21st June 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,528

TUESDAY, 21 JUNE, 2016

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Anti-Adeosun protest rocks •As CBN intervenes with $616.5m •Clears $4bn forex demand backlog Finance the new foreign exchange regime, the However, traders said the central interbank market at N281 to N285.

B S A Ministry forces of demand and supply pushed bank intervened and sold $530 This, some traders said, could be C N

Naira closes at N285 per dollar on first day of new forex regime y anya dejokun and hima wokoji

A Diezanigate

•Protesters demand payment of N1.2bn allowance —P12

FTER opening at around the Naira to N260 against the greenN253 to the dollar on Monday, back at the interbank market before following commencement of settling at N285/$.

million for N280 per dollar at a special auction and later sold a further $86.5 million directly on the

taken as the prevailing exchange rate for the local currency.

Continues pg11

EFCC arrests Omokore, Yakubu, ex-NNPC GMD •To be arraigned July 4 •EFCC has blocked my bank account —Fayose —P2

Traders, artisans, others rally support for Ajimobi —P33 Again, militants invade Lagos, Ogun communities

•One feared killed —P6

Edo 2016: APC's Obaseki to face PDP's Ize-Iyamu —P34

A tumultous crowd of traders, artisans and others, during a solidarity show for the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at the secretariat, Ibadan, on Monday. Inset: Governor Ajimobi addressing the crowd.

I never ordered use of hijab in public schools —Aregbesola —P5

2 news

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Kwara gov’s wife loses mum WIFE of Kwara State governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, on Monday, lost her mother, Mrs Janet Monilola.

Mrs Monilola died at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital during a brief illness.

The deceased, who passed on at the age of 74, was survived by many children, grandchildren and in-laws, including governor of Kwara State, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, Mr Yomi Akinleye and Mrs Jumoke Adewoyin.

Reacting to the death of Mrs Monilola, Governor Ahmed said her death was shocking, painful and unexpected, especially now that her motherly and wise counsels were most needed.

Governor Ahmed, who described her as a role model passionately committed to the well-being of everyone, said Madam Monilola would be remembered as an in-law par excellence, who was always there for his family at all times.

Laws should not restrict freedom of worship —Osinbajo

National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Mongunu (right), inaugurating the ‘Falcon Eye’ main command and control centre, in Abuja, on Monday. With him are Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (left) and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai. PHOTO: NAN

Diezanigate: EFCC arrests Omokore, Yakubu, NNPC ex-GMD •To be arraigned July 4 Sunday Ejike -Abuja

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Jide Omokore, chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Andrew Yakubu, former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement, on Monday, adding that the duo would be arraigned before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, July 4.

According to the EFCC, they are to be arraigned on four counts of money laundering.

Other defendants to the charge are Victor Briggs, Abiye Memnere, David Mbanefo, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Limited.

The arraignment of Omokore, an associate of former Petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke; Yakubu and two others was stalled on Monday, as the suspects were not present in court.

Prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, said because all the suspects were not in court, the prosecution would not want to arraign them in piece meal, adding that “the accused persons are scattered across the country and we are trying to avoid a situation where the accused persons will be arraigned separately.

“What we are trying to do now is to gather all the accused persons together and

I believe we should be able to arraign them on July 4.”

Nigerian Tribune could not get the detail of the charge because the prosecution said he was going to amend them, however, Omokore would be arraigned alongside Yakubu, a former NNPC helmsman.

Atlantic Energy Limited was one of the companies that allegedly received multi-billion dollar worth of public assets without due

process during the Dr Goodluck Jonathan-led administration in 2011.

The company was awarded controlling stakes in two lucrative oil blocks – OML 30 and 34 – for over $50 million each.

The deal, which was signed by the immediate past minister of petroleum, AlisonMadueke, gave Atlantic Energy Limited a control of 55 per cent stake in the oil block.

Shell, which owned the remaining 45 per cent stake, fetched $1.3 billion for a single field, after an open and competitive bidding process.

The company was also accused of lifting crude oil, but only remitted a fraction of its worth to the government.

SPOG, another of Omokore’s companies, is also being investigated for an alleged N400 million petrol import fraud.

EFCC has blocked my account —Fayose EKITI State governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, on Monday, alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has blocked the account he operates with a new generation bank.

The governor, who spoke to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, on Monday, on the premises of the bank, said he had information that the accounts of some of his associates were also affected.

According to a press release by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, Fayose accused some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a prominent lawyer from the state of being the brains behind the action.

While condemning the action, Fayose said under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially the provisions contained in Section 308, he enjoys immunity and wondered why his personal properties should become the targets of Federal Government and its agencies under the guise of fighting

corruption.

“Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution gives me immunity just like the President. I wouldn’t know why these people are intolerant of others and in a haste.

“Let them wait till 2018 when I will end my tenure for them to do their investigation. The other time the EFCC accused me of embezzling N1.2 billion poultry project fund, I was the one who voluntarily reported myself to the commission.

“It was when I got a hint of their move that I wrote a cheque to withdraw some money from the account and I came myself. I was denied access to the account as I was told the EFCC has placed restriction on it. That is executive rascality taken too far. Even when I had case with EFCC, my properties were not affected.

“If they say they are investigating money spent on election, does it mean it is only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that spent money on election? A lot of people and groups sup-

ported my campaign then.

Where did APC and their leaders get the money they spent on 2015 general election from? Now it is only in PDP that they find thieves, to them there are no thieves in the APC. “A lot of petitions were written against former Governor Kayode Fayemi and the EFCC has not asked him questions up till now. The alleged diversion of N850 million fund meant for Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board is there and nobody is asking Fayemi questions.

“We will not allow this and we will defend our rights within the law of the land.

Those who think they can silence me are mistaken. I am a person who is not perturbed by things like this.

Let them wait till 2018 when I will finish my term and I will be the one to go and meet them. I won’t run away and let them investigate the whole world, I have nothing to hide or fear,” he said.

Fayose said he would challenge the action appropri-

VICE-PRESIDENT Yemi Osinbajo has said laws should not be made to restrict the freedom of worship in the country.

Osinbajo said this in a keynote address at the First National Judicial Roundtable on The Intersection between Law and Religion, at the National Judicial Institute, Abuja, on Monday.

The vice-president insisted that in a situation where the laws were made in line with provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, such laws must be “reasonably justifiable.”

He averred that the protection of freedom of worship and the practice of one’s beliefs was crucial, especially in a democratic society.

“Those laws according to the Nigerian constitution, where they restrict freedom of worship, must be ‘reasonably justifiable’ in a demo-

cratic society in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health,” he said.

The administrator of NJI, Justice Roseline Bozimo, represented by the institute’s secretary, Mallam Abubakar Maidama, said the roundtable was aimed at forging harmony and eliminating religious extremism.

She said religion ought to be used as a tool for promotion of societal development rather than violence, adding that both religion and law established standards for development.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, represented

by Justice Kudirat KekereEkun, noted that there was great relationship between religion and law, as most legal systems drew from religious practice.

Defence committee at Mamalari Barracks, lauds military Why some roads remain closed —Commander Bodunrin Kayode -Maiduguri FOR the second time in six months, the House of Representatives Committee on Defence visited the Theatre Command of the Nigerian Army fighting to end the Boko Haram menace in the North-East.

The team, led by Honourable Ali Isa, who represented the chairman, Honourable Aliyu Betera, said it received some petitions about roads shut down by the military and felt that it was pertinent for them to visit the commander, General Lucky Irabo, to find out reasons before debating the issue at the plenary.

According to the leader of delegation, the committee was in Maiduguri based on decision of the House to monitor the progress made by the soldiers, while he also commended the military for a job well done.

Ali noted that the new strategy of taking the battle to the camp of the enemy was commendable, adding that it was decisive to

wipe out insurgency from the entire North-East territory of the Nigerian frontier bordering Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

The team leader equally commended the civilian JTF for their bravery in the maintenance of peace within the theatre, especially the Borno axis.

He called for more security checkpoints on major highways across the state, adding that such points would help to fish out of the insurgents.

Responding, the theatre commander, General Irabo, said the Gwoza road in question had been opened unofficially but the command did not want to announce that for obvious reasons, stressing that it was clear falsehood for anyone to assume that it was closed to commuters.

He acknowledged that the road was closed due to classified security reasons but had been unofficially open and life had already returned to Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 3 news Standing Rule forgery: Arraignment of Saraki, Ekweremadu may be stalled

Due to lack of service Sunday Ejike -Abuja

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HE Federal Government’s plan to arraign the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Jabi, Abuja, over allegations of forgery and criminal conspiracy, may after all not hold today.

This, Nigerian Tribune learnt, is because the charg-

es had not been served on all the defendants as required by law.

The hearing is expected to be fixed for arraignment shortly after service is effected on the defendants.

Sources at the Federal Ministry of Justice said the Senate President, alongside the Deputy Senate President and their co-accused, would be arraigned before Justice Yusuf Halilu, on two-count charge of forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Saraki, Ekweremadu, a former Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasu and his deputy, Benedict Efeturi, were charged with criminal conspiracy and forgery of the Standing Rules used for the leadership election of the presiding officers of the Senate in June, last year.

The Federal Government stated that the offence of conspiracy was punishable under Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Act; and offence

of forgery with “fraudulent intent” punishable under Section 364 of the same law.

Meanwhile, the twomember panel of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), headed by Danladi Yakubu Umar, had, last week, adjourned the trial of Saraki, till today.

The tribunal will, today, hear a fresh motion brought before it by Saraki seeking an order of the Tribunal disqualifying its chairman, Umar, from further presid-

ing over the case.

Saraki filed his fresh application accusing Umar of bias based on the remark made by the Tribunal chairman at the last proceedings on June 7, while warning the defence against delay tactics.

Umar had warned Saraki’s lawyer that their delay tactics would not “reduce the consequences the defendant will meet in this Tribunal at the end of the trial.”

Saraki, in his fresh application filed by his lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, alleged that Umar’s statement would prejudice the out-

come of the trial.

The Federal Government is prosecuting the Senate President on a 16-count charge, including false and anticipatory assets declaration, which he allegedly made between 2003 and 2011, when he held sway as governor of Kwara State.

Saraki is also accused of operating foreign accounts as a public officer and of receiving governor’s salary or emoluments in addition to his salary as a senator for some period after completing his two terms as governor and got elected as a senator.

Resident doctors in Borno opt out of nationwide strike BORNO State chapter of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) has said its members will not participate in the nationwide strike due to start on Monday, June 20.

The state acting president of the association, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, made the chapter’s position known in a statement issued in Maiduguri, the

President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, as the president resumes duty, in Abuja, on Monday.

Arms deal: EFCC seized my SUV car, forced me to pay N40m for my release, detained Air Force Chief tells court Sunday Ejike -Abuja DETAINED former Air Officer in charge of Tactical Air command, Makurdi, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Ojuawo, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forced him to pay N40 million as a condition for his release.

Ojuawo, presently in confinement at House 27, Niger

Barracks, Asokoro, Abuja, under the directive of the EFCC, further alleged that contrary to the position of the anti-graft agency, he did not willingly submitted his Range Rover SUV to the commission, but it was seized from him by force.

Ojuawo, whose averrements are contained in his further affidavit in support of his fundamental rights

enforcement suit pending before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had been in detention for over 100 days since his arrest on February 7.

He was produced in court by the anti-corruption agency last week, following an order of Justice Ademola after counsel for the detained Air Chief, R.N. Ojabo moved an application for the en-

Ambassadorial list: Ondo plagued with leadership challenge —Oyewumi Hakeem Gbadamosi -Akure A governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Boye Oyewumi, on Monday frowned over the exclusion of Ondo state indigene from the ambassadorial list recently submitted to the Senate, saying the state was plagued with leadership challenges.

Oyewumi, who stated this in Ondo, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state after meeting the party’s state delegates attributed the inability of the state to produce leaders, who have political relevance at the centre to political differences and inability of past leaders to groom future leaders.

He said: “When you look at the quality of people that had been put forward in the past they are such people that have no relevance in national politics, this are part of the reasons why we have a list of 47 ambassadors and there’s not a single Ondo State indigene there.

“We have a case of 36 ministers and Ondo State the richest state in the South-West in terms of resources and human capital was able to produce just a minister of state. Some board appointment had been made and no mention of Ondo State, we are not fairly represented at the center and that the simple truth.”

He noted that some of the states in the region that were adequately represented at the centre by politicians with rel-

evance, who had been helping to develop their states.

“If you look at other states, like Lagos State, we have leaders like Tinubu, Mobolaji Johnson, Fashola, Jakande, Ambode and many others but in Ondo State who do we have. Look at Ogun, we have Osoba, Amosun, Gbenga Daniela and many others too, but who do we have in Ondo?

“All these states present their best 11, so that even if they’ve left office, they still have useful life in the state politics and project the interest of the state, but Ondo State have history of looking backward, but they said the youths are the leaders of the future yet we are being told to look back to select a leader.

forcement of his (Ojuawo) fundamental human rights.

Until his arrest by the EFCC on February 7, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, AVM Ojuawo was carrying out his duties as the Air Officer Commanding the Tactical Air Command, Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi.

He was picked while on his way to Stuttgart, Germany, on national assignment as a member of the Armed Forces delegation to United States African Command (USAFRICOM), where he was scheduled to deliver a keynote address on issues bordering on the speedy conclusion of the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency.

Since his arrest, according to his lawyer, he had been confined on the instructions of the respondent (EFCC) and he had to endure the deprivation of his personal liberty for a period of 100 days.

In his further affidavit, the detained Air Force chief accused the EFCC of distorting facts, as the Nigerian Air Force never conduct any investigation on him in which it was discovered that he was, “busy signing delivery notes for one of its contrac-

tors, Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux Nigeria Limited, represented by Mr Hima” as claimed.

Meanwhile, the contractor, Hima Abubakar, in a letter dated May 14, explained why he was unable to pay for the house situated at NAF Valley Estate, Asokoro, which AVM OJuawo offered him at the rate of N50 million.

The lawyer told the court that at the time his client was arrested, he was not aware that his name was on watchlist and that he was restricted from foreign travels due to ongoing arms deal investigation.

state capital, on Monday.

The statement quoted Abdullahi as saying “it should be noted that majority of inhabitants of the 27 local government areas of Borno State are currently residing in internally displaced persons’ camps in Maiduguri.

“Two days ago, about 200 victims with different ailments were freed from captivity within Bama town and its environs, all receiving care in our facility.

“Maiduguri is a war theatre, comprising men of the Nigeria Army, who need all our support in terms of provision of health care services.

“It should also be noted that the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital is the only hospital serving not only Borno, but serves as reference centre for other states in the North-East, bedevilled by Boko Haram insurgency.”

According to him, it was in the light of these that the state’s chapter of the association was calling on the leadership of NARD to look into the plight of the people of Borno as it exempts itself from the nationwide strike.

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news

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Politicians should stop seeing election as war —INEC Rivers APC absent at mediatory meeting Dapo Falade -Port Harcourt

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HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised politicians across the country to stop seeing election as a war that must be won by all means.

The national electoral umpire admonished that electoral contest should rather be regarded as a civic duty, in which only a set of winners must emerge at any particular time.

Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers State, Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, gave the admonition while speaking at a mediatory meeting with leaders of political parties and their candidates in Port Harcourt, on Monday.

The meeting, held at the state INEC head office, was part of efforts at sensitising all stakeholders to allow for a peaceful, free and fair exercise whenever a date was fixed for the conclusion of the suspended legislative rerun election in the state.

The INEC mediator team was led by Reverend Canon Chris Eke, while other members were Reverend Father (Dr) Donatus Ukulor, Mrs Ngozi Ogbunna and Mrs Toyin Abegunde.

Speaking against the backdrop of the violence and killings witnessed during the inconclusive rerun exercise, last March, Ikoiwak urged politicians to allow voters to perform their civic duties by voting for candidates of their choice in any election in the state.

He said election could only be free and fair in a situation, where INEC officials were not forced to announce results at gunpoint,

adding that stakeholders, including politicians must allow peace to reign during election periods.

The Rivers REC insisted that INEC should not be singled out for blame if and when elections were inconclusive in the state.

Rather, he said all stake-

HUMAN rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has decried the recent proposal by some lawmakers calling for life pension and immunity for the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and other presiding officers of the National Assembly.

Falana, in a statement, described the proposal as insensitive, irrational and immoral.

“Indeed, it is the height of insensitivity for legislators to propose life pension for their leaders at a time that workers are owed arrears of salaries in many states of the federation,” Falana

tion that is violent-free. We must agree that election is civic duty and not a war.

“Election is not a war situation. It is an exercise where people should be allowed to decide because it is their constitutional right. That is why we must provide a conducive envi-

ronment for people to vote.

“Most of the time, when people talk about free and fair election, most people think of INEC, but the truth is that you cannot have a free and fair election when INEC official is told to announce election result at gunpoint.

From left, Speaker, Kenyan National Assembly, Justice Bedan Muturi; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, at the first national summit on political representation, constituency and zonal intervention services, in Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN.

“As Nigerians, we have agreed that there were lapses in the last election and we must be ready to agree to correct our mistakes and not to continue to feel as if we are angels,” Ikoiwak said.

He also restated that though the date for the conclusion of the suspended rerun had not been fixed, only the disposition of the politician to peace would determine when the exercise would hold.

“The political parties, the electoral body and security agents should join hands so that we can achieve the goal of completing the election in this state.

“We must know that the date of the election has not been fixed and all what we are doing is to see whether we are ready to hold the elections,” he said.

The main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), was conspicously absent at the meeting, while 11 out of the 28 registered political parties invited were present.

Lecturers, students disagree over sexual harassment bill Ayodele Adesanmi -Abuja THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Monday, informed that the Sexual Harassment Bill presently before the National Assembly is targeted at the members of its academic community.

However, the National Female Students Association of Nigeria raised the alarm over the alleged harassment of its members in universities across the country by randy lecturers.

National president of the association, Comrade Idon-

Falana decries immunity, life pension for Saraki, others Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin -Lagos

holders, politicians and security agencies inclusive, had a responsibility to ensure a conducive environment for a free and fair election to hold.

“The INEC Headquarters has gone ahead to set up a team to interact with us so that we can have an elec-

said.

He said the lawmakers’ proposal to shield their presiding officers from prosecution was provocative.

“No serious nation can grant immunity to legislators, who have been linked with criminal diversion of public funds, forgery and rape.

“We can assure the concerned members of the public that the satanic proposals of the legislators will not succeed.

“It is pertinent to inform the legislators that the members of the human rights community have resolved to mobilise the Nigerian people to reject both proposals,” Falana said.

gesit Micah, who spoke at a pubic hearing of the sexual harassment bill organised by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, lamented the spate of harassment of female students by lecturers.

Comrade Micah, in a memorandum submitted to the committee, called on the Senate to immediately pass the bill into law, believing that it would ensure punishment of offenders guilty of the crime.

She said: “Let me be very clear on our position on this bill. This is a bill that must be passed into law.

“It is either we enact this law and send sexual predator lecturers to prison for correction or we provoke helpless parents, husband or guardian to someday pick a loaded gun and deal with this problem in a barbaric manner.”

The president of the ASUU, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said the bill, if passed into law in its present form, would undermine the autonomy of universities in the country.

He said: “As a global norm, universities and other tertiary institutions are established by law as autonomous bodies and have their own laws regulating their affairs.

“This includes misconduct generally among both staff and students, clearly articulated appropriate redress

mechanism.

“Any law or bill which seeks to supplant these laws violates the university autonomy.

“In this particular instance, the bill violates the Federal Government of Nigeria and ASUU agreement of 2009 and as such should be rejected,” he said.

He decried that the bill was discriminatory because it was targeted at educators

and it was unfair to come up with such a bill, stressing that sexual harassment is a societal problem and not peculiar to tertiary institutions.

He said the bill was also a violation of Section 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution, stating that it was embarrassing that the legislative arm could seek to make such that violated the constitution.

Ogunyemi also pointed

out that besides violating the constitution, the bill failed to take cognizance of various extant legislations that adequately dealt with sexual offences.

He further faulted the bill, saying it failed to provide convincing evidence to show that sexual harassment in tertiary institutions had attained a higher magnitude than other spheres of the society.

MTN N1.04 trn fine: Ministers shun Reps meeting again Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel -Abuja THE ongoing probe by the House of Representatives Committee on Communications into the rationale behind the reduction of the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on the GSM Communication, the MTN Nigeria by the National Communication (NCC) to N330 billion on Monday, stalled again.

This followed the absence of the Minster of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu; the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, which forced Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi Committee on Communications to halt the proceeding abruptly the fifth time without any headway.

While Malami sent a letter that he would be representing the president at an event in Lagos and would, there-

fore, be absent from the meeting, his counterpart, the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu did not show up nor sent representative.

Only the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Mr Abubakar Dambata and his Director of Communications, Tony Ojobo, were present at the session.

The committee chairman, Akinade-Fijabi, who expressed disappointment on the absence of the two ministers queried the rationale behind the huge reduction on the fine from N1. 04 trillion to N330 billion unilaterally by the executive arm of government, while the two chambers of the National Assembly were still investigating the matter.

While pointing out the condition attached to the reduction that MTN trades on the Nigerian Stock Market was a business benefit to the company, he declared “I

don’t think NCC alone can face the questions. This is going to be the last meeting as the parties are not here.”

The lawmaker, before dissolving into an executive session, stated the committee would go ahead with the writing of its report and subsequently submit it to the House for further legislative action.

It will be recalled that the committee had earlier rejected the offer by the service by the MTN to pay N330 billion instead of the N1.04 trillion it was fined by the Federal Government.

Fijabi had wondered why the sudden shift in the position of the NCC on the MTN fine.

However, efforts by the committee to investigate the reason for the huge reduction had failed due to the absence of one government official or the other at the different meetings it had called on the issue.

5 news I never ordered use of hijab in public schools —Aregbesola Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Muslim clerics storm St Charles School to enforce court judgment Oluwole Ige -Osogbo

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OR the first time since the issue of hijab generated controversy following the Osun State High Court judgment which allowed female students to wear Islamic veil to public schools, Osun State governor, on Monday, declared that neither his government, nor himself ever ordered the use of hijab by female Muslim students in public schools in the state.

Aregbesola stated this at a roundtable on Development Collaborative Framework for Education Development and Advancement, organised by the Development and Advancement in Western Nigeria (DAWN), in Osogbo.

He challenged openly those who accused him of ordering the use of hijab by Muslims to bring concrete proof to substantiate their mischievous claims.

Aregbesola contended that those accusing him of plunging the state into religious crisis should present a video or voice recording, written speech evidencing where he commanded or ordered female Muslim students to wear hijab on their uniforms.

He averred that all programmes introduced into the state’s education rebranding were outcome of the resolutions an education summit organised by his administration shortly after coming into office.

Aregbesola noted that the resolution of the summit, headed by Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, never considered nor recommended any religion.

Speaking on education in the South-West, the governor noted that the downward trend in education should be worrisome due to the role of education in development and bringing enlightenment to the human mind, platform for leadership recruitment and the means for character building and good citizenship.

Aregbesola further stated that when he came to government, the first task of his administration was to convene an education summit which was chaired by Professor Wole Soyinka, adding that all interventions of government in education, since inception, came from

the recommendations of the summit and was nothing about religion.

According to him,”There is nothing religious in any of our policies. The fact on ground contradicts our opposition’s claim.

The choice of my deputy governor tells it all, I knew she is a pentecotalist of the highest order before I picked her. Everything we

have done in the line of education is in line with the resolution of our education summit.

“Against all speculations, I have not ordered the use of Hijab, I challenge anybody with evidence to come out and show that I have made a proclamation on Hijab.

“If I have permitted Hijab, will the Muslims have gone to court to

challenge it, is that not contradictory?. Is it a crime that I am a Muslim, is it because I struggle to be a good Muslim that everything I do is being misunderstood?. I think I don’t deserve all these lies against me.”

Earlier, the deputy governor, Mrs Titi LaoyeTomori, described the gathering as one that

would help restore the lost glory of the South-west educational sector.

Meanwhile, the controversy took a new dimension on Monday, when some Muslim clerics in the state stormed St. Charles High School in Osogbo and Ife Oluwa Middle Schools to enforce the implementation of the ruling.

Nigerian Tribune

From left, Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola; Director-General, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), Mr Dipo Famakinwa; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; a House of Assembly member, Honourable Abiodun Awolola and the Director-General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships, Dr Charles Akinola, during a roundtable for education development and advancement in Western Nigeria, at the Ideal Nest Hotel, Osogbo, on Monday.

reliably gathered that the Muslim clerics, who arrived the school premises around 8.00 a.m. said they were there to enforce the wearing of hijab, considering the June 3, 2016 court judgment delivered by Justice Jide Falola.

However, the principal of the St. Charles High School, Mr Anthony Famoriyo, was said to have told them that he could not accede to their request because he was yet to be directed by the Ministry of Education to that effect.

When contacted, Famoriyo said no teacher would prevent any student from wearing hijab the moment they received such directive from the state government.

But, when the Nigerian Tribune visited the school, there was calm, as some students of the school were spotted engaging in calisthenic training.

Meanwhile, the SouthWest zone of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), would be coming to Osun State tomorrow (Wednesday) to give solidarity to state chapter of the body against the use of hijab in schools.

FG clears 12 months of arrears owed pensioners Christian Okeke -Abuja THE Federal Government has cleared 12 months arrears out of the backlog of 42 months arrears of the 33 per cent pension increase owed pensioners in the country.

The gesture came as the beneficiaries urged the government to ensure that the balance of 30 months was completed early so that the could enjoy the fruits of their labour and other benefits while still alive.

National President of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Dr A.O Afolayan and the General Secretary, Mr Actor Zal, in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, in Abuja, said it was a dream come true when the Federal Civil and Para-military pensioners started receiving payment alert for the payment of 12 months arrears out of the 42 months owed them by the Federal Government.

They said the pensioners were full of joy and praises for the government for the pleasant surprise package which came at a time when ordinary Nigerians, including the pensioners, were feeding from hand to mouth.

The officers of the union described the gesture as

indeed a big relief to the pensioners and commended the efforts of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate( PTAD) and its new management under the

leadership of the new acting Director-General whose initiative resulted into the payment.

They said: “The union, through its leadership,

hereby, expresses satisfaction with the payment which came at the time Nigerian masses are going through hard times and opined that this

is, indeed, the beginning of good things that will happen to Nigeria and, indeed, Nigerians in line with the saying that after the rain comes the sunshine.”

Niger ex-gov confirms being under investigation Chris Agbambu -Abuja THE former governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has confirmed being under investigations by the administration of Governor Sani Bello.

He, however, described the probe as necessary to keep the records straight.

Speaking in Abuja, on Monday, Aliyu said the current governor of the state was doing the needful by instituting the probe, adding that it was not a witch-hunt as many believed.

He described it as a routine exercise for the purpose of balancing records properly.

The former governor also expressed sympathy for his successor, Governor Abu Sani Bello over economic realities which hasd made payment of workers’ salaries difficult.

In his words: “I can understand what my successor is passing through, especially on the issue of payment of salaries.

“When I was finding it

difficult to pay workers’ salaries at the close of my administration, not many people saw reasons why I had to take loans to augment what we got from the Federal Government.

“When my governor said he was finding it difficult to pay salaries, some people

misunderstood him. I know he was telling the honest truth.

“The allocation to Niger State has plummeted to N600 million. Niger is a state that depends largely on handouts from the centre and the only option left is to borrow pending

when the present economic challenges normalise.

“If my governor fails, it will affect me deeply.

Political party affinity is not important once it comes to working towards building a vibrant Niger State. It is, indeed, my duty to pray for him to achieve.”

Justice Niki Tobi dies at 75 CJN, Okowa mourn JUSTICE Niki Tobi passed on in the early hours of Friday at the National Hospital, Abuja.

His corpse was later moved to the morgue of Garki General Hospital.

It was also learnt that the late jurist, regarded in the nation’s legal circle as a highly brilliant judicial officer, had been ill for some time. Justice Tobi, who died almost a month to his 76th birthday, was born July 14, 1940, in Esanma in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. He retired from the Supreme Court on July 14, 2010 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme

Court.

Tobi was an academic before his career on the bench.

As an academic, he was variously the Dean, of Faculty of Law, University of Maiduguri, Borno State and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Services) of the same institution.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has condoled with the family of a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Niki Tobi.

According to a statement by the media aide to the CJN, Ahuraka Yusuf Isa:

“The deceased Justice indelibly contributed to the development of jurisprudence in Nigeria and will be greatly remembered for his assiduousness in reviewing the draft 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria under the Military administration of General Abdulsalam Abubakar.”

