistically on what should have gone to the commission to what had been made available to it. At the meeting, a small committee was set up to commence the interface between the two bodies. Chief Abia presented the master plan of NDDC to General Boroh while the NDAP boss also presented the document detailing the activities of the Amnesty programme, detailing its achievements to the NDDC boss.

Cuban ambassador, NLC seek Nigeria’s help over embargo on Cuba Soji-Eze Fagbemi -Abuja THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Carlos Trejo Sosa, have frowned on the continued sanctions and embargo placed on Cuba by the United States of America, saying they have cost the Cuban people a whopping $833.7 billion. To this end, the congress and the Cuban Ambassador called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to lend its weight in building a powerful Africa solidarity on the deal of US blockage of Cuba. Acting President of NLC Comrade, Peters Adeyemi and Ambassador Sosa said in a joint press conference in Abuja that the embargo had had untold hardship on the people of Cuba, negative effects on their economy and their socio-economic life as a people. In a paper entitled: ‘Stop Economic Blockade on the Cuban People,’ Comrade Adeyemi said: “It is sad to note how the embargo on the good people of Cuba, supported by some Western allies of the United States for over 50 years has had untold hardship and dire consequences on the socio-economic life of the Cuban people. “The country has been denied access to imported critical machinery for its industries, pharmaceutical products and food, technology for educational advancement, and financial facilities from international institutions, among others. “By the latest estimate in support of this year’s UN resolution on lifting sanctions on Cuba, the embargo has cost the Cuban people a whopping $833.7 billion.” While calling on Nigerian Government to lend its weight behind the lifting of sanctions and embargo on Cuba, Comrade Adeyemi stated that doing so was in tandem with both the letters and spirit of the movement in world history. He said the time to stop this immoral blockade against the Cuban people is now. Comrade Adeyemi explained that during the NLC 11th Delegates Conference in February 2015, one of the three motions on international solidarity debated on the floor of conference was on solidarity with the Cuban people. The movers of the motion, according to him, traced the exemplary internationalist and heroic deeds of our Cuban people in fighting for the liberation of Angola and in the eventual defeat of Apartheid in South Africa; and the decolonisation struggle in the Southern African sub-region. He said: “Against the above background, the motion applauded the decision of President Barack Obama of the United States of America in December 2014 to end the diplomatic isolation of Cuba by successive American governments spanning the last 50 years. “The motion then called on Congress to liaise with all friends of Cuba to continue to mobilise for the end to the economic blockade on Cuba by the USA. This then became one of the resolutions from our conference that the current NLC leadership is obligated to carry out.”

30 labour ILO wants action against poverty

HE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has declared that the pledges to eradicate extreme poverty demand determined action by countries and the international community. In his statement on the occasion of the 2015 World Poverty Day, the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, said an end to poverty by the year 2030 is achievable and

can be done. He pointed out that extreme poverty remains blight on the lives of hundreds of millions of families and communities around the world. The ILO estimates that 780 million working women and men are not able to earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the $2 a day poverty line. In the statement titled: “Building a sustainable fu-

ture: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination,” Ryder stated that this figure is around one third of total employment in developing countries. He said a further quarter of the developing world’s workers are living on between $2 and $4 a day; adding that this group of near poor are constantly at risk of slipping back into poverty should they be unable to work, for example as a result

Monday, 19 October, 2015

of ill health. The ILO director-general said: “Between 2015 and 2030, 570 million young women and men will join the world’s workforce mainly in Africa and South Asia. “Decent jobs are key to ending poverty in its most extreme forms and transforming the lives of millions. Creating enough decent work opportunities to meet this goal is an enormous

TUC threatens to resist increase in electricity tariff Soji-Eze Fagbemi THE Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has vowed to resist any increase in electricity tariff as planned by electricity distribution companies (DISCO). In a statement issued by the TUC, the congress noted with dismay recent media reports on plans by electricity distribution companies in the country to increase the tariff on electricity by an average of 49.4 per cent. “We understand that a number of proposals have already been submitted to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) pursuant to this objective. In view of the present harsh economic realities in the land, it is our view that the proposed increase is wrong and lacks human face,” the congress said. The statement, signed by the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama and the Secretary General, Comrade Musa Lawal, warned NERC and DISCO to shun anything that would attract the wrath of the masses. Rather, the congress stated that Nigerians expect them to earnestly adopt genuinely consumer-friendly policies. It disclosed that the fact that power supply is relatively improved within the last few months does not mean that the myriad of challenges bedevilling the sector are over. Titled: “We Shall Resist Increase in Electricity Tariff,” the statement read: “Why should the masses be at the receiving end of every wrong and retrogressive policy in the country? Why must they always pay for what the rich consume more of? What sense does it make for a man who earns less than N20,000 per month to be made to pay over N8,000 for electricity bill alone within the same month? “Why should they pay so much for what they do not

use regularly enough, with officers of the distribution companies rarely bothering to read the analogue metres? Why should these questionable issues that

are spared no thought in other climes always take centre stage in Nigeria? Surely Nigerians deserve a much better deal.” The TUC warned that

implementation of the planned increase would amount to an invitation to anarchy; adding, “it is totally oppressive, indefensible and retrogressive.”

Rochas Okorocha

NLC writes Okorocha, IGP over anti-labour practices against workers in Imo Soji-Eze Fagbemi The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has written the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, and the Inspetor General of Police (IGP) over unhealthy industrial relations practices against health workers and the entire workers of the state by the government. In the letter, the congress warned that if the anti-labour practices are not quickly apprehended and reviewed, the situation may escalate into an industrial crisis. Signed by the NLC General Secretary, Comrade Peters Ozo-Eson, the letter regretted that despite receiving the bailooutgunned from the Federal Government, amounting to N26. 8 billion to offset the arrears of salary owed the workers, the state government is yet to do so. From the information avilable to the congress, Ozo-

Eson said the government is owing salaries of between five ans eight months to the health workers i. The Health Management Board, Imo State Teaching Hospital and local governments. He spoke against the intimidation and suspension of some workers and arbitrary reduction of workers’ salary for no known reason as well as putting on concession all state owned hospitals and local government health centres by the state government without due consultations with organised labour. The NLC called on the government to pay the arrears of salary owed workers, pensioners and check-off dues owed some unions. It also called on the governor to review the arbitrary reduction of salary and restore allowances due to health workers. In the letter to the IGP, the

NLC drew his attention to some “unsavoury developments in Imo State,” where the state governor had embarked on a number of actions inimical to the maintenance of industrial peace. Ozo-Eson told the IGP that the NLC wrote to the governor to advise him on the way to preserve industrial peace but “rather than listening to the adive, the governor had enlisted the services of the Imo State Police command to dislodge workers from their legitimate offices and place of work.” He said the police had in some cases brutalised workers and subjected them to arrests and detentions. The NLC scribe appealed to the IGP to call to order the Commissioner of Police in Imo State and prevail on him to refrain from using the force under his command to deal with what is purely an industrial relation matter.

challenge. “Moreover, many living in poverty suffer additional forms of discrimination whether based on gender, ethnicity or other grounds. The persistence of such discrimination will block efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. He emphasized that the theme of this year’s World Poverty Day, “Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination” echoes the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by world leaders in September at the UN World Summit. According to him, the vision states that: “We resolve, between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. We resolve also to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work for all, taking into account different levels of national development and capacities.” These pledges, he said, demand determined action by countries and the international community. Ryder added: “Ending discrimination in all its forms in the workplace and beyond must be a part and parcel of strategies for building inclusive societies on terms that meet the criteria of social justice. “Discrimination prevents

Nigerian Tribune

millions from establishing a foothold in secure and adequately rewarded jobs. Not only is this unjust and a violation of human rights, it is a waste of much needed human talent and endeavour. Respecting human rights, including fundamental principles and rights at work, is an essential foundation for poverty-eradicating sustainable development. “Therefore, the 2030 Agenda commitments made to protect human rights and promote gender equality will need to be pursued with unrelenting vigour.” He promised that the ILO is ready to take up its responsibilities with the UN family to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” as called for in Goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda. He said: “We bring our Decent Work approach to the challenges of this and other Sustainable Development Goals. Along with jobs and rights, the Decent Work approach also embraces social protection, providing a buffer when people are unable to work and earn sufficient income to stay out of poverty, as well as a floor that prevents the resurgence of poverty. “The ILO has made the End to Poverty one of our seven Centenary Initiatives to mark our 100th Anniversary in 2019. Our work through this initiative will shape our Organization’s efforts to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda. “As we look ahead let us keep in mind that together we can end extreme poverty by 2030, but not through business as usual.”

FG reads riot act over occupational safety The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr Clement Illoh, has affirmed his ministry’s readiness to sanction employers of labour that violate Factories Act Cap F1 LFN 2004 on Occupational Safety and Health at work places. While bemoaning the recurrent issue of preventable fatal industrial accidents that resulted in injuries and death of Nigerian workers at Hongxing Steel Company Limited, Dr Illoh revealed that the Federal Government had instituted a high level enquiry into the issue at stake. In furtherance to this course, The Top Management staff of Hongxing Steel Company has been

invited for a meeting slated for today in Abuja. The meeting is aimed at concluding investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the accidents with a view to ensure full compliance to the Factory Act 2004 and give the company time frame to rectify all contraventions and recommendations to ensure adequate safety and health of employees, including compensation to the victims of the industrial accidents. Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary warned that the Federal Government would not hesitate to prohibit and prosecute errant employers of labour that contravened extant labour laws and regulations.

politics&policy

Monday, 19 October, 2015 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

The protest against Buhari’s men As the Senate resumes the screening of ministerial nominees, AYO ALADESANMI and ISAAC SHOBAYO, underscore some of the underlining issues.

T is taking a new twist almost every other day, the ongoing process that is expected to culminate in President Muhammadu Buhari constituting the federal cabinet. After keeping Nigerians guessing for long, he sent the names of prospective ministers in two batches to the Senate for screening and confirmation. The screening exercise, which began last Tuesday, has been dogged by twists and turns, with some nominees being put on the spot by certain individuals and groups. The reasons adduced for the protests against some of the nominees are various. These include allegations of abuse of office as public officials, issues of state of origin, gender factor, alleged incompetence and marginalisation of certain geographical areas. The quarrel over indegineship was compounded by the decision of the President not to indicate the state of origins of the nominees in the lists sent to the Senate. In Sokoto, some individuals have kicked against the nominee from the state, Ms. Aisha Abubakar, on the claim that she hails from the same area with incumbent Governor Aminu Tambuwal. The camps of former Rivers State governor, Romimi Amaechi and some petitioners have sustained their claims and counter-claims over his nomination. Amidst these furore in a number of states, some politicians like a former Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Bent, have expressed concern over the emerging scenario in the Senate. She was not happy about the uproar that initially trailed the nomination of Mrs Amina Muhammed, especially on the issue of indigeneship. “Nigerians should stop this absurdity of humiliating and debasing their women with the slightest opportunity. It is an aberration, as well as barbaric for anyone to begin to discriminate and fight a woman on the basis of marital affiliation. I feel our Senators should not entertain that,” she stated. Brent said the constitution of Nigeria accords every right to any Nigerian woman to serve the country in any capacity, notwithstanding her marital affiliation or state of origin, quoting section 42 (2) to buttress her argument. She said: “I ran through the constitution and discover that it rather supports inter-ethnic marriage, whereas section 42 (2) states specifically that no ‘citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his or her birth.” Sokoto The protest over the nomination of Ms Aisha Abubakar assumed a new twist when Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC Sokoto East) tabled a petition by women in the state against her on the floor of the Senate.

Saraki

Amaechi

Nigerians should stop this absurdity of humiliating and debasing their women with the slightest opportunity. It is an aberration, as well as barbaric for anyone to begin to discriminate and fight a woman on the basis of marital affiliation.

Accordingly, the petition was forwarded to its committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to look into its merits. Plateau The nomination of Mr Solomon Dalung, alwayer, as the nominee from Plateau State, was a surprise to a number of political observers in the state, though he has been an active politicians for some time. He was the Personal Assistant to the late pioneer national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomom Lar. As an activist, he led several protests against the administration of the former Governor Joshua Dariye on allegations of corruption. In the last gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dalung contested against the serving governor, Simon Larlong but condemned the outcome of the primary election, alleging sharp practices and consequently petitioned the

national headquarters of the party. Nigerian Tribune learnt that no fewer than four names were submitted by the Plateau APC for consideration as ministerial nominees. A source claimed that the party the list did not include Dalung, thus some APC buffs claimed there was subdued anger over his confirmation by the Senate But, a group, Plateau Professionals Progressive Vanguard said that the people of the state expressed happiness over his confirmation. In a statement by its coordinator, Chesil Drenkat, a lawyer, the group described Dalung as a courageous activist, who shared the vision of Buhari for change. It stated: ”It will be the hallmark honour done to the president where all Plateau people unanimously rally round him so that Plateau can reap the dividends of democracy under the change agenda of the present administration.” Battle ahead For now, the general focus is on what

might play out on the floor of the Senate, as it resumes the screening of remaining nominees from tomorrow. In line with Section 147 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the first exercise led to the confirmation of 18 of the 21 nominees whose names appeared in the first batch from the President Buhari to Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki. Those confirmed as ministers-designate include: Senator Udo Udoma ( Akwa - Ibom ), Kayode Fayemi ( Ekiti ); Chief Audu Ogbeh ( Benue ), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu ( Ebonyi ); Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola ( Lagos ); Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu (Delta ); Abubakar Malami (Kebbi ) and Dr. Chris Ngige ( Anambra ).Others include Dr. Osagie Ehanire (Edo ) Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazzau ( Kano); Alhaji Lai Mohammed ( Kwara ), Amina Muhammed (Gombe), Suleiman Adamu ( Jigawa ) and Ibrahim Jibril(Nasarawa); Senator Aisha Jumai Al Hassan(Taraba ); M Dalong (Plateau ); Mrs Kemi Adeosun ( Ogun ) and Senator Hadi Sirika (Katsina). The nominees expected to appear before the Senate this week are: Khadijah Bukkar Abba lbrahim, Claudius Omoleye Daramola, ProfessorA nthony Onwuka ,Geoffrey Onyeama, Brig Gen. M. M DanAli (retd), Barrister James Ocholi, Zainab and Shamsuna Ahmed. Others include: Okechukwu Enelamah, Muhammed Bello,Mustapha Baba Shehuri,Ms Aisha Abubakar, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Adamu Adamu, Pastor Usani Usani Uguru, and Honourable Abubakar Bawa Bwari, as well as Amaechi and Adebayo Shittu, who is the nominee from Oyo State.

