23rd February 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,442

TUESDAY, 23 FEBRUARY, 2016

Sheriff takes over in PDP, says 'I won't resign' •He's not fit, BoT insists •Govs beg BoT, Juta group

—P4

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

Kogi govt orders disconnection of power to judge, ex-gov's houses —P39

@nigeriantribune

Marafa shuns Senate probe panel, faces suspension —P4

Nigerian Tribune

N150

Immigration recruitment tragedy: EFCC arrests Moro, 2 others —P43

Naira already devalued —Pat Utomi —P10

•No, it is not —Finance Ministry •Naira firms up, exchanges N370 to dollar

President Muhammadu Buhari being welcomed by the governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal Bandar Bn Abdulaziz Al-Saud, at the Royal Terminal of Riyadh International Airport, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

Crude oil swap: Reps summon Diezani March 2

—P15

2

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

3

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

4 news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Modu Sheriff takes over in PDP, says ‘I won’t resign’ •He’s not fit, BoT insists •Govs beg BoT, Juta group Taiwo Adisa, Leon Usigbe and Jacob Segun Olatunji -Abuja

A

GAINST pressure from some leaders of the party opposed to his emergence as national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has formally taken over the leadership of the party, vowing not to resign.

Addressing a press briefing moments after the official handing over ceremony at the national secretariat of the party, in Abuja, on Monday, he said Ambassador Wilberforce Juta, who is leading the call for his resignation, contested the post of the national chairmanship with him and scored only one vote in an election conducted by the National Executive Committee (NEC).

Juta-led PDP Rescue Group had addressed a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, where it called on Sheriff to step aside as, according to the group, he was not nominated by the people of Borno State for the post, as required by the PDP constitution.

In his reaction, the former Borno governor said:

“I saw the person who was addressing the press conference, Ambassador Wilberforce Juta. He submitted himself to the National Working Committee of this party, aspiring to be a chairman. “(Hon. Mohammd) Wakil that you saw on the television also submitted himself to the committee to be appointed chairman. Votes had been cast. The man that was addressing the press conference got one vote and he’s asking me to resign.

“Therefore, I will not resign. The leadership of this party, in its wisdom, asked me to lead. If the NEC of this party collectively asks me to leave, I will leave. But not somebody who contested an election and got one vote.

“My brother, where is the credibility? Where is the justice? I would have listened to him better if he did not aspire to be one (national chairman).

“Therefore, I do not plan to resign and I will not resign. I will reposition this party and take it to election within a time frame decided by the leaders of this party to conduct a credible, effective congress that will stand the test of time.”

The new national chair-

man, who was expected to serve out the tenure of former national chairman, Dr Adamu Mu’azu, in March or April, said the party leadership would determine how long he would remain in office.

Sheriff said he was confident that he would lead the opposition party till when it would conduct credible congresses and national convention.

“I took over this party today. I am here as a national chairman of this party by the grace of all the NEC members of the party. I am here to rebuild the party.

“What time we need to do this job will be determined by the leaders and owners of the party when they sit down collectively to discuss.

“For me, taking over office today, I cannot tell you when I am leaving. I will only tell you when the party leaders sit down and see what is the immediate time to do this job, if they decide, I am ready for it,” he said.

Sheriff reiterated his denial of any association with Boko Haram which he said was after him because he ended their menace within five days during the late President Umaru Yar’Adualed administration.

He recalled that leaders of the terrorist group were after him because they accused him of preventing the sect from Islamising Northern Nigeria.

The PDP national chairman promised to put in his best along with other members of the PDP National Working Committee to reposition the party and return it to its real owners.

He observed that the party was at its most challenging period, having been “undeservedly pushed into opposition.”

The party boss stressed that he recognised the weight of expectations of the party members to reposition and he had decided to take up the challenge.

Noting that he would leave no stone unturned in the effort to revive the party, he assured that he had come with open mind and called on all aggrieved members to sheath their swords.