The CJN prayed that Almighty God would receive the soul of the late Justice and grant him eternal rest.

Also, Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed shock at the death of Justice Niki Tobi.

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Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Lagosmetro Again, one feared killed as 200 militants invade Lagos, Ogun communities

Olalekan Olabulo and Opeyemi Owoaseye

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HE tension at Imushin, Elepete, Igbo Olomu and Imuti communities in Ogun and Lagos states continued on Monday, as suspected pipeline vandals, numbering over 200, reportedly killed another one person.

War looms between the Hausa community in Imushin, Elepete and the rampaging militants as the Hausa had reportedly threatened to avenge the death of their kinsmen, who were killed over at the weekend.

This is as residents of the communities started relocating from the villages, following reported threat from the vandals that they were coming back.

There was sporadic shooting early Monday as the hoodlums marched through the communities, forcing residents to remain indoors.

Parents whose children had gone to schools hurriedly went to pick their wards, forcing many of the schools to close early while businesses were also shut down.

A resident, Silelola Fasan, who himself had relocated his family from one of the communities (Igbo Olomu), described the Monday experience as “warlike.”

Silelola added that “the Monday incident was more terrifying because they came during the day time. They came out around 8.00 a.m. and they were still patrolling these communities till after 10.00 a.m., shortly before the soldiers arrived.

“There were about 200 of them, heavily armed. They marched through Elepete and other communities, shooting seriously.”

He also said “many people have started relocating from the communities. In fact, I have relocated my wife and children from here, I just came back to observe things.”

A policeman, simply identified as Ogedengbe, was also among residents of the communities that had relocated family membersfrom Elepete as a result of the Monday crisis.

It was gathered that a detachment of soldiers drafted to the communities with three armoured personnel carriers succeeded in chasing away the millitants.

There was concern, however, by the villagers, following the disappearance of the soldiers, who reportedly only waited for less than two hours before vacating the communities.

Many residents expressed fear of a likely communal clash in the troubled communities, following reported threats by the Hausa community to confront the militants and avenge the death of their brothers.

The image maker in charge of the Lagos State police command, Dolapo Badmos, said the whole thing started when the police foiled an attempt to kidnap some residents.

“Our men received information that some suspected kidnappers have entered the community. SARS operatives were deployed to the place and they succeeded in arresting one of the suspects, who took the police to Topkatt hotel where other gang members were lodging.

“Other suspects tried to escape by firing at our policemen and the operatives responded,” she said.

The Lagos police spokesperson also said two of the gang members sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to General Hospital where they were confirmed dead, adding that another member is currently undergoing treatment.

At Itaoluwo community, the militants began shooting at about 1.00 a.m. till 3.00 a.m. on Monday.

Lagos Metro gathered that more people also moved

out of the community at the dawn of Monday.

It was learnt that the Divisional Police Officers of Ogijo, Ijede and Odogunyan visited the community to see the residents on Monday.

A source who spoke to Lagos Metro on Monday said people were moving out of the community in droves,

running for their lives.

“The militant had come back to attack just as they promised to do on Friday during their first attack.

They came back around 1.00 a.m. on Monday and began to shoot till about 3.00 a.m.

“They are pipeline vandals, they robbed, they killed, they

FOUR men were, on Monday, arraigned before an Ikeja magistrates’ court for allegedly breaking into a warehouse and stealing iron plates and rods valued at N5 million.

The men allegedly committed the crime on May 20 at Plot B, Maria Road, Alakoso

because no one can withstand the militants’ ammunition, they are powerful and fearful.

“We don’t know if they will still come back the third time. These militants don’t value human lives and we don’t know what to do concerning this whole thing,” he said.

A woman leaving one of the communities with her children after the attack on Monday morning.

UNILAG students’ death: Elegushi family shuts beach, rejects govt’s indictment •Assembly demands safety gadgets at beaches Bola Badmus and Chukwuma Okparaocha THE Elegushi royal family of Ikateland and owner of the beach facility where two post-graduate students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Funmi Odusina and Adesola Ogunmefun, drowned a few days ago, has announced the official closure of the beach till further notice.

The family said it took the decision as part of efforts to pay last respect to the late post-graduate students and towards improving the management standard at the beach.

Addressing newsmen at the Elegushi Palace in Lekki, on Sunday,the Asiwaju of Ikateland, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi, said the management of the beach deemed it fit to also

4 docked for breaking into warehouse Olufunmi Iseotan

kidnapped, they are threat to Imushin community as a whole,” he said.

The community leader of Itaoluwo community, the Olumushin of Imushin, Taiwo Adebunmi Gbamgbose, appealed to the Lagos and Ogun state governments to come to their rescue.

“We need a tight security

Avenue.

The suspects were identified as Wasiu Folaranmi, Aremu Afeez, Akinlabi Ismaila and Ege Rafiu.

The police accused the men of allegedly breaking into a warehouse after which they stole 197 pieces of iron plates and rods worth N5 million, properties of GBNT Global Limited.

The men all pleaded not guilty and the presiding magistrate, Aje Afunwa, granted them bail of N500,000 each, with the two suretees in like sum.

The case was adjourned till September 23, while the men were remanded in prison pending when they would fulfill their bail conditions.

close shops in honour of the deceased, notwithstanding the support the royal family rendered to the families of the diseased up till the time of their burial.

The royal family, while condoling with the family of the late students, however, refuted the claim that the death of the victims was caused by poor safety facilities at the beach.

According to Prince Elegushi, every necessary safety and precautionary measure, including the provision of lifeguards, flags, security, as well as ambulances, was always on ground at the beach.

He claimed that none of the students died at the beach as the lifeguards on ground quickly dived into the water to rescue them, adding that none of them died on the spot as being peddled around.

“We may not have the best practices when it comes to beach management, but I can tell you that the safety measures at the beach will be difficult to match anywhere else around,” Prince Elegushi said.

Meanwhile, moved by the tragedy at the Elegushi Beach, the state House of Assembly has called for the fixing of gadgets that will enhance safety of lives in all beaches in the state.

The lawmakers made this stance on Monday, through the assembly’s committees on waterfronts infrastructure and tourism and culture, which were both tasked to work with the necessary ministries, with a view to coming up with the necessary regulations that would help enhance safety in all beaches and hotels in the state.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By Lanre Adewole 0811 695 4647

Kara Market River still flowing underneath, Lagos warns residents Bola Badmus

Scenes of the fire incident at the Airport Hotel.

Fire guts Lagos Airport Hotel Gbemi Solaja

THERE was pandemonium at the Lagos Airport Hotel, on Monday,after a power surge led to a fire outbreak in one of the hotel rooms.

Investigations revealed that the fire affected the second floor of Harold building and the entire computer section of the banquet hall, Osun hall, while Harold kitchen was totally destroyed by the inferno.

There was, however, no loss of life.

Properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by the inferno which affected three rooms; 270,271,272.

The adjoining structures

such as Harold building and all other buildings in the compound were salvaged.

According to the Lagos State Fire Service, the agency received an alert via the emergency number of Lagos State 767/112 of fire outbreak at Airport Hotel Awolowo road, lkeja, at about 5.14 a.m.

In a statement by LASEMA, the emergency call prompted the quick response of the Emergency Response Team of LASEMA and other stakeholders, which included the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service and Nigeria Police to the scene of the incident.

Investigation carried out by the ERT at the scene could not assertain the real cause of the inferno, but a source confirmed suspected power surge from a section of the Banquet Hall of the hotel.

However, the Lagos State Fire Service from Alausa station and Ikeja were able to combat the fire from spreading to adjoining structures within the hotel complex.

LASEMA General Manager, Mr Michael Akindele, said proper investigation would be carried out by appropriate agencies to assertain the real cause oof the fire outbreak.

LAGOS State government, on Monday, warned residents to keep off the Ogun River, near the Kara cattle market, which was recently blocked by vegetation, saying the river could open up at any time with dire consequences.

Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Mr Adebowale Akinsanya, gave the warning in a release made available to newsmen, recalling that last weekend, the river was taken over by vegetation, caused by a heavy storm, which created a compacted layer over it.

According to him, residents in the area were stunned by the incident and turned the area to a tourist site of some sort, with some residents seen walking on the blocked river and taking pictures.

But Akinsanya said it was dangerous for residents to besiege the dry area, as the flow of the river was still active beneath.

“It is important to notify the public that have been worried about the environmental consequence of a dried up river to note that the flow of the river is still active beneath the vegetation and the situation is being evaluated.

“However, because of the compacted nature of the vegetation, residents and onlookers are of the erroneous belief that the river has suddenly dried up and can walk across the vegetation.

“A lot of people that have turned the place to a tour-

Fake policeman with DIG’s letterhead, pistol remanded Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin

A 29-year-old unemployed man, Sammar Abdurasak, has been remanded in Kirikiri prison by an Ikeja magistrates’ court, after he pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer.

The prosecutor, Donjor Perezi, told the court that a police patrol team caught

4 UNILAG students arraigned over Vikings membership Olufunmi Iseotan

Shanties where people live. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

FOUR students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) were, on Monday, arrested and charged to court for belonging to a cult group.

According to the police, the students allegedly formed and managed the group on campus.

The suspects were identified as Afaku Daniel, 22; Ekube Okereke, 20; Chinonzo Duru, 23 and Ogechukwu Ebere, 22.

They allegedly formed a cult group named Vikings

ist destination are unaware of the danger lying ahead.

It’s important for the public to be aware that the vegetation can give way at any time and can lead to a potential disastrous situation,” he said.

He also advised residents to go about their lawful business and as well desist from the habit of parking on the bridge to take pictures, which, according to him, was causing traffic, hardship and loss of business time to other commuters on the road.

Confraternity.

The students, however, pleaded not quilty when they were arraigned before an Ikeja magistrates’ court.

Their counsel, Yinka Oyekunle, pleaded with the court to grant them bail in most liberal terms.

After listening to their plea, the presiding magistrate, Aje Afunwa, granted them N200,000 bail with two sureties in like sum, who must either be a parent or guardian.

The case was adjourned till September 23.

Abdulrazak when they responded to a distress call.

He added that when they got to the scene, they found the accused wearing a police uniform and beating up a man.

“They were taken to the police station and it was discovered that the accused is a fake police officer.

“The police found in his possession a Deputy Inspector General of Police letterhead, a stamped identification card, a cadet form and a pistol,” he said.

The chief magistrate, Mrs O. A. Layinka, remanded Abdurasak in Kirikiri Prisons after he pleaded guilty to the two-count charge and adjourned the case till July 21.

The accused, who resides in Alabukun area of Festac Town, is facing a two-count charge of impersonation and unlawful possession of arms.

The offences contravenes Sections 78 (a), (b) and 328 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

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news

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

N500bn intervention fund: Senate queries CBN, others over diversion

•As aviation minister exonerates ministry, agencies Ayodele Adesanmi-Abuja

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HE Senate, on Monday, queried the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) and other beneficiaries of the N120billion released to the Aviation sector out of N500billion intervention fund given to it by the Federal Government in 2011.

Other beneficiaries of the N500billion fund included Ministry of Power and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The Senate, during a probe exercise on the intervention by its Joint Committee on Aviation and Anti- Corruption, frowned on the way the N120billion allocated to the Aviation sector as bailout, out of the N500billion intervention fund, was mismanaged through diversion.

However, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, informed the committee that his ministry and agencies under it, based on available records, were not aware of the fund.

Representative of the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele; a Director, Mudashiru Olaitan, explained how the money was used

in view of financial-related problems still bedeviling the sector.

Olaitan, in his submission, stated that out of the N120billion intervention fund injected into the sector, only N39.5 billion had been recovered while the remaining N81.2billion was yet to be recovered from the beneficiaries.

Presently, out of the 10 airlines that benefitted from the fund, according to Olaitan, some were either moribund or outrightly folded up.

Specifically, he mentioned Air Nigeria and Chanchangi Airlines as the already folded up ones. while Arik, Dana, Aero, Kabo, Overland, First Nation, Odengene were the ones still in operation on the strength of the fund.

He disclosed that responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the fund by the beneficiaries was given to Bank of Industry (BoI), being the facilitator of the loans to them.

However, Mr John Nnorom, who served as the Finance Director of the defunct AirNigeria, said diversion of the fund to other ventures led to the collapse

of the airline.

According to him, “the N34.5 billion drawn from the fund by the airline was diverted to other personal business by the owner of the airline, Jimoh Ibrahim.

“The very moment the N34.5 billion intervention fund was paid into the airline's account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), it disappeared into one of the private accounts of the owner without any amount from the fund injected into the airline, paving the way for its eventual collapse,” he said.

The committees further said enquiries into the alleged diversion was frustrated with the absence of BoI Managing Director and other relevant stakeholders.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly Awowale Oluwakemi now AJAYI KEMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Arogunjo Kehinde Ololapo now AROGUNJO KEHINDE ONAOLAPO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

10

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

news

No plan to streamline workforce —FG Clement Idoko - Abuja

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HE Federal Government has said that it has no plan to streamline the workforce but to improve their welfare, especially in the areas of housing, health and pension matters.

Government has also revealed that efforts were ongoing to ensure the digitalisation of records in the Federal Public Service to improve efficiency.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Ekanem OyoIta, made this known on Monday, in Abuja, during an interactive session with participants of class 22 of the Policy, Strategy and Leadership Course of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos. She disclosed that her office had recently embarked on the verification exercise of directorate level officers in all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.

The exercise, she said, was designed to produce accurate bio-data of this level of officers for informed leadership and succession plan in the Federal Public Service, a statement by the Assistant Director, Media Relations, HOS Office, Mr Mohammed Manga, said.

The Head of Service advised participants of the course to develop policies that would move the country forward and to bring

their intellectual ability into a positive process that would bring increased value to Nigerians.

She stressed further on the need for value and cultural re-orientation among civil servants in the country, which she said was critical to ensuring professionalism, self-esteem, loyalty and dedication in the service.

Mrs Oyo-Ita added that government was exploring

the possibility of having in place a Performance Management System (PMS) that will be used to encourage diligent personnel and sanctioning erring ones.

Earlier, Mr Asipita Umar who led the participants on the visit said they were in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to be educated on its operations as it relates to human capital development.

ASUU, NASU shut down Nasarawa varsity over unpaid salaries Godwin Agwam - Lagos

LESS than two weeks after resumption, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), Nasarawa State University, Keffi, have again embarked on an indefinite strike over unpaid salaries and allowances.

While ASUU is asking for the payment of outstanding four months salaries by the state government, the NASU comprising National Association of Academic Technologies, NonAcademic Staff Union of Tertiary Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, is insisting that unless members’ allowances from 2009 to April 2016 are paid, they would not resume work.

Addressing newsmen in Keffi Local Government Area of the state, on Mon-

day, the ASUU chairman, Dr Theopholus Lagi, said that the union was shocked that some people in the university were selectively paid by the management, after agreeing with the state government that no staff of the university would be victimised after the suspension of the strike.

Dr Lagi said: “The annoying part of the matter was that few selected lecturers, none academic staff and management staff were paid two months salaries without any explanation to the development.”

He explained that, “when the union contacted the management on why some people were paid, the management told us that it was a directive from above and so, they cannot explain why it was so.”

The ASUU chairman insisted that until salaries of all staff are paid as agreed, they would not go back to the classroom.

5 soldiers involved in opening up of Bitta-Gambori road injured in Borno •Air Force jet kills 15 Boko Haram terrorists •Army re-opens Madagali-Gwoza Road Chris Agbambu - Abuja

FIVE soldiers involved in clearance patrol which took place from Bitta up to Junction Point at Gambori Village, Borno State, were on Sunday injured after troops ran into Boko Haram ambush.

Troops of 114 Task Force Battalion of 28 Task Force Brigade in conjunction with members of vigilante group, carried out patrols to keep the road open and secure.

During the operation, the troops encountered Boko Haram terrorists at Bulajani village and successfully cleared and pursued the fleeing terrorists in the area.

A statement from the army, which confirmed the incident, noted that Buffalo vehicle used by the soldiers was damaged.

The statement hinted that the wounded soldiers were

evacuated to 23 Brigade medical facility in Yola for further treatment.

It noted that the troops killed four Boko Haram terrorists, while an unconfirmed number escaped with gun shot wounds.

The patrol, according to the statement, recovered six bicycles and food storage facility laden with foodstuffs.

It said they also discovered and safely detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Madube village.

In a related development, troops of 22 Brigade Garrison accompanied by Civilian JTF also carried out patrol at Albanya village and its environs along DikwaMarte axis.

The troops encountered Boko Haram terrorists at Sinabaya village which is left of Marte-Kaje road in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State. During

the encounter, they killed three and apprehended 11 Boko Haram terrorists.

Similarly, another patrol team from the same unit in conjunction with some elements of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps picketed Dikwa-Mafa-Maiduguri road in order to keep it open and safe against Boko Haram activities.

Also, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) King Air A350i Beechcraft aircraft on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission, on Sunday, killed 15 Boko Haram members in Borno.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army announced on Sunday that it had re-opened the Madagali-Gwoza road linking Borno and Adamawa, closed several months ago due to the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.

Nigerian Tribune

businessnews Naira closes at N285 to dollar on 1st floating day 11

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

•As CBN intervenes with $616.50m , clears $4bn fx backlog •New policy will attract portfolio investors —Economist Continues from front page

The naira had traded just twice by midday, before the central bank held its special auction to clear a backlog of hard currency orders. Less than $1 million had changed hands, prompting an extension of the trading day to 5p.m.

This is even as the parallel market (black market) currency dealers were quoting the Naira at N325 to N345 to the dollar, up to 10 percent stronger than on Friday, on expectations that more hard currency liquidity on the interbank market would reduce demand on the street.

Reuters quoted Citi Bank analysts as having said in a note, “We suspect that the best way to talk about the new exchange rate regime is still as a managed float, but a managed float that is responsive to market forces.

The new structure does provide a platform for the CBN to easily step further away from the market.”

Similarly, Non-deliverable forwards - contracts used to bet on future exchange rate moves - priced the Naira at N302 per dollar in one month’s time.

Ayo Teriba, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Economic Associates was quoted as having said that “This is good news for the majority of Nigerians. The biggest gain is on the appreciation of the parallel market because the parallel market devaluation has destroyed domestic activities, with prices of local goods skyrocketing.

Imported goods also have doubled and tripled in price.”

According to Bloomberg, at about 11:02am on Monday, the Naira had moved to N264 to the dollar, with dealers expressing extreme caution in proceeding with transactions.

A few minutes later, the Naira was up to N260, which was the initial predicted position the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-FMDQ OTC guideline was planned to work with.

Earlier, the CBN said primary dealers of forex (banks) would be expected to make deals at N260 to the dollar with a band from N260 to N270, while the bank expressed optimism that the currency would finally settle at 250 to the dollar.

As at 2pm, the Naira at interbank market, traded at N260.50 to a dollar, while the daily average held at N247.

Meanwhile, CBN has announced plans to clear all

existing backlog of Foreign Exchange demand estimated at $4 billion.

The Acting Director of Communications, CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, who made this known to newsmen, on Monday, added that the move was to ensure the survival of the inter-bank forex trading under the new forex guidelines, which took effect from Monday, June 20.

Okorafor said all existing legitimate forex demand for imports, school fees and medicals, among others, had been cleared.

He said: “In order to engender confidence, ensure credible price formation and sustain the integrity of the Nigerian inter-bank forex market, the CBN has resolved to clear all the back log of forex demand in the country. This will be done through spot and forward settlements.”

The Nigerian naira

plunged to 280 against the dollar at the interbank market on Monday evening as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold foreign exchange to 21 bidding banks to clear the forex backlog and solve liquidity problems.

The parallel market rate dropped to between 315 and 330 to the dollar on Monday.

“This is good news for the majority of Nigerians,” Ayo Teriba, CEO of Economic Associates consultancy, said of the devaluation, adding that “The biggest gain is on the appreciation of the parallel market because the parallel market devaluation has destroyed domestic activities, with prices of local goods skyrocketing.”

Experts said the new currency policy should halt speculation by some of the favored few who had access to “cheap” dollars.

“We are optimistic that

the days where the majority of Nigerians suffer for the benefit of a few as a result of monetary policy are nearing their end,” said SBM Intelligence.

Meanwhile, an economist, Dr Aminu Usman says the new Foreign Exchange (FX) policy recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will encourage portfolio investors to return to the economy.

Usman, a lecturer at the Department of Economics, Kaduna State University, Kaduna said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

He said that the return of portfolio investors might invariably increase the supply of FX to the market and enhance liquidity.

Usman said that the FX policy was a welcome development even if only to close

the gap between the two markets which fuel corruption and other abuses.

He said there would be improved liquidity which may cause the rates to rise in favour of the naira.

The don, however, said that the Federal Government had technically devalued the Naira with the introduction of the policy, which he said the government had resisted all along.

“The rates adjustment may not cause the kind of inflationary pressure expected to happen, simply because market had already adjusted.

“The common man on the street is already aware that dollar rate has gone up and prices of commodities have gone up.

“This announcement will not change that view significantly. However, as the implementation begin, we will see the market focus and

From left, CEO, Marketing Edge, Mr John Ajayi; Executive Director, Sona Group of Industries, Mr Arjan Mirchandani, receiving the Entreprenuer of the Year award from the Chairman, McCann Group of Companies, Mr Steve Omojafor, at the marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards in Lagos on Friday.

Stock market sheds N164bn on first day of new forex regime Kehinde AkinseindeJayeoba -Lagos THE equities market on Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed a negative trend on Monday as against the uplift recorded last week attributed to the release of flexible foreign exchange guidelines.

The major indicator of the market trend, All Share Index depreciated by 1.63 per cent to close at 28,769.90 basis points, compared with the 2.66 per cent appreciation recorded previously, as it’s Year-to-Date (YTD) returns stand at +0.45 per cent.

Speculative trading by investors closed the market red as market capitalisation shed N164 billion, leaving the N10 trillion mark at N9.9 trillion.

Nestle Nigeria Plc led the advanced list, measured by value, as it’s share value leaped by 37.85 per cent as it added N37.85 to close at N794.88 kobo per share. Total Nigeria Plc also improved it’s share vvale to N177 as against N173.01 kobo per share it traded.

Forte Oil Plc also added two naira to its equities as it closed at N198 per share, while Glaxo Smithkline Nige-

ria Plc appreciated it’s share price to N15 by adding 56 kobo per share.

Conversely, Nigerian Breweries Plc took the lead on the southward bench as it lost N7.44 kobo from N148.86 per share it traded. Guinness Nigeria Plc also shed N4.1 kobo from its share value to close at N99.9 per share.

Also, Dangote Cement Plc share value depreciated to N179.99 per share having lost N3.82 kobo. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated lost 85 kobo from N17 to close at N16.15 kobo.

Market turnover also closed negative as volume

declined by 33.72 per cent against 1.68 per cent uptick recorded in the previous session.

However, United Bank for Africa Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc were the most active to boost market turnover, while United Bank for Africa and First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc top market value list having traded shares worth N286.9 million and N382.7 million respectively.

At the end market session, investors traded 417 million shares worth N2.3 billion in 4,684 trades.

project likely scenarios going forward,’’ Usman said.

DMO to develop new debt products Sanya Adejokun-Abuja THE Debt Management Office (DMO) is to develop other debt products within the next four years.

Director General of DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, who said this while speaking with reporters in his office on Monday said the new products and more sources of financing and instruments such as inflation-linked bond and domestic sukuk.

For the international capital market, the new instruments will include diaspora bond, Nwankwo clarified but added that everything will be subject to market conditions.

“In addition, the DMO plans to introduce new products with a view to further diversifying the investorbase financial inclusion and national savings culture for increased gross capital formation, create more benchmarks and deepen the domestic and external markets for government securities.

Nwankwo said his agency has adopted a mixture of external and domestic borrowing as a means of funding government’s projects in the next four years as captured in the new Nigeria’s Debt Management Strategy (2016-2019) unveiled yesterday in Abuja.

The new debt strategy was endorsed last week at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and it replaced the previous debt strategy plan (2012-2015) which expired last December.

“The main guideline and targets of the new debt management strategy includes, debt composition targeting an optimal debt of 60:40 for domestic and external debt, respectively, as against the 84:16 as at end 2015, by progressively increasing the percentage share of external financing taking in to account the need to moderate foreign exchange risk in the short to medium term,” he said.

Nwankwo said going by the economy diversification agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration with strong preference for developing agriculture, mining and other non- oil sector for export, huge funds would be required to be invested in key infrastructures such roads, power and in other areas.

12

businessnews

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Anti-Adeosun protest rocks finance ministry •Protest baseless —Ministry over N1.2bn allowance Sanya Adejokun-Abuja

S

TAFF of the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) including Office of Accountant General of the Federation and Ministry of Budget and National Planning on Monday protested against alleged high handedness and insensitivity of their minister, Kemi Adeosun.

But a press release by Director of Press for FMF, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, dismissed the protest as lacking any justifiable ground.

The staff who locked themselves inside the ministry, disallowing further movement in and out of the ministry said they locked the gates so that policemen and miscreants would not gain entry into the premises.

Although none of them was ready to speak officially as union leaders spotted wearing t-shirts with logos insisted they did not have authorisation to speak with the press, they carried placards bearing various inscriptions and continued to sing solidarity songs even as rain fell heavily.

Some of the placards read “Enough of intimidation and harassment of staff,” Kemi Adeosun’s exit as Minister of Finance will end intimidation of staff with police.”

Some staff who agreed to speak anonymously said since her arrival, the Minister has refused to approve the annual allowances like overtime and bonus that they had collected for over 20 years since the time of late General Sani Abacha.

“The real problem is the way she speaks with union leaders,” one staff said, alleging that Adeosun claims

that she was a Minister of the Federal Republic and not just that of finance. And when the union tried to pressure her, the minister was alleged to have reported to verbal insults and curses.

According to Dambatta, “The payment of what the protesting staff called a Special Overtime (SOT), was

stopped by the last administration in 2014 on the ground that it was not listed in any extant government Circular, Financial Regulations or the Public Service Rules.

“The sum of N1.2 billion computed by the staff union for payment could not have been budgeted for in 2016 in the first place,

not only because of the paucity of funds, but also the fact that the SOT allowance was not part of the remuneration in the Federal Public Service.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Ministry of

From left, Yvonne Isichei, ED, Operations & Technology, Keystone Bank; Philip Ikeazor, MD, Keystone Bank; Doyin Odunfa, MD, Digital Jewel; Hafiz Bakare, ED, Corporate Bank and Treasury, Keystone Bank; Innocent Ike, ED, Lagos & West, Keystone Bank, at the presentation dinner of certification in Business Continuity Management-ISO 22301 in Lagos.

CTIN fund has grown to N13.2bn —BoI THE Bank of Industry (BoI), on Monday, said that the explained that funds belonging to the Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) deposited with it had grown from N9billion to N13.2bn.

The bank, which was reacting to investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the allegation of the

misapplication of the funds, said the issue had since been resolved.

The bank in a statement said parties to the transaction had addressed the concerns raised with the new terms reached on how to manage the funds.

According to the statement, BoI was appointed as the Fund Manager by the Fed-

eral Government in 2009 to manage funds contributed by cement manufacturers for the development of human capacity to drive growth in the Nigerian cement industry.

The statement added, “While the CTIN was yet to be established, the funds were released to stakeholders in the cement value-chain

Mass sack: NUBIFIE vows to continue clampdown on erring banks Chukwuma Okparaocha -Lagos THE National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), has vowed to continue to clampdown on banks that still adamantly engage in mass sacking of their employees.

According to the union, the clampdown will include picketing of erring banks, stressing that no erring bank irrespective of how highly placed it is in the nation’s banking sector, will be spared.

The General Secretary, Comrade Mohammed Sheikh made the disclosure recently after the

Budget and National Planning, do not individually or collectively, owe any of their personnel their salaries.”

The statement then declared that “In view of the foregone, the management of the Federal Ministry of Finance wishes to categorically state that the protests have no justifiable grounds.”

union succeeded in picketing branches of ECO Bank and Heritage Bank, saying the exercise was, “just a warning shot to all noncompliant banks.”

Sheikh stated that all banks that violated extant labour laws, workers’ fundamental human rights, and failed to conform to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s directive as contained in its 2014 circular and also ignored the Minister of Labour and Productivity’s directives, was within the union’s picket radar.

But according to him, Heritage Bank was among the picketed bank not for downsising, but for violat-

ing fundamental human rights.

“Heritage is a young bank aided by the financial muscle of acquiring the now moribund Enterprise Bank, whose staffs were fully unionised prior the acquisition. Our worry is the bulk passing between the management and the service providers, a development that informed the picketing,” he said.