32 politics&policy

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Why it is difficult for politicians to steal public funds —Senate ex-Minority leader Senator Isiaq Salman was the deputy Senate Minority Leader under the platform of the All Progressives Party (APP) during the Fourth Senate. Senator Salman, who represented Kwara Central senatorial district, in this interview, speaks on war against corruption, ministerial screening and the politics behind the emergence of Senate President, Bukola Saraki. BIOLA AZEEZ, brings excerpts:

HERE is high expectation among people of Kwara State that they the state stands to gain much from the Federal Government by virtue of Senator Bukola Saraki being the Senate President. What do you think? The Senate President is the number three citizen and the head of the legislature; the first arm of government according to the constitution. That itself has already brought Kwarainto the political limelight of the country. But unfortunately, the legislature is the least understood and the most misunderstood among the three arms because of the incessant military interregnum we have had in the past. The legislature prepares the budget and the budget makes the country. Agreed, it’s a proposal but the government can rarely go outside it to do anything. Even being an ordinary member is a great advantage because you can attract a lot of things into your constituency since you have an advantage of being where things happen. Now, as a principal officer, there is a committee that takes charge of things at the National Assembly and the head of it is the Senate President. Many of the things you see the Federal Government is doing re being influenced by the president of the Senate and the senator from that region in the budget. If the President of the country, as powerful as he is, does anything outside the budget, it’s a contravention of the constitution and an impeachable offence. All the appointments made by the President are not without the knowledge of the Senate President. The advantage is so enormous and numerous in terms of appointment and infrastructure. That is why he deserves to be given all the support because it is not often that a state has this opportunity. It’s a privilege. He is also an international man that can attract lots of investment. Hopefully, when this crisis normalises, we will start seeing the dividends of that position. What is your advice now that the crisis over his emergence is yet to be resolved? Whatever that cannot be helped must be endured. He has emerged, even though he may not be the choice of the party, which is subject to many interpretations. It happened during the time of AminuTambuwal as speaker of the House of Representatives. Rather than continue the friction, we should make the best of the situation we have found ourselves and accept it. We have to be very careful as APC because the expectations from the people are enormous and we cannot afford to continue this bickering. The country is in a very bad shape that may even take more than four years to put into shape. If we continue to press on this, it may lead to factionalisation. What we should be concerned with is whether the person there now is performing and so far, he has been one of the best senate presidents we have had within his short time despite the crisis. The issues between the Senate President and the APC leader, Senator

Salman Bola Tinubu reached a crescendo last week with comments coming from both Saraki and Tinubu. How best do you think the APC, as a party should wade into this? The two of them are not people you can wish away because they are powerful people in the party. I don’t think there is anything personal about it and it is easy to resolve. That is where the leadership should come in and the President must wade in at this time. He has to discard all the issues that he is not a politician and can work with anybody. This “siddon look” posture is what got us to this stage in the first place. Let the leaders come together and meet and trash out all the differences. I don’t see any reason clinging to one position. The country is a very big enterprise and everybody can have things. We should not introduce ‘banana peels’ which are now gone. There is no banana peel within the Senate but it is always thrown from outside into the Senate through impo-

sition of candidates. What do you make out of the ministerial screening? To me, this is business unusual unlike what some people are saying that it’s still business as usual regarding what we have been seeing. UdoUdoma and I were in the same Senate. Before, the ministers would not have said a word but just take a bow which is conventional. Anybody that has been in the Senate and the House of Representatives must have seen it all because they would have interacted with many ministries, agencies and even the judiciary. So, what do you want to ask them? So far, it has been very good. The only person that was given that privilege without questions was Lai Muhammed, which was to honour the Senate President and Kwaraby extension. The rule is that any nominee that is not supported by at least two senators will not be cleared.

Politics is gone and what is remaining now is governance. And if we start playing politics now, it means we don’t want development for ourselves.

It is being speculated in some quarters that the Senate President is worth over N17 trillion. How can you explain this? Those that are peddling the rumour are in two or three groups: one that is genuinely ignorant and those who are mischievous. I will address only the first group because no matter what you say to the other group, they will cling on to their position. The governors and the President cannot do and undo as people erroneously believe. There are rules. Government consists of so many departments and checks and balances that the governor or president or anybody cannot just dip a hand in the money and spend as he wants. It has to go through a process and that is why it is easy to trace when theft is discovered. If the process is circumvented, it will show. The money is not in anybody’s pocket or abode but in government coffers and there are so many hurdles to cross before you can get it out. It’s not that easy. The budget, no matter how huge it is, is a proposal; it is not that the money is there. It starts trickling in from the federal allocation. The money that accrues to states is now being published. So after all these, how much is remaining to be stolen. Stealing cannot be done alone in government and it is always difficult to agree when you are more than one or two. There will be a whistle-blower somewhere. 17 trillion is 17 thousand billion; I don’t think the money that has accrued to the state since it was created is up to that amount in total. We have to be very careful and ensure that we do not destroy ourselves. Politics is gone and what is remaining now is governance. And if we start playing politics now, it means we don’t want development for ourselves. The Federal Government budgeted N4 trillion for the whole of the country this year. Kwara State has never had this kind of opportunity and it will be wrong to continue to play politics to bring him down, especially by what I will describe as white lie. The Senate President has been accused of having the soul of the PDP and being APC in body. How true is this? If I have the opportunity, I will always like to go back to the Senate. There is no party in the Senate; it’s just for convenience that we say majority and minority. During our time, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had more problems with his party, the PDP. It was ANPP and AD that were his saving grace. Senators don’t see things according to political party once they are in the Red Chamber and that is how it should be. The house you see in session on screen is exhibition as it is being said in jokes. That is why some people say legislators are not doing anything. The bulk of the job is done at committee levels. Do you think President Buhari is succeeding in his fight against corruption? Yes. To the extent that he is going to lay a solid foundation and template to fight it, yes. Corruption cannot be fought in four years. It’s good that he is starting from the top, which will send a message because the average Nigerian is too greedy. We need strong institutions and not powerful individuals. If that is what he is able to do, it’s okay.

33 politics&policy

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nnamani

Ugwuanyi

Nnaji

Will the Ebeano phenomenon return to Enugu politics? Jude Ossai - Enugu

NTIL May 29, 2007, Ebeano, a political group founded and nurturedby Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, held sway in Enugu State,as it helped him to effectively utilise the platform to make his grip on the political power levers in the state firm as well as kept dissenting voices at bay all through his eight years reign as governor. It will be recalled that soon after Nnamani bowed out ofoffice as the state chief executive, his erstwhile political son, Sullivan Chime, who took over the reign of power from him, turned his back against the Ebeano structure and gradually demystified the political dynasty and rubbished whoever associated with theNnamani. The Ebeano group was seen as a political liability to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), making Nnamani to move to the Peoples Democratic Change (PDC). But the event of October 12, 2015 seems to have brought a new life to the Ebeano political family bringing to bear that ex-governor Nnamani is a cat with nine lives. Indeed, Enugu, the Enugu State capital went agog shortly after the news from the tribunal sitting in the Coal City filtered through to the residents that the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal ordered a re-run of election based on the petition brought before it by Nnamani. Dr Nnamani challenged the victory of Senator Gil Nnaji of the PDP for the Enugu-East senatorial district, held March 28. Nnamani of PDC had approached the tribunal with a petition in which had parties to the suit as Nnaji as first respondent; PDP, second respondent and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the third respondent. He had asked the lower court to declare him winner orat the least, order a re-run following wide spread inflation of results, mutilation and non- compliance to the 2010 Electoral Act that charac-

terised thepoll. Delivering the four-hour verdict on the petition, Chairman of the three-member panel, Justice Matthew Adewara of Kwara High Court held that, “accreditation of voters in the election was flawed as confirmed during cross examination of first respondents’ witnesses which affected the outcome of the entire result. Relying heavily on the evidence of the forensic expert, who testified on behalf of Nnamani, the tribunal held that irregularities alleged in the conduct of the election were “gross and fundamental.” He pointed out that the election was not held in compliance with the rule on accreditation ofvoters and with proven cases of multiple voting, ballot box stuffing and over voting. The ex-governor had alleged that there were widespread irregularities and malpractices. Speaking after the judgment, counsel to Nnamani, Olusegun Jolawo, expressed satisfaction with the verdict, but said their team would have been happier if his client had been returned as winner. Also speaking Counsel to INEC, Wilfred Nwabude, said the commission would look into the judgment and know its next line ofaction.

If the numerical strength of the people who marched the streets of Enugu metropolisis a barometer to gauge the pulse of the electorate in the zone, then a re-run election for Enugu-East senatorial zone may see the comeback of the Ebeano phenomenon to Enugu politics. Nigerian Tribune observed that between 3p.m. and 7p.m. of the saidday of the tribunal’s verdict, there was traffic jam all through themajor streets of Enugu, as thousands of Nnamani’s loyalists went into wild jubilations, sang along the major streets before marching to Agbani the country home of the ex-governor to express their solidarity. Dr Nnamani, between 2007 and 2011, had a brief stint in the Upper Houseand is not new to political battle, as different factions had in the past existed in his home state. These groups are the Nwodo-led faction, the Nnamani faction and the Chime faction, and each group is working assiduously to control the political structure of the state at any given political dispensation. It is against this backdrop that the clash between Senators Nnaji and Nnamani has not come to many people as a surprise. Perhaps, what is fresh is that in last general election, the Deputy Senate President,

The role of Governor Ugwuanyi in the re-run senatorial election will to a large extent determine where the pendulum will swing, despite the fact the PDP is not controlling the centre. Will Ugwuanyi work with his party, PDP, in the rescheduled poll or reward his, once-upon-a-time political godfather.

Ike Eweremadu and ex-governor Chime mended fences and went in coalition with other forces to fight Senator Ayogu Eze on the road to Lion Building, Enugu. As it is, Ayogu has gone to the Court of Appeal challenging the gubernatorial election result to brought Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to office as governor. Interestingly, all the current major actors in the struggle for the soul of Enugu are products of Ebeano. The question on the lips of many residents of Enugu and beyond is whether Ebeano is back. While supporters of Nnamani are shouting Hosanna over the tribunal’s judgment and hoping for the resuscitating of Ebeano through a comeback of their leader, Nnamani, to the stage, the state chapter of the PDP led by Ikeji Asogwa is yet to make an official comment though a little known group that tilted towards PDP said in text message: “Please, do not worry about the tribunal ruling for fresh election in EnuguEast senatorial zone. Gil Nnaji is still on seat. PDP has since gone to appeal. Just be calm”. To many people, the role of Governor Ugwuanyi in the re-run senatorial election will to a large extent determine where the pendulum will swing, despite the fact the PDP is not controlling the centre.Will Ugwuanyi work with his party, PDP, in the rescheduled poll or reward his once upon political godfather in person of Nnamani whose philosophy of politics during his reign as governor was empowerment for the children of the peasants against the elitist class in the state. On home front, Nnamani is confronted with how he will mourn his estranged first wife who passed on recently in United States as well as his loss of properties to the Federal Government at the High Court notwithstanding. Be that as it may, the truth is that Ebeano will resuscitate if Nnamani wins the EnuguEast senatorial seat within the 90 days ordered by the tribunal.

34 politicscommentary

Monday, 19 October, 2015

By Dan Agbese

HE framers of our constitution acknowledged the special role of the media in helping to build a country in which no man, at least theoretically, is oppressed. They assigned to the media the rather delicate responsibility of holding the government accountable to the people. Sections 22 of our constitution makes that abundantly and unequivocally clear. As media men and women we daily grapple with the discharge of that responsibility; we expend our sweat and tears in the struggle to enthrone good governance in our country in the firm and hopeful belief that if the media hold the government fully accountable to the people, we can expect to reap the dividends of good governance. We even have a larger ambition for the media as a critical institution to democracy, the rule of law and good governance. We want the media to be above board; to fly a banner without the stains of the common failures that afflict the rest of the society. We want the media to claim and occupy the high moral grounds and thus have the moral stature and the integrity to beat the rest of the society into line. I suspect that the rest of the society would not permit the media to morph into the nation’s moral police force. The ability of the media to acquit themselves in holding the government or more properly, governments, since we have more than eight hundred of them, to account is subject to other variables – internal and external. Our country has been grappling with the many challenges of growing and sustaining its democracy. The conduct of free, fair and credible elections is the first rung on the ladder to sustainable democracy. We have never quite got it right. Courts and election tribunals dockets over flow with cases challenging some of the results of the last general elections. Our lawyers are laughing to the banks but these complaints take something vital away from the process of growing our democracy. Some of these cases are frivolous but they do add to the burden of a nation casting about for a light in the tunnel. Nigerians are not bad election losers. Most of the complaints before the tribunals are genuine and represent the unwillingness by the party godfathers to play by the rules. The result is that we lose something in every general election. The rape of our democracy generally characterises the conduct of our elections. Our country appears to be the only one in the world in which the conduct of its elections is subject to judicial review. But we must thank God for even the scrappy court decisions on election cases because were the road to the temple of justice to be closed to these complaints and the complainants, the rich and the powerful would continue to cynically subvert the will of the people. An election is the only legal and constitutional means by which those who seek elective political offices can obtain the mandate and the consent of the people. It is the sacred duty of the media to pay serious and close attention to the conduct of all national elections, beginning with the nomination process by the political parties. The frequent exodus of toing and froing by aggrieved party members from one party to another is the consequence of the cynical manipulation of the nomination process by the party moguls. I do believe that a keen-eyed monitoring of the conduct of the party primaries by the media can help to compel the party moguls to do right by their members. Our constitution provides no specific role for the media in an election. The media need not be spoon fed by the constitution. I believe the media can take advantage of the absence of a constitutional provision on what role they should play in an election