He advised all those who claimed they were not consulted over his election to refrain from using the media, as he was ready to meet with them to address their concerns.

“For all those who feel aggrieved, going to the media is not the best. Come, let us

talk together. They are aggrieved because they want the party to succeed,” he noted.

Speaking before handing over to Sheriff, the former acting national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, noted that Sheriff’s assumption of office as the national chairman of the PDP had sent jitters into the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), hence the ruling party was trying to tag him with the name, Boko Haram.

According to him, “there is earthquake in the camp of APC. That is why they have come with blackmail.”

He assured that party decisions would now be reached through consensus, as he promised that “gone are the days that a few elders will sit down in Abuja and decide what happens in the party.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party met on Monday at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja and resolved not to accept Sheriff as the national chairman.

In a short statement made to the press after the meeting, the acting chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, said: “BoT as conscience of the party

Marafa shuns Senate ethics committee

•I was not properly invited -Marafa •Tension as committee submits report today Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja SPOKESMAN of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), Senator Kabiru Marafa, shunned a sitting of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, on Monday, thus facing a possible suspension from the Senate from today.

The Senate committee, headed by Senator Sam Anyanwu, concluded its investigation into whether or not Marafa breached the privileges of senators through an interview he granted in the media, in which he asked the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, to resign.

Senator Anyanwu told newsmen that his committee had concluded its investigations and would submit its report today.

But Senator Marafa said that he was not properly invited, adding that he would appear before the committee anytime he was properly invited.

In spite of that, the com-

mittee insisted that it would submit its report today, based on submissions further made against Marafa by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, who served as the chief petitioner in the absence of Senator Isa Misau, who raised the petition against the Zamfara senator.

If found guilty of a breach of the privileges of the senators, Senator Marafa could be suspended from the chamber for as long as the senators wished.

The Senate had, last week Tuesday, upon submissions made by Senators Haman Isa Misau and Mathew Urhogide, mandated its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to investigate Marafa on alleged despicable remarks he made against the Senate in the interview and report back to it today.

Urhoghide, who appeared before the committee on Monday, said Marafa acted in clandestine manner with the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,

in portraying the National Assembly in bad light on allegation of corruption by saying whatever Obasanjo said in his letter to the National Assembly early this month was right.

According to him, “after going through the interview, the first thing that was very clear was that my own colleague was acting in tandem with the former president on spurious allegation of corruption against the National Assembly and in particular, the Senate as far as the issue of N4.7 billion car purchase project is concerned.

“He had actually acted in that manner with the former president by saying that ‘I think whatever Chief Obasanjo is saying is right and i support him’. I think there are two meanings to this. I think ‘whatever’ Chief Obasanjo is saying meaning that the National Assembly is corrupt and it stinks.

“Therefore, I believe my colleague should be called to come and explain how

the National Assembly and the Senate stink, how we are greedy and how we are corrupt. since I come to this Senate, all the exercise that I have taken part in, no one has called my integrity to question.

“Marafa has, no doubt, joined the former president in bringing the Senate and, by extension, the National Assembly to public disrepute and should be accordingly made to take responsibility for his action.”

Immediately after that, Senator Anyanwu, chairman of the committee, said it was now time for Marafa to come and defend himself, but he could not be found, as Anyanwu asked the clerk, Freedom Osolo, whether Marafa was around or not, but he said no.

Osolo explained to the committee members, which had only two APC senators in attendance, Senators Binta Garba Marshi and Mohammed Shittu Ubale, that he had telephone conversion with Marafa on Monday morn-

ing on the need for his appearance, but shunned him by declaring to him that he had no evidence of proper invitation for him.

However, Marafa himself, when asked by newsmen on why he was absent at the sitting, said he would attend the hearing of the committee any time he was properly invited.

He said the committee had no reason whatsoever to recommend his suspension, as he would never accede to that in any way.