“ECO Bank was, however, our first port of call because they had recognition for due process, made evident by their initial invitation of NUBIFIE for dialogue where we counselled that they complied with the industry’s rules. But

while half way on the resolution course they effected the mass sack plot,” Sheik added.

He added, that no notice would be given to any bank next on the list of the banks that would be picketed, noting that government’s stance on the issue must be taken cognisance of, since Nigeria as a nation, was signatory to the International Labour Union (ILO) convention.

“Any bank that has carried out unilateral retrenchment without following the directive and advice of the Federal Government should be ready to receive us in their various offices without any prior notice,” Sheik said.

for on-lending, specifically for investment in risk assets in cement manufacturing value-chain sector.

Between 2011 and 2015, the Federal Government transferred N9.6 billion to BoI based on earlier approved agreement.

“With the establishment of CITN, a request was made to the BoI for the release of the funds for which the bank defaulted but had since remedied the situation by applying eight per cent interest on the funds, thus accruing to N12.3 billion as at February 2016. The management of the bank had since met and agreed with the Chairman of the Board of CTIN and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on further utilization of the fund, based on agreement by the two institutions.

“Going forward, the parties have agreed to an interest rate of nine per cent on the fund as well as subsequent investment of the accrued N13.2 billion in the money market. The fund was not misapplied as stated in the petition to the EFCC. The EFCC is dealing with an issue that has already been addressed.”

Nigerian Tribune

NDPHC employees pledge support for mgt EMPLOYEES of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) are set to resist Management changes in the Organization, the workforce in the organization has pledged their loyalty and support to the acting Managing Director.

The workers at a Town Hall meeting held to welcome the Ag. Managing Director Mr.Chiedu Ugbo pledged their total support for the effective delivery of NIPP projects thereby boosting power supply stability in the country.

The workers also believed that NIPP has played a vital role in the power infrastructure development across the country and assured the new Managing Director that they are ready to raise the bar so that all on-going NIPP projects will be delivered within the schedule and look forward to kick start the phase II projects of the company.

Acting Executive Directors and Senior Managers who spoke on behalf of the workers told the new Managing Director that NDPHC relates like a family and urged him to sustain the family ties in the company.

‘We are like family, these young men and women are ready to work with you and support you’ In his introductory address, Mr Ugbo requested staff to cooperate with him to sustain and increase the momentum of project delivery for the benefit of all Nigerians. ‘I know that it may be difficult to adjust to this change considering the fact that everybody is used to previous management but we have work to do and need everyone’s cooperation to deliver projects to Nigerians’ Ugbo stated.

Statement issued by the General Manager, Communication and public Relations, Mr Yakubu Lawal, states that, at no time did the workers protest or resist government plan to appoint outsiders as replacement for the sacked management of the company.

Lawal noted that the article carried by the Sun Newspaper is totally false and was just a reflection of the reporter’s imagination.

13

editorial

R

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Education Minister’s suggestion on post-UTME

ECENTLY, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, suggested that the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the universities in the country for candidates seeking admission be scrapped following the rolling out of the computer-based test (CBT) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Speaking at the National Universities Commission premises in Abuja while declaring open the 2016 combined policy meeting on admissions to universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions in Nigeria, Adamu said: “Our universities shouldn’t be conducting another examination; if they have any complaint against JAMB, they should come to the Ministry of Education and we will look into it. If JAMB is qualified to conduct the computerbased test and they are conducting the test, then there should be no need for students to sit another examination to get admission. As far as I am concerned JAMB has built a level of confidence in terms of conducting the UTME. A situation where universities go and conduct other examinations is unnecessary.”

Indeed, in the past few years, admission to the universities has virtually become a tussle for survival because the number of applicants outstrips the available spaces by a wide margin.

JAMB, the statutory agency saddled with the responsibility of admitting students into the country’s universities, had previously ensured that this was done through a single examination, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). However, assailed by malpractices, the UTME failed the integrity and fidelity tests and the universities had to devise another local entrance examination to confirm the UTME scores of candidates. Subsequently, though, JAMB upped its ante two years ago in the direction of delivering an inviolable result that would reflect the performance and abilities of the candidates through its computer-based test (CBT). However, in the interval during which the universities organised their local examinations dubbed post-JAMB or post-UTME, it became a veritable source of internally generated revenue for these universities, which is why stopping the examinations now may be akin to unplugging a life support machine from a patient in the intensive care unit of a hospital.

In our past comments on the issue of post-UTME examinations, we had complained about how the post-JAMB arrangement had unduly increased the cost of admission.

While the UTME is backed by the country’s statutes, the postUTME or post-JAMB examinations remain mere contrivances

by the universities to sift through the volume of admissions and separate the grain from the chaff.

Thus, after the examining body introduced the CBT, we observed that its perfection could eventually lead to the abrogation of the post-UTME tests conducted by the universities. In any case, elsewhere, the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Level results suffice to determine candidates’ eligibility for admissions into tertiary institutions at no risk to the quality of their manpower. It is certainly confusing to even contemplate the numerous obstacles being placed in the way of Nigerians who desire tertiary education with the numerous examinations that are replicas of one another.

While the universities that have been making a fortune from the post-UTME may not be inclined to stop it forthwith, it is imperative for them to realise that it is not an examination backed by law. We are persuaded that the universities can begin their admissions on the recommendations of JAMB on cut-off points, and thereafter determine what their cutoff points should be, without going further to raise the cost of admissions unduly by charging extra fees to organise another examination for the candidates.

Before the establishment of JAMB, each university conducted its own entrance examination and selected its students after a competitive examination or through a direct entry based on the GCE A-Level or the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

However, since JAMB was created to unify the standards of admission, candidates’ quest for admission has become restricted to one application for each candidate and the pressure to secure admission pushed the desire to the level of desperation. Meanwhile, there is no logical connection between the quality of intellect and the number of admissions tests written, as even a number of students admitted through the post-UTME still experience difficulties in the universities right from 100 level.

Apart from the revenues that accrue to the tertiary institutions from the post-UTME, we find it difficult to justify its retention if the integrity of the CBT is upheld. The onus is then on JAMB to address the lapses in the CBT examination decisively. We endorse the suggestion of the Education Minister on scrapping the post-UTME, a superfluous but convenient arrangement by tertiary institutions to cash in on the anxieties and desperation of applicants. Ultimately, though, the nation needs a sanitised education system where examination duplication would be entirely unnecessary.

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14 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

editor

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

Forex crisis and Nigerian students abroad

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INCE the late 1980s, the educational sector in Nigeria has suffered setbacks in a number of areas. Implementation of policies is a major issue in a country where most Nigerians prefer university education. Universities are constantly being inundated with admission requests they cannot meet. The number of candidates who apply annually exceeds by far the spaces available.

For instance, over 1.5 million candidates apply annually for admission into universities nationwide,

but only about 500,000 are admitted. Some of these unsuccessful applicants become frustrated and sometimes, resort to crimes, while those whose parents are well-to-do send them abroad to study.

With over hundred recognised federal, state and private universities across the country, millions of Nigerian youths who are desirous of university education find it difficult to access higher education.

The issue has been attributed to the low carrying capacity of the universities.

About 96per cent of the

Of ABU Zaria and cattle ranching MY last visit to Zaria, Kaduna State a couple of weeks back, just about clicked something inside me; because of my profession, my place of call was, naturally, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). A quarter of a century has passed since I stepped foot at ABU, and now, I just could not help it but be impressed by the strong association of ABU Zaria with agro-intellectualism, crop production through veterinary science. Really, ABU Zaria should be the locus of agricultural research and activities of Northern Nigeria.

This sense of organisation of ABU Zaria sharply contrasts the sense of desolation of the surrounding ambience of Zaria town, specifically, in my mind, the emptiness of the linear stretch, that is, the Jaji-Zaria plain; the pervading aura of loneliness and economic inactivity ought not be because the products of agro-spinoffs from the researches at ABU should have ensured that the plains surrounding Zaria town should not be remembered for their geological outcrop showings only.

As an Idoma man whose hometown is not particularly distant from Agatuland, I should be disconcerted that roving bands of Fulani herdsmen prefer Agatuland that is far removed from ABU, and

thus far removed from plant scientists, far removed from animal nutritionists, and far removed from veterinary doctors. I am also at a loss to explain why these herdsmen prefer to displace the locals at Nimbo and Ohafia.

At Agatu, Nimbo, and Ohafia, the quality of beef raised by cattle constantly on the move is third-rate and the prospect for establishing a viable diary industry associated with these cattle is zero.

If these cattle were contained in ranches in the environs of Zaria (and other towns in the North with vast open landmasses not far from Zaria), a multi-billion naira industry would ensue because hardly any Nigerian identifies as vegetarian; the diary sub-industry spinoff is exactly what is needed to implement the free feeding programme that some state governments have conceived for elementary-grade schools and not some cooked rice and stew in take-away packs. A cup of milk and a couple slices of loaf would do wonders for school children. Overall, the economy of Northern Nigeria would spike because, much more than petroleum, meat and dairy products are needed for our very existence.

•Sunday Adole Jonah, Federal University of Technology, Minna.

candidates who sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) chose universities as their preferred institutions; 1.69per cent chose colleges of education, while 1.9per cent settle for polytechnics as their preferred institutions. The situation has given rise to the decision by wealthy Nigerian parents to send their children abroad to study.

Today, thousands of Nigerian students are in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana, among other countries.

However, the ongoing forex crisis at home is bringing about a new reality whereby parents now find it difficult to send money to their wards.

Of great concern is that most of these students cannot work legally in their host countries, since they only hold student visas, and thus, they are forced to do menial jobs for survival.

It is also being reported

that some parents have started bringing their children home due to the economic situation in the country since they can no longer continue to sponsor their education abroad.

While not blaming parents who send their children abroad to study, I want the government to do

everything possible to standardise education in the country. The government is really trying by establishing more universities, but our population is so huge, and every year, candidates surpass the spaces available. What the government should do is just to ensure that online education is

strengthened.

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and other universities operating distant learning centres should be technologically developed to admit more Nigerian students.

•Fidelis Okon, Port Harcourt,

Still on mobile operators’ unsolicited short messages WHEN the Honorable Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, was sworn into office, he promised to put a stop to the unsolicited calls and text messages to subscribers’ phone lines by telecoms operators.

The minister has kept to his promise as the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has given a June 30 deadline for the operators to stop sending unsolicited text messages to their customers.

Before now, telecoms

subscribers have, over the years, received unsolicited text messages and calls, which can be very annoying.

The calls by subscribers to their operators to stop such unsolicited calls and text messages were ignored for too long before Barrister Shittu came on board.

Recently, the chief executive officers of the telecom operators were hosted in Abuja by the minister, who issued a note of warning to them that such illegality must stop.

In the same vein, the minister also warned the

operators to ensure that unused internet data from a previous month is moved to the next subscription.

This is a good development and it indicates that we have a minister who has the interest of subscribers at heart.

I, however, want implore the minister to ensure necessary measures are put in place so that these operators comply with the new policy.

•Babalola Abodunrin Ibadan, Oyo State.

15

opinion

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

God will not come down

I

with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08052663362

Though we may not be committing any fatal errors by pointing our so called ‘holy’ and unsullied fingers at the pot bellied politicians who no longer have necks because they have been vacuumed in by several layers of unhealthy fat gained from illicit grubbing on the sumptuous national cake like ravenous maggots not to mention the indiscriminate sucking of the udder of the ‘oryel’ cow but do we point the same ‘holy’ fingers at the PHCN staff that brings a crazy bill to extort money from a struggling single mother while threatening to disconnect her electricity? No, we simply say ‘God will help us’ How about the secondary school teacher that prepares work books not included in school curriculum and makes it compulsory for students to purchase them or risk mass failure?

Do we call the police when the house next door is being invaded by robbers while we watch from across the street? No, that is actually a lot more complicated because even if we summon up the courage to call, what number is there to dial? A lecturer fails students massively because a hand out was not purchased. Who would protest the injustice? An expectant mother or her child or even both

are brutally murdered at the hands of health care providers due to the lackadaisical attitude with which human lives are handled nationwide and what do we say? The little girl next door is raped and physically abused by her guardian, but what do we say?

The government worker reports to work devastatingly late, drops some bags and heads out to nowhere, people complain endlessly in the lobbies waiting to be attended to. They curse under their breaths, hiss, toss and turn in their seats but when the demi-god shows up, who says anything? Everyone scrambles to appeal to the worker just to accomplish their mission and get out. An unqualified person with an empty head is employed for a high powered job and earns six figures while the genius gets to do the menial chores and takes home peanuts because the dullard knows people on the board. Promotion skips the hard worker but the layabout gets it twice in short succession and what do we say?

Injustice reigns supreme in the four cardinals. Nepotism strolls defiantly on the streets sans any scintilla of caution. In the end, we sum up all of these degenerative acts as ‘man knows man’ or better still, we call them networking.

Fellow Nigerians, God will not come down and help us. Our freedom is interred, dormant in our own hands, but we must activate it. Rosa Parks didn’t become “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement by waiting for God to help her. She sat on that bus! We cannot fight this individually; justice will only come by juxtaposition. I am certain that it would be infinite wisdom to take a cue from these words of Martin Niemöller, “First they came for the Socialists, I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me,” or be doomed!

T is becoming unarguably irksome and disgusting the way we sit, fold our arms and exclaim ‘God will help us’ over the innumerable ills and adversities that have taken the nation hostage. For decades, submerged in incredible religiosity, we have continued to, like mantra, chant those words, failing to see this harsh reality – they have been reduced to a cliché that lacks the potency to change our pathetic situation!

Harrowingly however, we have become too complacent and content with mediocrity; we never strive to pull the scales off our eyes so that we can awaken to the consciousness that this nation’s ship has, for over a long period, hit an iceberg.

With the breaking of every dawn, water of minus degree temperature is unequivocally submerging the lower deck and keeps spilling uncontrollably to the middle class areas, but who cares? So long the first class deck is not overrun, all is well but how long will the water hold?

The lives of the occupants of the third class deck are seemingly inconsequential and they can drown for what it’s worth, isn’t it? In their craftiness and in a bid to protect their own lives and property, occupants in the first class deck instruct the sailors in the control rooms to seal off the lower areas of the ship, dooming the third class dwellers to a horrifying stone cold death and we chant, ‘God will help us!’ No one raises an eyebrow, no one asks any questions, we simply say, ‘there is God o,’ the 21st century remix of the ancient ‘God will help us’ coined by one of the nation’s incredibly hilarious former first lady whose theatricalities posterity will yet guffaw over.

The word corruption is spoken and we all disdainfully cast our glances at the huge old rock which provides shelter for the nation’s number one citizens and occupants of its highest pedestal. While we may be right to look in that direction with intense abhorrence, we must remind ourselves of the legend of the sanctimonious pirate that went to sea with a tablet on which Moses’ ten commandments were engraved only after he had unscrupulously stricken out ‘thou shalt not steal’. Perhaps, we are doling out selective judgments!

veracity

Niger Delta Avengers: Avenge me not

By Joe Onwukeme WANTON destruction of lives and properties is now a viable venture in Nigeria. Not only is it viable, it is now a prerequisite to national attention and fame.

Never in the history of Nigeria had we poured so much blood, apart from the civil war, than in our present democracy. Even the military, with its brutality and high handedness, never governed nor presided over mass of corpses and destruction of our economic assets the way it has turned out to be in our democracy.

Recently, I saw a picture trending on Facebook; it was a contrasting picture of the Northern and Niger-Delta regions. The former was a Northerner posing on lush grassland and the latter, a young boy from Niger Delta, standing on a depredated area ravaged with oil spills. The pictures were self explanatory.

The renewed insurgency in the Niger Delta, under the aegis of Niger Delta Avengers, has not only worsened Nigeria’s economic woes, but has continued to worsen the environmental degradation of the area.

Our pipe lines are becoming ‘endangered species’ and like thunder promising storm, the Niger Delta Avengers has been erupting its volcanoes, leaving trail of destruction of our oil facilities in every of their passage with the sole aim of crippling Nigeria’s major source of revenue, unless their demands are met. However, looking at their demands, one is forced to ask what exactly the intentions of these avengers are? What do they intend to gain by these extreme environmental damage on their region, considering the deleterious effects of such environmental pollution on humans, plants and animals?

Out of their 10 point demand to President Muhammadu Buhari, the only one that is non-debatable is “Ogoniland and, indeed, all oil-polluted areas in the Niger Delta must

be cleaned up and compensation paid to all oil-producing communities.”

There’s no doubt the area had long suffered extreme

The worst may not have been seen of these implacable enemies of the state considering their modus operandi.

environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping, pipeline vandalism, oil bunkering and other economic sabotage, but the latest launching/implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland, but the clean-up of oil spills in the area as recommended by UNEP in 2012, in fulfillment of president Buhari’s electioneering promise to the people of the Niger Delta, is worth commending. This is a feat the former president of Nigeria, a worthy son of the oil region could not achieve for his people.

For the Niger Delta Avengers, they are on a mission; a mission to cripple the already depleted economy of Nigeria, unless their demands are met, but what demand is worth more than millions of lives that are being exposed to environmental pollution daily? What demand is more important than destroying their green vegetation, farmlands and rivers?

It is very obvious Niger Delta Avengers are out on a vindictive mission to frustrate the government of the day just for the interest of few individuals and not representing the general interest of Niger Delta. Their actions are not in tune with the present realities and I join others to condemn acts capable of crippling our economy.

In all our struggles/agitations for a better representation, let us not allow the interest of few individuals or the corrosive acids from the mouths of their toxic sponsors lure us into taking the law into our own hands.

The worst may not have been seen of these implacable enemies of the state considering their modus operandi but the Niger Delta avengers should be cognizance of this trending proverb: “He who burns his father’s house inherits the ashes.”

•Onwukeme is a public affairs analyst.

16

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

agriculture Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency in egg, chicken Akin Adewakun -Lagos

THE Group Managing Director, natnudO Foods, Dr Ayoola Oduntan, has said that with government creating the right environment, the company can help the country achieve self sufficiency in egg and chicken production.

Giving this assurance re-

cently in Awe, Oyo State, during a tour of the company’s farm in the town, Oduntan lamented that despite the ban on importation of chicken, a huge number of the product still find their way into the country’s market; since the local poultries could not meet the domestic demands.

According to him, while

the current consumption for chicken in the country stands at 1.5 million metric tonnes, only 300,000 metric tonnes are locally produced, while the rest are smuggled into the country.

He, therefore, reiterated the commitment of the farm to make the country follow the path of self sufficiency in the areas of fish, eggs, chicken,

How Tuns Farms will produce 50 million table eggs daily —Chairman Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

RECENTLY, the Federal Government and Tuns Farms Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth N25 billion to increase egg production in the country to 50 million table eggs daily by 2018.

Speaking on how this task will be achieved, the Chairman of Tuns Farms, Olatunde Badmus, said the farm would recommend entrepreneurs that will access the N25 billion from the Central Bank.

He lamented “today our country is faced with economic challenges occasioned in part by over reliance on receipts from crude oil sales. Present challenges in the global market has made us vulnerable and reinforced the need for better route to economic prosperity.”

He reiterated the commitment of Tuns Farms to supporting the government in its bid to grow the nation’s economy through the agricultural sector.

The government envisages that the scheme would create about one million jobs at full capacity, empower as many farmers as possible, increase contribution of poultry sector to GDP of Nigeria and increase Internally Generated Revenues to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

As the consultant and manager of the scheme, the firm would recommend eligible entrepreneur to access facility of N25 billion under CBN Anchor Borrow-

ers Scheme through the Bank of Industry (BOI).

It was also gathered that the farm would also endorse loan requirements and application of entrepreneurs. This is to keep applications from the entrepreneurs within size and scope of their business and relevance to the scheme.

As the consultant, “the farms shall develop and market customized and standard feed concentrate in collaboration with relevant regulatory agencies for the purpose of this scheme to ensure quality and uniformity of result,” the chairman said.

Also, the farm would monitor activities of entrepreneurs involved in the scheme to ensure that the resources are channelled towards the right track, he said.

The farms would assist the BOI through the National Technical Committee in the selection process of commercial banks to disburse and recoup the N25 billion anchor borrower facility from CBN. The farm would also select entrepreneurs/ stakeholders across the country for recommendation to the technical committee for final ratification and appointment to participate in the scheme.

According to source from the farm, these entrepreneurs/stakeholders would handle production/purchase and supply of inputs for the scheme i.e day old chicks, feeds, drugs and vaccines.

From left: Humphrey Otalor, Marketing Communications Manager, Dizengoff Nigeria; Antti Ritvonen, Country Manager/CEO, Dizengoff Nigeria; Oscar Walumbe, Integrated Project Manager and Olatunde Agoro, Chief Executive Officer, Latag Venture Farms, during a media tour of the Dizengoff greenhouse farm in Lagos.

Dizengoff: Making farming attractive in Nigeria through mechanisation

T

HE cultivation of food in Nigeria is generally very labour intensive particularly with the small farmer holders, as the manual work embarked by farmers and their families is very strenuous and time consuming and in Nigeria, this is a major constraint towards achieving an increase in agricultural production.

Also, the day to day labour of farming is a major contributory factor in the migration of people, particularly young people, from the rural areas to the urban in pursuit of a better life.

In Nigeria, a significantly high proportion of arable land is still been cultivated by hand tools, thereby making the farming profession unattractive even among young people.

To ensure a significant growth in the agricultural sector and making it an attractive business both to families and the young people, efficient and adequate farm machineries must be

deployed to farms.

According to the Commercial Manager, Tractor & Implements, Dizengoff Nigeria, Damisa Enahoro, the company “is committed to providing high-quality machinery and appropriate technology to suit all types of farming operations in Nigeria.”

Damisa further assures farmers that the company “is providing solutions to farmers no matter what their farm size or type of

operation is.”

According to him, farm cultivation could be substantially increased through mechanisation, which is labour saving and directly increases yields and production, inputs of hard labour by farmers and their families can be substantially reduced if they have access to or use carefully selected machines and equipment, adding that the labour invested could be used for other productive activities, while deploying the appro-

priate equipment to farms could also have a direct impact on yields and the area under production.

Within mechanisation, there is a large number of possibilities and technologies available for farmers to choose from, which range from choosing between the different sources of additional farm power, to selecting from the various other production enhancing mechanical technologies available, he added.

FG partners China to train agric scientis Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

THE Chinese Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has commenced agricultural technical training programme for 40 members of staff of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Speaking at the opening

ceremony in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shehu Ahmed, said the training was aimed at building the capacity of agricultural officers.

He said the training was introduced as a follow up to President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to China in April 2016, where bilateral cooperation was intensified

in the area of trade and agriculture.

Ahmed said the pioneer training programme would cover rice and vegetable cultivation, soil and fertiliser management, agriculture machinery operations, seed production and inspection.

“It is hoped that the Nigerian agricultural scien-

17

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

production, if... —Expert shrimps and beef production, noting that a country such as Brazil has continued to generate hundreds of billions of dollars from poultry, annually, because it has been able to harness its potential in that area.

He boss disclosed that, as a way of reducing the gap between local consumption and production, the company has commenced

a scheme tagged natnuPreneur Farmer, with the intention of providing opportunity for farmers to start poultry trade.

“The scheme provides a platform for farmers to gradually expand their capacity, while also providing the opportunity to gain experience and expertise from large- scale poultry farmers, for wealth creation,” he said.

IAR&T sentises farmers on controlling army worm infestation on maize farms

By Ronke Sanya

THE Institute of Agricultural Research and Institute (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan has attributed the recent reported infestation of army worm on maize farms in the South West, to climate change due to rainfall after long dry spell.

Stakeholders at a one-day sensitisation and training of stakeholders and farmers in the South West on Thursday, added that the infestation was consequent upon the development of army worm into moth-like insects which destroys the maize farms causing damage of the leaf, stunted growth of maize plants, yielding to low yield.

Director of the Institute, Professor James Adediran, in his welcome address recalled the observance of the pest and army worm attack on farms in March after the first rain.

Upon this, Adediran noted that the institute swung into action through research and survey into the cause of the menace to farm yield.

Mrs B.O Lawal, giving a report of the survey hinted that the survey was conducted in 74

farms in five states of the South West-Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Kwara State in North Central, showed that moth was a major destructive pest.

One of the researchers, Dr Olukemi Oluyemi, in her presentation advocated control measures like cultural control, good field hygiene, regular field monitoring, burning of previous crop residue, planting of resistant seeds, and chemical control.”

She also called for the devotion of more funds to the institute to embark on more projects while also urging government to encourage farmers to insure their farms.

Regional Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Adedoyin Awe, who was represented by Mr Olugbenga Awe, noted the importance of such sensitizations to prevent such pests invasion like the Tuta Absoluta popularly referred to as “Tomato Ebola”.

One of the farmers, Adekunle Ibikunle from Aborisade village in Ibarapa East Local Government, Oyo state decried that the pest had destroyed his maize farm of about three hectares of land.

FG approves relocation of National Desertification headquarters to Kano —Minister Adamu Amadu -Dutse

THE Minister of Environment, Amina Muhammad, has said that as part of the Federal Government’s effort on desertification control, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the relocation of the National Desertification headquarter to Kano state for effective deserti-

THE Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, has said the rice produced in Nigeria can compete favourably with its foreign counterpart in the global market.

The governor, who said this during a visit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja, noted that the bad rice which had infiltrated the nation’s economy is as a result of sabotage

sts in Nigeria tists and technicians will take the opportunity to enrich themselves with the understanding of Chinese agricultural development and its rich experience. This training, therefore, is to provide you with knowledge and basic skills that would enhance your competencies and basic skill in order to

enhance your productivity in the agricultural sector,” he said.

In his speech, the Chinese Economic and Commercial Councillor in Nigeria, Zhao Linxiang, said that Nigeria has abundant agricultural resources, adding that agriculture plays an important role in growing the national economy.

the culture of sitting down in Abuja without having adequate knowledge on what is happening on the ground.

“We have a new plan and approach to war against desrtification, this time around we will firstly take a stalk of what we have on the ground in terms of shelter belt, collaborate with the state,

local government and communities for planting trees and nursing it to matured.

“We are now shifting from perennial tree planting to a monthly with constant monitoring and evaluation on how many were planted how many are still alive, challenges and way forwards,” she said.

Cassava production in Africa is threatened —Agric Expert Biola Azeez - Ilorin

THE record of Africa being the largest producer of cassava is now threatened.

Speaking at a training programme for tractor operators, extension agents and agriculture officers

Nigerian rice is competitive — Gov Bagudu Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

fication management and evaluation.

The minister revealed this while fielding question from journalists shortly after she lunched the 2016 tree planting campaign at Babura local government, Jigawa, on Sunday.

Amina noted said the government was moving the headquarter to change

to discredit the Nigerian farmers.

“What we have discovered over the last few months is that Nigerian rice is competitive. Except is somebody is buying bad rice somewhere else or rice which has been given to him to dump on our country so that our farmers cannot produce. We don’t see how possible someone can import rice and sell it lower than Nigerian farmers are able to produce today,” he said.

Speaking further on the rice production in Kebbi state, the governor said that the state is aiming at feeding West Africa, thereby creating wealth for farmers in the state.

In Ilorin at the weekend, the regional representative, West Africa, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr Ab-

dourhammane Kollo, said that continuous lowest yields of cassava in some cassava growing nations of Africa may confine the continent to a poor status if new approach is not promptly embraced.

Kollo, who spoke at the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) in Ilorin, however, said that the trajectory of the continent

Food security: Rail transport experts farmers meet in Abuja today Christian Okeke - Abuja

WORRIED by the quantum of agricultural products that are lost owing to the length of time it usually takes before they reach various long-distant markets, transport experts mainly drawn from the rail sector and farmers in the country are to have a brainstorming session in Abuja today on ways of ending the post-harvest losses.

The conference targets to evolve ways of encouraging farmers to begin transporting their produce by rail so also to reduce time and cost.

The event being organized

by Connect Rail Services Limited, in conjunction with Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), is expected to have Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and other experts in attendance.

Speaking in Abuja at the weekend, the chief executive officer of Connect Rail Services, Edeme Kelikume said it is expected that stakeholders began to develop roadmap on how to key into it to reduce or eliminate current post harvest losses.

being the largest producer of the tuber crop yet with the lowest yields could be averted if better technology was introduced.

“Africa accounts for nearly 55 per cent of cassava growing annually which makes it the largest producer of cassava in the world, however, Africa’s yields are the lowest in the world standing at 1012 tons per hectare.

“Low productivity is as a result of poor farming tools, near absence of mechanisation and limited market opportunities. It takes an average of 8-10 days for an African farmer to harvest a hectare of cassava compared to an Asian farmer who harvests same farm size in six hours,” he said.