Buhari

Media, ethics and 2015 elections

to carve a role for themselves. Even if we may safely assume that section 22 applies equally to the conduct of elections, I believe that the media cannot afford to wait to be told what they should and should not do. After all, if elections go wrong, democracy goes wrong, the rule of law goes wrong, accountability goes awry and good governance blows in the wind. Two questions arise from this. The first is what is the role of the media in an election? I am sure our politicians would like to see a restrictive role of the media here, namely, to monitor and report the election results issued by the electoral umpire, INEC, and no more. But the responsibility of the media goes far, far beyond that. The casting of votes is not the sum of the electoral process. In my humble opinion, the processes that lead to the casting of votes are important every inch of the way. If anything goes wrong with that process, as indeed, it does in every election in our country, it would be expecting too to credit the casting of the votes with free, fair and credible elections. It follows, therefore, that to deny the media the right to hold the political parties and their leaders to a minimum standard of fairness and credibility is to disrobe our entire political process up to and including the casting of votes. At least two trends have emerged in the media since the return to civil rule despite the issuance of the code of ethics by the NPO. The first is the great and lucrative award industry in the media. This is strange to journalism because a) it is wholly and en-

tirely unethical for a medium to give awards to public officers that it reports on b) the awards have no integrity because they are tailored to individualsand are not competed for; there are no known criteria by which the winners are judged c) the awards are fully and excessively paid for; thus the awards are not given, they are sold and bought by those to whom they are given. Mercifully, the rash of awards wherever two or three journalists were gathered has died down somewhat the NPO has worked hard to annul them. Aviation and ports beat reporters and others no longer give these dubious awards but some of the newspapers still do. What is the objective of these so-called awards? Is it to encourage public officers who are doing well to do more and help pull the laggards up by their boot straps? I suggest the shame of it is that there is neither rhyme nor reason for these awards. If any, they impugn the integrity of the publications concerned and put a huge question mark on the integrity of the profession itself. In the run up to the 2015 general election, all state governors were given various awards as performing governors. Yet, most of them misused the state resources in such a way that they could not pay their civil servants. One newspaper awarded the then outgoing governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, what it called ‘exit award.’ Pray, what is that? I know of nowhere in the world where the media reward public officers in this way. It is the nadir of unethical conduct peculiar to Nigeria and Nigerians.

The real shock about these expensive but dubious awards is that the foolishness and the vanity of our public officers who are anxious for media endorsement makes this obnoxious industry thrive. The award industry stains the banner of professionalism and rubbishes the ethical and the moral integrity of journalists and their publications. In saying this, I do not wish to pretend that I did not know that the awards are moneyspinners for the publications that indulge in them. I am also fully aware of the pressure on the media to do well by their staff. Nor can I pretend not to know that their desperate financial situation drove some of the newspapers and magazines into engaging in creative but unorthodox means of survival. Could this explain notorious wrap around published by some newspapers but rejected by others? Advertisements are not, strictly, the business of editors. But advertisements too must conform to the minimum ethical standards for decency and fairness. A libel arising from advertisements is actionable. The aggrieved sues the editor and his publication. We must recognise the dilemma we face and rise to the challenges. Yes, a newspaper must survive before, it can live by the tenets of its professional code of ethics. Should we do whatever it takes to merely survive or should we strive to survive with integrity? I do not pretend to have the answers. The steady erosion of integrity in the media can only mean the loss of public respect for the profession. No newspaper is worth the paper it is printed on if it descends into the gutter as a rag sheet in its quest for survival. The second trend is that our print media have largely been turned into opinion publications. There is very little reporting, and therefore, very little education of the public. Newspapers and magazines publish longish interviews. I wonder who reads them. The business of journalism is news reporting, not the peddling of opinions. Opinions are not news, although they do have their place in news packaging. Editors must not give preference to them at the expense of news and the proper and educative news analyses. I am reminded of the British sitcom of the seventies and eighties called: Are You Being Served? Is the Nigerian public being sufficiently served by the news media? Do people have the facts, full facts or manufactured stories, fabrications and fiction? Ironically and regrettable so, fabrications and fiction in the news media are sweet in the ears of the undiscerning public. The appetite for such stories gave birth to the junk publications of the eighties. They flowered and multiplied at the tail end of the Babangida administration and the entire period of the Abacha regime. These publications, as tendentious as they come, died out when public appetite could no longer guarantee their survival. Even at the best of times, what the ace American newspaper columnist, Walter Lippman, once described as “...an incredible medley of facts, propaganda, rumours, suspicions, hopes and fears,” confronts the journalist. It is a heady confrontation for young and inexperienced people in the profession. Media ethics is a tangled mess in our country. I do not see many reporters and editors trudging the narrow path of fairness, truth and objectivity. There are no crusading editors and publications any more. Many of our publications have simply abandoned investigative reporting. Yes, there are some fitful attempts to pass ordinary stories for investigative pieces. These do not just jell. •Excerpts of a lecture organised by Infinity magazine, delivered by renowned journalist, Mr Agbese, at the 4th Ismail Babatunde Jose on the Media and the Society, in Lagos

35 news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

We’ll continue to make Tribune titles excel —Awolowo family Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta

HE family of Chief and Chief (Mrs) Obafemi Awolowo, founder and co-founder of the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, have promised Nigerians that the legacy of their parents in the newspaper industry would not be allowed to die. Reverend (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran and Dr (Mrs) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, who are directors of the oldest surviving private newspaper in Nigeria, gave the words of assurance, when the management team of the company, led by its Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Mr Edward Dickson and the company’s consultant, Dr Segun Olatunji, presented a CNN/Multichoice African Journalist Award, won by Mr Wale Emosu, last Saturday, in Kenya to them. Both Oyediran and Awolowo Dosumu were elated about the award won by Emosu, a Senior Deputy Editor and described Tribune newspaper as a “world-class organisation.” In his remarks, the MD/ EIC, said the award was the most prestigious award any journalist could win in Africa. Dickson noted that the award was significant to the Tribune titles, because it came days after the demise of Mama Awolowo, adding that it was the first award the company would be awarded outside the shores of the country. The MD/EIC acknowledged the fact that the company, over the years, had won other media awards organised by the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), Diamond Award for Media Excellence category, among others. He said: “I am happy to inform you that shortly after the demise of Mama, the company won one of the prestigious media awards in Africa, aside other awards. What makes the award significant is that it is the first time the company would be winning such award. “It is the most prestigious award that a journalist can get in Africa. Mama served the company for 64 years and that is why this award is a befitting one for her. It means the company is not only a

national newspaper, but an African newspaper. To us, Mama finished strongest. Olatunji, in his own submission, noted that great and wonderful things have

continued to happen after the demise of Mama. Reverend Oyediran also corroborated Dickson, saying the award was, indeed, a good parting gift for

Mama Awolowo, while noting that the deceased worked relentlessly towards the progress of the company. Oyediran said: “We dedi-

cate this award to God. There was a big storm against the company, but God stood by it. Indeed, this award is a good parting gift for Mama, be-

The CNN/Multichoice African Journalism awardee presenting his award to the ANN Plc directors, Reverend (Mrs) Omolola Oyediran (fifth right) and Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu (fifth left). With them are ANN Plc management team. PHOTO: TOMMY ADEGBITE

cause she worked relentlessly towards the progress of the company and we appreciate this. We are promising all Nigerians that we will sustain the newspaper. We will do everything to ensure that the company continues to excel.” For Dr Awolowo Dosumu, the Tribune titles had for long been a world-class organisation and appreciated the effort of Mama for bringing the newspaper to a high level. According to her, “We know that Tribune is a world-class organisation. She did everything to bring it to that level. We will not disappoint Papa and Mama in sustaining the legacy. We will ensure that the company excel.” Other management members in attendance were the editors of Nigerian Tribune, Sunday Tribune and Saturday Tribune, Debo Abdulai, Sina Oladeinde and Lasisi Olagunju, respectively; the Chief Accountant, Mrs Oluremi Olufisayo, the Senior Advert Manager, Mr Kayode Titiloye and the Sales Manager, Dr Tayo Lewis.

HID Awolowo left legacy no Nigerian woman has matched —Nwobodo Olayinka Olukoya - Abeokuta FORMER governor of Anambra State, Senator (Dr) Jim Nwobodo, on Sunday, said Chief HID Awolowo, has left a legacy which no Nigerian woman has matched. Nwobodo, a former member of the National Assembly, accompanied with his wife, said Awolowo was a role model to all women, whose husbands are holding public offices. He described the cofounder/ chairman of the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, as a woman who kept the family tradition of integrity, 28 years after the passage of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He said: “I knew Papa and Mama very well. I had interactions with them in their lifetime. One would have loved her to live up to 100 years, but her exit was glorious. She was a virtuous woman and maintained the family tradition of integrity. She kept the family together. She has left a legacy that no other Nigerian woman has ever reached.” Also, a former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, who was also one of the visitors to the

Awolowo family, noted that the history of Papa Awolowo in the political emancipation of Nigeria would be incomplete without the name of Mama. He said she lived a fulfilled, eventful, glorious and worthy life. “Every Nigerian and, indeed, the whole humanity is proud of Mrs Awolowo. She was a devout Christian, a loving and caring mother, a great philanthropist of note, who devoted the greater part of her life to serving humanity. “As a wife, she stood solidly behind her husband during the political victimisation and tribulation. She provided the much needed support which served as a morale booster for Pa Awolowo to triumph,” he said. To the Hausa community in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, Mama Awolowo’s death was a great loss to the nation. Speaking on behalf of the delegation, led by the community leader, His Royal Highness, Ahmed Sanni, Honourable Ahmed Sawaba, noted the contributions of Mrs Awolowo to national development. “We are here to pay condolence over the death of

Mama Awolowo. She was a great woman in life and in death. Her contributions to the nation’s growth cannot be quantified. We will miss her,” he said. Also, members of NASFAT women from Remo zone, prayed for the repose of the soul of both Papa and Mama Awolowo, saying “both of them did a lot for this country.” Leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), SouthWest zone, Alhaji Abdulateef Akinsola (Tokyo), described Mama Awolowo as a mother of the nation. “Papa Awolowo was a father of politics in Nigeria and

Mama Awolowo was his pillar of support. She was, indeed, a mother of the nation; a nice woman,” he said. Earlier in his sermon in the daily morning service, Vicar of Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne-Remo, Venerable S.O Enike, admonished the gathering to appreciate God in good and bad times. He encouraged Christians to always remember that they were indebted to God and as such, must obey him. For retired Chief Consultant of Paediatric, Dr. O.O Ogunsehinde, Mrs Awolowo was the “first female president Nigeria never had.” He extolled the virtue of

the family as a peculair and unique family, saying “it may be difficult to see their likes again in this country. In Hebrews 11.13, the Bible says of them in simple English Language that these people died in faith without ever receiving all that God had promised them. “But having seen them from afar off, they were convinced of them and rejoiced for they agreed that this earth was not their real home, but that they were just strangers visiting down here. “Papa Awolowo was the president Nigeria never had. Mrs Awolowo was the first female president of Nigeria that never was.”

Former Education Minister, Olaiya Oni, dies at 74 Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure A former Minister of Education and the pioneer chairman of the Labour Party in Ondo State, Dr Olaiya Oni, is dead. Oni, who died of an undisclosed illness on Sunday, at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owo, Ondo State was 74 years. It was gathered that Oni

had been battling with health challenges since 2012, which made him to relocate to his country home in Ise-Akoko, Akoko NorthEast Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that the former minister’s health degenerated some few days ago and was rushed to a private hospital in the area before he was transferred to FMC Owo, where he died.

His death was confirmed by a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deputy governorship candidate in the state in the 2012 governorship, election, Honourable Saka Lawal, who was very close to the deceased. Oni was appointed Minister of Education during the regime of General Abdusalam Abubakar in August 1998 till May 1999.

36 news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

You’re still a dictator, PDP tells Buhari •PDP sounding like a broken record —Presidency Leon Usigbe and Jacob Segun Olatunji - Abuja

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, observed that President Muhammadu Buhari was yet to shed his dictatorial garb, despite professing to being a born again democrat. It alleged the the former military leader’s dictatorial tendencies had not been tempered by time, since being forced out of office in 1984. The main opposition party is irked by what it sees as the selective targeting of its members in the ongoing war against corruption, which it believes is meant to weaken it as political party. The PDP has, therefore, called on President Buhari to end this dictatorial proclivity of selective anticorruption war, which it said had characterised the All Progressives Congress (APC) government. Addressing a press conference at its national secretariat in Abuja, on Sunday, national publicity secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, sought to “expose the hypocrisy, double standard and dictatorial proclivities of the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government in its orchestrated anti-corruption fight in Nigeria.” He observed that whereas the PDP had over time restated its support for a credible, holistic fight against corruption, unfolding events had confirmed its position that the Buhari-led administration was only using the anti-corruption posture as a tool to witch-hunt PDP members and perceived political opponents of APC government. He said: “We are aware that having realised that Nigerians have seen through their propaganda, deceit and lies, as well as their ineptitude in handling governance, the APC government is now mortally afraid of the ongoing rebuilding in the PDP to take over power in 2019, and is as such, applying every negative means to decimate our great party, including the relentless victimisation of our key members. “It is clearly manifest that the same dictatorial tendencies manifested during the military regime of 1984 is being presently applied in the polity in the attempt to discredit PDP members and weaken our great party ahead 2019. “The APC and its government have been busy deni-

grating the PDP and trying to appropriate our achievements, while at the same time blackmailing, hounding and harassing our elected members with the aim to cow and force them to leave the PDP and join their party.” The PDP spokesperson alleged that the party had verifiable reports from its key members that agents of the APC have been approaching them to join the APC with threats to use the EFCC to victimise them, should they refuse. He added: “The APC and its agents have been boasting that they have the powers to deal with or spare any person, depending on the party such person belongs to.