According to him, the committee wrote him on Tuesday last week to which he gave a reply that was in Kaduna with one of his friends, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, who lost his mother, adding that he received a text message with an unknown number to him.

Though Marafa said he was ready to appear any time he was invited properly, Anyanwu declared that report on the investigation would be submitted to the Senate at its plenary session today.

is still strongly of the view that Sheriff is not the right person for PDP chairmanship post.”

He assured that the board would meet again to work out suitable solution for the leadership crisis.

Meanwhile, governors of the PDP have intensified lobbying of members of the party’s BoT, ahead of the planned meeting of the former ministers who served between 1999 and 2015.

Sources close to the PDP told the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, in Abuja, that the governors were shocked at the magnitude of dissent against their choice of Senator Modu Sheriff as the national chairman.

It was learnt that the BoT, ahead of its meeting in Abuja on Monday, received emissaries of the governors, though members of the adversary committee remained largely adamant on their position.

It was also gathered that the emissaries also reached out to members of the PDP Rescue Team, lead by Ambassador Juta, which said in Abuja on Sunday that Sheriff should resign.

It was learnt that the BoT and the Rescue group were already outlining further actions in case Sheriff refused to resign from office.

A source in the Rescue group said the group did not want Sheriff to stay more than one month in the office.

The source said members of the group, who are mostly members of the BoT, had come under intense pressure from even persons outside the party to correct the error of judgment leading to the emergence of Senator Sheriff.

It was gathered that the meeting of ex-ministers of the PDP, scheduled for today, would hold, despite spirited moves by the governors to ensure the opposition was subdued.

“The governors are seriously working to ensure unity and cohesion in the party. They have reached out to all the feuding groups. They have explained that the man would only complete the tenure of the North-East and conduct fresh congresses and convention, but it appears the anger is deep seated,” a source said, adding that while everyone had agreed on the need to build a string and viable PDP, the feuding leaders were worried about apparent lack of respect for democratic ethos in naming sheriff.

5

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Reg: No: 44326728

Offer to Qualifying Shareholders of Fan Milk Plc for up to 52,843,094 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each* at N20.00 per share

Background . .

Fan Milk International A/S (“FMI”), which currently owns 94.7% of the equity of Fan Milk Plc (“Fan Milk Nigeria”), is desirous of acquiring all shares in Fan Milk Nigeria which it does not currently own On 21 January 2016, the Board of Directors of FMI approved the offer to be made to Qualifying Shareholders of Fan Milk Nigeria (the “Offer”)

Summary of the Offer The Offer

The offer made by Fan Milk International, in accordance with Part XII, Section 129 of the Investments and Securities Act (“ISA”), to the qualifying shareholders of Fan Milk Nigeria to acquire up to 52,843,094 ordinary shares representing 5.3% of the issued and paid-up share capital of Fan Milk Nigeria

Offeror

Fan Milk International A/S

Address of the Offeror

Sofienddalsvej 88 A, 9200 Aaiborg SV, Denmark

Offeror’s existing shareholding in Fan Milk Plc

946, 972,754 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, representing 94.7% of the total issued and paid-up share capital of Fan Milk Nigeria

Qualification Date

19 February 2016

Qualifying shareholders

Shareholders of Fan Milk Nigeria, other than FMI, whose names appear in the register of members of Fan Milk Nigeria as at the Qualification Date and who are eligible to participate in the Offer

Purpose of the Offer

To purchase all issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of Fan Milk Nigeria not currently held by FMI

Offer Price

N20.00 (Twenty Naira) per ordinary share

Acceptance

The acceptance of the Offer by Qualifying Shareholders which will be deemed to have occurred when the share are deposited or submitted and the Acceptance Form (on pages 24 to 25 of the Offer document) has been completed and executed, forming a binding contract as contemplated under section 129 of the ISA between, the Offeror and each Qualifying Shareholders who accepts the Offer, on the terms as set out in the Offer Document