The AATF official, while charging trainees drawn from four Nigerian states of Kogi, Kwara, Ogun and Oyo, said cassava has an enormous potential as a food security crop and also a major contributor at improving the livelihood of rural resource poor farmers within the continent.

18

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 With Tommy Adegbite 0811 695 4631 tommyabijo@yahoo.com

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, receiving journalist/ politician, Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan, at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.

Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Adeleye Oyebade (right); assisted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Sanusi Buba (left), decorating the Personal Assistant to the Commissioner of Police, Akibu Damola, with his new rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, recently.

Passing-on-parade before the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi by students of School of Handicapped, Iwo, during the 2016 Children Day.

Managing Director, Evans Brother Nigeria Publishers Limited, Alhaji Lukman Dauda (right), presenting an award to keynote speaker, Professor Nike Osofisan, during the launch of Evanse ebooks, at Jogor Centre, Liberty Road, Ibadan, recetly. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

IFANET team during the launching of community development charter for three communities in Saki-East Local Government, Oyo State, an initiative of SCEEP project supported by actioaid & UKAID.

Representative of the Osun State governor and Permanent Secretary, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Muftau Oyeleke Oluwadare, presenting staff of office to the Onitegun of Itegun, in Oriade Local Government Area of the state, Oba Adeshina Oluwaseyi Ogunniyi. With them is Olori Taye, recently.

From left, Mr Olanrewaju Okelabi, groom’s father; Deaconess Yemisi Ojo, bride’s mother; the couple, Mr and Mrs Kayode Okelabi; Elder James Ojo, bride’s father and Mrs Anike Okelabi, groom’s mother, during the wedding of Mr and Mrs Okelabi, at Bishop Oyebode Memorial Anglican Church, Oremeji, Ibadan.

Mrs Mojisola Ogunleye, wife of the late Elder (Engr) Olaolu Josiah Ogunleye (second left) and children, during the burial of Elder Ogunleye, at The Apostolic Church Cemetery, Alakia, Ibadan, recently.

For bookings, contact ’Laolu Afolabi on 08054681741 or Tommy Adegbite on 08116954631

19

fortherecord

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Judgment given by Hon Justice S.O. Falola on use of Hijab in Osun public schools Continued from yesterday Learned Counsel also drew my attention to the decision of the Court of Appeal Ilorin Division in THE PROVOST, KWARA STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ILORIN & 2 ORS VS BASHIRAT SALIU & ORS IN THE UNREPORTED SUIT NO. CA/IL/49/2006, delivered on Thursday 18th June, 2009 which according to him has decided the issue of usage of Hijab by Muslim female students, as part of the fundamental right of Muslim students to the freedom of religion. Counsel quoted pages 15 – 16 of the lead judgement and page 2 of the consenting judgment of Hon. Justice Massoud AbdulRahaman Oredola, JCA in extenso. It was argued that the use of Hijab and veil is a fundamental right of the female students in Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State, but that regrettably these rights are being curtailed illegally by the Respondents. It was argued that, the law empowers this court to determine the Applicants’ reliefs under Order 2 Rule 1 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules. The case of FAJEMIROKUN V COMMERCIAL BANK NIG. LTD. (2009) 2 MJC (PART II) PAGE 114, 136 – 137 and AMALE V SOKOTO LOCAL GOVERNMENT & 2 ORS (2012) VOL, 1 – 2 MJSC page 1 at 1-6 PARAG E – F were sited in support of the assertion. It was further argued that female applicants are entitled to those rights in Public Schools in Osun State which is being jointly financed by the 1st – 3rd Respondents.

Counsel therefore urged me to uphold the first issue in favour of the Applicants.

On issue 2, Learned Counsel analysed Article 8.2(V) of the Guideline in dispute to mean: a) Hijab is allowed for Muslim students in “Muslim Public Schools” b) Hijab is disallowed for Muslim students in other Schools apart from “Muslim Public Schools” It was argued that irrespective of names, public Schools in Osun State are owned, financed and controlled by government of Osun State under the 1st – 3rd Respondents. Counsel emphasized that this discrimination cannot stand in view of S.38 of the Constitution. And that for the fact that the Guideline is contradictory to S.38 of the Constitution, it (the Guideline) should give way. Counsel finally urged me to hold the two issues in favour of the Applicants.

The 1st – 5th Respondents later filed a 21 paragraph Counter Affidavit and Counsel’s Written Address. The 1st – 5th Respondents further raised Preliminary Objection to the Suit. In the Counter Affidavit deposed to by Mr. Jacob Ayanyemi a Principal State Counsel in the Ministry of Justice, Osogbo, the 1st – 5th Respondents stated that some paragraphs in the Affidavit in Support of the application are true, while others are not. It was deposed that, the head teachers and Principals of Public Schools have statutory power to enforce discipline in Schools and government policy, including discouragement of the use of Hijab in Public Schools in Osun State. That only School beret and face cap are known to be part of School Uniform, and that school uniforms are distributed free of charge in Osun State without Hijab. That the Muslim Female students and their parents are fully aware that the use of Hijab by Muslim students is restricted in Public Schools in Osun State.

In the Counsel’s Written Address signed by Jide Obisakin, a Director in the Ministry of Justice, one issue was nominated for determination, to wit; “Whether the suit of the Applicants can be competently maintained as Fundamental Rights to warrant the adjudicatory power of the court in entertaining same”.

It was argued that the action discloses no reasonable cause because the Applicants are challenging the policy of the State Government which portrays the secular nature of the State. The case of EGBE V ADEFARASIN (1987) NWLR (pt 47) 1 at 20 was sited, to canvass that the case should be struck out. It was further argued that S.38 (1) of the Constitution which the Applicants rely upon is not helpful to their cause, and sited the case of MEDICAL and DENTAL PRACTITIONERS DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL V OKONKWO (2001) 19 WRN at page 1, to the effect that, the

Guideline of 2004 was made in the overriding public interest. It was argued that the Constitution does not confer absolute right on citizens of Nigeria, and that the claims of the Applicants are not within the confines of Fundamental Human Rights as envisaged by Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution. It was argued further that Section 42 of the Constitution permits derogation from citizen’s rights.

Arguing further, Learned Counsel contended that the Guidelines provides for two categories of Public Schools to wit; 1. Muslim Public Schools and 2. The General Public Schools which can be attended by any person whether a) Muslim b) Christian c) Animists That it is an act of benevolence on the part of government to have accommodated Muslim female students wearing Hijab in any of the Schools. That the State government has by the provision of the Guideline over indulged the Applicants’ faith, a step which might back fire and provoke litigation by other faiths.

That by combination of S.4 (7) and Item 30 of the concurrent Legislative list, of the Constitution, government has jurisdictional competence to establish Schools and design policies that would guarantee peace therein. That this policy cannot be questioned by court.

It was further canvassed that the Applicants are not the victims, that is, neither the female students whose rights have allegedly been violated nor the biological parents of those children. Counsel referred to certain paragraphs of the Affidavit in Support of the Application and contended that while the Applicants have no Legal rights to come to court, they have no cause to place before the court as envisaged by Sections 38(1) and 45(1) of 1999 Constitution.

On the Court of Appeal decision in No. CA/ IL/49/2006 it was argued that, while female pupils and students in Osun State Public Schools have prescribed uniform, those of Kwara State College of Education over which the case was decided are more mature, and have no prescribed uniform except code of dressing, hence this court should depart from the Court of Appeal decision. The 1st – 5th Respondents therefore urged me to refuse the application.

The 1st – 5th Respondents also raised Preliminary Objection to the Suit. The grounds of the Preliminary Objection are that: 1. The action of the Applicants/Respondents does not disclose any cause of action at all.

2. That the Applicants/Respondents lack the requisite locus standi to institute the action.

The 1st – 5th Respondents thereafter submitted one issue for determination, to wit; “Whether in the circumstances of this case and particularly in the light of the grounds in the Respondents/ Applicants Preliminary Objection, the Applicants/Respondents have a maintainable action”.

The issues and argument canvassed in support of this Preliminary Objection are substantially a repetition of the submission of Counsel to the 1st 5th Respondents in aid of their Counter Affidavit, hence I do not think it is necessary to review them all over again.

The Applicants filed a 21 paragraphs Further and Better Affidavit on 5th November 2013 to oppose the Counter Affidavit of the 1st – 5th Respondents.

One issue was nominated for determination, to wit; “Whether the suit of the Applicants can be competently maintained as Fundamental Rights to warrant the adjudicatory power of the court in entertaining same”.

There, it was averred that Osun State is a multi religious one and that government should accommodate all interests. That it is compulsory for Muslim female students to use Hijab, and this does not offend religious interest of other faiths. That there are no Muslim or Christian Public Schools in Osun State because all such Schools are owned, financed and controlled

by Osun State Government. That when the letter of complaint – ‘Exhibit B’ – was served on the 1st – 5th Respondents, there was no reply or call for dialogue, consequent upon which the Muslim female students started to wear Hijab to School. And that in reaction, head teachers and overzealous School Principals started to embarrass such female pupils and students.

That distribution of free School uniform does not debar Muslim female students from wearing Hijab. That the 1st – 5th Respondents are solely responsible for placing students in Schools even against the choice of such pupils and students. That the situation is made worse by merger of many public Schools in Osun State in which pupils and students no longer have choice as to which school to attend.

The Learned Counsel to the Applicants filed Written argument in support of the Further and Better Affidavit. It was submitted that the fact that the state government is solely responsible for finance and administration of Public Schools and overzealous School administrators discriminate and punish Muslim female students have not been denied by the Respondent. That even the Constitution recognizes Sharia Law and establishment of Sharia Court for Muslims both at Federal and State levels. That Muslim female women who wear Hijab mingle with non Muslim women in market and other work places without any security threat. That by a recent publication of the 1st – 5th Respondents titled, “Frequently Asked Questions on the new School System in the State of Osun” the 3rd Respondents at page 25 disclosed that there are no Public mission Schools in Osun State because all such Schools were taken over as far back as 1975, and that the former owners have since been paid off.

Learned Counsel insisted that the Applicants have sustainable cause of action, have locus standi and that the Court of Appeal decision is a locus classicus which this court cannot derogate from, especially the holding of Hussein Mukartar, JCA at page 16, to the effect that it is fundamental right of Muslim female students to observe and practice their religious injunction in any part of Nigeria. Counsel to the Applicants urged the court to sustain the application.

And in their reaction to the Preliminary Objection raised by the 1st – 5th Respondents, the Applicants, through their Counsel raised two issues for determination, to wit; 1. Whether the Applicants have not disclosed cause of action in their application before the court.

2. Whether the Applicants do not have locus standi to institute this action in view of the relevant provisions of the Fundamental rights (enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.

On issue 1 Counsel submitted that it is the reliefs of the Applicants that determine the cause of action as he drew the attention of the court to the case of SEHINDEMI V GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE (2006) ALL FWLR (part 311) page 1858, 1884 – 1885 parag. A – E. That the complaint of the Applicants bother on discrimination on account of religious beliefs, assault and by necessary implication, infringement of fundamental rights of Muslim female students who are their members in Public Primary and Secondary Schools to use the Hijab. It was canvassed that, so long as the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 is made pursuant to Section 46(3) of the Constitution (as amended), it has the same force of law as the Constitution itself. Counsel drew my attention to the case of NWAOGUGU V PFRN (2007) 12 WRN 24 at 54 lines 15 – 48. It was further contended that the combine effect of Section 3 (e) of the preamble as well as Order 1 Rule 2 Fundamental Right (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, the intention of the law makers is not to allow cases of enforcement of Fundamental rights to be frustrated by argument on lack of locus standi.

Continues page 22

20

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor tai_adis@yahoo.com

I

T was plain sailing for Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until that cancerous disease afflicting many political leaders, the sit-tight syndrome, sank its lethal tentacles down the marrow of the party’s bones. The former ruling party, desirous of a father-figure to restore its confidence, self-belief and inspire its followers, ignored its core membership, some of them very competent, and approached the former Borno State governor, considered an outsider. Despite what was alleged to be his baggage, he was installed as the party boss. Now, its disease has become full blown and the attempt to heal the party is proving to be cutting off the malignant tumor with the flesh. PDP is quaking.

The party stakeholders, particularly its state governors engineered the takeover of the leadership by Sheriff amid stiff opposition by vocal members of its Board of Trustees (BoT) and an internal pressure group made up mainly of former ministers in the party. Perhaps, they were convinced by his deep pockets which could come handy at a time the PDP no longer enjoyed federal funds. They also believed in his perceived strength of character which enabled him to tell off his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), after helping to form it.

Beyond this was the fact that being a Muslim of Kanuri stock, he was thought to be the only Northerner who could tackle President Muhammadu Buhari, a fellow Northern Muslim at a time most political and opinion leaders from the region have gone completely mute, in the estimation of many party leaders, not minding features of lack of capacity prominent in the the Daura-born politician’s attitude to governance.

The two groups opposed to Sheriff coalesced into that Concerned PDP Stakeholders, vowing nothing to do with Sheriff. But the governors did not budge except to guide the National Executive Committee (NEC) to put a deadline to Sheriff’s stay in office during which he would organise a national convention to elect new national leaders. While working towards that deadline on the one hand, the governors on the other, goaded the zoning committee set up by the party to re-zone the office of the national chairman to Sheriff’s backyard, the North-East, essentially throwing the post back on his laps. It was too much for the concerned stakeholders to bear. If they had faulted Sheriff’s choice as the stop-gap chairman of the party, the attempt to give him three more years through the national convention was to them, adding insult to injury.

With the tacit support of the BoT, the concerned stakeholders found enough strength to sabotage that effort by organising a parallel, though non-voting national convention, in Abuja on the day the party had its own in Port Harcourt. Sheriff was set to emerge as the national chairman in the Port Harcourt convention until he, inexplicably, worked with the former national secretary and the former national auditor, Professor Olawale Oladipo and Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju, respectively, to secure a Lagos High Court order restraining the Port Harcourt convention from conducting elections into the offices of the national chairman, the national secretary and the national auditor.

Sheriff obviously gave his blessing to the court process realising that his bene-

Makarfi, caretaker chairman

Modu-Sheriff

What does Sheriff want?

LEON USIGBE reflects on the question on the lips of many Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the ongoing leadership crisis threatens to rip it to shreds. factors, the state governors had turned against him over his perceived presidential ambition. That was the situation. It was no longer just the concerned stakeholders who wanted to see the back of Sheriff but their interest had now collided with that of the governors. Sheriff had become an orphan left in the cold.

But he must now do all that was within his powers to survive. He launched a fight back.

Relying on the Lagos court order barring the conduct of elections into three national offices, he announced the cancellation of the entire convention which had been organised by a resolution of NEC. But out of the lure for power observers believe, he gave no thought to what would become of the party leadership since his tenure, going by the resolution of NEC, the party’s

PDP has had national chairmen who left when asked to before their tenures were up. Bamanga Tukur and Adamu Mu’azu whose term he was supposed to serve out, left when requested.

highest decision-making body, expired on May 21, the day of the convention. The only way he could have remained in office

Oladipo was for him to be elected in that convention or have his tenure extended by NEC. Neither of these happened. Instead, in obedience to the court order, the convention did not conduct any election but relied on its constitutional powers to dissolve the national leadership and set up a caretaker committee. On what ground does Sheriff now claim the party’s top post? That is a question he has not been able to coherently answer.

Party faithful are asking: what does Sheriff want? They ask this because PDP has had national chairmen who left when asked to before their tenures were up. Bamanga Tukur and Adamu Mu’azu whose term he was supposed to serve out, left when requested. Why is he different?Why is effort to get him to quit pulling the house asunder? Why is he insistent on the post if he has not got a hidden agenda? PDP supporters want answer as the haemorrhage unleashed on their party by the sit-tight disease is

21

politics&policy

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Echoes from 17th IYM convention in Enugu South-East Bureau Chief, JUDE OSSAI, was at the 17th convention of the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) where eminent Nigerians were honoured and critical national issues discussed. His report:

T

HE 17th Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) annual convention held on June 12, 2016 has come and gone but the event would continue toreverberate in the minds of many people particularly those who were present at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu, which was the venue of the occasion. Indeed, among the first callers at the venue of the event were Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Director of the African Newspaper of Nigeria (ANN Plc), Ibadan and Dr Arthur Nwankwo. Both were former NADECO chieftains.

Chief Adebanjo was very visible in the Igbo summit which coincidentally took place the same day lovers of democracy within and outside the country marked the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential polls considered by many to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola (now of the blessed memory) Although the organizers of the event did not explain why it was shifted from May 26, this year to June 12, however, it kicked-started at about 11am on a smooth note with the founder and national leader of the IYM, Evangelist Ukoh ushering distinguished guests to the high table.

As observed, the event was centred on awards to five Nigerians who had contributed meritoriously to the nation and was followed with remarks by the recipients Chief Adebanjo who was bestowed “Great National Icon” set the ball rolling when he delved boldly into the state of the nation proffering panacea to the socio-economic and political woes engulfing the country.

He took time to explain to the large audience dominated by tertiary students on the need to make Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, live in harmony, reiterating that only true federalism will bring a lasting solution to the bottled anger and restiveness in the land.

“The experiment to rule the country

by the colonial masters as a nation under a unified central government proved a failure as it gave rise to political agitation and crises in several parts of the country. Going down memory lane, he remarked, “On occasion like this, it is important to remind ourselves where we are coming from. It is an historical fact that our country Nigeria is not a nation but a conglomeration of various ethnic nationalities which we were colonised by the British colonialists at various time in their different localities.

According to him, from the Richard Constitution to the military rule and up to this day, Nigerians were subjected to various acts of political agitation because the constitution under the people are governed is not suitable for an heterogenous society like Nigeria. Chef Adebanjo recalled how the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo said “Nigeria is not a nation but a geographical expression made up of various ethnic nationalities diverse in language, culture and religion.

“It is my strong view that to put a stop to the various acts of uprising in the country today be it Niger Delta Avengers, MASSOB, IPOB. or the new agitation for state of Biafra will require a change of our

There is a need for us to return to the basics from what we inherited from our founding fathers

constitution to allow for the restructuring of the country under a truly federal system. Then, and only then, can we have peace in the country without which there can no progress”.

Chief Adebanjo therefore warned, “ The use of force to cow down these agitators can never succeed, And so, it is Altus continua in search for true federalisM. As a matter of fact, all the Speakers including the former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, Professor Jerry Gana, Ex-governors Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Peter Obi, and Mrs. Ankio Briggs agreed that only true federalism will bring peace to the country. Chief Ekwueme who reviewed how he had advocated true federalism, stated that every disappointment was a blessing, noting that his incarceration in 1984 at Kirikiri prison by the military afforded him the opportunity to reflect deeply on Nigeria’s problems.

According to him, he came out with the idea of six geo-political zonal structures, which he pushed for in a national conference much later and it became a convention, and has taken care of minorities in the South and North. He stated that what Nigeria negotiated for and agreed with colonial masters before independence was a regional government where each has a constitution, which were annexed to the Republican constitution of 1963. According to him, the Republican Constitution then provided 50 percent revenue sharing formula for the regions, 30 percent to a distributable pool, and 20 percent to centre.

“There is need for us to return to the basics from what we inherited from our founding fathers,” he said.

Mrs. Briggs, National Leader of the Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement (NDSDM), was a bit revolutionary in her approach as she faulted nothing wrong with a person or group of persons expression themselves, stressing, “our diversity is not our problem but those who manipulate our diversity. Our story now is that of frustration. Change should be based on truth and if it is not based on truth, another group can come up and demand for a change and that is what we are witness-

ing in the country now” Briggs said that the country was so-lopsidedly run that the Federal Government, which should depend on taxes from the regions was giving the crumbs to the very regions which fed it fat. She also lampooned the Federal Government for threatening to destroy Gbaramatu community in the Niger Delta Region if the people of the area failed to produce Government Ekpemupolo, popularly called “General Tompolo” over alleged civil offence of contractual agreements while turning a deaf ear to those, who beheaded an Igbo woman in Kano for alleged blasphemy. According to her, the Federal Government should ask both the governor and Emir of Kano to produce the killers of the Igbo woman in their domain instead of purportedly arresting suspects for the heinous offence.

“A governor blasphemed Jesus Christ in the north, but he is still serving in that office today. Blasphemy is not part of ournational law. How can the ruling government say that it will work for 95 per cent of Nigerians, who voted for it with the resources from the five per cent that did not vote for it? We are asking for resource control.”

The issue of imbalance in allocation of resources also topped the talk as the speakers recalled that the last National Constitutional Conference recommended the creation of 18 more new states because of their belief that the country should run on six geographical structures based on equity and fair-play. Ekwueme said it was wrong for the old Kano State to have 72 local governments while Lagos which was the most populated had 24, adding that it was time to go back to regional government as bargained by our founding leaders.

Evangelist Ukoh, said the theme of the annual convention entitled “Still in search of true federalism”, pointing out that the strategy to make majority of the people to remain silent without conversation will not work.

Ukoh reiterated the need for the present government at the centre to implement the recommendations of the last national conference.

fortherecord Court judgment on use of Hijab in Osun public schools 22

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Continued from page 21 In their process titled REACTION TO REPLY OF THE APPLICANTS ON THE PRELIMINARY OBJECTION RAISED BY THE 1ST – 5TH RESPONDENTS, the 1st to 5th Respondents submitted that, by disallowing the wearing of Hijab by female students in Public Schools as provided in the Guidelines is to enforce discipline.

That Muslim female students are being pampered by government. That the rights of the students as enshrined in the Constitution is not absolute but should be subsumed to the general interest of the State. Counsel referred to the case of DR. SOFOLAHAN & ANOR V CHIEF (MRS) FOWLER (2002) 34 NWLR pt 788 664 – 665 and submitted finally that failure to include the names of the female students among parties to the case is fatal to the case of the Applicants.

After service of the Originating Processes on the 1st – 5th Respondents, the 6th – 9th Respondents brought application to join the suit. The application was granted without objection. And before even the 1st – 5th Respondents filed their reply processes, the 6th – 9th Respondents quickly filed their objection and other processes. Apparently, it was the intervention of the 6th – 9th Respondents and the processes they filed which introduced heavy religious dose into a case that was a straight confrontation between the Applicants and the 1st – 5th Respondents. Incidentally, when the 1st – 5th Respondents filed their reply through their Learned Counsel, Jide Obisakin, they virtually chorused all that the 6th – 9th Respondents put in their Affidavit and Counsel’s argument. In response to this fresh challenge, the court in its wisdom formally invited Christian Lawyers Association of Nigeria (CLASFON) Osun State Chapter and their counterpart, Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) as Amici curiea, to appear in court and advise the court on the issues in contention. Both groups obtained the service of Lawyers who prepared briefs for them and also participated actively in the proceedings. This court is grateful to them for offering wise counsel.

As I held above, the 6th to 9th Respondents filed a 17 paragraph Counter Affidavit deposed to by one Reverend Kunle Adeyemo who described himself as the 1st vice Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter and the 8th Respondent. In the said Counter Affidavit, the 6th – 9th Respondents stated that paragraphs 5,6,7,8,9,10,16 and 17 of the Affidavit in support of the Application “are correct” but that other paragraphs “are not correct”. That there are some public Primary and Secondary Schools in Osun State that are founded as Christian heritage, traditions and practices but have been taken over by the government although they still retain Christian heritage, values and ethos. That the religious practice in such Schools cannot accommodate wearing of Hijab by any female student. That some of these Schools still have Church buildings within their compound. That the 6th – 9th Respondents do not want their children to attend Schools in an environment full of practices alien to the Christian faith, such as wearing Hijab in Schools founded upon Christian heritage and ethos.

That the presence of Muslim students wearing Hijab in such Schools like Baptist High School Iwo, Methodist School, Isale Aro, Osogbo, St Benedicts Catholic School, Isale Aro Osogbo among others would offend Christian faith. That the nature of uniform prescribed by government for female students in Public Schools is shorter than those permitted by Christian faith, but Christians are not complaining.

A three page Counsel’s Written Address signed by Femi Ayandokun Esq. was attached to the Counter Affidavit of the 6th – 9th Respondents. In it, the 6th – 9th Respondents raised three issues for determination viz 1. Whether the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting at Ilorin in Suit No. CA/IL/49/2006 is applicable in this present suit 2. Whether S.38 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) can avail the Applicants in view of S.38 (2) and S.42 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended).

3. Whether the Fundamental rights of the Applicants are absolute in the face of S.32 (2) S.42(1)(b) and S.45 (1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic

That as an Islamic scholar, the deponent contends that wearing of Hijab is compulsory for female Muslims as provided by the Qur’an, sunnah, and all other sources of Islamic law. That indeed Mary the Holy Mother of Jesus Christ always appear in pictures wearing Hijab-like head cover on her head.

of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) On issue 1, it was submitted that the court of Appeal decision (supra) is inapplicable in that whereas the State government prescribes School Uniform in Public Schools in Osun State (but) in the Kwara State College of Education, students are free to wear any dress of their choice.

On issue 2, it was argued that the Wards of the 6th – 9th Respondents are incapable of suing, and of impressionable age should not be compelled to attend educational institution where religious practices alien to their own are allowed.

Counsel referred to certain paragraphs of the Counter Affidavit and submitted that allowing the application would mean that Muslim female students would enjoy comparative favour over their counterparts who do not have that privilege.

On issue 3, Counsel drew my attention to the relevant Constitutional provisions and certain paragraphs of the Counter Affidavit of the 6th – 9th Respondents and submitted that the reliefs being claimed by the Applicants are injurious to the rights and freedom of the 6th – 9th Respondents who should equally enjoy the protection embedded in sections 38 (2), S.42(1) (b) and sections 45 (1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution. The case of MEDICAL AND DENTAL PRACTITIONERS DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL V OKONKWO (2001) FWLR (pt 44) 542 was sited and relied upon. Counsel therefore urged the court to dismiss the application.

Again, the 6th – 9th Respondents filed a Preliminary Objection to the effect that, “That the action of the Applicants/Respondents is incompetent”.

The Objection was on point of law, (devoid of Affidavit in support relating to facts relied upon). Learned Counsel highlighted the prerequisite for a court to assume jurisdiction over a matter as reflected in the case of MADUKOLU V NKEMDILIMI (1962) 2 SCNLR 341 and AJAGUNGBADE III VS ADEYELU II (2001) 16 NWLR (pt 738) 126 at 179. It was submitted that the Muslim female students who are the victims and direct beneficiary of the reliefs are not made parties to the case. Learned Counsel drew my attention to Order II (1) and Order VII (1) of Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 to reinforce his submission. It was submitted that the Rules specifically provided that parties should approach the court individually, and not as a group. Counsel further drew my attention to the case of THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES FTTCCN V IKWECHEGH (2000) 13 NWLR pt 683, 1 at 8 on that point. Finally Counsel urged me to strike out the suit.

The Applicants reacted to both the Counter Affidavit and the Preliminary Objection together with Counsel’s Addresses of the 6th – 9th Respondents. With respect to the Counter Affidavit of the Respondents, the Applicants filed a 23 paragraph Further Affidavit along with Counsel’s Address on 17/4/2013. While agreeing with paragraphs 4, 5 and 7 of the Counter Affidavit of the 6th – 9th Respondents, the Applicants described other averment therein as untrue. In the deposition made by one Alhaji Sadiq Bola Bello, the 4th Applicant, it was averred that, in schools where wearing of Hijab is permitted it has not affected the prescribed uniform of the School. That all public Schools belong to the

State government who finance, administer and formulate policies for the Schools. That Christian students do attend Public Schools with Muslim names but are not compelled to wear Hijab or learn Islamic Religious Knowledge. That wearing Hijab does not affect Christian students at all and that on most streets across the State such as Igbonna, Osogbo, Churches and Mosques where Muslim women put on Hijab exist side by side without any hindrance. That Hijab wearing Muslim women mingle with Christian women in market places without any problem. That Catholic faith among the 6th – 9th Respondents especially the Nuns or Reverend Sisters use Hijab – like head covers and are highly respected in the Christendom. That the Applicants have no objection against any other faith who may wish to seek for enforcement of their own fundamental rights if they can establish same with evidence. That as an Islamic scholar, the deponent contends that wearing of Hijab is compulsory for female Muslims as provided by the Qur’an, sunnah, and all other sources of Islamic law. That indeed Mary the Holy Mother of Jesus Christ always appear in pictures wearing Hijab-like head cover on her head.