“This clearly explains why the so-called fight against corruption has been selective and focused against PDP members, despite counsels by stakeholders that it should be holistic and in accordance with the due process of the law. “The best example of the curious nature of the war against corruption is the fact that former PDP governors and ministers are being hounded and arrested over apparently orchestrated petitions, while their APC counterparts, who have more damaging petitions are being nominated for ministerial positions. “Even other APC former governors who have ongo-

ing corruption cases in court are being rewarded with APC tickets for the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa.” The PDP particularly noted the case of Senator Godswill Akpabio, who it said had been singled out for witch-hunt since as Senate Minority Leader, he was the face of the opposition in the National Assembly. Metuh further stated: “We invite Nigerians to note that in the three rich states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Lagos states, there were petitions against their former governors. Whereas the former APC governors of Lagos and Rivers were rewarded with ministerial

nominations, their Akwa Ibom PDP counterpart and the current Senate Minority Leader is being hounded by the EFCC. “This is in spite of the common knowledge that Akwa Ibom, under the Senator Akpabio, was arguably the least indebted state in Nigeria and where the governor appropriately applied available resources to effectively transform the state. “We challenge the APC to show Nigerians any of their governors who matched the feats achieved in Akwa Ibom under Senator Akpabio, whose only building in Uyo is uncompleted and being built with verifiable bank loans.

“The PDP, therefore, state categorically, that the orchestrated investigation of Senator Akpabio is politically-motivated and targeted at weakening the PDP for 2019 elections, by virtue of his being the face of opposition in the National Assembly.” Reacting, the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina, said: “The opposition seems to have run out of ideas so soon. Daily, we hear the same jaded, hackneyed allegations from them. I think they really are to be pitied. They need help. A broken record that repeats itself ceaselessly is of no use, than to be thrown away.”

We need time to explain how Abacha’s loot was disbursed —World Bank FOLLOWING a request by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for information on the spending of recovered assets stolen by late General Sani Abacha, the World Bank has said that it needed “additional time to provide SERAP with a more comprehensive response.” In a letter dated October 15 and signed by Ann May of the Access to Information Team, the World Bank said: “In response to your request under AI3982, we would like to inform you that we are still considering your request and need additional time to provide you with a more comprehensive response.” The letter read in part: “In most cases, we will be able to respond 20 working days from receipt of a request for information. However, we may need additional time in special circumstances, for example, if the request is complex or voluminous or if it requires further review by or consultation with internal World Bank units, external parties, the Access to Information Committee or the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. “We regret any inconvenience that this delay may cause you and if one does occur, we will aim to minimise it as much as possible. We will notify you promptly of any update to the status of your request. Thank you for your interest in the World Bank.” SERAP executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “We welcome the World Bank’s decision to thoroughly consider the request. This thorough process shows the seriousness the bank attaches to the request

and will hopefully contribute to a positive outcome that will serve the interest of justice and millions of Nigerians who want to know about disbursement of Abacha’s loot.” It will be recalled that SERAP had, on September 21, sent an access to information request to Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group, urging him to “exercise the bank’s prerogative to release documents relating to spending of recovered assets stolen by Abacha.” The group also asked Mr Yong Kim to “disclose information about the bank’s role in the implementation of any projects funded by the recovered assets and any other ongoing repatriation initiatives on Nigeria with which the Bank is engaged.” The request was “pursuant to the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy (The Policy), approved by the Board on June 30. SERAP notes that one of the policy’s guiding principles is

to maximise access to information. There is also clear public interest in Nigerians knowing about the bank’s supervisory role and specifically its involvement in the implementation of projects on which repatriated funds were spent.” According to the request, “the World Bank has been involved in overseeing the transfer, disbursement, spending of recovered funds from Abacha and other similar initiatives to repatriate stolen funds to Nigeria. As such, the World Bank is not a neutral party in this matter.” The request also stated that “SERAP believes that releasing the documents would enable civil society to meaningfully engage in the management and supervision of repatriated funds, contribute to the greater public good, and enhance transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s resources.” According to SERAP, “the

release of the requested documents is of paramount importance to the public interest in preserving the legitimacy, credibility and relevance of the World Bank as a leading international development institution. Indeed, the bank needs to lead by example in issues such as transparency and public disclosure raised in this request.” The organisation said: “The information is also being sought to improve the ongoing fight against corruption in the country and the provision of essential public services.” The organisation said “the information requested is not affected by the ‘deliberative, corporate administrative matters or security and safety’ exceptions under the policy. The information requested is crucially required for Nigerians to know how the recovered funds have so far been spent and to know and monitor how the funds (which are public money

and resources) are being used.” The group, therefore, requested Mr Yong Kim to exercise the bank’s prerogative to: Disclose and release documents relating to spending of recovered assets stolen by Abacha, including copies of supervision reports, periodic reviews and other appropriate reports on the bank’s role in the spending and disbursement of the funds, as well as specific projects on which the funds were spent Also, to disclose implementation status and results and completion reports on the projects on which Abacha recovered funds were spent; disclose information on the of level of involvement of World Bank in the repatriation of Abacha’s stolen funds and other similar funds and disclose information on repatriation agreements and the mechanisms the bank is putting in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of repatriated funds.

NMA issues 7-day ultimatum to Osun govt over salary arrears Oluwole Ige - Osogbo THE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Osun State chapter, on Sunday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to pay its members working with the state all outstanding salary arrears, deductions and other allowances. Besides, the body said it fully supported the ongoing industrial action by Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital Osogbo and Osun State Association of Medical and

Dental Officers (OSAMDO). In a statement signed by the state chairman and secretary of the NMA, Dr Suraj Ogunyemi and Dr Adeola Ajibare and made available to journalists, the association said it resolved to issue the ultimatum after critical review of the situation pertaining to health sector in the state. The statement read in part: “The NMA held a stakeholders’ meeting to critically discuss the decision of ARD and OSAMDO to embark on this avoidable strike and resolved to stand by these unions, following the refusal of the state government to pay the

outstanding salary arrears, deductions and other allowances. “The NMA Osun is not a party to the purported Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Osun State government, because such MoU is not in the interest of resident doctors and medical and dental office working in the state.” While calling for the immediate payment of all outstanding salary arrears, the association requested the state government for the implementation of the Federal

Government circular of Adjusted CONMESS “without further delay since the state government is implementing the Federal Government circular on taxation. “The Osun NMA, therefore, appeals to all wellmeaning Nigerians to prevail on the state government to respond positively to the above legitimate requests within one week, in the interest of the good people of the state, failure of which the state government should be held responsible for any action taken by the NMA afterwards,” the statement added.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Your appointments are call to service, Lagos APC tells commissioners, advisers

HE Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday challenged commissioners-designate and special advisers to see their appointments as a call to service. The appointees are scheduled for swearing-in today. It reminded them that the APC-led administration cannot afford to let down millions of Lagosians who invested their votes to ensure victory for the party on March 28 and April 11. In a statement by its spokesman, Mr Joe Ig-

bokwe, the APC urged the officials to put in their best and take the Centre of Excellence to loftier pedestal. The party said: “We see their appointments as a call to service. So, we’re challenging them to put in their best to ensure that Lagos is taken far in its insatiable quest for excellence. We believe they are competent and well qualified for their appointments, so we expect the best from the commissioners-designate and advisers.” Reminding them that successive governments have built on the standard set by the Alliance for De-

Kogi poll: Wada charges traditional rulers on peace •PPA pledges infrastructural dev Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja

AS the governorship election in Kogi State draws near, the Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, has charged traditional institutions in the state to ensure peace in their different domains before and during the poll. The governors also said his administration would continue to support the traditional institutions in the state to enable them continue to maintain their traditional role of peacekeeping. Wada said this at the 70th birthday thanksgiving service and 30th coronation anniversary of the Obaro of Kabba and the chairman, Okun area traditional council, Oba (Dr) M.E Olobayo, held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Kabba. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, assured of his continuous support and encouragement to the welfare of the traditional institutions despite the grave financial challenge of the state. The governor charged royal fathers in the state, especially the Obaro of Kabba, to ensure that their domain known for its peace is sustained at all time. Congratulating the monarch, the governor described Oba Olobayo’s simplicity to issues of life as what has marked him out as a shining example to government and his subjects. The successes witnessed during the period of the Obaro’s reign, Capt Wada explained could not have been made possible without the support and cooperation of the indigenes of

Okun land. The traditional ruler, however, thanked God for attaining the age of 70 and 30 on the throne, saying he remained grateful to the people and government for their support all through the years. Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in Kogi State, Enesi Ozigi, has said a government formed by the party would ensure the development of infrastructural facilities across the state. He particularly assured the people of Kogi West senatorial district of visible government presence through developmental projects if elected the next governor of the state. CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Kujenya Toyin Sidikat am the same person as Kujenya Abolaji Sidikat. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as KUJENYA ABOLAJI SIDIKAT. All former documents remain valid. Embassies and general public take note.

mocracy (AD) in 1999, the party said the crop of commissioners and special advisers must not lower the bar of governance. The statement reads: “Our party is aware that

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Ayenuro Bukola Ayokunmi now MRS ALABA BUKOLA AYOKUNMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Nasiru Abdulrazak Salawu now NASIRU ABDULRAZAK JUMAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Rasheedat Rhoda Ogunrin now MRS ALEEM RASHEEDAT RHODA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ajeigbe Olusoji Victor now DAVID EMMANUEL VICTOR. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Joseph Bolaji Humani now ABIYO BOLAJI HUMANI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Dauda Bilikisu Omowumi now MRS ADELASOYE BILIKISU OMOWUMI. All former documents remain valid. TESCOM, Oyo State and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olapade Bunmi Oluseyi now MISS OYEBAMIJI BUNMI OLUSEYI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Owolabi Tomi now MRS OREFUWA TOMI OLAJESU. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Bosede Alice Olajide now MRS BOSEDE ALICE OGUNDARE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Lagos has set an enviable pace in governance. So, we believe the commissioners will key into the template that has advanced good and quality governance in Lagos these past 16 years. We

CHANGE OF NAME

charge them to be steadfast and work hard to step up the tempo and maintain Lagos as a pacesetter state in the country and even beyond. “We see all the commissioners-designate as

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Otubekun Bukola Bamidele now MRS ODUNTAN BUKOLA BAMIDELE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Veronica Adebimpe Adeleke now MRS VERONICA ADEBIMPE OMOLE. All former documents remain valid. Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Skye Bank and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ibraheem Rafiat Abimbola now MRS LAWAL RAFIAT ABIMBOLA. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Timothy Omolara now MISS TIMOTHY OMOLARA MERCY. All former documents remain valid. Federal College of Education, Okene, Kogi State and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ajobo Abigail Olutoyosi now MRS OLABINJO ABIGAIL OLUTOYOSI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Otigba Omadevuae Kate now MRS ALAWODE OMADEVUAE KATE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Roseann Nkemdilim Ogu now MRS ROSEANN NKEMDILIM DIMGBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Fasoro Olubunmi Janet now MRS JOHN OLUBUNMI JANET. All former documents remain valid. University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Akintola Abigeal Abidemi now AKINTAYO ABIGEAL ABIDEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ozoude Chinwe Rita now MRS IKEONWUEMELIE CHINWE RITA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Folake Adeola Ajimobi now MRS FOLAKE ADEOLA AKINRINADE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Adegeye Margaret Funmilayo now OLADELE MARGARET FUNMILAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

fulfilled professionals, achievers in their respective spheres of life who will bring their wealth of experience to bear to make Lagos stand out as one of the world’s few mega cities.”

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Hanafi Abidemi Lateefat now MRS SANNI ABIDEMI LATEEFAT. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Awosika Oluwabusayomi Ayotunde now MRS OLOYADE OYINKANSOLA BUSAYOMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olutade Toluwalope Idunnu now MRS OBISESAN TOLUWALOPE IDUNNU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adedipe Olubukola Deborah now MRS. ADELAKUN OLUBUKOLA DEBORAH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Makinde Aderonke Janet now MRS. TANIMOWO ADERONKE JANET. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Daodu Aderonke Remilekun now MRS. OLUBUSUYI ADERONKE REMILEKUN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mr Olabiyi Akeem Gbemiro now MR EMILOLORUN PETER ELIHU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ishola Temitope Nihinlola now MRS AFOLABI TEMITOPE NIHINLOLA. All former documents remain valid. The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki and general public take note.

I, formerly Mr. Ademilua Oluwamuyiwa Ademola now MR. ADEMILUA ADEMOLA FESTUS. All former documents remain valid. Access Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olowoyo Opeyemi Omotunde now MRS OWOLABANI OPEYEMI OMOTUNDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Mr Abayomi Samson Adedoyin now MR SAMSON ADEDOYIN WESTCOTT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Mrs. Kofoworola Adedigba Bolaji-Olutunji now MRS. KOFOWOROLA ADEDIGBA BOLAJI. All former documents remain valid. Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, University of Ibadan Postgraduate School, United Bank of Africa (UBA), First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Abulu Julie now MRS IKHINE JULIE. All former documents remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria Plc and general public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Popoola Deborah Folasade now MRS RAJI DEBORAH FOLASADE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Oyedele Adisa Folasade Racheal now MRS. OGUNDEYI FOLASADE RACHEAL. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olatunde Olanrewaju Bilikis now MRS GBADAMOSI-OLATUNDE OLANREWAJU BILIKIS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Olowookere Beatrice now MRS KOLAWOLE BEATRICE. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission and General public take note.

I, formerly Fabusuyi Mayowa Victor now OLUBUSUYI MAYOWA VICTOR. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ogunkoya Omotola Rebecca now MRS. SODIQ OMOTOLA REBECCA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Fakorede Tolulope Oluwaseyi now MRS OPATOKUN TOLULOPE OLUWASEYI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Shaibu Ladidi Aishat now MISS EDAMIVOH LADIDI AISHAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Osoata Mary Akohame now MRS. ADEKUNLE MARY IREOLUWA AKOHAME. All former documents remain valid. NSCDC and General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ojeleye Ruth Oluwatosin now MRS. ONI RUTH OLUWATOSIN. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board and General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ayeni Damilola Deborah now MRS. OLAWORE DAMILOLA DEBORAH. All former documents remain valid. Office of the Deputy Governor, Governors Office, Osogbo and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ajayi Oluwakemi Elizabeth now MRS. AJOFOYINBO OLUWAKEMI ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Kilani Ruqayyah Abiodun now MRS. KUFORIJI RUQAYYAH KILANI. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Falope Oluwakemi Omolola now MRS. ADEYEMI OLUWAKEMI OMOLOLA. All former documents remain valid. Immigration and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Call Igbo in Akure to order, Council of Chiefs tells Ondo govt Hakeem Gbadamosi-Akure

he Akure Council of Chiefs have called on the Ondo State government and the Police in the state to call the Igbo indigenes within the Akure metropolis to order over an alleged disrespect to the stool of the Deji of Akureland. Speaking on behalf of the Akure Council Chiefs, the Asamo of Akureland, High Chief Rotimi Olusanya said at the weekend that the call became imperative in order to guard against a seemingly brewing crisis between the Igbo and the Akure indigenes and to maintain the peace being enjoyed in the capital city of the state, Akure. According to Olusanya, “Akure is known to be peaceful and accommodating. We will continue to allow integration of all Nigerians but we will not

allow anyone to degrade or trample upon our tradition and institutions. “The Deji of Akure is the only paramount Oba in Akure kingdom, all indigenes and inhabitants in Akureland are his subjects. “The recent incidence with the Eze Ndigbo, Mr Gregory Iloehika shows his high disregard for Akure people and our Kabiyesi.” It was gathered that the traditional ruler of Akureland, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo had invited the Eze Ndigbo, Mr Iloehika to the palace to settle the leadership tussle be-

tween the Igbo and the Yorubas in the Mojere spare parts market in Akure and to intimate Iloehika over the assault of some chiefs who were sent by the monarch to mediate over the crisis. This prompted the monarch to send for the leadership of Igbo in the capital city but the Eze Ndigbo was said to have uttered rude words while addressing the Deji which made some of the monarch’s aides to walk him out of the palace. The Eze Ndigbo was said to have allegedly equated himself to a tradi-

tional ruler while addressing Oba Aladetoyinbo. Consequently, the Igbos in the town in support of their leader closed their shops for three days to protest the treatment meted on their leader. High Chief Olusanya in the statement said that the Eze Ndigbo uttered some uncomplimentary words such as “your people caused the problem. King Solomon had advisers, I can only advise you and if you like it you take it and if you don’t like it you don’t take it.” He said that the Igbo leader while addressing

the Oba “was busy taking calls on his cell phone whilst speaking with Deji of Akure. This, the Akure people and Kabiyesi consider as an affront.” However, a group known as the Defence for the Igbo Peoples Right, Ondo State chapter has also called for the resolvement of the matter. The National coordinator of the group, Emma George said the leadership of the Igbo has been invited by the state Commissioner of Police, Mike Ogodu over the incident in order to resolve the crisis.

Osinbajo, Ambode, Adenuga, others for Catholic varsity inauguration Naza Okoli-Lagos

The Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo will on Friday deliver the keynote address at the inauguration of Augustine University, Ilara-Epe (AUI), the first Catholic University in Lagos. The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace Alfred Adewale Martins, made this known at a press conference on the university campus during the weekend. Other dignitaries expected to grace the occasion include Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode; the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Globacom, Dr Mike Adenuga; General T. Y Danjuma (Retired); and Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos. Augustine University, which was granted operational licence by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in May 2015, has set October 30, 2015, as its resumption date. Archbishop Adewale said: “The university is ready for resumption on October 30 with the first batch of students in the Faculties of Humanities, Management, Pure and Social Sciences, offering degrees in the following disciplines: Mathematics, Computer Science, Microbiology, Chemistry and Physics.”

From left, Ambassador Walter Carrington; the celebrant, Master Iyanuloluwa Obafemi Anifowose and Dr (Mrs) Arese Carrington, during the first birthday of Iyanuloluwa, at Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State. PHOTO: D’TOYIN

Leader of syndicate arrested with 687 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition in Plateau Isaac Shobayo-Jos

Men of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in charge of the security in Plateau State have arrested a leader of a syndicate who deals in ammunition with 689 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. Nigerian Tribune gath-

ered that the suspect was one of those who supplied ammunitions and other dangerous weapons to terrorists in Maiduguri, Borno State but was arrested by security men at a check point in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State. A source close to OPSH in Plateau State disclosed

that quite a number of arrests were made in recent time of some element trying to frustrate the prevailing peace in the state, adding that the syndicate arrested have been transferred to Abuja for further investigation. The media officer for Operation Safe Haven,

NIPOST set to use ICT to diversify KehindeAkinseinde-JayeobaLagos

Despite the belief that postal services in the country was gradually phased out with the emergence of Information Communication Technologies (ICT), The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has said it is leveraging on technologies to diversify and improve its business. The Area Postal General of the Lagos Island Territory, Mrs Mmayen Ujong gave the assertion during the 2015 World Post Day celebration at the Ojo Local Government Headquarters, Lagos, recently.

Mrs Ujong explained that despite the fact that the traditional postal business line through letter post has been endangered by faster and more efficient ways of communication due to advancement in information and communication technology, The challenges had given the Post the impetus to innovate, diversify into a faster and more efficient communication medium on a new business value chain platform. She explained that the need for the post to take full advantage of new technologies to improve its business performance is paramount, adding that the survival of

the Post hinges on the ability to quickly change and innovate due to the need to meet customers’ demands and expectations which kept changing. She, however, noted that the Nigerian Postal Service has taken the challenge as an opportunity to innovate, integrate and develop a faster and more efficient communication medium on a new business value chain, adding that the Postal presence in every part of the country was a platform for the financial and digital inclusion that was on board, especially for the unbanked areas of the country.

Captain Ikedichi Iweha confirmed the arrest of the syndicate adding that the suspect was intercepted moving the ammunition from Maiduguri to Plateau State. In a related development, Operation Safe Haven have recovered animals numbering 52 cows and 22 rams rustled by some hoodlums in Barakin Ladi Local Government Area while the recovered cattle had been handed over to the owner, Alhaji Sale Bala in the presence of the Secretary, Miyetti Allah Cattle breeders association. The OPSH in a statement signed by its media officer said additional 14 cows belonging to Mr Nanbol Nimyel of Pinau village in Wase Local Government Area were also recovered from rustlers who carted away the cows at gun point adding that rustlers were overpowered by superior fire power in the process of the recovery and the cows handed over to the real owner.

Abia awaits Kumuyi’s visit Celestine Ihejrika-Umuahia

THE Abia State Overseer of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor Damian Umeh, has said that the church is ready for the special combined service of the General Superintendent (GS) of the church, Pastor William Kumuyi, to the state on October 25, 2015. The service, according to Pastor Umeh, would hold in two locations at the Abia Polytechnic ground in Aba at 8.00 a.m. and the former main market in Umuahia, at 4.00 p.m. the same day. Umeh told newsmen that everything needed to make the special programme a success has been put in place including the venues, which he explained were chosen for easy accessibility for participants, as well as transportation arrangement. He said, “I consider it a great privilege to host the General Superintendent two times within five months. Recall that he rounded off his crusade in eight locations in the state on July 4 and he is returning on October 25, 2015 for a Special Combined Service with the theme ‘Open Heaven for Extra-Ordinary Blessing’ designed primarily to meet the converts of the crusade and touch more lives for the Lord,” he said.

Ministerial screening: Group defends Adewole’s nomination Bola Badmus-Lagos

A group of professionals from Ijesaland in Osun State, Ijesha Resource Group (IRG), has described the nomination of the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Isaac Adewole by President Muhammadu Buhari as a wise choice and in tandem with the Change mantra of the present administration The group said this at the weekend in a statement made available to newsmen by its president, Mr Ezekiel Ogunjuyigbe, while reacting to a publication in one of the national dailies, which opposed the nomination of Adewole. The IRG described the publication as “mischievous and in bad taste coming from a faceless group fronting for some unscrupulous individuals.”

42 news Anglican Church opposes death penalty for treasury looters

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Biola Azeez - Ilorin

GAINST the call for death penalty by some Nigerians for convicted looters, the Diocese of Omu Aran Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has said that the move was good but not expedient for Nigeria. “Let us temper justice with mercy,” the church said. Speaking with journalists at the Third Session of the

second synod in Omu Aran, Kwara State, at the weekend, the Diocesan Bishop of the diocese, Rt. Reverend Philip Adeyemo, said the church was in support of the ongoing war against corruption in the country. “Thank God, the president has constituted a seven-man Presidential Advisory Committee on war against corruption, headed by a renowned and disciplined man, Professor Itse Sagay who is working

on the best way to handle the matter. In my opinion, if any looter releases his/ her loot, he/she should be given light punishment and not capital punishment. But if anyone fails to release his/her loots, such should be punished heavily. When there is repentance, there should be forgiveness,” he said. The Church also advised the Federal Government against victimisation in its ongoing fight against

corruption and corrupt practices, saying “we agree with the president that if we don’t destroy corruption, it will destroy us in this country. But let there be no victimisation and falsehood,” he said. The clergy also said that all the looted money recovered from looters should be published to avoid diversion as it was being speculated. Rt. Reverend Adeyemo, who said majority of Ni-

gerians live in extreme poverty due to prevalent corrupt practices by the leaders, added that corruption was primary reason for wastages and theft of public resources, “the main reason why a potentially prosperous country is struggling for survival.” On the call for fresh National Conference by Northern ex-political officeholders under the aegis of the Northern Reawakening Forum, the synod said there was no need for a fresh conference on the North-East issue, adding “Everybody in the country is fully aware of the challenges facing the zone hence the Federal Government should do something tangible and reasonable to reduce their sufferings without any delay.”

Group commends Buhari over Adewole

Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (middle), flanked by the newly appointed Chairman, College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, Governing Council and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Aderonke Makanjuola; Provost, Professor Gbemiga Adewale and other council members and management team of OYSCATECH, during the council’s inauguration, recently.

Preach unity to Yoruba leaders, don, chieftains charge Alaafin By Wale Akinselure

FOR fear of total erosion of Yoruba culture and tradition, a don and other Yoruba chieftains, have urged the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, to, more than ever before, lead the charge to Yoruba leaders to be united and forge a common front. The guests in their different presentations at a national lecture on “Concept, Values and Supremacy of Alaafin Oyo in West Africa” to mark the 77th birthday of Oba Adeyemi, decried that the Yoruba culture and values continued to suffer a decline amidst fears of extinction of the Yoruba tradition. Speaking at the event, held at the Alaafin’s palace, Oyo, on Saturday, guest lecturer, Professor Hassan Saliu of the University of Ilorin, urged the Alaafin to utilise his role as a custodian of tradition to mandate other Yoruba obas and leaders to promote the race at all available fora. According to him, the race would not command the expected recognition in government and make valuable demands from government without a united front. Saliu described the celebrant as content, a lover of

peace who had strived for the peace and unity of the race over the years. Former Oyo State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Femi Mapaderun, charged the Alaafin to push for the use of Yoruba as a language of instructions in schools. This, he said, would preserve the language which was dying in schools and many Yoruba homes. He bemoaned that many parents do not speak Yoruba

to their children forecasting that the language could go into extinction in the next 20 years if measures were not taken. As part of the day’s programme was the presentation of awards by Oba Adeyemi to some traditional rulers which included Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abiodun Idowu Oniru; Elegushi of Egushi Land, Oba Ademola Elegushi Kushenla III; Osolo of Iso-

lo, Oba Kabiru Kolawole; Ayangbure of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Adewale Shotobi; Onikosi of Ikosi land, Oba Alamu Oloyede; and, Olupoti of Ipoti Ekiti, Oba Oladipupo James Kolade. In their various responses, the traditional rulers expressed resolve to align with the mandate of the Alaafin of Oyo with regard to upholding and preserving the Yoruba tradition, culture and beliefs.

Ondo APC factional crisis, a thing of the past —Ekungba Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Board of Trustee (BoT), Chief Jamiu Ekungba, at the weekend, disclosed that the crisis within the party in Ondo State has become “a thing of the past.” Ekungba who stated this in Owo, Owo Local Government Area of the state, while giving account of his reconciliatory tour to all the wards in the state, said “the fence mending mission was not just a recipe for winning election, it was a rare moment of truth.” He said he was assigned by the national leadership of the APC to reconcile all the factions within the

party over the crisis which erupted over the choice of party executives in the state. Ekungba urged members of the party in the state to work with the party leadership and called on the party leaders to produce and present a credible candidate that could win the next governorship election. He said “take a cue from the last House of Assembly election in the state. We must stand as one to win this election. It is the belief of our leaders that unless we are united, it might be difficult for APC to win the state. The leaders of the APC want Ondo State so that the South-West, which is known as Yoruba

Kingdom, can be one and united. “Putting Ondo State on the train of change is a phenomenon we must not take for granted knowing fully well that the present governor of the state has so many reasons to want to install stooge. It is therefore our responsibility to go round to resolve crises within the party.” He, however, commended the members of the party across the state over their resolve to work with the party leadership and embrace peace to ensure victory. Ekungba explained that the next stage of his reconciliatory move is to talk with the leaders of the party across the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for living up to his promise that he would bring some professional technocrats into his government without minding whether they are card-carrying members of any political party or not. Specifically referring to the nomination of Professor Isaac Adewole, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, a non-political social group in Osun State, Osun Awareness Group (OAG) in a release signed by its coordinator, Akeem Olabisi and Publicity Secretary, John Adeyemi, faulted some petitions that the renowned professor is not a card-carrying member of the APC. According to the release, rather than criticising the nomination of Professor Adewole, Nigerians should applaud the president for beaming his searchlight to pick one of the highly respected professors of the state known not only nationally but also in the international academic community as a scholar of repute and integrity. On the allegation that the ministerial nominee is from the same senatorial district with the state governor, the group wonders why the accident of his birthplace should be an impediment to the president from constituting a credible ministerial team that can help him fulfil his electoral promises to the people. The release implored all the people of Osun State irrespective of political affiliations to rally support for Professor Adewole not as a representative of Ijesa land but as a worthy ambassador of Osun State in the federal cabinet.