In their reply to the issues raised by the 6th – 9th Respondents in the address of Counsel attached to the Counter Affidavit, the Applicants submitted through their Counsel that, with respect to the judgement of court of Appeal No CA/IL/49/2006 the misinterpretation given to it by the 6th – 9th Respondents is a misconception. It was argued, relying on paragraphs 19 – 27 at page 15 of the Court of Appeal judgement (supra) that the issue upheld is the right of Muslim women to wear Hijab as enshrined in the Qur’an and not whether the School uniform is compulsory or not. That for the fact that Hijab is worn together with School uniform in Schools where it is permitted implies that such conflict do not exist at all.

On issue 2 raised in the Counter Affidavit of the 6th – 9th Respondent, it was argued that S.38 (2) of the Constitution is in favour of the Applicants as there is no evidence that the Christian students who attend (even) Muslim named schools are ever compelled to wear Hijab. That with reference to S.42 (1) of the Constitution, the use of Hijab by female Muslims is an obligation, a right not a privilege.

In reaction to the 3rd issue raised by the 6th – 9th Respondents, Learned Counsel for the Applicants adopted his earlier submission and further added that the 6th – 9th Respondents have not shown anything that can make them enjoy the benefits embedded in Section 45 (1) of the Constitution. Counsel therefore urged the court to discountenance the processes filed by the 6th – 9th Respondents.

As held earlier, the Applicants filed a 4 page Counsel’s Written Address in opposition to the Preliminary Objection raised by the 6th – 9th Respondents. On the issue of locus standi of the Applicants, Counsel for the Applicants apparently very hard working, tenacious and creative, insisted that the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Proceedure) Rules 2009 derived its strength from the provisions of S.46 (3) of the Constitution, and that on the authority of NWAOGUGWU VS PFRN (Supra) it is sui generis and has the same force of law and effect with the provisions of the Constitution itself. Counsel also referred to and relied on Section 3(e) of the Preamble to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 and submitted that, the Applicants have locus standi to initiate this action. That by paragraph 13 of the Affidavit in support of the application, the named 2nd and 3rd Applicants brought the application on behalf of their female members in line with Section 3 (e) and Order 1 Rule 2 of the Fundamental Right Rules (supra). It was further submitted that Order II Rule 1 and Order VII Rule 1 of the Rules (supra) contrary, to the submissions of the 6th – 9th Respondents, do not preclude groups as well as individuals from bringing action to enforce their fundamental right when read together with Order 1 Rule 2 and Section 3(e) Preamble (supra). Counsel referred to the case of ELELU – HABEEB VS A.G. of FEDERATION & 2 ORS (2012) 2 MJSC (pt III) page 1 at 109 para. A – B. Finally Counsel urged the court to hold that the Suit is competent and that the court has requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

Continues

tomorrow

23 thesouth-west Tunde Busari 08127593530 Yejide Gbenga - Ogundare 08116706853 Tunde Ogunesan 08116954634

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The

South-West Editor Wole Efunnuga 08111813056

Got news for us; contact: southwesttribune@yahoo.co.uk or southwesttribune@gmail.com

We are refocusing Odu’a for profitability –GMD

Mr Adewale Raji, Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, the conglomerate owned by the six states of the South West, last week paid a visit to the management of the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles at the Imalefalafia, Ibadan head office.

He spoke about the vision that birthed the conglomerate, the current effort to refocus it as well as its future. Excerpts:

Odu’a state governors. From left, Amosun (Ogun State); Ajimobi (Oyo); Aregbesola (Osun); Mimiko (Ondo) , Fayose (Ekiti); and Ambode (Lagos)

Inside The day I will never forget as Ajalorun —Oba Oguntayo

26 —p

24 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

‘Why we are going into tomato production’ Continued from pg23

The Odu’a Vision Odu’a Investment, though we claim to be 40 years if we count by virtue of years, what we have on our stable is by far older than 40 years. We are privileged and honoured that we have the singular opportunity of sharing the same founder with Tribune; we can say that Odu’a was established with the same vision that made Chief Obafemi Awolowo establish Tribune, which claims first in many things. In our stable are many heritages either directly under us or entities in the South-West, which existed before the establishment of Odu’a, which are also first in Nigeria and even beyond. We are privileged to have the Cocoa House, which at inception was called Ile Awon Agbe; that building will be 51-years-old next month and the vision behind it, either as Ile Awon Agbe or Cocoa House, was how our forbears, led by Papa Awolowo, thought that they were not just taking care of our today but also securing a very respectable place for the Yoruba nation back then and in the future. They took that initiative of building what was the first skyscraper in sub-Sahara Africa; a 25-floor building opened in 1965. If a house was opened in 1965, it must have been conceived five years earlier. So when we think about the dreams that they put into reality from 1959 to 1965, they are really commendable.

If our generation and the coming generation can have half of the dreams they had and implement 10 per cent of them, we would be living in Eldorado today.

I think the challenge that we have, especially those of us who are privileged to be trustees of that heritage of the South-West, is: If our parents bequeathed those legacies to us, what we should bequeath to our own children should have additions from us and not that we will pass down the same things we inherited from our parents. That is the challenge we have at Odu’a. So, in coming to terms with this reality, we have gone through our tough times. I happen to be the eighth Managing Director of the Odu’a Group and we have been privileged to have technocrats and seasoned administrators who have played their roles. What we have as our major challenge today is taking Odu’a to the next level and I will want to share a few things with you.

The board and management of the company have taken some decisions, which are the outcome of strategic retreats. We have tried to look at the business properly as an investment outfit; an investment outfit that has both social and economic responsibilities to the people of the South-West. As an investment, it is important that we grow the business, deliver profits and give back to our owners and also meet the aspiration of all stakeholders. Typically, the stakeholders are all Yoruba sons and daughters. So, for those of us in management, it is a rare honour that out of the agglomeration of Yoruba sons and daughters at home and in the Diaspora, estimated at about 35 million, we are privileged to be the people chosen to manage the investment owned by the Yoruba people. So, what we have done is to build a strategic plan where we look at growing our business from a relative N4.5 billion turnover a year to N20 billion in five years. What convinced the board about this was that we are starting from a low base; when we mention N4.5 billion, it surprises people that we have such a low base but we then challenged ourselves that in five years, we can do N20 billion.

Plans for tomato factory On landed property, our forbears, who

From right, Dr Morakinyo Oloyede, Head, Group Human Resources, Mrs Abiola Ajayi, Corporate Secretary/Head of Legal, Mr Victor Ayetoro, Corporate Affairs Manager and Mrs Nike Ajobo, Public Relations Manager. were founders, had creation of jobs, impacting capabilities and building the skills capabilities of our people as part of their goals when they were setting up the different enterprises they had. You would find out that if they entered into equity with foreign companies, it was an opportunity to make sure that they can grow indigenous capabilities.

In some areas, we also went into building industries ourselves. I will limit myself to Ibadan for example. Like the Nigerian Wire and Cable, it was something that Odu’a got involved in Sumitomo of Japan. They owned 40 per cent while Odu’a owned 60 per cent.

They were in charge of the management and the whole idea was that we could produce cable for the housing industry and we got involved.

The vision is not different; we have the same vision of capabilities for our people, jobs for our people and real social impact on our people. So, what we have decided is that we are going to leverage on our land bank and make sure that we get involved in what we call integrated agriculture project.

That entails from farming to processing in the same location. I will give just one example of the plans on our table. Our lands are spread over four states totaling 40,000 hectares. Our view is that in the past, we did agriculture on them but our yields were dependent on climate and our harvests also came out when others were harvesting. Since human beings cannot consume and retain it for the future, the yields were wasted. What we have done is to come up with what we can call elements of mechanised agriculture and process the outputs.

So, for our land at Imeko in Ogun State, a business plan and the feasibility study has been done and the land was found suitable for tomato production on a very high scale.

We have taken time to do the in-depth study and we had foreign experts who did this and the outcome was positive and exciting.

Right now, we are at the point of choosing foreign partners to do it. What we have in mind is to cultivate tomato and from the

output, we will process tomato paste. What we are looking at is that by processing into paste, we will give as much as additional 24 months shelf life to the output, so the element of everybody’s yields and harvests coming up at the same time and leading to 30 to 50 per cent post-harvest waste does not exist. We simply process them and because they are already processed, they are there for the next two years. In doing this, we cannot rely on hoes and cutlasses; solid agricultural implements will be involved either in making the land or in irrigation, to ensure that instead of one season of tomato, we can actually do two seasons of tomato production in a year. If we do two seasons in a year, the equipment installed to process, instead of doing one season of production and resting for three months in a year, we can elongate their life to work for six months in a year and that will affect the bottom line.

Doing this requires that we have improved seedlings, which are outcomes of research.

Going by what we currently plant as tomato in the South-West, from a hectare of land, you can have seven tons of tomato output. But the business plan we have says that if we test a lot of varieties, a pilot scheme, we can get 40 to 45 tons from a hectare. That is like seven folds from the same land. That makes sense when you talk about industrial output of raw materials.

We don’t believe in just running the farm.

We must do extension services for neighbouring farmers so that they can also set up farms similar to ours and our output will guarantee them a market. We have taken that approach from two points of view; social and sustainability points of view. We believe that the way to lead people out of poverty is that what we have learnt or what we have the money to do, we should impact on that community by bringing it to them.

That will not just give them the capability in terms of know-how, their pockets will also be better off.

Status of the plan The business plan is ready now and we are

Nigeria has moved towards globalisation but our hospitality business has not moved with that globalisation.

talking with different partners and funding agencies at the level of Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture or African Development Bank. We are talking to them to make sure that we get what we call long-term funding.

If we do this correctly, we will remove the taboo of people believing that it is people who have voted for poverty that get involved in agriculture. I want to add that because of the tomato project we are trying to do, it is becoming clear to us that we, as Nigerians who import tomato paste, end up funding American farmers who ride in jeeps. The common man in Nigeria is buying paste and is funding the American farmers riding jeep.

So, what we are trying to do is that since it is done in America that the common people enrich farmers, we are trying to copy and paste. And we are following all due diligence to make sure that we do not make any mistake in our attempt to copy and paste.

More importantly, we believe that people following our foot step in this agriculture venture will be the greatest legacy and we also want to encourage young people to believe in agribusiness. There are enormous challenges with it but that is why we, as a conglomerate, have a better opportunity to handle this and then encourage others to be part of us so that confidence starts building where people can be sure that if they cultivate one hectare and earn N1 million, they can say that if they cultivate two hectares, they can get N2.5 million. We are proving to our people that this can be done, we can show that we can bring back those high expectations of our people, because joblessness is quite serious at this time. It is easy for us to put our money in shares or fixed deposits and do nothing, we will earn money but that is not the vision of our parents. If our parents did that, we would not be sitting on any inheritance as trustees today.

Their vision remains realistic today as it was in the 1950s. Sharing the same kind of heritage with Tribune, I can say that our DNA are quite similar and we know we can count on you as an ally and when it is time to celebrate, I believe we will celebrate together.

We believe that if Odu’a grows its business, our visibility will also be higher and that is why we have set this kind of ambitions for ourselves, because that allows us to match our visibilities with our financials.

Last year, we paid dividends for the first time in six years and our reason for that was that we didn’t want to have any baggage with our owners. We want to make sure that when we present things to them and they are convinced that we will get their Continues on pg25

25 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

you do not find and you just press a name and that there is one hotel called Starwood in Ibadan, people just go ahead and book it, they don’t care. They have never been to Ibadan before, but they book it because they know whether it is Starwood in Osaka, Tokyo or the one in Budapest, same thing applies; they are secure, and you know the negative thing they talk about Nigeria it’s as if they are going to abduct you on the road.

So, people believe that in the hotel they are going, nobody is going to abduct them, because it is assured all over the world. This is the standard we are looking for and so expertise and finance are the things we are trying to get. We will also back it with our own money along with the partner just to give confidence that we are not just trying to push people into a death trap.

Continued from pg24

approval. Recently, we presented to them the strategic plan which they approved; we also presented to them the interest of Lagos State to join the Odu’a Group, they approved it. We presented to them our plans towards the hospitality industry, our hotels, that we need to take them to the next level and they approved it. Right now, we are on the verge of appointing a top consulting firm to midwife us through that process.

Our belief is that unless the owners trust us we will have issues with them, and one area through which they can trust us is to be responsible financially. We made it a major plan to pay N167 million to all our shareholders last year and this is something we’ll make steady. And as we grow our portfolio, we do believe that we will give back to our owners so that whatever we need from them in the future, they can give us. There are many opportunities, but what we need to prove is the doing; there are many things falling on our laps but because what we can show as evidence of what we have done are more in the past, there is a bit of carefulness but once we do things right, there will be many more that will unfold.

Funding the projects Let me be very frank; we are not sitting on top of money at Odu’a. However, we have a sense of mission and commitment. That commitment, we have got it to a level where in common parlance, they say you put your money where your mouth is. This time round, the position we have taken is that we will get equity partners and we will also take on debts. Equity partners mean that the experts we will work with, whose expertise is important, will contribute part of the money required and a sizeable chunk of the money will also be by borrowing, because we believe in the project. But the seed money, which is the equity, we will be committed to it. Let us say the project is N3 billion and in a situation whereby N500 million to N600 million is coming from the promoters, then you can borrow the remaining. We have taken a position that this is the way to go and it shows that we are committed to the project. That is how we are looking at funding.

We also believe that part of the funding is that we need to take advantage of the goodwill that we enjoy and the assets that we have. If you have lands and you want to do agriculture it is different from not having lands and conceiving that you want to do agriculture; getting lands would have been part of the problems. It is as difficult as funding itself, so we are privileged that we can use the lands that we already have and use them as parts of the collateral, it means we are already one step ahead. And the consultants we have used also, have written a report that is tenable to any of the development banks. The second issue is that should we want to approach Bank of Agriculture or Bank of Industry or even Afreximbank, AfDB or any other, where you are looking for single digit and long-tenure facilities, we believe that the element of our business growth was built on that and the second element is that the technical prowess that we display; it demonstrates that we know what we are doing. So, we want to approach things from that point of view. We are not deceiving ourselves as to the strategy we want to use.

Improving Odua’s hospitality business What is clear to us today, even without in -depth research, is that Nigeria has moved towards globalisation but our hospitality business has not moved with that globalisation. Globalisation means that there is only one global standard and people no lon-

Nigerian Tribune

‘What we think about Epe Plywood, Nigeria Wire and Cable , Askar paints’ ger recognise that a hotel is in Papua New Guinea, Niger or United Kingdom, they want the same quality anywhere and in fairness, they also pay global amount. In fact, Nigerians pay higher than the global rates for hotels. So, when we look at our hospitality business, we know that market demands today are for high profile and well-grounded hotels, which is more like fishing from the ocean. People look for the Hilton, the Marriot, the Shangri La, the Jumeirah, which are like global icons with global standards.

Expertise and technical knowledge come into most of these places, they are already structured and what these hotels do is just try to impart this knowledge in whichever location they find themselves, even on an island. As long as they put any of these brands on the hotel, they will put the knowledge in those people that will allow the hotel to have their global quality.

So, what we know now is that our hospitality business today lacks in expertise that matches today’s global standard and we do

not have that expertise internally. Number two, we have not pumped enough money to lift the quality and standards of those places.

These two things, when done, will put us on the same standard as any of the hotels I mentioned earlier. So, the actions we are taking, which the governors have approved, is for us to use consulting firms that will help us define all these things and will also bring in the necessary expertise to move us to the next level. With the right expertise and high funding, we can get to that level of the Proteas of this world, which are very recent development in Nigeria. Any Protea outfit you enter, you see a minimum standard that the ambience is encouraging and the way you are treated or even when you are given the menu or you do your booking. The way it is now for Protea, you can just go to the website and book any Protea or Hilton. We need to get into that type of league where what we offer is offered globally. Just to say you are coming to Ibadan and you now say you are looking for a Marriot or a Shangri La, and

The decisions we take now is not to serve today’s purpose; it is to position the hotels to be relevant 20 years from now.

Epe Plywood We have not committed anything specific to Epe Plywood but I can tell you, I have had two conversations with His Excellency Governor Ambode and he kicked hard and what I told him was that our hands were tied. Our view at this point, though we have not been able to have anything concrete on ground, has to do with the current demand as far as wood-related product is concerned. What we require is a situation where we can lay our hands on a technical partner who does something similar. We have done some trips; we have gone to Turkey and we have seen what they do on wood, which they call Medium Density Fibre (MDF) which can be converted to anything you can talk about.

MDF, from our interaction, is 80 per cent soft wood and 20 per cent hard wood. Traditionally, what we grew up with were iroko and mahogany, which are all hard wood but modern technology is using lesser part of hard wood but because we don’t realise it and we don’t do afforestation along that line, we haven’t got the raw materials. So, Nigeria needs to look into afforestation where you then convert to the intermediate product, which is what they call the fibre, and it is the Medium Density Fiber made in different form that people now shape into either our furniture kitchen, our hotel furniture, our furniture for classrooms, our furniture for hospitals etc. What they just do is that they change the finishing. I saw a plant where if you want it to have finishing like skin, the base is still the same but they now print that thing that looks like skin and that is what they laminate on it and what it would look like but it is still Formica, it is still the same thing.

So, on Epe Plywood, what we are looking for today are genuine investors. Governor Ambode has nominated someone who we are working with, hopefully one of the things we are asking also is for the government to help us with investors. We will play and there is a reason why we will play, impacting people is very important in whatever we want to do. And unless we do it in those communities, our ability to be able to impact people would be low.

Nigeria Wire and Cable Nigerian Wire and Cable was a venture between Odu’a and Sumitomo of Japan and I think that is where the reputation of quality came from. The Japanese owned 40 per cent at inception and they were also in charge of management. Then the Japanese left and sold their holding, which Odu’a bought and Odu’a became 100 per cent owners. I did mention the elements of management and military rule; issues about governance. At the time Nigerian Wire and Cable was closing shop, our ownership as Odu’a was 15 per cent and the company owed a debt to the then Afribank, which subsequently went up to about N400 million. So, because I have, Continues on pg26

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

‘Why our business plan on Cocoa industry is sitting on the shelf’ Continued from pg26

on assumption of office, reviewed the situation, I asked myself questions on whether we want to get involved in the business and its debts. Of course, people showed interest based on the reputation of the company’s cable and till now, cable is still in demand.

Coleman Cable just opened a second plant.

But the question is that Odu’a has become a minority holder; there is a debt and there is also a majority holder, so Odu’a could no longer call the shots. I was quite frank, because I got this information and when it became clear to me, I said how can we as 15 per cent holder be the one that would say we are going to resuscitate the company? Are we ready to buy over the majority owner and are we ready to pay the debt before we talk about running the place? So, what I said was that if our feasibility study says that we are still going to do a cable business, we would start afresh on a clean slate and not get involved in the one that is encumbered and we would find difficult to take care of.

That is the story of Nigerian Wire and Cable; it is a very sad one but from 100 per cent holder to become 15 per cent holder, you know that we mismanaged ourselves.

Ire Clay Products Limited At the moment we are in joint venture partnership with Ekiti State government for Ire Clay Products Limited that used to be old Ondo State Brick Factory. It was resuscitated and it came into operation back in 2015. We are 30 per cent owners there and Ekiti State government owns 70 per cent. We are responsible for management and between us and the other shareholder, it is agreed that we just need to stabilise the place and look for an equity holder who can buy majority to run it, so that government’s 70 per cent interference will not affect the future of the place as it affected it in the past. This was something Papa Ajasin set up and he was in office from 1979 to 1983 but people could not take it further because of self-interest.

Cocoa Industries Limited The background that I have is that we remove sentiments when we are looking at business. We have looked at Cocoa Industries Limited and that was in late 2014 and 2015 and what was clear to us was that we could get it going by starting a new plant for 25 million dollars.

When we converted to Naira at 200 to

one dollar, it was N5 billion and that will be a new factory that will produce top quality separating, making sure that the jewel, which is the butter, is maximally harvested. You know you will get 100 per cent butter, because that is where the money is. The international price of a ton of butter costs $5,200 to $5,600 whereas the cake costs $1,400. So, you have to extract the maximum quantity of butter, otherwise you are losing money if your process does not get that. So, we looked at it and we looked at the international prices and the local price; what was shocking to us was that the study that we did between October 2014 and February 2015, the raw material, which is cocoa beans, the price changed by 40 per cent. The local price of the cocoa beans increased by 40 per cent, but the international output did not change.

So, I said this does not obey the laws of economics. We asked further questions and finally we got answers that it was as a result of capital flight; one simple way of doing capital flight is you access Naira and you just buy anything that is exportable, so you don’t care about the price, it allows you to convert it to hard currency. So those people come into the market and they totally kill any other those buying for processing, because if your selling price is not changing, how can your buying price of the raw material change by 40 per cent. So, that business plan is sitting on our shelf after it was presented to our board and the decision is that when the pricing of cocoa beans is right, we will look into it.

Askar Paints We looked at Askar Paint that way too, because paint-making is a low barrier entry business. There are only two companies that are making profit in paints today; Berger Paints and CAPL, the makers of Dulux. CAPL is UACN subsidiary, so they sell a lot to their sister company, UPDC, so they are able to charge premium because of their names. But there are many backyard paint makers, so the issue is if we revive Askar Paints, we will not be able to price like Dulux. Nobody will pay Dulux’s price for Askar Paints.

Maybe they will not even pay Fine Coat or President’s paint price, so we might find ourselves competing with someone who produces paints in the backyard.

So, to break even will be difficult. We looked at it, we saw the money we would

Part of my job today is managing my owners in a way that when they see me, they do not see a politician. need to put in and said no, with our kind of structure and image; we cannot afford to let people come to our company and see people stirring paints with stick. If we compete with these people, we will go bankrupt. If there are specialised areas, maybe marine coating and all that, we can look into and even that, we need international accreditation to certify what we make. But if there are those kinds of opportunities, we will look into them.

We can still do something on paint making in the future if the stock profile of houses increases and we get into a situation where 10 to 15 per cent consumption of the paints comes from us. So, we are careful in terms of looking at any industry that we currently have, but if we get it right; we will do it.

The five-year strategic plan We released the strategic plan at the end of 2014; we got the approval of our governors in January 2015. It was difficult to get our governors to sit; there was no attraction to make them sit, because they saw us as just existing. But now, we are trying to demonstrate that we do not just exist; that there are roles we can play in their lives and we managed to make them see that. That is why in that strategic plan, there is the issue that relates to our agro-allied business; we believe that it is one of the things that can help us to make a quantum leap. If we do that and we get N3 billion to N5 billion in turnover, that is like 25 per cent of the figure we set, the confidence we will get from it will allow us not just to do one but three. That is where we see ourselves.

Two years on, what I can tell you specifically in terms of what we have been able to do is that we have refocused the

business as an investment business that is socially responsible and one that is responsible to its shareholders. We have watched our profitability grow, though our revenue has not grown because revamping has not taken place. We have had a situation whereby in our first year, we could turn out a profit that is 53 per cent higher than what we met, though we were not growing turnover. That was what permitted us to pay those dividends; that was cash out of the business.

N167 million flowed out of the business to our owners and this year, they will not expect the same amount but something higher. So, we have been able to refocus the business to say this is a business and we must run it as one. That is why we are doing all these studies and some of them will be completed, like the Cocoa Industry and we will keep them on the shelf; we would not just run into the businesses because we were doing them before. If we do that, you know what will happen? First, I will sack myself and I will leave a deficit behind. That is not what we want to do, we want to leave a legacy of endurance and sustainability.

Balancing the interests of the owner states Part of my job today is managing my owners in a way that when they see me, they do not see a politician. I do not belong to any of them and I belong to all of them. My actions at any given time are based on business principles. There is an advantage in that, because when the pressure comes, one can always ward it off by playing fair. I have been playing fair; the governors belong to two parties at this point in time and I am a friend to all of them. I am serving them and making sure that equity applies to everything we do. It is difficult, because some of them even say it is a lie, that it is not possible for me to serve more than one master, but I always say that this is a business and in all we do, we always use the business perspective. But we are aware of our social responsibilities and they must be underpinning the decisions we take in terms of impacting our people. So, we will not just use business decisions, we will be socially responsible and ensure that we are not digging a hole for ourselves or sabotaging ourselves and that is why the risk mitigation and governance framework are important in the way we do things.

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The Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife, Oba Adesesan Afolorunso Oguntayo is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria with intimidating work experience that stands him out in the gatherings of traditional rulers. In an interview with TUNDE BUSARI, the monarch reflects on his two decades on the throne and his success story.

Excerpts:

your last two decades on the throne?

I can say to God belong what I have achieved. But the incident which occurred in 2009 in which a senior police officer was killed by some hoodlums, remains a sad chapter of the history. The incident gave the town a bad publicity and almost turned the town to something else. Almost everybody fled and I became a king without a kingdom. It was not an experience I like to talk about. Some hoodlums felt they were not comfortable in my peaceful reign because they knew my stand on their act. I was not tolerating them. So, they decided to cause havoc on the town and fled. Policemen were drafted to the town, and occupied every space.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police of Zone 1 was here in the company with the commissioner of police of Ogun State Command. It was such a bad experience but we thank God it is over now.

C

AN you let us into your profile?

I started my primary school at Christ Church Anglican School, Ijebu-Ife from 1943 to 1949 and completed it at St Michael School, Owu-Ijebu in 1951. I proceeded to IjebuOde Grammar School in 1952 I passed my West African School Certificate Examinations in 1956.

I made a Grade A. I later had a brief stint at the School of Agriculture, Moore Plantation, Ibadan in 1956. I worked at the Federal Audit Department in Lagos until I gained admission into the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan between 1958 and 1961. The college was later changed to the University of Ife and I was the first president of the Students’ Union. In 1962 I completed my professional training in Accountancy at the Leads College of Commerce in Britain and returned to Nigeria to pick a job at the Federal Ministry of Finance. I joined British Petroleum Limited now African Petroleum and rose to the position of Chief Internal Auditor until 1969 when I decided to quit paid employment and joined the league of employer of labour.

How did you emerge the Ajalorun?

I emerged through normal process in 1995.

Was it a unanimous selection?

That was what surprised me in the matter. I was quite sure that it would be an easy succession but when the time to fill the vacant stool came, six other members of our ruling house came out and vied for the throne.

What informed your confidence that you would have a smooth ride to the throne?

My status in the town as the Otunba Oraderemo, the head of all princes and princess of Ijebu-Ife, gave me the confidence. Honestly, I had thought it would be 100 percent assurance. But it was a different ball game. I eventually got four out of six votes to emerge.

Can you then describe the mood when your name was announced to the public?

It was jubilation in the town. The announcement was greeted with thunderous applause and appreciation. My people knew what they wanted and showed it through their reaction to the news. But I must say that some people still went to court to challenge the appointment. This litigation dragged for a long time and to the Supreme Court where I was affirmed again as the Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife. Su-

Nigerian Tribune

Were arrests made and culprits brought to book?

Arrest was made but it is unfortunate that nothing came out of it.

It still remains a shock that till date the people behind the crime have not been made to face justice. If a senior police officer could be killed in such manner and his attackers remain elusive seven years after, it is sad.

Oba Oguntayo

‘The day I will never forget as Ajalorun’ preme Court delivered judgment in 2009. Yet they are still uncomfortable but it is God’s project which no man upturned. I am happy that majority of people from my town know the truth. It was the first time in the history of this town that litigation was recorded on succession. But I consider the whole thing as a sacrifice I need to make for my town. I think my immediate family saw it better when they kicked against my intention to contest. They knew the position would deny them access to me. But I stood my ground and told them they were too selfish. I said nothing was too much to sacrifice for one’s hometown. And I am happy they understood.

When you were a kid, did it occur to you that one day you would make it to the throne?

No. I spent my childhood years developing myself as a hardworking and focused boy. I did not think of the throne even though I was a prince. I was too engrossed with

This corronation anniversary also encompasses the commissioning of this palace which is one of the best in the state.

how I would make it in life than thinking about the throne. But I can say that my parents were committed to the course of this town.

My father could not compromise anything that had to do with this town. It was this spirit that drove me to see my town coming first in whatever I wanted to do. For instance, I built my very first house completed with swimming pool here in 1975. I believe my town deserved the best of my property before any other place. I used that to encourage others to come back home and develop our town. Aside from that, I ensured I did not stay long outside before I came home. I was enjoying shuttling between my work place in Lagos and Ijebu-Ife. This sense helped me and made me to be very familiar with the people and the geography of my town. So, when I became the Ajalorun, it was not difficult for me to settle down.

How

can

you

describe

Have you any other challenge?

The other challenge is one posed by traditional worshippers who believe one cannot be an Oba until and unless he worships fetish things. I said ‘no’. I was born a Muslim but got converted to Christianity based on my conviction.

Yet I have a good relationship with everybody. But when it comes to worshipping objects, I am not part of that because that is not what God asks us to worship. Despite that, I don’t stop them from their act because I am the father of everybody. They are not satisfied but I am also determined to do the exact thing God the creator of heaven and earth ask me to do. It is wrong to turn objects to God. What can you point at as your achievement on the throne?