OYSCATECH provost congratulates new governing council THE Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, Professor Gbemiga Adewale, has congratulated the newly inaugurated Interim Governing Council Chairman of the institution and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Aderonke Makanjuola and other members of the Council on their appointments. Inaugurating the Council, the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, noted that the appointment became necessary considering the need to boost the standard of education in the state. Senator Ajimobi charged the five-man Interim Governing Council to justify the confidence reposed in them by using their wealth of experience to transform the institution. Responding, the Interim Council Chairman, Mrs Makanjuola pledged her commitment and that of the other council members to the development of tertiary education in the state and the College in particular. She, therefore, promised to justify the confidence reposed in her by the governor.

Dangote, Oshiomhole, Ganduje, others for New Telegraph economic summit THREE governors, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Chief Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) as well as President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, are among dignitaries to participate in the maiden edition of New Telegraph Economic Summit, holding in Lagos on October 27. The summit, with the theme: ‘Beyond month allocation: State of the Nigerian states’, will examine the financial crisis facing many states of the federation in view of the oil price rout that has cut revenue to the Federation Account by about 65 per cent and how states could survive by expanding their internally revenue base. Dangote will be the guest speaker at the event where the three governors will also share their experiences in weathering the economic storm that has buffeted many states and impaired their ability to meet their obligations to workers and contractors.

news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

We’re confident Mayaki-led tribunal will do justice to Ladoja’s petition —Accord Party •Raises the alarm over attack on its members By Dare ADekanmbi

ccord Party in Oyo State has expressed confidence in the ability of the Justice Mohammed Mayaki-led Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to do justice to the petition filed by its governorship candidate, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and the “overwhelming evidences” his counsel presented. This was just as it urged the people of the state “to wait patiently for justice to prevail” on the day the tribunal would appoint to de-

liver judgment in the petition filed by Ladoja. The party’s Director of Communication, Prince Dotun Oyelade, who made the remarks in a press conference, tagged Misinformation Will Not Help, in Ibadan, on Sunday, told those insinuating that Ladoja’s petition had no substance to wait for the verdict of the tribunal. Oyelade, who was assisted by the Director General of the Ladoja Campaign Organisation and former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adeolu Adeleke, said Accord, as

a disciplined party, would continue to maintain its calmness within the ambit of the constitution. “We have an unalloyed confidence in the ability and integrity of members of the tribunal to discharge their professional duties without fair or favour and we sincerely belive that this will manifest in their final judgment. “We as a party are alarmed at the brutal attack on our members shortly after a ruling of the Appellate Court last week. Up till now, no one has been arrested. We therefore warn the All Pro-

gressives Congress (APC) and its agents not to task our patience anymore and we call on the law enforcement agents to call the APC to order before they set the state on fire. “It will be recalled that, while five members of Accord were brutally murdered during a party meeting at Odinjo in Ibadan in March this year, none of the suspects has been charged. Conversely, two members of our party Kola Adeoye and Akeem Olatunji were promptly arraigned on trumped up civil charges of libel within two weeks of the

allegation by the leadership of the ruling party. “While we are at this, it is proper to call the attention of our people to the insensitive deceit going on where the N26.6 billion released as bailout fund has met the expectation of workers only half way whereas information is rampant about illicit lodgment in certain banks. “All these are going on even while the monthly allocation is being constantly paid and yet no visible projects are on ground to show for it. If they try to fault this, we shall supply evidence,” Oyelade said.

Groups commend Buhari over choice of Daramola as minister

By Kehinde Adio

BOWEN University is set for its 10th convocation ceremony, with series of activities to mark it already mapped out. Speaking with newsmen recently at a press conference heralding the ceremony scheduled to commence on Friday, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Mathews Ojo, has declared that not less than 1,085 students who had been found worthy in learning and character, drawn from 23 departments, would be presented for the conferment of the university’s first degree awards. He added that 49 of the graduating students had first class honours, while about eight students from the Postgraduate School, would also join the convocation ceremony for their second degree awards.

LAUTECH plans production, supply of glass wares

Hakeem Gbadamosi-Akure

Members of the Ondo Elites Group (OEG) in Ondo State, at home and in the Diaspora, have expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating Professor Omoleye Daramola as a ministerial candidate from Ondo State. In a press statement by Tunde Ajibade, the publicity secretary of the group, the national president, Dr Bamidele Ogunleye, described President Buhari’s choice as commendable; saying, the nomination reflects the general choice of the good people of the sunshine state. Meanwhile, as the Senate continues the screening of other ministerial nominees, the Coalition of Progressive Youth (COPY) in Ondo State, has described the nomination of Professor Omoyele Daramola, a ministerial nominee from the state, as a round peg in a round hole. The group stated this in a statement issued in Akure and signed by its National President and Director of Media Publicity, Olujimi Adekanle and Seun Adegbohun respectively, described Daramola as a grassroots politician who has the required pedigree and reputation to serve the nation in that capacity. The group in the statement said, “The entire Coalition of Progressive Youth (COPY) were solidly behind the nomination of Daramola and appealed to the Senators from Ondo State to give him the necessary support during the screening at the National Assembly.

Bowen varsity set for 10th convocation

From right, representative of the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) and the Head of Admin, NCPC, Reverend Amos Yohanna; Chief Medical Director, National Hospital Abuja, Dr Jaf Momoh and the Chief Doctor, M. S. D. Bob Manuel of Valentine Hospital, PHC, during the orientation of the successful medical personnel for 2015 Christian pilgrimage exercise, at the Federal Capital Territory, Wuse, Abuja on Sunday.

Tokyo seeks Buhari’s intervention on reinstatement as Oyo NURTW chairman By Nurudeen Alimi

EMBATTLED chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State branch, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola Oluwatoki a.k.a Tokyo, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and the National President of NURTW, Al-

haji Najeem Yasin, to reinstate him as the chairman of NURTW in the state as legally backed by court judgment. Similarly, Alhaji Akinsola urged President Buhari to warn Senator Ajimobi and Alhaji Yasin not to swear-in Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde as the chairman of NURTW in Oyo State for the second term today

as planned; declaring that swearing-in of Oyerinde will amount to violation of the rule of law. Alhaji Akinsola alleged that the state governor, Senator Ajimobi, unlawfully removed him from office as chairman of Oyo NURTW. Not satisfied with the removal, Alhaji Tokyo said: “I challenged the removal

Unidentified 40 dead bodies litter Kaduna hospital Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna

No fewer than 40 unidentified dead bodies are presently littering the mortuary of Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kaduna. Speaking to newsmen on Sunday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the hospital, Mr Sunday Ali, said majority of the bodies were victims of road accident who were brought to the hospital by law enforcement agencies over a period of time.

Ali said the hospital management has written to the state government and the police to help in assisting in the evacuation of the dead bodies, and probably find way of burying them. “We have announced several times that if anybody does not know the whereabouts of his relations, children, parents, they should try to cross check with the hospital. “Now our mortuary is filled up, these bodies must

be evacuated, otherwise we will not have enough space for others. “This is why we have written to the relevant authorities, both the state government and the police to help us remove these bodies for burial. “As it is now, they are government property, and we are private hospital, so government should come and remove their property, it is a must for government to remove them from our mortuary.”

firstly before the National Industrial Court, Lagos, which gave judgement in my favour. Later, I, alongside 13 members of my supporters took the case to the Federal High Court in suit number FHC/IB/ CS/30/12 and Justice Jonathan Shakarho, on May 25, 2012 ruled that the governor lacks powers to even proscribe an association that is lawfully registered and which operates within the ambit of such operative laws. “Also, Justice Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo of Federal High Court, Ibadan division on November 26, 2012 in suit no; FHC/IB/ CS/61/2012 ruled that “The judgement given in my favour has not been held to be a nullity by any court of law. It is a settled law that a judgement subsists until it is set aside and an aggrieved person who has not appealed against a judgement stands no chance of saying the court lacked jurisdiction.”

The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has hinted of planned efforts to commence the production of glass wares in its department of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) and supply same to sister institutions and organisations on request. Speaking at the sixth induction ceremony for 2013/2014 graduating students of SLT department by the Nigeria Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), which held at the university on Saturday, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin said, work had commenced in the newly completed glassblowing workshop and laboratory complex towards achieving this goal. He added that apart from being taught the theory and principle of glass blowing technology, “our students now mend and produce glass wares, and some of the products are available at the laboratory for interested organisations to see.” Earlier in his welcome address, Dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Professor Ezekiel Ayodele, reiterated the fact that LAUTECH was the first university to present students for induction into NISLT five years ago.

news

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Speak out on national issues, Fayose charges NBA Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti

kiti State governor, Mr Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has charged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to speak out on national issues and "not have the illusion that all is well with the country." Governor Fayose also admonished the lawyers "not to allow political considerations and affiliation becloud their sense of objectivity." The governor, who stated this at the weekend in AdoEkiti, during a gala and award night of the Ado-Ekiti branch of the NBA, held at Afe Babalola Civic Centre, Ado-Ekiti also bagged an "Achiever's Award" from the NBA branch. Governor Fayose said: "It will be mere delusion if we think or feel that all is well with our dear country now. As lawyers and members

A/Ibom awards grants to UUTH The Akwa Ibom State government has concluded plans to award special intervention grant to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, to enable the institution to update facilities and provide conducive operational environment for patients receiving treatment in the hospital. Governor Udom Emmanuel announced this during the October edition of the Government House Prayer meeting, held at the Latter Day House Chapel, Governor's Lodge, Uyo. The Governor was reacting to the situation he met at the tertiary health institution during an unscheduled visit to the hospital. He frowned on the poor sanitary condition and dilapidated infrastructure at the accident and emergency ward, stating that the situation he met the patients was a far cry to the recovery process a health institution is known for. The unit, according to the Governor, has dirty walls, broken tiles on the floor and in the lounge and grass competing with the building for space even as the toilet facilities beg for water. "I went to the only teaching hospital available in the state. You can imagine the deplorable sight lacking both in ambience and structure, yet managed by professors and consultants. Even the environment is enough to hinder the recovery of the sick. I was really upset. I have decided to give the institution a grant to upgrade the facilities, especially the labour ward, where babies are born. People given facilities to manage should put in their best in line with their professional calling," Governor Emmanuel said.

of the NBA, I want you to speak out about happenings in Nigeria beyond your political leanings and inclinations. "Nigeria is above any political consideration. The country must be governed by all of us and if anything goes wrong, we all suffer for it. Your contributions can

make the difference." Fayose also charged them to be good ambassadors of the state, saying they must represent the state with their shoulders high anywhere. On his first year in office, Fayose said the challenges were enormous, adding that with the people's support,

some achievements had been recorded despite poor financial situation in the country. The governor noted that he made himself accessible to the people because a good leader identifies with his people and promised to always support the NBA in its activities.

The chairperson, Ado-Ekiti branch of the NBA, Dr Foluke Dada, said the NBA would not shirk in its responsibility to the society. She noted that the award given to Governor Fayose was in recognition of his sterling performance despite the financial challenges confronting the state.

Military foils suicide attack in Maiduguri barracks A suicide bomber was shot dead during an attempt to bomb the headquarters of 7 Division of the Nigeria Army on Sunday, a military source revealed. According to the military source, the suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber stormed the gate of Maimalari barracks, headquarters of Division on Baga Road, Maiduguri. Soldiers, however, managed to shoot him before he detonated the bomb. “Our gallant soldiers (stationed) at the gate shot the suicide bomber in the legs and he blew himself up. None of our soldiers were affected by explosion,”' a military source told SaharaReporters.

Amosun, Dangote, legislators, storm Oronna Ilaro Festival 2015 The tunnel dug by suspected robbers at the back of a first generation bank in Alagbaka area of Akure, Ondo State. PHOTO: Hakeem Gbadamosi.

Police uncover 10-metre hole dug to rob Akure bank HakeemGbadamosi-Akure Men of the Nigerian Police of the Ondo State command have foiled a robbery attempt in a first generation bank in Akure, the Ondo State capital. The state Police Commissioner, Mike Ogbodu who disclosed this to newsmen in Akure, said that some suspected robbers had perfected plans to rob the bank by digging over 10 metres hole from the back of the bank into the bank. Ogbodu explained that the tunnel was discovered by

policemen on surveillance at the bank situated on the Ado-Owo road, adding that the command put in place adequate measure to foil the attempted robbery. Items like diggers, cutlasses, hoes and shovels recovered at the scene, were shown to journalists by the police boss while conducted them round the bank premises. The police boss, however, assured banks in the state of adequate security of their workers and customers, even as he urged authorities of the banks to be vigilant, with a

promise to arrest the perpetrators of the criminal act. Similarly, a serial hacker, Daniel Obasi, who specialises in hacking Facebook accounts of very important personalities in the country, was among other criminals paraded by the state police command. According to the Police Commissioner, Obasi was arrested by his men after hacking into the Facebook accounts of the state deputy governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, saying the suspect also committed similar offence by hacking into the

Over 1,000 AANI policy research papers not utilised by FG —Aremu MuhammadSabiu-Kaduna General Secretary of the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI), Comrade Issa Aremu, has lamented that over 1,000 policy and research papers conducted by members of the national institute have not be utilised by successive governments for the past 36 years. He made this known at the weekend, while receiving members of Policy Strategy and Leadership (PSLC), Course 20 of the institute, who were on study tour to the headquarters of the union in Kaduna. Aremu lamented that over 1,000 policy research papers generated from NIPSS, through the annual Senior Executive Course

(SEC), had not been utilised. He said the institute had been running the Senior Executive Course (SEC 37) for 36 years now, saying, “I therefore use this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari administration to change the story of under-utilisation of NIPSS and make sure his government use some of the policy recommendations from the institute. "No doubt, NIPSS is a policy bank for all the ideas that will assist this administration to realise its three-point noble agenda namely: security, anti-corruption and economy.” He also urged President Buhari to put tested AANI members in position of responsibility to enhance

public service delivery, with the view to complementing his change agenda. Aremu, who is also the General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), noted that management of the national institute, should also connect the institute to the larger society. “The institute must be consistent with its vision and mission towards a better society,” he declared. Earlier, the team leader of the group, Dr Ibrahim Choji, remarked that the participants were on study tour of some select textiles industry, in order to expose them to industrial policies operating in the land.

Facebook account of the Lagos State deputy governor, Dr Oluranti Idiat Adebule. Ogbodu said that the suspects had been using the platform to dupe unsuspecting friends of his victims, saying several thousands of Naira were paid into Obasi's bank accounts. According to police investigation, Obasi usually use the clone accounts to chat with friends, siblings and political associates of the deputy governors, convincing them about non-existing contracts to be given out by their state governments, and asking them to pay some specific amount into his account to help facilitate the contracts. The accused confirmed the development and said: “I am Daniel from Imo State but live in Port Harcourt. I opened a separate account of deputy governors and I used it to chat with people on the net. I did not hack into their accounts; I only opened new account on their behalf. I use it to communicate with people. I have never hacked into their accounts.” He blamed his action on frustration, explaining that he was a businessman before the business collapsed, saying: “Since then, I have engaged in cyber crime. I have not been long in this business. I have only clone accounts of Ondo and Lagos states deputy governors.” The police also paraded a syndicate who specialised in stealing vehicle brain boxes, who was arrested with over 30 vehicle brain boxes.and 20 vehicle glasses.

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and federal and state lawmakers are among top dignitaries expected at this year’s Oronna Ilaro Festiva themed: “Festival of Achievement” The week-long festival commencing from November 14 to 22, 2015, will culminate in a grand finale on Saturday, November 21, at Asade Agunloye Pavilion, Empire Field. Ilaro-Yewa, in partnership with Dangote Cement, Ibeshe and communication giant, MTN NigeriaLimited. The chairman of the planning committee for the fourth year running, Chief Kayode Odunaro, said the over two decades annual cultural festival endorsed as a tourism festival on national tourism calendar by Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in 2012, is celebrated in honour of the legendary warrior Oronna as a unifying developmental platform for the display of cultural practices of Ilaro and Yewa people of Ogun State. Among regular highlights of the festival are road show/ street carnival, tributes to Oronna and other deities, Egungun and Gelede Masquerade display, Sisi Ilaro cultural beauty pageant, Poosu Night in celebration of food tourism and the allwhite attire Onigba Aje ceremony. Others are a three -day medical checkup programme, Festival 50 Kilometre race, Jumat and thanksgiving service, as well as the grand finale that will attract over 70 clubs and societies that will pay homage to HRM Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro-Yewa and paramount ruler of Yewaland.

Monday, 19 October, 2015

foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

Police arrest 2 teens in rape of toddler in Indian capital

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces across West Bank

ALESTINIANS have clashed with Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank as violence continued to grip the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Al Jazeera said Palestinian demonstrators marched from a local university to an Israeli settlement, where they were confronted by the army on Sunday afternoon. More protests were held across the West Bank, including in the city of Nablus, and in the Gaza Strip. “The soldiers (in Hebron) are firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets,” Issa Amro, director of the Youth Against Settlements group, told Al Jazeera, adding that at least ten Palestinians have been arrested. The clashes come just a day after five Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces or settlers during alleged stabbing attacks three of them in Hebron. Triggered by Israeli incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound last month, protests against Israel’s occupation have increased in frequency across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have responded with a crackdown on protesters, us-

ing tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. At least 43 Palestinians - including suspected attackers, unarmed protesters and bystanders - have been killed by Israel since October 1. Seven Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians this month. In one incident in Hebron, 18-year-old Fadel al-Kawasmeh was killed by a settler on Saturday afternoon. Palestinians dispute the accusation that the teen had tried to stab the settler. “The situation is very tense after Kawasmeh was assassinated by the settler,” Amro said. “Hundreds of

settlers attacked Palestinian homes near the Kiryat Arba settlement overnight. People defended their homes with rocks and molotov cocktails.

“People are very scared here. Parents aren’t sending their kids to school and a lot of people aren’t going to work,” he added. “The settlers are even more vio-

lent than the soldiers.” About 500 Jewish settlers live in a heavily guarded enclave in the city centre surrounded by nearly 200,000 Palestinians.

Palestinian woman chant anti Israel slogans during the funeral procession of Ehab Hanani, 19, who was fatally shot during clashes with Israeli troops last Thursday.

PHOTO: AP.

North Korea rejects nuclear talks, calls for peace treaty NORTH Korea on Sunday rejected fresh talks over its nuclear programme, dismissing overtures from the United States and South Korea and calling instead for a peace treaty with its neighbour. US President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye on Friday said they were ready to engage with Pyongyang if the country agreed to give up its nuclear weapons. But the North’s foreign ministry said any negotiations on its nuclear programme were off the table

until a truce signed at the end of the Korean conflict in 1953 is replaced by a full peace treaty.

“No issue in which the countries concerned including the US are interested can be settled unless

a peace treaty is concluded before anything else,” it said in a statement released on state media.

Typhoon leaves 2 dead, 16,000 displaced in Philippines SLOW-MOVING Typhoon Koppu weakened after blowing ashore with fierce winds in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, leaving at least two people dead, displacing 16,000 villagers and knocking out power in entire provinces, officials said. According to The Asociated Press, army troops and police were deployed to rescue residents trapped in flooded villages in the hard-hit prov-

otherNEWS

inces of Aurora, where the typhoon made landfall early Sunday, and Nueva Ecija, a nearby rice-growing province where floodwaters swamped rice farmlands at harvest time. After slamming into Aurora’s Casiguran town after midnight Saturday, the typhoon weakened and slowed down, hemmed in by the Sierra Madre mountain range and a high pressure area in the country’s north and another typhoon far out in the Pacific in the east, government forecaster Gladys Saludes said.

POLICE arrested two teenagers on Sunday for allegedly raping a toddler in New Delhi,India, in the latest incident of sexual violence against a young child in the Indian capital, The Associated Press reported. Police said they questioned more than 250 residents of the western Delhi neighborhood where the two and a half years old girl was raped and left bleeding in a park Friday evening. The two 17-year-old boys were arrested late Saturday, said Dependra Pathak, a top police officer. Pushpendra Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, said after they were interrogated, the teens admitted their guilt. The toddler was playing outside her home when she went missing during a 10-minute power outage in the neighborhood. Family members found her lying unconscious and bleeding in a park three hours later.

Small fishing boats are placed by the seawall as strong winds and slight rain brought by Typhoon Koppu hit Manila, Philippines, on Sunday.

PHOTO: AP.

An Egyptian casts her vote in the first round of parliamentary elections at polling station in Giza, Cairo, on Sunday. PHOTO: AP.

Egyptians vote in long-delayed parliament election VOTING in a long-awaited election for a new parliament opened Sunday in half of Egypt’s provinces as the government works to complete a roadmap to democracy implemented following the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi as president.

According to news agencies reports, the first phase involves 14 provinces voting on Sunday and Monday, and the remaining areas going to polls in early December. Egyptians living abroad had the chance to vote on Saturday. Current leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi led the effort in 2013

to topple Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president. That brought a militarybacked interim government with the promise of a new constitution and elections for a new president and parliament. The constitution was adopt-

ed in January 2014 and Sissi won election four months later. Egypt has not had a parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the body dominated by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, a group that is now banned and labeled as a terrorist organisation.

House Republicans return to Capitol to face leadership mess US House Speaker John Boehner

HOUSE Republicans return to Washington this week to confront a nearly unprecedented leadership crisis, looming budget deadlines and a deeply uncertain future. Attention is focused on Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, who is under pressure from party leaders to run for House speaker, a job he repeatedly has made clear he does not want, The

Associated Press reported. Even if Ryan yields to his colleagues’ pleas, conservatives are increasingly serving notice that the 45-year-old House Ways and Means Committee chairman will have to audition for the job just like anyone else, despite the widespread support he has. That suggests that the same hardliners who pushed current Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to announce

his resignation and scared off his heir apparent, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., could throw up obstacles to Ryan, too. It also leaves any resolution unclear for a party that seems nearly irreparably divided. More than a halfdozen lawmakers are considering running for speaker if Ryan does not, even as hard-liners warn that Boehner risks more rebellions if he

stays on past his planned departure date of Oct. 29. “John is a lame duck. There was a reason John announced his resignation,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. “I think Paul does have the credibility across the conference to be able to unite us, but to say he’s the only one I think is hyperbole.”

Monday, 19 October, 2015

Nigerian Tribune

Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

You don’t have to be an ex-footballer to become FIFA president —Adamu Former FIFA and CAF executive board member, Dr Amos Adamu is not surprised by the latest happenings in the House of Football occupied by Swiss Sepp Blatter. After serving a three-year suspension on the orders of the FIFA ethics committee which found him guilty of breaching bribery rules in 2010, Adamu, a former president of the West African Football Union (WAFU) believes he has proved his detractors wrong given the spate of suspensions of football chiefs in recent times. In this interview with the Group Sports Editor, GANIYU SALMAN and Reporter, OLAWALE OLANIYAN, Adamu, a former Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) speaks on the state of sports in Nigeria and why he is supporting former Abia State governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu in his bid to become the president of the world soccer governing body, FIFA. Excerpts:

hat is your assessment of the state of sports in Nigeria? The going on in sports is now very entertaining. People always talk about sports and for me sports is a way of life. When you talk about sports in Nigeria today, I disagree with so many people’s perception about sports development in this country. Many people believe that we are not doing well in sports. I always ask people to tell me in which area of our life that Nigeria is achieving like sports? For instance, taking a look at the just-concluded 11th All Africa Games which I must congratulate Team Nigeria and the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut on the team’s impressive performance. Look at the number of gold medals Nigeria won in different events, you will realise that we are number one in Africa in those sports, and placing second overall is something commendable. Which aspect of our life is Nigeria dominating, is it that we have even the best university in Africa today? Certainly, Nigeria could do better in sports. When you look at the environment under which our athletes train, where people who don’t invest in sports want results, Nigeria is doing very well and you will give kudos to Nigerian sports. I’m very proud of our sportsmen and women. Team Nigeria lost a good number of gold medals especially in swimming at Brazzaville 2015, what do you think can be done to improve on weak areas? Nigeria is weak in swimming and there is need to appreciate the fact that there must be a swimming culture for any country that wants to thrive in the sport. When people build houses in Nigeria, they don’t build swimming pools with it. Children need to start swimming early in life, even those who have swimming pools in their homes may not have water in it due to cost of maintenance. How many standard swimming pools do we have in this country. So, in Nigeria, it is a systemic problem. You can’t start swimming as an adult and expect to make the same impact like those who started

Adamu the sport as teenagers. It is a system that we need to change. Our problem is not lack of manpower but the system and there must be facilities in place too. What is your take on Orji Kalu’s FIFA presidency bid? My stake is that I am supporting Orji Kalu 100 per cent. Why am I supporting Orji Kalu? In fact, people came to me and said they will understand if I am the one gunning for the FIFA presidency, but I said I don’t have the resources. Before you can become the FIFA president, you need a lot of money for campaigns and I don’t have the money. You can imagine how much it will cost to go round even all the African countries seeking 54 votes, by charter flight and all that not to talk of the countries in other continents that are affliated with FIFA. You cannot just sit down in one continent and think people will vote for you. But does Orji Kalu have the kind of influence that could make other countries to vote for him? Let me tell you, who knows Blatter before he became the FIFA president? Cuts in, but he was the secretary general of FIFA until he emerged the president in 1998. Who knows Prince Ali of Jordan before now? It was when he came out to contest against Blatter that people are now hearing his name. So, everybody has a humble beginning. Now, when you say who knows Chief Orji Kalu? I believe everybody in Nigeria knows him as a former governor of Abia State. People should know Enyimba FC too, who supported Enyimba to become the first club from Nigeria to win the CAF Champions League, was it not Kalu? Football lovers in Africa knew the exploits of Enyimba of winning the Champions League even two times in a row. So, everybody must present himself to be known by

So, Orji Kalu has a bright chance of winning using Nigeria as a platform. The most important thing is that you must belong to a football federation.

the outside world. I can tell you that Kalu can get 52 supporters on the continent, who doesn’t know the Confederation of African Football and now that the FIFA election is approaching, will CAF support the candidate from Europe and leave the one from Africa? Africans will surely voice out if that happens. I am just painting the scenario of what the whole thing is all about. We have to forget about inferiority complex. A lot of people think that the FIFA president is so big that a Nigerian cannot get to that seat. Who told you that they don’t know Nigeria? There is no World Cup that Nigeria had never attended at any level, we have even won the FIFA U-17 World Cup on four occasions. Is there anybody today that will say he does not know Nigeria as a football playing nation? Let’s talk about Prince Ali who is also contesting for the FIFA presidency, have you ever heard that a Jordan team qualified for any FIFA-organised World Cup finals? So why do people know Prince Ali and will not know a candidate from Nigeria? Even if they don’t know the profile of the person representing us, the fact remains people in football circles globally know Nigeria because of our exploits in the world of football. So, Orji Kalu has a bright chance of winning using Nigeria as a platform. The most important thing is that you must belong to a football federation. Do you think the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will give Kalu their support? Why won’t they (NFF) support him, who will they support? Will they leave a Nigerian and go and support a Jordanian to become FIFA president? But another Nigerian, Chief Segun Odegbami is in the race too, and he lamented the guidelines first issued by the NFF concerning the issue on the ground. The NFF is right of course, there must be guidelines which every interested candidate will have to look at and see how he can meet them. I appreciate Odegbami for coming out, if a Nigerian does not come out to contest for the post, FIFA will not come to Nigeria and pick someone to occupy the seat. Definitely, NFF cannot say it will not support a Nigerian to win the race. The FIFA presidency is available and if we know any Nigerian that shows interest and have the ability, we have to support him. We have Prince Ali from Jordan, Michel Platini is contesting, we have the president of Liberia FA, Musa Bility too, If anything happens and they get disqualified one after the other and it remains Ali and the Liberian man in the race and the Liberian wins, people will be saying what stops Nigeria from presenting a candidate? People are saying I’m most qualified in Nigeria for the FIFA presidency seat, but I don’t have the resources and I wouldn’t because of that not support somebody who has the resources and can win. if he wins, it is

tribunesport ‘Govt can’t sponsor any candidate’ 47

Monday, 19 October, 2015

is my limit. If I want to contest for the FIFA presidency, I am free to do so but I don’t have the resources as I said. Bring money or let Nigerians bring money, I will contest (laughs).