If you were here before, you would understand the enormity of work done to transform this palace to what it is today. This corronation anniversary also encompasses the commissioning of this palace which is one of the best in the state. I have also brought sons and daughters of the town together to see reason we must all work together to develop the town and we are getting result.

Have you any hobby to exercise body and also relax your nerves?

I was an athlete when I was a student. In fact, I represented school from primary to the tertiary institution. I was very famous because I always won laurels for my schools.

I am also a lover of swimming. I found out that in swimming you exercise in pleasure. I have passed this interest to my grandchildren.

My first house I built in this town in 1975 was completed with a swimming pool. And till this morning, the swimming pool is in good state. I maintain it religiously.

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Nigerian Tribune

Charcoal dealers appeal to FG to lift ban on export

By Tunde Ogunesan

From left, Dr Shobuur Ghali Alaya; the Parakoyi of Ogbomoso land; an Islamic scholar, Senator Fatai Buhari and Chief Imam of Ogbomosoland, Alhaji Asafa Sanusi, during the presentation of Toyota Camry car to Dr Ghali by Senator Buhari, at the 4th annual Fatai Buhari Ramadan lecture, in Ogbomoso, at the weekend.

Buhari charges Nigerians to pray for nation Tunde Busari

T

HE Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Communication Technology and Cybercrime, Senator Abdul Fatai Buhari has called on Nigerians to offer prayer for the country with a view to restoring its glory.

Senator Buhari, representing Oyo North Senatorial District, is confident that with fervent prayer by Muslims and their Christian counterparts, Nigeria’s better days are in sight.

The senator, speaking at the 4th edition of his Ramadan lecture in Ogbomoso on Saturday, added that the month of Ramadan is an opportunity for the faithful to rededicate themselves to God and make request.

“There is nothing we can achieve without God. Inasmuch as we understand this simple fact, we should always seek the face of God not only in time of need but at all times. This is what our creator demands of us,” he said.

He maintained that the current situation in the country is not beyond redemption, stressing that he sees better days ahead in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Changing Nigeria is a collective responsibility and with the leadership of President Buhari in place, there is hope that we will all enjoy dividends of democracy in a better, more conducive atmosphere,” he said.

In his lecture entitled Islam and the fight against

corruption, Dr Shobuur Alaya tasked parents and people in positions of authority to always use the doctrine and practice of Islam in their day-to-day activities .

“Islamic religion does not encourage corruption, and we should leave

our lives according to the dictate of the religion and norms of our society,” he said. .

The event was climaxed with the presentation of a car gift to Dr Alaya by Senator Buhari and special prayer for the nation, Oyo state and Ogbomoso

Dignitaries at the event include, Dr Saka Balogun chief of staff to former governor of Oyo State Otunba Alan Alaba and his deputy Alhaji Radar Gbadegesin, Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land Alhaji Yekeen Asafa Sanusi and Alhaji Bolaji Dauda Afolabi.

Charcoal Development Dealers Association of Nigeria (CDDA) has appealed to the Federal Government to have a rethink on its decision to ban exportation of charcoal in Nigeria.

This call was disclosed by the President of the association in Oyo State, Alhaji Ibrahim Ayeriyina while addressing journalists after an emergency meeting of members of the association at Malaba area, Oyo town on Monday afternoon.

According to Alhaji Ayeriyina, the association got to know the development when the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo, spoke with journalists during a retreat in Lagos recently, on the allegation that charcoal farmers failed to adhere to federal government policy of cut-one, plant two.

He said if not for the vital information through Mr. Awolowo, the association and major stakeholders in the country would not have known anything about the “policy which the associa-

Baale seeks government intervention on chieftaincy crisis Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare

A traditional ruler, who is also the Baale Ageere, Ago Are in ATISBO local government area of Oyo state Chief Uthman Azeez has called on the state government to intervene in the lingering crisis that had been trailing the official coronation for the post of the Baale Ageere.

The Baale in his letter to the Governor of the state, Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi, stated that since the customary procedure of the Baale Ageere has been duly followed and he has been duly nominated and installed, nothing should stop his coronation especially since the court had thrown out the suit filed by a dissatisfied member of the ruling house.

According to him, some people are using everything within their power to ensure the coronation doesn’t take place and are not concerned with maintaining law and order and are constantly infringing on his fundamental rights with impunity.

Chief Azeez who stated

that his title is a minor chieftaincy and has no need for approval as the law stipulates that it must follow strictly the customary procedure, asked the state government to investigate the matter and give the necessary order so that the coronation can go on as scheduled without interference from any quarters.

He further informed the governor that the case had already been settled by the law when Justice E. O. Ajayi of the Shaki High Court re-

fused to restrain him from going ahead with the coronation ceremony, adding that the Supreme Court had earlier in 1948 held that the Are of Ago Are has no right to appoint an Agoro for Agere people.

The Baale stated that after the court had dismissed the matter against him, he had asked his lawyers, Kunle Abimbola & Co, to write the ATISBO local government on the need to do the needful and the council in a letter dated February 16, 2016 had

approved and affirmed his appointment from that day and had released his official vehicle which earlier had been in its custody to him for use.

He called on the governor to look into the facts of the matter and use his good office to settle the matter justly and settle the dispute so that the peace in the community will not continue to be jeopardized and the right thing can be done at the right time.

tion had always complied with” as government reason for the ban.

He said the association in Oyo State had always adhered to government policy both in the state and at the federal levels, adding that the association and the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding dated December 28, 2009, where the then commissioner for Agriculture in Oyo state, Mr. Kunle Ishola represented the state government.

Alhaji Ayeriyina revealed that part of what the association learnt may be responsible for government’s action to ban exportation of charcoal were entrenched in the five point agreement between the two parties, in a copy made available to journalists.

While speaking, Alhaji Ayeriyina informed that the association, had conformed with the policy of cut one plant two policy of the federal government, revealing that the association had written to the Minister of Environment through the Director of Forestry in a letter with reference number CDDA/EXT/0025 and dated June 20, 2016 detailing the activities of the association according to government directive.

He said, as part of “our activities, we embarked on planting in several zones of Oyo state and part of Ogun state. In year 2009, we established five hectares plantation each at Osho Forestry reserve in Ijaye, Ido Local Government, Olaseinde in Surulere Local Government, Opapa Forestry reserve Saki West Local Government and Alawonpala village in Iseyin Local Government, all these 20 hectares of as well as teak plantation in Oyo state government reserve.

Group urges students on commitment to academic excellence A Non-Governmental Organisation, Iwoland Development Coalition (IDC), has charged students to be more committed to their academic work.

The group just concluded school tour in Iwo Federal Constituency where various items were distributed to outstanding students in each subject.

IDC Coordinator, Mr. Adisa Kabiru lamented the falling standard of education and asked NGOs and private individuals

to augment government through enlightenment programmes aimed at promoting better academic performance.

He described the decay in the sector as unpleasant, suggesting more collaborative engagement of bodies as a panacea.

Adisa disclosed the readiness of the coalition to organize a coaching class in conjunction with the students’ bodies of the three local governments to complement school lessons

and ultimately boost their academic morale.

Assuring maximum motivation, the coordinator promised that IDC will make her scholarship a continuous process but strictly restricted to coaching lesson attendants.

That, according to him, will serve as bonus for the industrious students and lure them to search for knowledge outside the four walls of classroom.

“We acknowledge the problem with our edu-

cation; it is unfortunate but no excuse for students. There are many outside opportunities to tap beyond the four walls of the classroom. We are set to partner with students` bodies to organize coaching classes, and, if possible extend it to Senior Secondary School 1.

Governments alone cannot address the system.

They need helping hands such as well-to-do individual, private bodies and NGOs,” he said.

29

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

with Soji-Eze Fagbemi m:08179047919 e:sojiezek@yahoo.co.uk

Govs must account for disbursement of bailout funds —AUPCTRE tells Buhari •Alleges misappropriation

Soji-Eze Fagbemi

I

N the spirit of on-going war against corruption, the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical And Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), has called on the Federal Government to ensure that all state governors should be made to account for the disbursement of the bailout funds.

In a communique issued after the 20th Plenary Session of its National Governing Council (NGC), in Abuja recently, AUPCTRE alleged that most of the state governors have misappropriate the fund resulting in their inability to pay their workers for many months.

In a communique signed by the National President of AUPCTRE, Comrade Solomon Adelegan and the General Secretary, Comrade Yusuf Zambuk, the union decried irregular payment of salary, pension, gratuity and remittance of union dues by the state governments, despite the Federal Government assistance through the

bailout funds.

The communique said: “The NGC-in-session appreciates the Federal Government for provision of bailout funds for payment of arrears of salaries, pension and gratuity to state government.

But unfortunately, most of the state governments have misappropriate the funds such that workers are owed two months to eleven

months arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuities.

“NGC-in-session further calls on the Federal Government to ensure that all states government should be called to account for the disbursement of the funds in the spirit of the current war against corruption.

“Deriving from above, the NGC-in-session wish to put the affected states on no-

tice to either immediately resolve the issue of paying outstanding salary, pension and gratuity arrears in their respective states or be prepared to face the anger of the organised Labour.”

Specifically, the union condemned in its totality the non-payment of salaries, pension and gratuity in Ondo, Ekiti and Oyo states.

While supporting the cur-

rent industrial action in these states, the union regretted that rather than address and resolve the issue, the affected states have resorted to harassing and intimidating the Labour leaders by way of arrest, manhandling, and detention of Labour leaders.

AUPCTRE also expressed serious concern at the wave at which both the Federal and various state govern-

Members of the Nigeria delegation at the ongoing International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. Front row; Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Ayuba Wabba; Senate Chairman Committee on Labour, Senator Suleiman Nazif; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Bobboi Bala Kaigama; Chairman, House Committee on Labour, Honourable Eze Onyewuchi and NLC Deputy President, Peters Adeyemi .

ILO applauds new political declaration adopted by UN to end AIDS THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has applauded and welcomes the progressive and bold political declaration, recently adopted by the United Nations (UN) members states to end AIDS. UN Member States have adopted the new political declaration at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS The Chief of ILOAIDS, Alice Ouédraogo, said “This declaration recognises the importance of workplace initiative in the AIDS response. It highlights the role of employers, unions and governments in protecting workers from discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS in line with the ILO conventions, particularly the Recommendation on HIV and AIDS and

the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200).”

The Declaration adopts a rights-based approach and calls for ending HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination in all settings including workplaces.

The Declaration in its para 63(d) states, “Underscore the need to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on workers, and their families, and their dependants, workplaces and economies, including by taking into account all relevant conventions of the International Labour Organisation, as well as the guidance provided by the relevant International Labour Organisation recommendations, including the Recommendation on HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200), and call upon employers, trade and labour unions, employ-

ees and volunteers to take measures to eliminate stigma and discrimination, protect, promote and respect human rights and facilitate access to

HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.”

The Political Declaration includes a set of specific, time-bound targets that must

be reached by 2020 to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

....Advocates prosecution of recruiters of children for armed conflict THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has indicted Nigeria over its child labour practice. It regretted that among the ECOWAS countries, Nigeria has the largest number of 5–14 year olds in child labour.

With 10.5 million children involved in child labour in the country, the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards, said in its reports to the recently concluded 105th session of the International Labour Conference that Nigeria ranks very

poor in Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), ratified by the country in 2002.

The committee based its position on a report entitled, “the Twin Challenges of child labour and educational marginalisation in the ECOWAS region” by Understanding Children’s Work, a joint ILO–UNICEF–World Bank interagency research cooperation project, among the ECOWAS countries.

It noted with deep concern the large number of children under the minimum age for

admission to employment who are working in Nigeria.

Specifically, the committee stated that a baseline survey on child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining conducted in 2011 in seven states of the federation indicated an increasing involvement of children in these sectors.

The reports read, “The committee notes from the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council of June 5 2015 (A/69/926-S/2015/409)

ments are committed to privatising the critical sectors of the economy especially those that provide essential services to the people, such as water, electricity and others.

It, therefore, expressed opposition to any form of privatisation, commercialisations and concessioning based on the fact that every government whether Federal or state has the responsibility to provide essential social services for its citizens.

The union emphasised that privatising these critical sectors of the economy will therefore nagate this basic objective; adding, “the session therefore resolved that both the federal and state governments contemplating privatisation should desist or face the wrath of the organised Labour.

It also frowned at the unconstitutional activities of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, as it affects trade union membership, deduction and payment of check-off-dues to the registered trade unions, adding that the issues are on the exclusive legislative list of Nigerian constitution.

The union commended the Federal Government for its efforts in containing the menace of deadly Boko Haram insurgency; but regretted that while the government was working hard to overcome the challenges of Boko Haram, other serious challenges of Fulani herds men, the Niger-Delta Avengers and Biafra agitators are emerging.

that increased reports were received of children, both boys and girls being recruited and used by Boko Haram in support roles and in combat. Children were reported to be used as human shields, and as suicide bombers, particularly girls as young as 13 years.

“There were reports of children joining the Civilian Joint Task Force and other vigilante groups, voluntarily or forcibly and used to man checkpoints, gather intelligence and participate in armed patrols.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

with Bode Adewumi m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

Stakeholders, others want National Assembly to jettison Communications Service Bill Stories by Bode Adewumi

M

AJOR stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Nigeria as well as many other Nigerians have continued to voice their opposition to the proposed Communication Service Bill. Major ICT associations like the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) among others have also condemned the bill, saying it will further add to the yoke Nigerians are carrying.

It is recalled that the National Assembly is currently working on a bill that will introduce taxes on usage of communications services in the country. The Bill, entitled ‘Communication Service Tax Bill (‘CST’ or the ‘Bill’) 2015’, seeks to impose, charges and collect CST and will be levied on service fees payable by users of electronic communication services at nine per cent and will be borne by the customers. The rate of the CST, which is proposed at nine per cent of the service charge for the use of communication service charged by service providers, is seen by fiscal experts as among other taxes being imposed by the government to shore up its revenue base as the whirlwinds in the international oil market continue its depreciative

From left; Marketing Assistant, Home Appliances division, Mrs Blessing Obiesie; Product Marketing Manager, Home Appliances division, Mr Nishant Kawoor; Product Trainer, Mr Moses Osime; Assistant Marketing Manager, Home Appliances division, Mr Choon Hung Har; and General Manager, Corporate Marketing, Mr Rajesh Agnihotri, all of LG Electronics West Africa Operations, during LG Evercool Smart Inverter Refrigerator launch, in Lagos, last week. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA.

NITDA, DWTC discuss Nigeria’s participation at GITEX Startup Movement NIGERIA and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of the annual Gulf Information Technology EXhibition (GITEX) Technology Week, have exchanged notes on how to better expose the country’s ICT startups featuring this year’s Gitex Technology Week billed to hold in October.

Nigeria’s participation at the GITEX Startup Movement is being facilitated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). About 16 Nigerian startups will be joining over 400 startups and more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and mentors from the global startup ecosystem. About $100, 000 will go to the winning startups. But others have chance to pitch for deals from the numerous investors attending the event.

The GITEX Startup Movement is being touted by the DWTC as the “exclusive set-up (that) will highlight the most innovative startups around the world and provide them a platform to sell, form partnerships and attract investors. Participants will also be able to pitch for prizes, attend an interactive conference to address challenges faced by entrepreneurs and meet leading industry figures.

“The initiative has already garnered tremendous interest and momentum from supporters across the globe including Business France, Cross Trade agency in Singapore, Digi Robotics in the UAE, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Japan’s Jetro agency, Marco Trade Export in Morocco, Star Systems agency in Iran and STC from KSA.”

Following the meeting with the DWTC at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), NITDA officially added Nigeria as a participating country to join top contenders like Japan, France, Egypt, Morocco and Iran among others. NITDA’s officials were led by its acting Director-General, Dr Vincent Olatunji. In the delegation were acting Director of Finance, Ibrahim Umar Ede, Head of Corporate Communication, Hajia Hadiza Umar and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Femi Adeluyi. Others are Messrs Akande Ojo of Pinnacle Consulting International LLC and Mr Segun Oruame of Knowhow Media International.

impact on accruable earnings by the country from crude oil exports.

Only recently, the operators, which included major mobile operators and infrastructure providers at a meeting with the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, said such tax would be passed on to subscribers who are already bearing a burden of five per cent Value Added Tax on telecommunications services.

The operators, who spoke through the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo, said “A bill for an Act for the introduction of a nine per cent communications service tax for the imposition, charging and collection of same on communication services is under review at the National Assembly.

“If the bill is passed into law, there shall be an additional tax to end users who currently pay a five per cent as VAT and bringing the total tax on communications users to 14 per cent.

This is of further concern, as additional taxes on telecommunications services will adversely impact on the affordability of broadband services.

“Such a tax will also further increase the digital divide with resultant impact on our national broadband objectives. We are very concerned and we have expressed same to all stakeholders to discourage the passage of this bill.”

Last week, the president of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo said the association has commenced a massive campaign to compel the lawmakers to abandon the obnoxious bill. Tagged, ‘Nigerians say NO to nine per cent Communications Services Tax Bill ‘, Ogunbanjo said it is a matter of grave concern that the National Assembly could be contemplating such a law at this point in time Nigerians are going through hardship.

“The law, If introduced, such tax will result in an increase in prices for consumers, have adverse impacts on the adoption of mobile services and industry investment and be counter-productive to the longer term national digital strategy objectives set by the government of Nigeria.

“The socio-economic impact of mobile penetration is now widely recognised. According to a research conducted by the World Bank, a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband penetration in low to middle income countries leads to a 1.38 per cent increase in GDP growth.

Nigerian Tribune

Government, business leaders swell speakers lineup at TechPlus 2016 LEADERS in industry, government and other technology thought leaders have been announced as speakers at Nigeria’s largest tech event, TechPlus2016, holding between 21 and 23, Juky at the Eko Hotels Conference Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.

TechPlus 2016, the second edition of Nigeria’s largest tech event, is a gathering of everything technology providing a robust tripartite tech experience through its conference, exhibition and gaming structure, while serving as a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and marketplace for consumers and businesses.

TechPlus 2016 will also promote technology thought leadership where leaders in business and government will exchange professional on key technology issues shaping and defining the ways we live, work and play.

Mr Tunji Adeyinka, Managing Director of Connect Marketing Limited, organisers of the event, announced that this year’s edition of the tech show will significantly improve on the successful maiden edition held last year in Lagos.

“Drawn from diverse sectors and unique backgrounds, the speakers’ trail reflects the dynamics of technological evolution in the 21st century with a fine blend of both local and international experiences,” Adeyinka said.

Commenting on 2016, edition of the show, Adeyinka said that, “TechPlus Conference and Expo is a place where new technology comes to life, new products are launched and innovations converge, providing manufacturers, concept generators, software and hardware companies, content developers, a platform to bring their products and services to life.”

The speakers’ lineup parade a list of globally-recognised thought leaders, organisational heads, tech advocates, success serial entrepreneurs, innovators, policy makers and trend setters.

ASUS out with ZenFone Max ASUS has announced the release of its ZenFone Max (ZC550KL) into the Nigerian market. ZenFone Max is an expectation-subverting smartphone with an incredibly-long-lasting, high-capacity 5000mAh capacity lithium-polymer battery that provides up to 38 days of standby for an unprecedented amount of mobile freedom. It also boasts a builtin power bank that keeps other devices topped up with charge.

The latest addition to the popular ZenFone family also sports a high-definition 5.5 in IPS display covered with next-generation Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for the ultimate protection, plus ultra-fast laser auto-focus for point-and-shoot simplicity and total clarity in just 0.03 seconds.

According to Mr Lawrence Lin, ZenFone Product Manager in Nigeria,“ZenFone Max is asslim as 5.2mm and powered by a powerful quad-

core, 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor. It features LTE Category 4 for fast mobile-download speeds up to 150Mbps and is available in two classic colors of Pure White and Osmium Black to complement casual dress or business attire.”

ZenFone Max’s sleek frame conceals a monster battery, a 5000mAh cell custom-crafted from lithium-polymer to pack the maximum energy into the minimum space.

With this powerful cell and

energy-efficient processor inside, ZenFone Max creates new perspectives on what a smartphone can do. Compared to leading competitor’s flagship smartphone, ZenFone Max’s 5000mAh battery offers 2.3X-better talk time and up to 2.7X as much time spent browsing the web. This translates to up to 37.6 hours of high-clarity calls and up to 32.5 hours of surfing2, enough energy for days of real-world work and play.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Chukwuma Okparaocha

m:08038984495 e: chukscop2005@gmail.com

Housing records rise in rental defaults, as disposable income depletes Surveyors decry loss of legitimate instrument of income Stories by Chukwuma OkparaochaLagos

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ITH inflation rate at about 13 per cent and the overall hike in fuel price and its attendant high cost of goods and loss of jobs including disposable income, a high rate of rental defaults has been recorded experts say.

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Lagos branch have decried the state of the economy and what they called geometric

progression in expenditure by the citenzry compared to their take home resulting in several cases of rental defaults and litigation.

In a media chat to mark the institutions week in Lagos, the Vice Chairman, NIESV Lagos Branch, Mr. Orimalade Olurogba said 80 per cent of all properties under his care had defaulting tenants

who were previously meeting their obligations. He noted that some sectors, including oil and gas that were hitherto known to offer job security had been the worst hit lately.

He said, “What is most worrisome about it is that the sectors, which were termed to be secure, such as the oil and gas industry,

are now the jobs that are most insecure. A lot of people are being retrenched; the high end or the upper middle class people working in oil companies and who live in Victoria Garden City and Lekki Phase 1 and other areas whose rentals are up to N4million and above are struggling. Some are even moving to cheaper accommodation.

The ‘ideal and choice tenants’ that most landlords look forward to occupying their properties are currently defaulting because of the uncertainties in the economy”.

He noted that the state of the economy was affecting their legitimate streams of income and urged for urgent action by the government.

How Nigeria’s macro challenges has put strain on housing sector —Report NIGERIA’S prevailing macro challenges have put immense strain on the country’s real estate sector and have affected the property market as sales have dipped significantly, and many completed residential buildings, particularly in Lagos and Abuja, remain vacant, according to investment medium Proshare.

While taking a critical look at the state of real estate in the country, the Proshare report noted that in as much as national demand remains very strong, affordability has been eroded on the back of the economic slowdown.

According to the report, there is squeeze in consumers’ purchasing power and the rising cost of imported building materials, which accounts for a considerable proportion of the final sales price of residential units, is taking its toll on the ability of people to rent or own houses.

“The latest national accounts from the NBS (National Bureau of Statistics) show that in Q1 2016 the real estate sector contracted by -4.9 per cent y/y, compared with growth of 0.8% recorded in the previous quarter,” the report noted.

“Although the 2016 budget has been approved and signed off, we understand that funds for existing housing projects have not yet been released. Based on our channel checks, there has been mass retrenchment in the construction sector due to the economic downturn. The construction sector contracted by -5.0 per cent y/y in Q1 2016,” the report further stated.

Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, (2nd left); Minister of Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Alhaji Muhammad Musa Bello (2nd right); Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing Ghana, Mr Sampson Ahi (left), and Director-General, Credit Foncier du Cameroun, Missi Jean Paul Marie a Neynokh, at the 35th Annual General Meeting & Symposium of Shelter Afrique with the theme,” Housing Africa’s Low Income Urban Population,” jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing and Shelter Afrique, in Abuja, recently.

FG’s proposed housing units will reflect regional cultural patterns —Fashola THE Federal Government is set to begin the provision of mass housing in the country that will reflect the behavioural and cultural patterns of all regions in the country.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, during the 35th AGM of Shelter Afrique and Housing Symposium, with the theme “Housing Africa’s Low Income Urban Population,” held in Abuja, recently.

According to him, the government will not just build haphazardly, but will first require a clear understanding of those it hoped to provide housing for.

“The people who we must focus on are those in the majority and those who are most vulnerable.

“The people who are in the bracket of those who graduated from University are about five years ago and more. People who are in the income bracket of grade level nine to 15 in the public service and their counterparts, taxi drivers, market men and women, farmers, artisans who earn the same range of income,” he said.

He revealed that the govern-

ment’s plan involved conducting a survey of this category people with a view to determining what they really wanted and the amount they could pay.

“Our plan requires us to evolve agreeable housing types, between 2 to 4 designs that have a broad, national cultural acceptance. Our plan requires us to standardize these designs so that we can then design moulds to accelerate the number

that can be built,” said Fashola.

The ex-governor of Lagos further posited that the government was also not rushing into building of housing units so as to avoid the mistakes of the past, saying the road to Nigeria’s housing challenge lied in meticulous planning and original thinking.

“Our plan requires us to ensure that the designs reflect our behavioral patterns, such as adequate

storage, and other lifestyle needs.

“Our plan requires us to ensure that there is ready water supply, power supply and waste and sewage management. Our plan requires us to pay attention to the transport needs and land density prescriptions of the communities that we build.

“Our plan requires us to ensure that the process of issuing legal title is in place.

RESORT moves to aid development of undeveloped land in FCT AS part of ways to bring about the much needed developments to all nooks and cramies of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, one of the nation’s primary mortage bank, Resort Savings & Loans Plc, has commenced the marketing and sale of undeveloped plots of land in the FCT. This development is also expected to ultimately help in the provision of housing units in the FCT, which is renowend for expensive shelter

both for residents and visitors.

The land which is located at Kuje, Kurudu-1 and Kurudu Hilltop.

Making this known recently, the Head of Business Development of Resort Savings and Loans Plc (RSL), Bisi Bello, pointed out that the bank would market the land, which is located at Kuje, Kurudu-1 and Kurudu Hilltop, as well as allow installment payment upon the down payment of 30% by the prospective

buyers.

“All that is required from the prospective buyers is to open account with RSL and make available the 30% down payment while the balance could be spread over a reasonable period,“ she said.

She therefore urged all prospective home owners to open account with the bank as well ensure the deposit of the 30% of the amount toward owing a plot in the available area.

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 32 south-westnews We’ve met conditions for FG’s new financial bailout —Ekiti govt

•Says ‘civil servants will soon smile’

T

he Ekiti State government has announced that it has keyed into the new financial bailout proposed by the Federal Government, saying it had met all the conditions necessary to access the fund meant to settle civil servants’ salaries.

This, the state government said in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, would complement its efforts at prudently managing the resources of the state to meet the expectations of all Ekiti people.

Briefing newsmen after the Executive Council meeting presided over by Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola, the Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, said the Ayodele Fayose-led administration had taken all necessary steps to benefit from the fresh plan by the FG to ameliorate the financial conditions of state governments.

Ojo therefore, called on public servants in the state, who are currently on strike to return to their duty posts and remember that Fayose’s love for civil servants and Ekiti people in general remained firm.

Also briefing newsmen, the Commissioner for Justice, Mr Owoseni Ajayi, frowned at the fresh attempt

by The Presidency and some of its agencies to harass, intimidate and threaten officials of the state government over issues long-determined and settled by the Supreme Court.

“We condemn in strong terms alleged threat, intimidation, harassment and embarrassment of officials of the state government by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Security (DSS) and even The Presidency over issues already settled by the Supreme Court.

“The allegations are to coerce the people of the state and they should note that the government was popularly elected by the people of the state about two years ago and the All

Progressives Congress (APC) which was defeated then went through all legal processes to challenge the election and lost.

“Using a military panel that assessed not only Ekiti poll, but Osun, Rivers and presidential poll is an exercise in futility . Ekiti is peaceful, we

don’t have miltancy or Boko Haram trouble and we don’t want anyone to provoke us and the people of the state. Nobody in the government, organs of the government and lawmakers doing their legitimate duties should be intimidated, harassed or threatened in whatever form.

they were not harassed or intimidated. To use state apparatus to harass anybody will be resisted. What Fayose is saying is assisting the government and the people of Nigeria in general,” he said.

Also, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, said all lovers

Bishop of Ijebu Diocese, Right Reverend (Dr) E. Ayo Awosoga (fifth left), his wife, Florence (sixth left) and the Chancellor of Ijebu Diocese, Chief Segun Demuren (right), in a group photograph with new Archdeacons, during the 40years anniversary of Ijebu Anglican Diocese, held at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Itelupe, Iwade, Ijebu Ode, on Sunday. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

Akinola hosts Iftar for Ajimobi, others

By Saheed Salawu

THE Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Daud Akinola, on Sunday evening, hosted the breaking of the fast meal (Iftar) in honour of the Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and a host of other top Muslim personalities, including the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abdul Ganiyy Abubakri Agbotomokekere and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Is-

mail Olalekan Alli, at his residence in Ibadan.