to the benefit of Nigeria as a country. But many people still don’t agree that you don’t have the resources to contest for the FIFA presidency? Do you know how much it requires to carry out this project? It is better imagined. You have to consider the amount it will require to go round all the African countries with a delegation let alone other continents. I know the system here, the Federal Government will not sponsor such a project. If you depend on government to fund your campaign, you are wasting your time. I am talking from experience. Is there anyway you can bring Odegbami and Orji Kalu together to form an alliance since Nigeria can only present a candidate for the FIFA poll? I am even happy that there is Odegbami in the race, I love the competition because the more the merrier. Let more people come out so that Nigerians will now decide who is the best among the candidates to represent us. I am supporting Orji Kalu because of the information I have about him. Somebody can say he is supporting Odegbami because of certain reasons, I am not quarrelling about that. Orji Kalu at the moment is consulting with the relevant stakeholders and he is mapping out strategies on how he can move football forward if elected as FIFA president. He will soon come out and declare his intention. I will not support a Nigerian condemning a Nigerian as far as this race is concerned and if he doesn’t get it, everybody will know that Nigeria too can present a FIFA presidential candidate. What he (Kalu) needs to do is to campaign and consult and he is doing that as I said. He needs to find out what the continents need to develop their football and design a way to provide what they need. If any candidate will be able to provide what they need, they will support him. You have to look at what is lacking in those countries and work towards providing them like quality pitches, facilities and so on. Orji Kalu has a better chance to win, he has an aircraft that will even make his tour of countries easier. Odegbami is a football personality, fine. Can he convince people to contribute money for him to run the FIFA elections, can he convince the government to sponsor him? this is not possible. Look, I was in government and I know what I am talking about. I was the one running sports in Nigeria when I contested for the CAF executive seat. When I was going for campaign, I did not get half a penny from the Federal Government. In fact, the sports minister then did not even approve that I should be given an estacode because the belief then was that I cannot win. Until when I arrived back in the country after winning the election and I got to the airport, the sports minister then said ‘this is your estacode’. That is Nigeria for you. So, right from the outset, I did not bother to say give me money to campaign and all that, I instead raised the money that I needed for the project, so that is what I am saying. Nigeria only has one vote. You must reach out to people, it does not mean you are not known in football circles before. If you address a press conference today and declare your intention to run for the FIFA seat, everybody will get to know you. You don’t need to be a former footballer to become FIFA president. Footballers are better on the pitch and not in planning. When you say FIFA president, you will be dealing with players, administration, marketing and so on. There are successful footballers as managers too but people strategise for them. An administrator ensures Nigeria is known across the globe while the players are on the pitch to prove their mettle. Orji Kalu is an administrator, a governor for eight years. He

What were those things you missed while serving the FIFA suspension? I never missed anything, on paper yes, but I was still involved in football administration to a certain extent. I used to advise football administrators here on what to do at any given time, can’t I advise even if I am not in FIFA? Even, you can equally advise on football matters. So during my suspension, I was following what was happening in football all over the world. Even, when we went for the London 2012 Games, FIFA were giving me five tickets for every game. I was following closely because of the national interest. In fact, I was punished because of Nigeria and I knew Nigeria was wrong. When we hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009, our president then, the late Yar’ Adua signed a document that FIFA should take care of the security and Nigeria will pay the money ($30,000) back after the championship. Till today, Nigeria does not have the money to settle the FIFA bill. So, our colleagues in FIFA know this and this was not a good omen for Nigeria which I knew. They told me Adamu, this was what your country did and I understood it. Will I go on in the media and be telling the whole world of what happened. It is a sacrifice to pay for my country.

Adamu is a big businessman. He knows much about marketing and administration and is even known in the media industry today being a publisher. He is not a novice in politics, does Kalu not meet all the criteria a FIFA president should meet? He is a success story we must celebrate. When it comes to sports administration, people will mention my name and when you talk about football, certainly, you have to mention Odegbami because he played football prominently. When it comes to business, you have to give it Kalu. My concern is about professionalism and we must pay attention to it. Kalu knows how much money it will cost and he has the resources to go about it. Look, Prince Ali of Jordan, always take Boeing 747 plane to move round in a large entourage. What is your assessment of Blatter as FIFA president? Honestly, Blatter has done well for football globally, especially African football. He brought the World Cup to Africa for the first time. Blatter fought so many African ministers to standstill because in Africa, a Minister will wake up one day like a drunkard and say the football federation board should go. I mean he will announce that I have sacked everybody. There was a time I was at a meeting with Mr President and he told the sports minister that ‘If I were you, I will sack the NFF board’ but I said Mr President, that will be very wrong. I said let us know what they have done. I said they were elected too and

When I was going for campaign, I did not get half a penny from the Federal Government.

there is a process to follow if they have to be removed, but Mr President insisted that ‘I have spoken my mind and go and do what is right’. So, If I was not there, the minister would have gone ahead to implement the orders of Mr President, but I knew that the minister will in turn ask me to go and sack the NFF board and since I was at the meeting, I had to let them understand that it takes due process for a football federation board to be removed. So, that saved the day. Are you surprised that Blatter resigned in the first instance? I’m not surprised because I saw it coming. If you are aware of my case in FIFA, it started from my case, they said I was corrupt and they used me as a guinea pig to convince the whole world that they have dealt with a corrupt executive in FIFA. I told people that Jerome Valcke is a ‘goner’. They were collecting here and there and I, that was accused, I never saw a kobo. Some people called me that I should resign when my case hit the front burner but I said I will not resign. I said that I will prove a point. My lawyers were based in London and they called them to drop my case because the way it was going, I will win and my lawyers too called me that they could not continue with the case because of conflict of interests. I said Ok but I reliably gathered that my lawyers were protecting their interests in FIFA too. They recommended another lawyer to me and so many things were done to frustrate me but I was unmoved. Finally, I was suspended for three years and the day I was returning was the day they were going out too. They gave Valcke $10million to give to Jack Warner, what was that money meant for? and he claimed he did not partake in spending the money. Today, Blatter cannot travel outside his country of residence. So, I knew it will come to this level and I told them (other FIFA executives). It is like a football match, when you are given a red card, you will surely come back after missing two games habi? now I’m back fully and they are leaving. I can come out today but they can’t come out. I am back in football administration and the sky

Can you recall some of your unforgettable experiences while managing Nigerian sports? Of course, I worked with so many sports ministers, if you do the right thing, no matter the influence of the minister, you will surely have your way. So, Yakmut has been doing well and I believe the coming of a sports minister will not in any way hamper his progress. There was an episode I could recall when we went to South Africa in 1999 for the All Africa Games, I did the selection of athletes to the Games with the input of the coaches and there was a protest by some of the members of the sports federations that they will not honour the Games and when the minister heard about it, he said that will be better because Nigeria will keep the money for other things. However, I said if we failed, I should be held responsible and when we started winning, they all came back to me to say they meant a different thing. Again, prior to one of the Commonwealth Games, I noticed that one female athlete was not included on the list and I brought her in. The matter got to then sports minister and I insisted that the girl must be in the team. They alleged that she was my girlfriend and I said if I did not drop those they have included on the list, why did they want to drop my girlfriend if at all? When we got to the venue, I arranged for trials in one hall and I called all the players out and told the coach to list them according to their rankings. The girl I included played against number four and won, she beat number three, two and even the number one and the minister too who was there was surprised that the girl was that good. So, at the end, she was the only one who won a gold medal among her colleagues. What has the issue of friendship got to do with merit? So, as an administrator, if you don’t like an athlete, you don’t have to discourage him or her, it is the performance that matters. Should I remove somebody’s name who I knew can win a medal for Nigeria because the minister does not like him or her? I was not bothered about their blackmail because in the first place, the athlete was not even my girlfriend. I even jokingly asked should I befriend a failure?

SIDELINES

NO 16,351

N150

MONDAY, 19 OCTOBER, 2015

T just won’t go away – my memory of Nigerian football these fifty-five years. I have tried to let it go and take on another subject today. But no, it says. Its unique evocation of its beauty keeps prolonging its tale that needs to be prolonged a little while. And the years and decades return. They return. And I remember some names of Nigerian football greats that faded out of the sight of my memory as it floated into the lake of our perfect past. Of course, some of the names that are journeying from the past were known to me as I was told about them. My father told me very long ago about their football exploits for our fatherland. That was when I toyed with the thought in my growing boyhood years about making a mark in football. I said last Monday my book-work was a kind of mere alternative to football – until I grew up in my last year in my primary school when that thought walked out of me. What happened? We – my football teammates and I - had won the football tournament we vowed to win. Our coach, a coach of the fabulous Amukpe Football Club in the early 1960s, as stated previously, had prepared us thoroughly for the final against the dreaded St. Francis Primary School that was wagered to beat us without compassion. But we triumphed over St. Francis in the end. I scored the opening goal. My paternal cousin, our centre-forward, scored the second goal. He also scored our third and final goal, a penalty kick that we earned when I was hacked in the marked box. Why did we really trounce St. Francis? Prior to the match, our head-master, an Ijawman, announced in our general assembly that he would slaughter a goat for us, members of the football team, if we brought the cup for the first time in recent memory to Council School. Our coach, a Benin, sprinkled our thoughts with the headmaster’s breeze of promise. We vowed to crush St. Francis. Throughout the duration of the pulsating match I kept galvanising my brother and our fellow forwards by reminding them of the head-master’s goat: “Remember the goat!” I kept telling them from

That electricity distribution companies want tariff increased by as high as 49 per cent because, among others, they are finding it difficult to collect their bills is mind boggling. Honestly, one would have concluded that the DISCOS were partying when they were formulating this idea. Pray, why should the public pay for their own inefficiency?

in&out with Tony Afejuku

08055213059

More reflections on 55 years of Nigerian football time to time: “The goat, the goat. We must eat it. We must eat the goat.” Oh! We won. But we got no goat in the end. When I eventually told my father that our head-master did not keep his promise, his reply, as far as I can remember it now, gave me a creepy sensation. I jettisoned football when I passed out and went to college. One thing, I must tell you, also made my mind go sour. Just before our game with St. Francis, our captain, our centre-half-back, lost his father. Our coach confided in me and a number of players, and told us not to tell him until after the match. We kept our promise. But when the head-master did not keep his goat-promise to us, I was terribly disappointed, especially on account of our captain. As I am writing this, the words Sunday Oliseh, our Super Eagles’ coach, said to Vincent Enyeama, and the gesture he made when the fabulous goal-keeper returned to national duty after just burying his mother, gave me the same creepy sensation of years ago. If our football coaches over the years behaved in the way Oliseh behaved towards Enyeama, great footballers such as Otimeyin Lori popularly known in the field of play as Edon, Samson Ebule (of Warri XI), Thursday Tseke, Tobi Okorousobo – all from Okere, Warri; Sideso popularly known as Ironbar, Kaiza Blankson, Okwudili, Onokwakpor, Sisi Mude, Prince George, Ogiden

Nigerian football journalists and political players must not allow the Olisehs to stunt our football in the name of bad belle Oki and other players of the 1940s to 1960s from Warri Province would not have risen to stardom. In fact, several of them played for Nigeria after leaving Warri to play for football teams in Port Harcourt, Lagos Marines and Railways, Calabar, Oshogbo and Ibadan. The players then – all amateurs – enjoyed their football even when they sometimes lost heavily to their opponents as Nigeria, captained by Dike (the captain of Warri XI), lost 7 - 0 to Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1955. The scandalous 7 – 0 defeat Nigeria suffered at the hands of the Gold Coast certainly must have inspired Obafemi Awolowo to build Liberty Stadium in 1959. That was one precious way the unforgettable leader and founding father chose to develop our football. Azikiwe, another founding father,

on his part, had his own football team in Lagos. A reader from Warri recently told me, among other things, that Zik Football Club visited Warri in 1933 to play against Warri XI on Empire Field (no more in existence) along Esisi Road. Meanwhile, Festus Okotie-Eboh, another of our founding fathers, had in Sapele, his own Football Club (Bata) that, among others, helped to promote Nigerian football that since has given us the Asuquo Ekpes, Dejo Fayemis and Patrick Onokwakpors. In his own way, Ahmadu Bello gave Nigeria the stadium named after him in Kaduna – even though the North, as far as I keep remembering, had no great regional teams (other than Plateau) such as Obafemi Awolowo’s Western Rovers (and others). In the current political dispensation only Senator Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past Governor of Akwa Ibom State, attempted to do what our great founding fathers tried to do for Nigerian football by giving Nigeria a stadium worth its name and worth the home of our national teams. Nigerian football journalists and political players must not allow the Olisehs to stunt our football in the name of bad belle discipline. The football saint of today should not forget that he was a football sinner yesterday. He must also know that a football sinner today can become a football saint tomorrow. Is Mr. Pinnick listening? He should send Sunday Oliseh to football Sunday school now.

Oliseh may drop Emenike from Eagles squad

Emenike

INDICATIONS emerged on Sunday that Sunday Oliseh may drop Emmanuel Emenike from next month’s World Cup qualifier against Swaziland after the striker failed to deliver in four matches under the new Eagles coach. Oliseh is a big admirer of Emenike after he top scored at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, but he has now gone more than two years without a goal for the three-time African champions. His last goal was in Ethiopia in October 2013 in a final

2014 World Cup play-off. A top source close to the team told Africanfootball. com that: “Oliseh is disappointed Emenike has not justified the confidence he has in him. “He has been given his chance by the coach, who is now seriously considering Odion Ighalo to lead his attack against Swaziland next month.” Watford striker Ighalo responded to his snub by the Eagles coach for his first set of call-ups by scoring in a 3-0 win over Cameroon in

Brussels. It was his second goal for the Eagles after he fired his first against Chad in Kaduna in June. Nigeria and Swaziland will battle for a place in the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The two legs are slated for between November 9 and 17 with the overall winners to a third round to be played on a mini-league basis.

EPL RESULT

Newcastle 6 Norwich

Printed and Published by the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, Imalefalafia Street, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. E mail: editornigeriantribune@yahoo.com Website: www.tribuneonlineng.com MANAGING DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: EDWARD DICKSON. EDITOR: DEBO ABDULAI. All Correspondence to P.O. Box 78, Ibadan. ISSN 2712. ABC Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. 19/10/2015.