The Chief Imam of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Sheikh Mahmun Muhammad Awwal, who delivered the sermon at the gathering, urged the audience to absorb the lessons of Ramadan, chief of which is Godconsciousness, and make them important part of their character.

The cleric charged Muslims to make hay while the sun shines by not delay-

ing to drop bad deeds and hastening towards virtuous acts that would please Allah and qualify them as candidates of paradise.

Sheikh Awwal also urged the citizens to always respect constituted authority as a measure of faith and air their views in a polite manner where they might disagree with the leaders in the interest of peace and development.

In a remark, Governor Ajimobi appealed to everyone present to appre-

ciate the gift of life by doing the will of Allah at all times and impacting those around them positively for the sake of posterity.

He commended Alhaji Akinola for displaying a spirit of accommodation and for organising a lovely evening for him and other guests.

In his response, Alhaji Akinola expressed appreciation to the governor for taking time out of his busy schedule to honour his invitation.

Man detained in prison for pouring hot soup on policeman Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

A 33-year-old dry cleaner, Emmanuel Imole, has been remanded in prison custody by an Ado Ekiti chief Magistrate’s court for allegedly assaulting a police corporal,

Mr Kayode Akingbade.

Imole was also accused of “conducting himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace.”

Imole had been accused of pouring hot soup on the face and uniform of Cor-

Mimiko warns against plot to stall the nation Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has warned against what he described as the activities of centrifugal forces, aimed at stalling the nation, insisting that the only means to make the forces fail was the immediate restructuring of the country.

Speaking in Akure, on Monday, Governor Mimiko said the nation was currently faced with serious challenges, submitting that there were some forces at play with the intention to

“They are doing all this because Fayose is the only voice of the opposition in the country and that is permissible under democracy and when Dr Goodluck Jonathan was the President, former governors Kayose Fayemi, Rotimi Amaechi and Babatunde Fashola criticised him and

derail the country.

“We have challenges in our nation; there has never been a time in the history of our country that these centrifugal forces have been more committed to pull us apart.

“These forces have never been this strong. They are getting stronger and stronger by the day,” Mimiko warned.

Submitting that the country must be restructured along the line of true federalism to make it viable and kill the intention of the

negative forces, Mimiko said God designed Nigeria for a purpose, insisting that the country was not anybody’s contraption.

“I believe Nigeria is not anybody’s contraption and it’s not a coincidence. God designed this country for a purpose and my prayer is that whatever adjustment we need to make in our structure, in our attitude to governance and for Nigeria to fulfil destiny, God will make the adjustment possible.”

poral Akingbade and also attempted to snatch his rifle, during an incident at Ilawe-Ekiti on June 13.

The charges against Imole read: “That you Emmanuel Imole ‘m’ on 13/06/2016 at about 5 .30 pm at Baptist junction, Ilawe Road, Ado Ekiti in the Ado Ekiti Magisterial District did threaten with violence one Cpl Akingbade Kayode attached to New Iyin Road Police Station, Ado Ekiti by pouring hot stew on his face and police uniform before trying to struggle with his rifle and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 86(1) of the Criminal Code Cap C16 Vol. 1 Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria 2012.

“That you Emmanuel Imole ‘m’ on the same date, time and place in the afore-

said magisterial district did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace by pouring hot stew on the face and his police uniform and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 249(d) of the Criminal Code Cap C16 Vol. 1 Laws of Ekiti State Nigeria 2012.

“That you Emmanuel Imole ‘m’ on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid magisterial district did assault one Cpl Akingbade Kayode while eating at Nike Food Canteen located at Baptist junction, Ilawe Road, Ado Ekiti by pouring hot stew on his face and on his uniform and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 356(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 16 Vol. 1 Laws of Ekiti State Nigeria 2012.”

and defenders of democracy should not just watch and see the opposition being muzzled.

10 cannons become Archdeacons in Ijebu Anglican diocese The Bishop of Ijebu Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Rt Rev Ayodele Awosoga, on Sunday, June 19, 2016 presided over the collation and presentation of the 10 cannons who were elevated to the post of Archdeacon in the Ijebu diocese, held at the Emmanuel Church, Italupe, Ijebu Ode. The newly promoted Archdeacons were Venerable Olatunde Okutubo, Ven Samson Micheal, Ven Williams Olugbebi, Ven Adewale Omotayo, Ven Alfred Fatade, Ven Adolapo Osunkoya, Ven Elijah Robinson, Ven Moses Ibikunle, Ven Alexander Agboola and Ven (Prof) Olatunji Odebiyi.

In his sermon, the Bishop of Ijebu Diocese was full of commendation to the new Archdeacons for their selfless service, discipline and high dedication to the work of God. The Bishop emphasised that they were found worthy of the elevation strictly by merit and impeccable record of service over the years. He therefore, charged them to remain upright and steadfast in their new office, stating that to whom much is given, much is expected.

While presenting the new Archdeacons to the people, the Bishop also enjoined the congregation to always and at all times remember that “you share the ministry with them to which they have been called, see then that you support them to the full by your worship, your prayer and your work.

The collation of the Archdeacons was the first in the series of activities marking the 40th anniversary of the Ijebu Diocese of Anglican Communion of Nigeria.

The historic event had in attendance, dignitaries from within and outside Ogun State, among who were, Chief Segun Demuren, Chancellor of the Anglican Communion in Ijebu Diocese; Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Rt Reverend T.A. Olaoye, the Bishop of Osun North, Anglican Communion; Chief Babayemi Osoba, Deputy Inspector General of Police retd; Oba E.O.A. Adetoye, JP, Liken of Ibefun; Oba M. Adeposi, Bashorun Ora of Imoru, who is also an engineer and others.

33

south-westnews

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Traders, artisans, students’ union, others troop out to rally support for Ajimobi’s administration •Ajimobi urges labour to return for dialogue •NLC declares 3 days fasting

By Wale Akinselure

T

HE city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday, became the cynosure of all eyes as traders, artisans, students’ union body and other professional bodies converged on the ancient Mapo Hall, Ibadan, to stage a peaceful solidarity rally in support of Senator Abiola Ajimobi led administration in the state.

The solidarity train, which comprised over hundred groups, took off from Mapo Hall, through Beere, Oje, Gate and finally ended the peaceful rally at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan.

While addressing the mammoth crowd, Governor Ajimobi lauded the commitment and maturity with which the rally was

organised, pointing out that the leaders of various groups displayed sincerity of purpose and high sense of maturity.

Ajimobi said that the rally reflected government’s honesty and sincerity on various issues that came up for discussion at the recently held stakeholders’ meeting.

He said: “I want to appreciate the commitment and maturity of each of the groups present here displayed today during this rally. In fact, it was a reflection of honesty and sincerity of purpose, openness and transparency.”

“This rally is in support of our democratic commitment to people of the state and the promise we made when we assumed the mantle of leadership for the second time. Democracy is

about discussion, consultation and all of us must participate in it because there is no other way out other than to ensure the continued progress and development of our state and the country at large.

“Dialogue is the potent weapon in any dispute and that is what I have been advocating. It’s good to jawjaw instead of war-war, the governor opined.

Speaking on the proposed education policy in the state, Ajimobi reaffirmed that his administration has no plan to sell any of the secondary schools in the state, adding that it was a misconception and misinformation by some enemies of government that the government was planning to sell its schools.

“I am directing you to go back to your various climes

and spread the information that the state has no intention of selling our schools but to partner willing members of the society like alumni associations, mission bodies and corporate organisations to rejuvenate our education system in the state.”

“Even the free education policy of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo attracted interventions from private bodies. During former Governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala’s administrations, there was what they called ‘Adopt-aSchool policy.’

“So there is nothing new in what we set out to do. We have nothing in mind other than the ultimate goal of reinvigorating our education system.”

Meanwhile, with a view to resolving the ongoing gov-

ernment/labour impasse in Oyo, state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has urged the labour movement to return for negotiations.

Ajimobi made this appeal while addressing associations of motorcyclists, cab drivers, tailors, beauticians, musicians, market women, students, butchers, traditional practitioners association and food sellers, who had thronged state Secretariat, Ibadan, in solidarity with the Ajimobi led government.

“Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people; not government of labour, by labour and for labour.

Transparency in democracy is that people come to a roundtable for discussion over any issue. We are not fighting with labour, we appeal to them to come back for dialogue.”

“We can’t cope with our 631 schools, 14,750 teachers, 33,000 classrooms and 436,000 students. Some people have offered to assist us and we have some people against such move!”

“They have now abandoned the talk about privatisation of schools to agitate for salary payment. But we had a previous agreement with labour to commit 100 per cent of federal allocation to

payment of salaries!” Ajimobi said.

The chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Oyo State, Mr Waheed Olojede, has however, described those who embarked on solidarity rally as mischievous.

Olojede added that the next line of action in the ongoing impasse with government was to seek God’s intervention.

To this end, the NLC has declared three days fasting and prayer to commence on Wednesday.

“Government is just begging the issue. The issue is that workers are hungry and they are owed six months salaries. Government should pay. Those who are on solidarity with government are only being mischievous. They are not being sincere because this issue on education affects them; if government pays salaries, there will be boom in their businesses. We are not deterred with their action. We remain undaunted in emancipating the workers of Oyo State.”

“We have also resolved to go spiritual and seek God’s intervention. That we will do through prayers and fasting from Wednesday to Friday. We trust God will answer our prayers over these issues,” Olojede said.

No plan to manipulate delegates’ list —Ondo APC chairman Hakeem Gbadamosi-Akure

From left, Chief (Mrs) Caroline Akin-Deko, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Akintayo Akin-Deko, during the visit of Chief Obasanjo to Akin-Deko family at their Bodija residence, Ibadan, recently. PHOTO: YEMI FUNSO-OKE

Resident doctors commence indefinite strike over unpaid salaries Oluwole Ige - Osogbo THE National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on Monday, embarked on indefinite industrial action to press home their demand for the payment of salary arrears owed their members.

Making this disclosure while addressing a press conference in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, the president, Association of Residents Doctors (ARD), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital chapter (OAUTHC), Dr Wole Ayegbusi, said the strike had become inevitable over the indifferent posture of the Federal Gov-

ernment to their plight.

He lamented that some of their members in the state teaching hospitals were being owed 10 months salaries, while those in the federal government teaching hospitals had their last salaries in December, 2015.

Ayegbusi, who hinted that efforts have been made by NARD to dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Health on several occasions, regarding the unpaid salaries, regretted that such dialogues have failed to yield positive result.

According to him, “the most saddening part of it is that our members in the state teaching hospital have

not been paid for 10 months and there are some of the members that are rendering essential services. We need to realise that, we cannot be comparing doctors to other civil servants because if they (civil servants) fall sick and doctors are not well paid, they will never be well attended to.

“You will be surprised that today, some federal teaching hospitals have not paid December salaries, which is unfair because it affects our productivity.

Also, some of our members have been sacked for an unjust cause and several times we have made efforts to dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Health but

maybe due to their selfish or unjustifiable reason, we have not been able to actualise that. Most of the community people are poor and they cannot travel abroad to get treatment,” Ayegbusi asserted.

He continued, “We want this strike to end as soon as possible because it is an avoidable one. I can see no reason why the Federal Government cannot answer our prayers. When President Muhammadu Buhari came to office, he promised to fulfil all the agreements we have had with the government before he assumed office but nothing was done even after the ultimatum we gave.”

The Ondo Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable Isaccs Kekemeke, on Monday, debunked the rumour that the leadership of the party in the state has perfected arrangement to manipulate the delegates’ list of the party ahead its primaries.

Kekemeke, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, during a meeting of the party’s Executive Committee and governorship aspirants of the party, said the rumour was not only false but would amount to breaches of the party constitution.

Kekemeke said “the list of the delegates shall be as produced by the Congress Committee and amended by the Congress Appeal Committee of the National executive Committee.

“Apart from the fact that these, by my training and pedigree are impossible acts, such would amount to breaches of the constitution of our party.”

A political movement within the party, the Sunshine Crusaders, under the

leadership of Bola Ilori, last weekend, raised the alarm that the party leadership in the state had concluded arrangement to manipulate the delegates list in favour of a particular aspirant.

The Sunshine Crusaders however, threatened that any attempt to tamper with the states’ delegate list would be counterproductive, with dire consequences on the entire party’s executive structure and the peace in the party.

But Kekemeke assured all the party’s aspirants that the party would create a level playing ground for all the aspirants, saying the party’s primaries would be free, fair and credible.

He also called on the aspirants to mobilise their supporters to participate in the forthcoming Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise put in place by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He noted that the exercise would enable prospective voters, who have since become of voting age and others not yet registered to do so, saying, “the process also allows for change of voting station.”

news Ize-Iyamu wins Edo PDP primaries 34

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

We must say enough is enough to APC’s unfortunate change, he says

From Banji Oluko and Moses Alao

P

ASTOR Osagie IzeIyamu has emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State after sweeping the primaries of the party conducted at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Monday.

Ize-Iyamu, who polled 584 votes, representing about 82 per cent of valid votes, defeated Honourable Matthew Uduoriyekemwen, who scored 91 votes and Solomon Edebiri, who polled 38 votes. 713 delegates out of 751 registered delegates participated in the primaries.

Before the voting exercise, accreditation of delegates which was supervised by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been concluded in three centres, namely Emporium Hall for Edo North delegates, Edo State secretariat of the PDP for Edo Central delegates and Okada House for Edo South delegates.

Voting started at about 1:45p.m. after short a addresses by the chairman of the Edo PDP primary election committee, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State who was also present for the exercise.

Governor Umahi expressed joy about the conduct of the accreditation, informing everyone present that the only mandate given to his committee was to conduct a free and fair primary election.

In his remark, Governor Okowa assured that he would always be with the Edo PDP family at all times, warning them that they should be prepared for intimidation by the ruling party but that they should never capitulate.

Statutory delegates of the party, led by two Board of Trustees (BoT) members, Tom Ikimi and Mike Ogiadomhe, started the voting exercise before delegates from the 18 local government areas were called out for voting.

Meanwhile, following his nomination as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Edo State governorship election scheduled to hold September 10, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has said that he “accepted his nomination with deep appreciation and great humility,” noting that the September 10 election is the party’s chance to keep the aspiration and hope of the good people of state alive and carry out the real change they deserve.

Ize-Iyamu, in an accep-

tance speech made available to newsmen by his Media Unit, appreciated the leadership of the PDP at the national and state levels.

“You have just approved the determination of our party to keep the aspiration and hope of the good people of Edo State alive and carry out the real change the people deserve.

“A few days ago, I presented to you a manifesto of hope — the SIMPLE AGENDA, which offers

measurable commitments that would be implemented with passion, singlemindedness, incisive competence and experience.

I told you the change that Edo people desire is not one based on sloganeering or deceit. Our people yearn for change that is real, lifeenhancing, verifiable, purposeful, and sustainable,” he said.

The PDP candidate, who noted that the APC held the state down for eight

years and would be ready to unleash all kinds of lies and misinformation on the people ahead of the election, urged the electorate to be ready to ask the APC some critical questions, saying “APC members will tell you their candidate is the only person that can sustain the legacy of the out-going governor, having been the Head of Edo State Economic Team. But we must be prepared to ask then critical questions. We

should ask them to mention one industry he has attracted to our state in the last eight year.

“That is why I stand here this evening to tell you that we cannot continue in lamentation and suffering.

Now is the time to change the unfortunate change.

And the future they have always told us to wait for is not in another time; it is not in another election; it is now and this is what I represent.”

From left, Head of Media Relations and Strategy, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bisi Kazeem; Commandant, FRSC Academy, Kenneth Nwaegbe; Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi and the Deputy Corps Marshal, Training, Ademola Lawal, during FRSC capacity development programme for intelligence operatives, in Enugu, on Monday.

APC primaries: Ogiemwonyi, Imansuangbon reject result Banji Aluko - Benin City

TWO aspirants who contested the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, Chris Ogiemwonyi and Kenneth Imansuangbon, have rejected the results of the election, describing it as a rape of democracy.

The duo, who addressed journalists at Chris Ogiemwonyi campaign office in Benin, called on the national leadership of the APC to order a repeat of last Saturday’s primaries due to what they termed electronic rigging of the poll.

They also requested for a forensic analysis of the ballot papers used on Saturday and the finger prints, pointing out that the primaries were not in tandem with the standards set by President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC national chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun.

They alleged that the ballot papers used for the exercise were printed in Benin by someone they said was loyal to one of the aspirants in the race, adding that organisers

of the primaries made sure it got into the night so as to carry out their plan.

They also brought a person, who demonstrated how burnt paper could be used to reveal what is written underneath a plain ballot papers.

In a jointly signed statement, they said smuggling of non delegates into the venue of the primaries to vote was a sign of desperate measures by Governor Oshiomhole and his agent.

“They were successful in this bid because Edo State

government was in full control of the venue of the primaries. The open and direct interference into the voting process by the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on several occasions made some aspirants to protest,” they stated.

FRSC boss tasks intelligence officers on national security Clement Idoko - Abuja

THE Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, has charged intelligence operatives of the corps to rise up to the occasion of ensuring the security of the FRSC and the nation through diligent intelligence gathering, processing, sharing and application.

He gave the charge on Monday, while declaring open a three-day capacity building for intelligence officers of the FRSC at the corps’ Academy, Udi, Enugu State.

According to a state-

ment by Mr Bisi Kazeem, Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Oyeyemi stated that the capacity development programme was in furtherance of management’s policy of improving the efficiency of the FRSC personnel for increased productivity and quality service delivery.

He noted that since the philosophy of the management is driven on the tripod of Consultation, Reward and Punishment (CRP), it becomes imperative for it to ensure constant interaction with staff and stakeholders through training and retraining of personnel.

“We believe that it is

only when a staff has been properly trained and given exposure to the theoretical and practical knowledge of his job that a proper measurement of his level of productivity can be taken,” he stated.

In her remarks, the Head of the Department of Public Administration and Local Government, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor Chicka Oguonu who co-sponsored the programme, commended the FRSC management for its huge contributions to the growth and development of public administration in Nigeria through its training and retraining programmes for staff.

Nigerian Tribune

Police Commission promotes over 4,000 senior officers IGP decorates 4 new AIGs, 5 others Chris Agbambu - Abuja

THE Police Service Commission, on Monday, approved the promotion of 4,542 senior police officers to the next rank.

Out of this number, the commission approved special promotion for 16 officers based on exceptional performance and dedication to duty on the recommendation of the Inspector General of Police.

Also, two officers were promoted on act of gallantry while 188 others were placed on acting appointment on their next rank.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr Mike Mbama Okiro, said the affected officers should reciprocate government gesture by rededicating themselves to the service of the nation.

Okiro said the commission would continue to ensure that promotion of policemen is regular to serve as a tonic for effective and efficient service.

In a related development, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, on Monday, in Abuja, decorated four newly promoted Assistant-Inspectors General of Police (AIG) and five others.

The officers are AIGs Tili Abubakar, Opadokun John, Ogunbayode David and Dorothy Gimba.

Others are C.P Aisha Abubakar, DCP Elumelu, DCP Jonathan Towuru, DCP Ben Okolo and DCP. Abiodun Alabi.

Arase, while decorating the officers, charged them to work hard wherever they are posted to.

He said that the position they were promoted to required a lot of responsibility and discipline.

Speaking on behalf of the newly promoted officers, Abubakar promised their dedication to duty and loyalty to the force.

“We will remain more dedicated and loyal to the police force,” he said.

While also inaugurating a police officers’ mess and 35 suites, the IGP maintained that the welfare of men of the Nigeria police was his top priority as the head.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Biafra: Kanu, co-defendants urge judge to disqualify himself, allege bias Sunday Ejike-Abuja

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HE detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and his co-defendants, David Nwawusi and Benjamin Madubugwu, have asked Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court, Abuja, to disqualify himself from trying them on the six-count charge bordering on treason preferred against them by the Federal Government.

The defendants, in a motion on notice filed on Monday, said, “There is a manifest case of bias against the court, which complaint is also a subject of scrutiny by the National Judicial Council (NJC), currently probing the allegations of misconduct and manifest bias against the court in charge No: FHC/ CR/383/2015.

“That by virtue of the aforesaid scrutiny, this court’s impartiality in further proceedings in this charge shall be reasonably questioned,” Kanu and his co-defendants stated in the motion on notice filed on their behalf by their

lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor.

An affidavit in support of the motion, deposed to by one Ayoola Emmanuel, stated that a complaint had been lodged at the NJC against the conduct of Justice Tsoho in the case of the IPOB leader

and his co-defendants.

According to the affidavit, “Following the present action by the NJC, it will only be tidy and most honourable that the Judge disqualify himself forthwith from further proceedings in the matter.”

Avengers: Ijaws in diaspora set agenda for FG on proposed dialogue Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri

IJAWS in the diaspora have joined the conversation on how to engender sustainable development in the Niger Delta through the process of dialogue being proposed by the Federal Government.

The group described the proposed dialogue as a means to an end and not an end in itself, denouncing the use of violence by militants to settle scores.

The Diaspora Ijaw community in the United States, disclosed this in a statement issued at the weekend, at the end of consultations among various Diaspora Ijaw groups and made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State.

In a statement signed by its coordinator, Dr David Ugula, the group stated that the country had gone through the dialogue process before and that government, at this stage, should be sincere and avoid the missteps of the past.

It stressed that the Niger Delta struggle is centred on the people who had been crushed physically, economically and psychologically by past governments and its leaders.

The group thanked President Muhammadu Buhari on the proposed dialogue, saying good governance and accountability in the Niger Delta must be the crux of the dialogue process.

According to the group, only good governance and public accountability could lift the people of the Niger Delta out of their miserable living conditions and set a stage for sustainable development.

Scene of the fire that gutted the Kaduna Ministry of Justice, Kaduna State, at the early hours of Monday.

It was averred also that the defendants’ constitutional rights to fair hearing would be grossly impeded upon if Justice Tshoho proceeded with the hearing of the charges against them.

The affidavit stated that the court had, in the course of its ruling on 26th April, 2016, openly expressed serious prejudice against a member of the defence team, adding that, it would be in the interest of justice for the application to be granted, to preserve the sanctity of the judicial office.

The prosecution counsel, Shuaibu Labaran, Principal State Counsel in his response, accused the defence of frustrating the trial of the Biafra leader and his co-defendants.

“We were served this morning (yesterday) with a strongly worded motion and from the face of the motion, there is a clear indication that the defendants are, again out to truncate the proceedings,” Labaran told the court.

Meanwhile, the second defendant in the matter, Benjamin Madubugwu, has engaged the services of a new counsel, Chief Amobi Nzelu, leaving Chief Chuks Muoma to represent the first and the third defendants, Kanu and David Nwawusi, respectively.

It will be recalled that the court had in April struck out an application by the Biafra leader and his co-defendants asking for a stay of proceedings in their ongoing trial.

Ortom commends Mark for quality representation Johnson Babajide-Makurdi

BENUE State governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, has commended former Senate President, Senator David Mark, for his good representation at the

red chamber.

Ortom described Senator Mark as someone who has the interest of his people at heart, noting that this attribute is the reason for the gigantic projects in his senato-

rial district.

The governor was responding to the demands of elders and stakeholders from Apa and Agatu local government areas of the state, who

Militancy: I will mediate for any credible group —Ita Giwa Bola Badmus- Lagos

FORMER Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita Giwa, has reiterated her earlier stand that she will mediate on behalf of any credible group in the Niger Delta, with the aim of ending the vandalism and restiveness in the area.

Ita Giwa said this in a statement made available to newsmen, noting that she had no affiliation with any of the groups engaged in the ongoing crisis rocking the region, besides being the leader of the Bakassi people, under the aegis of the Bakassi General Assembly, a body working in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Ita Giwa, however, added that inasmuch as she was interested in any moves aimed at restoring peace and developments in the region, she would consider serving in the mediatory role if the Federal Government was willing to engage in discussions with credible Nigerians, who had genuine interest and sympathy for the people of the region.

The statement read in part: “My position is still the same and that is the fact that I will accept to mediate for any credible group and it is important to note that I do not have affiliation with any of these groups apart from my position as the political leader of the Bakassi

people struggling along with other Bakassi people to ensure proper resettlement of my people.

“Again, I will serve in order to put in place a lasting solution to the hostility, thereby bringing succour to the people of the region.

“I shall also be willing to be part of the dialogue for the benefit of the people of the region and by extension, the numerous displaced Bakassi indigenes who have been neglected over the years.

“As a major stakeholder and mother in the region and indeed Nigeria, I am willing to be party to any dialogue that will bring peace to the sufferings of the people of Niger Delta.”

pleaded with the governor to undertake the construction of Oshugbudu- Oweto Road to connect Naka for easy access to the capital city.

Governor Ortom, who acknowledged the importance of rural roads to the rural communities, stated that his administration woul complement the efforts of former senate president, whom he said, influenced the gigantic projects from Federal Government.

“I have to commend Senator David Mark and other National Assembly members from the Idoma land for their efforts in ensuring the rehabilitation of the Otukpo Road as well as construction of the Oweto bridge,” he said.

The Nigerian Tribune reported that the OtukpoOweto Road linking Abuja, approved by the immediate past administration, is about 70 per cent completed.

The Oweto bridge at inception was to cost N35 billion but the Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said the contract had been reviewed upward for completion by 2018.

Fire razes Kaduna Justice Ministry Muhammad Sabiu - kaduna

FIRE razed the Kaduna Ministry of Justice in the early hours of Monday, destroying important documents.

According to findings the fire started around 2:00 a.m in one of the offices, before spreading to about 12 offices in the ministry.

Source at the Ministry said the Fire Service arrived at the scene on time to put out the fire, to prevent it from spreading to other buildings housing other ministries in the area.

“It took timely intervention of the fire service people to put the fire under control.

The fire owing to the closeness of the building would have engulfed other buildings where we have several other ministries,” the source added .

As of press time, the cause of the inferno could not be established as nobody in the ministry was willing to talk to the press based on an order from the state government.

It was also learnt that investigation to unravel the cause of the fire had since commenced while an official statement on the incident might remain pending until conclusion of investigations.

Hajj: DSS, NDLEA to screen pilgrims in Oyo THE Oyo State Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board said the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) will screen pilgrims for Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The Board Chairman, Alhaji Taofeek Akewugbagold, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, on Monday.

Akewugbagold said the two agencies would join the board in screening pilgrims, with a view to detecting those who could be trying to ferry drugs and other contraband to Saudi Arabia.

He said screening committee, which would include the DSS, NDLEA and other law enforcement agencies had been inaugurated.

The chairman, who said the committee would screen the pilgrims before their departure from Oyo State to Lagos, noted that the decision was taken in order to `nip in the bud’ any pilgrim who could be laden with contraband in order to stop them from embarrassing the state.

“We have made arrangements for each pilgrim to submit their luggage for screening, a week before departure to Mecca. The luggage will be searched in the presence of each pilgrim,” he said.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Court strikes out pre-election suit against federal lawmaker Isaac Shobayo, Jos

A

Federal High Court sitting in Jos,Plateau State, has struck out a pre-election matter pending before it against a member of the House of Representatives, representing Jos North/Bassa federal constituency, Honourable Suleiman Yahaya Kwande Former Minister of State( Information),,Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Na Kande, had dragged Kwande before a Federal High Court in Jos, challenging his election as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the ground that the primary election was marred with irregularities.

The court presided over by Justice D. Y. Agishi ,on Monday, struck out the matter on the basis of none appearance by the plaintiff.

In her ruling, Justice Agishi, said since the plaintiff had not been putting up appearances and after some adjournments, the matter was struck out and awarded a sum of f N5000 as cost against the plaintiff.

The lead counsel to the defendant, Mr Tony Agaga ,told newsmen after the ruling that the plaintiff had lost interest in the matter and therefore “we plead for its nullification.”

In a related development, the Federal High Court, had slated July6 for ruling in a case of forgery against a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Honourable Baba Hassan, representing Jos North-North.

Abdul Nasir Saleh ,who contested primaries with Hassan in the last general election on the platform of APC, is challenging the lawmaker

for submitting forged diploma certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ),in the last election ,and therefore asked the court to disqualify Hassan and declare him the winner of the election.

At the resumption of hearing on Monday, after the last adjournment for pending ap-

plication, the counsel to the defendant, Solomon Umoh, had asked the court to dismiss the case on the ground that the University of Jos, had issued conflicting letters on whether or not the member was a graduate of the university Reacting to the Umoh’s argument, the counsel to the

RELIEF came the way of a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan , Mr Warpamo Owei Emmanuel Dudafa, as he was granted bail of N500 million by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday.

Dudafa and his co-accused, Iwejo Joseph Nna, are standing trial for an alleged N5.1billion fraud brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They were both arraigned before the court last week but were subsequently, remanded in prison following the order of the trial Judge, Justice Mohammed Idris.

While Dudafa was granted a N500 million bail with three sureties in like sum, Nna, who is also known as

In his submission, Justice Musa Kuraya, who is the presiding judge over the matter, said since the office of the registrar is in Jos, he should be given time to investigate the points of arguments by both the plaintiff and the defendant from the registrar.

Kuraya further adjourns the case till July6

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa (left), receiving the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act from the Director-General of NIMC, Mr Aliyu Aziz, during a visit to NIMC headquarters, Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN

Workers’ salaries: Kogi TUC threatens mass protest Yinka Oladoyinbo Lokoja

THE Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kogi State, on Monday, threatened to embark on mass protest over the alleged failure of the state government to pay workers’ salaries and honour the agreement reached with the congress.

The congress has, therefore, sensitised its members

across the 21 local government areas of the state for the protest predicated on the decision of government to open salary accounts for workers without their consent.

Speaking at the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the congress, the state chairman of TUC, Ranti Ojo, also directed members not to open a new salary account

Alleged N5.1bn fraud: Court grants Jonathan’s former aide N500m bail Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin

plaintiff, Mr David Ibeawuchi, noted that in any conflicting evidence, court usually invites the parties involved to give oral evidence on the matter and not to dismiss the case, urging the court to invite the registrar to give oral evidence since the two conflicting letters were signed by him.

Taiwo Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah, was granted N250 million with two sureties in the like sum.

Justice Idris also ordered that the sureties who are to stand for the two accused persons, must have landed property within the jurisdiction of the court, while the accused persons must deposit their international passports with the court’s Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR).

The judge ,however, ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody pending the perfection of the bail conditions, while the case was adjourned till July 4 and 5.

The two accused persons were arraigned before the court by the anti-graft agency on 23 count-charge, bordering on alleged N5.1 billion fraud, to which they had both pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

In the charge signed by

Rotimi Oyedepo, EFCC alleged that Dudafa, and Joseph Nna, had between June 11, 2013 and June 2015, used different companies to fraudulently steal to commit the alleged offences.

with the designated banks.

According to him, the directive that workers should open new salary accounts with the Access Bank and Zenith Bank, had pitched the workers against the government, saying the development had further compounded the situation of workers.

He said the organised labour was not convinced of the reasons being canvassed by some government functionaries to justify the action, saying government hinged its argument on the fact that the banks were the ones that made the money available.

The TUC chairman added that labour had faulted another argument by government that the two designated banks has some devices

that could further detect the status of any civil servant on government payroll.

The congress argued that opening new bank accounts for workers for the purpose of salary, was wrong as many of the workers already had business arrangements and commitments with their banks.

The workers also faulted the public display of their Bank Verification Number (BVN), saying it had exposed them to fraud and other nefarious activities.

Ojo said; “It is not too late for them to retrace their steps by allowing the designated banks to pay directly into the existing salary accounts of individual civil servants domiciled in different banks in the state.

Recruitment scam: Customs begins war against internet fraudsters, arrests 12 Tola Adenubi, Lagos

THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) ,has commenced an all-out war against internet fraudsters, who specialise in extorting money from innocent Nigerians under the pretext of offering them jobs, auctions or contracts.

Already about 12 suspects have been arrested and will soon be charged to court.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the image maker of NCS, Wale Adeniyi, this integrated approach on social media, is

coming on the heels of recent upsurge of fraudsters using the name of NC S to solicit applications for nonexistent job offers for a fee that is usually paid into personal bank accounts The advert, currently circulating on the WhatsApp platform, is the latest of those criminal attempts to mislead desperate job-seekers. The post which went viral over the weekend ,is a copy and paste reproduction of the previous recruitment adverts, with a clever insertion of the Service website address.

To achieve their criminal objective, the same advert directs applicants to visit a fake website, which is www.customsrecruit.com. ng. Victims are eventually requested to make some payments to complete the phoney forms.

The general public is, therefore, advised to discountenance such advertisements found in any online platforms except those released in NCS authentic and authoritative platforms: www.customs. gov.ng and www.facebook. com/customsng.

IFAD, Olam Group sign MoU on rice production Johnson Babajide, Makurdi

IN an effort to boost rice production in the country, The International Fund for Agricultural Development, (IFAD), Olam Group and rice farming groups, have signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU).

The vice president of Olam group, Mr Reji George, said this at the weekend, during the flag off of the distribution of inputs to rice farmers by Olam group under the auspices of IFAD-Value Chain Development Programme, at Tse-Terzar in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

George said Olam group would be providing rice farmers under the IFADVCDP in Benue State with inputs and needed assistance after which the company would buy off the yield from the rice farms.

“It’s going to be a huge investment on our part and we are looking at a projection of about N1billion.

We indeed, laud the Federal Government for providing this platform, which should go a long way to boost rice production in the country.”

Speaking, the state project coordinate of IFAD-VCDP, Emmanuel Igbaukum, commended Olam group for partnering the programme, adding that Benue State was the first under the programme to embark on dry season rice farming, which was already being harvested.

ThE state Commissioner for Agriculture ,Mr James Ambua ,who was represented by a d irector at the event, Mr James Kerr, lauded Olam for the investment and its intervention.

Rector charges new lecturers

By Tunde Adegbola

RECTOR of the Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, in Saki-West Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Mathew Oladeji, has charged the newly employed lecturers in the institution to brace up by discharging their professional duty with dedication and sincerity.

Oladeji gave the charge during a workshop organised for the newly employed lecturers of the institution.

He assured that their welfare would be given utmost priority but with a warning that laziness, truancy and other negative actions would not be tolerated.

He advised them on the need to strictly keep to the rules and regulations of the school, adding that any attempt to violate or breach the operational guidelines may warrant penalty.

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Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

Trump fires campaign manager Donald Trump fired his controversial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski Monday, unleashing a major shake-up as he comes under pressure from his closest advisers, particularly his family members, to urgently reset his struggling presidential campaign.

According to CNN, Lewandowki’s abrupt departure is the campaign’s most significant staff change to date, and signals an acknowledgment from Trump himself that an overhaul is necessary ahead of the general election. The candidate has suffered major setbacks since becoming the GOP’s presumptive nominee last month, coming under intense criticism from party leaders, major donors and rank-and-file Republicans for an array of issues -- including most recently, his response to last weekend’s terrorist attack in Orlando that killed 49 people.

“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican Primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement Monday.

Donald Trump

otherNEWS Uganda witness for Muslim cleric murder castrated

Refugees travelling on Mediterranean Sea. PHOTO: UN

Number of refugees hit 65 million, all time high in 2015 —UNHCR

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he United Nations refugee agency has said persecution and conflict in places such as Syria and Afghanistan raised the total number of refugees and internally displaced people worldwide to a record 65.3 million at the end of last year.

The previous year, 2014, had already seen the highest number of refugees worldwide since World War II, with 60 million displaced people, Al Jazeera reported.

But last year - when Lebanon, Turkey and European countries staggered under the arrival of large numbers of refugees - topped that record by nearly 10 percent, the UNHCR

Somali militants kill five police in Kenya

Somalia’s al Shabaab militants killed five police officers in a border region in northeastern Kenya on Monday, the latest deadly incursion aimed at punishing Kenya for sending troops to Somalia.

Al Shabaab said it was behind the attack. The group’s military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters four officers were also wounded and a vehicle in their convoy was burned in the ambush by its fighters.

The group has previously said it would continue attacks until Kenya withdraws troops from an African Union force fighting

the militants in Somalia.

“We condemn the attack by al Shabaab at Dimu this morning, five police officers killed,” Mandera County Governor Ali Roba said on his Twitter account.

Diplomats say Kenya’s northeastern border with Somalia is a security weak spot, given the challenge of policing a long frontier, poor coordination between security services and a culture of corruption that allows those prepared to pay a bribe to pass unchallenged.

Al Shabaab has targeted the Mandera region in the past.

said on Monday, in the unveiling of its annual Global Trends Report.

The Geneva-based body urged leaders from Europe and elsewhere to do more to end the wars that are fanning the exodus of people from their homelands.

“I hope that the message carried by those forcibly displaced reaches the leaderships: We need action, political action, to stop conflicts,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.

“The message that they have carried is: ‘If you don’t solve problems, problems will come to you’.”

With stark detail, UNHCR said that on average, 24 people had been displaced every minute of every day last year, or 34,000 people a day, up from six every minute in 2005.

Global displacement has roughly doubled since

1997, and risen by 50 percent since 2011 alone when the Syria war began.

More than half of all refugees came from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Turkey was the “top host” country for the second year running, taking in 2.5 million people - nearly all from neighbouring Syria. Afghan neighbour Pakistan had 1.6 million, while Lebanon, next to Syria, hosted at leat 1.1 million.

Grandi said policymakers and advocacy groups face daunting challenges helping the largest subset of displaced people: About 40.8 million internally displaced in countries in conflict.

Another 21.3 million were refugees and some 3.2 million more were seeking asylum.

More than a million people fled to Europe last year, causing a political crisis in the European Union.

Democratic Republic of Congo declared a yellow fever epidemic in three provinces including the capital Kinshasa on Monday after confirming 67 cases of the disease, with another 1,000 suspected cases being monitored.

Health Minister Felix Kabange said seven of the proven cases were autochthonous, while 58 were imported from Angola, where the outbreak

began. A further two cases came from remote forested areas not linked to the current outbreak. Five people in total have died, Kabange added.

“I declare today a localized epidemic of yellow fever in the provinces of Kinshasa, Kongo Central and Kwango,” Kabange told a news conference.

Kinshasa is the main concern for global healthcare officials,

A witness in a trial over a spate of murders of Muslim clerics in Uganda was “beaten and castrated” because he agreed to testify, prosecutors say.

The defence argued those on trial could not have been responsible for the attack as they were in jail.

The judge adjourned the trial, which opened on Monday, to give more time to protect witnesses.

One woman and 31 men are on trial, including a cleric from the Tabliq sect.

The prosecution did not give any further details about the alleged attack on the witness but did say a court case had started on Friday.

The spate of killings included the head of Uganda’s Shia community, Sheikh Abdu Kadir Muwaya, who was shot dead Christmas Day 2014 in Uganda’s capital Kampala.

Three days later Sheikh Mustafa Bahiga, a leader of the Tabliq sect was also shot dead.

Sheikh Muhammad Younus Kamoga was one of the Tabliq sect’s leaders in Uganda at the time of his arrest.

The BBC reported that from the High Court that the defence said police took the suspects out of jail and forced them to give information against each other.

The court during the hearing of murder case in Uganda. PHOTO: BBC.

Virginia Raggi becomes first female mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi has been elected as Rome’s first female mayor in a triumph for the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), representing a blow to Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister.

Raggi swept into City Hall on Sunday with twothirds of the votes cast in a runoff contest with Roberto Giachetti of Renzi’s centreleft Democratic Party (DP).

“A new era is beginning with us,” said Raggi after declaring victory. “We’ll work to bring back legality and transparency to the city’s institutions.”

Al Jazeera reported that a lawyer and local councillor, Raggi has leapt from anonymity to become one

of the best-known faces in Italian politics in the space of only a few months on the campaign trail.

M5S has emerged as the main opposition to Renzi’s coalition and success in Rome could provide a platform for a tilt at national power in general elections due in 2018.

Virginia Raggi: PHOTO: EPA

Congo declares yellow fever epidemic, 1,000 suspected cases because it has a densely packed population of more than 12 million and poor health infrastructure.

Yellow fever is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that spread the Zika and dengue viruses, although it is a much more serious disease. The “yellow” in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.

The global stockpile of

yellow fever vaccines has already been depleted twice this year to immunize people in Angola, Uganda and Congo. It currently stands at 6 million doses but this may not be enough if there are simultaneous outbreaks in multiple highly populated areas.

Almost 18 million doses have been distributed for emergency vaccination campaigns so far in the three African countries.

38

communitynews

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

Lawyer threatens court action against Okowa over welfare tax Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri

G

OVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has been urged to halt the plan to collect taxes and levies from commuters under the Passenger Welfare Scheme.

A legal practitioner and human rights activist, Oghenejabor Ikimi, in a petition sent to the governor and made available to Community News on Friday in Warri, threatened to approach the court if his advice is not heeded within seven days.

Ikimi described the levies to be collected by private consultants from commuters as well as the tax paid on a daily basis by operators of motorcycles and tricycles in the state on a daily basis as illegal.

He said such did not fall within the list of taxes and levies that could be collected by the state government as provided under Part II of the Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, 2004 (as amended), which prescribes the taxes and levies to be collected

by the state government.

“It has come to my notice that your office has just introduced a tax regime under what is called the Passenger Welfare

Scheme to be paid by commuters patronising public transport vehicles within and across Delta State’s lines and that the said tax or levy is to be col-

lected by private tax consultants to ameliorate the suffering of victims of road accident.

“I am also aware of the tax paid daily by operators

of motorcycles and tricycles in Delta State through the purchase of government tickets of N100 and N150 respectively,” Ikimi said.

He added that apart from

Beauty queen donates to schools in Usi

Esther Akinyemi (Miss Usi) presenting a gift to the Olusi of Usi, Oba Adedayo Akande, in his palace.

Traditional ruler lauds training of Epe youths in agro-business Bola Badmus-Lagos

THE Olu of Epe Kingdom, Oba Shefiu Esinlokun Adewale, has said that the recent training of over 1,700 Epe youths in agro-business will go

a long way in reducing poverty in the area.

Oba Adewale made the remark while commending the organisers of the ongoing Youth Empowerment, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Sum-

mit, the National Image Magazine, for deeming it fit to organise the training and empowerment programme in Epe. In a statement made available to Community News on Sunday by

the programme coordinator, Seyi Bamigbade, the Olu of Epe, who spoke at the ceremony marking the completion of the first leg of the programme, while thanking the Lagos State gover-

Akamkpa community laments neglect as govt assures of intervention Anthony Ubong-Calabar

THE people of Nfamosing community in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State have lamented marginalisation and neglect by the United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), now Lafarge Holcim, and other companies operating in the community, in terms of employment and provision of social amenities.

Their grouse is that the cement company and others operating in the community had reneged on their Corporate Social Responsibility by not engaging natives of the community to work in their companies.

Commenting on the development, the Paramount Ruler of Akamkpa and Clan Head of Ojuk South Clan, HRM Ntufam Clement Emayip, said Lafarge Holcim and other companies operating in the area,

being illegal, the tax under the Passenger Welfare Scheme and the levies paid by motorcycle and tricycle operators “is prohibited and punishable under Section 3 of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, 2004 (as amended).”

had been insensitive to the plight of the people.

The traditional ruler said he had made several attempts to call Lafarge Holcim and other companies to a round-table discussion with a view to resolving the issues relating to unemployment of indigenes, provision of basic infrastructure, award of scholarship, but all had proved abortive.

He further hinted that due to the hazardous nature of the chemical substances emitted by the production of cement, economic trees and other crops no longer yield good harvest, while the sources of drinking water have been polluted and the people left with no good drinking water.

He, therefore, called for government intervention before the situation snowballs into crisis. “It is because my people re-

spect and listen to me that is why they are still waiting patiently for government to intervene instead of embarking on violent demonstration as a result of the neglect and marginalisation,” the traditional ruler said.

This came as the state government assured the community that it would soon wade into the matter.

Special Assistant to the Governor on Petroleum and Local Content Implementation, Mr. Imoh Imoh Anthony, gave the assurance when he embarked on a fact-finding visit to the community.

Imoh said the visit was to get first-hand information on the operations of Lafarge Holcim and other companies operating in the area, especially as it concerns the employment of natives of the community and other Cross Riverians.

Reacting to the allega-

tions of marginalisation, the Head of Public Affairs of Larfarge Holcim, Mr. Ayi Ayi said it is not true that Mfamosing is being marginalised or deprived of employment opportunities in the company.

He said since the company started operations in 2009, it had always carried out its Corporate Social Responsibility to its host communities.

Ayi said: “Employment is a privilege and not a right.

There is no company that can employ everybody in the society.

“We are driving some programmes for the six communities in order to develop capacities and opportunities so that in the future, they can be directly involved.

“Some people from the community have got jobs in oil companies due to our training and scholarship which is continuous.”

nor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, for supporting the initiative, solicited for more support to lift the entire people in the locality out of poverty.

On his part, the Director of Informal Sector and Special Duties, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Owolabi Kamson, expressed happiness over the success of the empowerment programme, saying if more youths were productively engaged, it would translate to more income for the state, greater development and prosperity.

Bamigbade, however, said that the second leg of the first phase of the training programme would kick-off this week at the Farm Service Centre, Oko-Oba, Lagos, adding that about 2,000 youths were scheduled to be trained.

It will be recalled that the organisers of the programme had, two months ago, promised to train and empower 5,700 youths from 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State.

THE winner of the 2015/16 beauty pageant in Usi-Ekiti (Miss Usi), Esther Akinyemi, has donated books to schools in the community in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti state.

Miss Akinyemi, an ND 1 student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, contested and was adjudged the most beautiful girl in Usi during the 2015 Usi Day celebration.

Aside paying homage to the Olusi of Usi kingdom, Oba Adedayo George Akande Orokoyo II and the Olusi-in-Council, Miss Usi also visited Ekiti Government College, Usi High School and the Federal Science and Technical College, Usi-Ekiti where she donated books.

In his welcome address at the palace, Oba Akande commended Esther for deeming it fit to pay homage to the traditional institution in the community and her decision to present gifts to schools in the community.

The National President, Egbe Omo Usi Worldwide, Engineer Yomi Ayorinde, who accompanied Miss Usi to the palace and other places visited said: “the gesture is commendable and appreciated by the community; this is to tell us that the beauty pageant is not for fun.

Akinyemi, while presenting the books to representatives of the schools, urged them to teach morals and encourage the younger generation to be focused and determined to achieve greatness in life.

Explaining how she won the contest, Esther said: “I contested for the first time and won. It was a rare priviledge. I think one of the things that helped me was determination. I aimed high but at the same time, I humbled myself and to the glory of God, I got it without stress. I want the younger generation to learn from my experience.”

39

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Enyimba will bounce back against Sundowns —Mfon Udoh

Super heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba (left) after one of his victorious outings. He remains the only boxer who has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Rio Olympics: Dalung assures

athletes of training tours

By Niyi Alebiosu

T

HE Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has assured the athletes preparing for the 2016 Rio Olympics of training tours to enhance their performances at the Games billed to hold in August in Brazil.

He made this known when he visited the para-table tennis athletes at their Brai Ayonote hostel situated within the National Stadium, Lagos.

Dalung assured the athletes that the next stage of camping will be outside the country.

“Our camping will be in two phases. Since we’ve not

been able to improve on our facilities, we will make use of what we have for the first stage which will soon be over before exposing you to the second phase which will be outside the country.

I believe that the state of our facilities will be better before the next Olympics. Do not be discouraged because all your sacrifices are for the country.

I wish you well and we will consider training tours that will be of comparative advantage to all athletes,” he said.

Dalung stated that the Ministry of Youth and Sports will also provide lighting and equipment for para-table tennis athletes training at their training camp at the National Stadium, Lagos,

One of the athletes Faith Obiora complained of poor lighting at the training venue, leaking roofs and inadequate equipment.

Dalung promised the athletes that he will give immediate attention to the provision of equipment and lighting, while the ministry will also fix the leaking roofs as soon as possible.

“We are training against time because the Olympics is fast approaching. Although we haven’t been able to do much due to paucity of funds, we will do those things that need urgent attention. I have already directed that equipment for training should be acquired and it is expected that they’ll be available soon,” he said.

New Oyo Sports Commissioner, Oke commends 3SC, Crown FC THE newly-appointed Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Oyo State, Barrister Abayomi Oke has commended the management and players of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) for its away victory over MFM FC in a match day 23 game of the Nigeria Premier League last Sunday at the Agege Stadium, Lagos.

Ebitimi Agogo’s 82nd minute’s goal gave the Oluyole Warriors a lone goal victory over MFM,

which was 3SC’s first away win of the season.

Also, an elated Oke commended the players and officials of Crown FC campaigning in the Nigeria National League (NNL) for its home victory also last weekend.

Oke disclosed that he had before the matches put calls through to the officials and players of both teams where he urged them to make the state proud and in which they assured him of victories

which later came to pass.

“I want to assure the sportsloving people of the state that my appointment will bring a new dawn to sports in the state and in particular, both clubs so as to restore the lost glory of the state in sports,” Oke said on Monday on his assumption of office.

He assured of the state government’s readiness to take sports in the state to greater heights with adequate and necessary support it requires.

Dalung however, charged the athletes to take their training programme seriously as the Olympics will be a battle ground for world champions.

“Having qualified, you need to train very well because you’re going to face other qualifiers. Do your best in training and aspire to dominate your opponents during the games”.

Meanwhile, Super

ENYIMBA striker, Mfon Udoh, has said the team has put behind the home loss to Zamalek of Egypt in the first group game of the CAF Champions League, saying the focus is now on the game against Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa.

The Nigeria champions fell 1-0 to Zamalek last Sunday in Port Harcourt and now face a daunting task at Group B leaders Sundowns, who won 2-0 at Entente Setif of Algeria.

Udoh speaking ahead of the June 29 game in the Rainbow Nation said the Peoples Elephants hope to

heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba, the only boxer to have qualified so far for the Olympics also proposed a training tour to enhance his skills. He complained of the poor state of the boxing ring and the floor of the gymnasium.

The minister had a fortnight ago also visited athletes in camp during training at the National Stadium, Abuja.

make up for the defeat in South Africa.

“We hope to pick up the pieces in our next game against Sundowns. We hope to get a point or even win in South Africa. It’s a race and we are not out of this race yet,” he said.

Udoh further said ill-luck in front of goal denied them of victory against Zamalek.

“We got everything right, we played a good game, we were just unlucky not to put the ball in the net,” said the leading scorer in this year’s Champions League with seven goals.

“Our priority now is to ensure we get the vital points, any other thing is secondary,” he added.

Meanwhile, Zamalek coach Mohamed Helmy applauded his team’s victory against all odds.

Bassem Morsy’s goal handed the White Knights the victory and the coach said his players carried over their duties like men.

“The players carried out the game plan perfectly, so I congratulate and thank them, because they played like men,” Helmy told KingFut.com.

“Zamalek fought in the match while playing in abnormal conditions, in which any other team would have opposed.”

Thunder Balogun family mourns Keshi, Amodu THE family of the late soccer legend, Teslim ‘Thunder’ Balogun has joined other Nigerians to mourn the exit of the former Super Eagles handlers, Stephen Keshi and Shuaibu Amodu.

In a tribute made available on behalf of the family, both men contributed tremendously to the growth of football in the country both as footballers, coaches and administrators at domestic and international levels.

The spokesman of the family, Mr Kayode Zege Balogun said they were smarting from 18th annual memorial service of their late mother, Alhaja Mulikat Thunder Balogun to hear of the sudden departure of coach Stephen Keshi and the NFF Technical Director, coach Amodu Shuaibu.

Zege as he’s fondly called expressed their grief over the demise of the football

great tacticians who have contributed immensely to the growth of soccer in the land.

He sends condolences to the families of Keshi and Amodu as well as the Federal Government, the

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and football lovers across the nation.

Balogun described the exit of the duo as a monumental loss to Nigeria, adding that the incident also called for sober reflections.

Kogi set for 2016 CJN sports Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja THE Kogi State government on Monday inaugurated the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the hosting of the 2016 edition of the Chief Justice of Nigeria Sports competition scheduled to hold from July 4 to 12.

Inaugurating the committee, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs Folasade Ayoade, said the competition would enable the government to showcase the potential in the state.

According to her, the competition would also

afford the state to tell the whole world that Kogi State is peaceful and united.

Ayoade charged the 10man LOC to work as a team as the competition would be a litmus test for the state, pledging the support of government towards a successful hosting of the competition.

The chairman of the committee, who is also the state Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Arome Adoji, said members were carefully selected to ensure effectiveness.

SIDELINES

NO 16,528

TUESDAY, 21 JUNE, 2016

One of the robbery suspects nabbed in Kaduna, Chijioke Ugwuanyi, who claimed to be a graduate of Economics, confessed that he was previously earning N5,000 monthly as a teacher in a secondary school in Lagos. If one may ask, will it not be necessary to find out some of life’s philosophies Ugwuanyi taught his students?

N150

Why Nwakali’s Arsenal move is on hold

—Elder brother

N

IGERIA youngster, Kelechi Nwakali will no longer fly out to sign his professional contract with Premier League club, Arsenal until after the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Sudan, his brother has informed AfricanFootball.com.

Nwakali, who captained the Golden Eaglets to win the 2015 FIFA World Cup in Chile, had said he would sign his professional contract with The Gunners this month and join them in July for pre-season games.

However, Nwakali’s elder brother, Allwell Nwakali who also acts as the player’s intermediary said the teenage star will only travel after his engagement with the Flying Eagles.

“Kelechi is supposed to sign this month after he clocked 18, but due to the national assignment he won’t be leaving immediately,” Allwell informed.

“As soon as they are through with the games against Sudan, he will move but if the (Nigeria U20) coach can give him between two to three weeks, he will travel.”

The younger Nwakali has already agreed terms with the English giants and he will sign the dotted lines this summer.

Nwakali

Eagles must brace up to grab 2018 W-Cup ticket —Ogu ISRAEL-BASED John Ogu has asked his Nigeria teammates to do much more when playing for the Super Eagles as they get set for the qualifying series for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

FIFA will today release new seedings for the draw for the qualifying tournament ahead of the event on Friday in Cairo, Egypt.

And after missing out on AFCON 2017, the Super Eagles will be throwing everything to qualify for a sixth World Cup. Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel midfielder, Ogu who was overlooked in Nigeria’s failed attempt to make the 2017 AFCON, is now tipped for a return to the team following his championship-winning season in Israel.

He said they (players) must show a higher level of com-

mitment as he believes they possess the required quality.

“When we get together we need to understand that this is a country of over 170 million people where everybody loves football,” he told Channels TV. “But we have good players, quality players and it is just building the team together and I believe with time we will get there,” he added.

Ogu only played once during the qualifiers for the 2017 AFCON – a 2-0 win over Chad in Kaduna last June – and is expected back to the team when the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup begin in October.

The 28-year-old was hugely impressive as he helped Be’er Sheva claim the Israeli Ligat hA’al and he also emerged as the best foreign player in the league.

Rio 2016 qualifiers: Apochi lands in q/f, faces Dutch opponent today

By Ganiyu Salman

Apochi

UK-based players join Dream Team camp in Abuja TWO top young talents from England, Solomon Otabor of Birmingham City and former Stoke City U-21 player, Tomi Adeloye on Monday arrived in the Nigeria U-23 national team camp in Abuja.

As final preparations heat up with other top players like Alex Iwobi and Kel-

echi Iheanacho, John Obi Mikel, Odion Ighalo and others set to join the camp in the United States of America.

Adeloye and Otabor hit the ground running, after landing from London on Monday morning.

They went through the full training session that

lasted over two hours showing great determination with so many other good players in the camp.

Competition is set to go down to the wire as regards the players that would make the final squad of the Samson Siasia-piloted Dream Team to the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

DELTA State-born heavyweight boxer, Efetobore Apochi, on Monday, brightened his hope of qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics, as he moved to the quarter-final of the ongoing AIBA 2016 World Boxing Qualification Event in Azerbaijan.

Apochi defeated Ireland’s O’neill Darren by a unanimous decision 3-0 in a round of 16 clash and will now face Roy Korving of the Netherlands today for a place in the semi-finals.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Apochi had earlier defeated Karneyeu Siarhei of Belarus 2-1 on point last Sunday before his triumph over the Kilkenny southpaw on Monday.

Apochi, 2015 All Africa Games silver medallist, who relocated to the United Kingdom to prepare for the Olympics qualifier in Azerbaijan, it

will be recalled, missed the Rio 2016 ticket at the African Boxing Championship held in Cameroon in March this year, which served as the Olympics qualifiers.

Apochi, a graduate of microbiology from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, it will be recalled, lost on points, 3-0, in the quarter-finals of Cameroon 2016 to St Pierre Joseph Kennedy of Mauritius.

His compatriot, Umar Sadiq who also made the qualifying event had earlier on Sunday lost 3-0 on point to Russia’s Petr Khamukov in the light heavyweight category.

The UK-based Sadiq, had earlier won his first fight last Friday defeating Kenyan Ochola Elly Ajowi.

Meanwhile, super heavyweight boxer, Efe Ajagba remains the only Nigerian boxer who has qualified for the Rio Olympics following his exploits in Cameroon.

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. 21/6/2016.