Acceptance Period

The period between 23 February 2016 and 22 June 2016 during which the Offer is open for Acceptance

Professional parties to the Offer Financial Adviser

Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited

Legal Advisers

Banwo & Ighodalo

Registrar

Olakunle Olusanya (Company Secretary to Fan Milk Nigeria)

Transfer and Paying Agent to the Offer

GTL Registrars Limited

*The Offer is being made to all shareholders of Fan Milk Nigeria other Fan Milk international

Shareholders who do not receive the Offer document can pick up a copy at the addresses below:

Lagos

Fan Milk Plc 8B, Oduduwa Crescent GRA, Ikeja, Lagos Tel: 08104122267/ 08158493178

GTL Registrars Limited 2 Burma Road Apapa, Lagos Tel: 08159594273

Ibadan

Fan Milk Plc Plot 1C Eleyele Industrial Layout, Eleyele Ibadan, Oyo State Tel: 08158493109

Kano

Fan Milk Plc No. 28, Challawa Industrial Estate Kano, Kano State Tel: 08158493306

6

news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Couple sue airline over missing luggage

NNPC assures of adequate fuel supply

Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin -Lagos AN Igbosere Magistrates’ Court has ruled that a foreign airline, Royal Air Maroc, must face trial over the missing luggage of a couple, Mr and Mrs Maduabuchi.

The couple, filed the suit through their counsel, Onuegbu Ugochukwu, claiming the sum of N2, 924,000 as damages, but the respondent, in its bid to stop the trial, filed a preliminary objection, praying court to strike out the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

The respondent anchored its prayer on the ground that it was only the Federal High Court that could hear and determine the plaintiff’s claims.

However, the trial Magistrate, Edith Johnson, after listening to the argument of both parties, ruled in favour of the couple by striking out the application.

The court held that the Federal High Court, indeed, has jurisdiction to hear the matter, as it involved an airline, but it did not have exclusive jurisdiction to the detriment of parties wishing to make small claims in a lower court.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the airline filed appeal against the ruling and also filed motion on notice, seeking for leave of the court to grant it leave to appeal against the ruling, and also an order of the court for staying proceeding which the plaintiffs opposed.

Again, the Magistrate, in her ruling, struck out the application. The court held that the action of the airline was like putting the cart before the horse.

“What the respondent in this suit has done here is that they have put the cart before the horse and went ahead to file a notice of appeal before they obtained permission to do so,” the court held.

Ayodele Adesanmi -Abuja

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, with ministry officials, observing activities of artisanal miners at a mining site in Kurukpa, Niger State, on Monday.

Husband allegedly killed by lawyer wife for burial Friday

T

HE remains of the late Oyelowo Oyediran Ajanaku, who was allegedly slain by his lawyer-wife, will be laid to rest on Friday, February 26, 2016 in his hometown, Gbongan, in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State, after a funeral service.

The late Oyelowo, who was killed at the age of 38, was the only brother of the Presiding Pastor/ General Overseer of the Pentecostal Fellowship Assembly (PFA), Julius Olaolu Orowumi.

In a statement, Pastor Orowumi said as part of activities lined up for the burial, service of songs would be held in his honour on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, at Pentecostal Fellowship Assembly (PFA), at 103, Iju Road, Ajilete Bus Stop, Ifako-Agege, Lagos, by 5.00p.m.

He said the family took the decision to bury him since the police had concluded

their investigations and post mortem done.

The burial service will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Oke Osun Diocese, Gbongan, Osun State.

Interment will follow immediately after a brief church service at the Church Cemetery, Oke-Elu, Gbongan, Osun State.

Oyelowo was allegedly stabbed to death by his wife Yewande, a 28-year-old lawyer, who worked with the Directorate of Pub-

lic Prosecution (DPP) in the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, after a domestic dispute at their home in Akobo Estate, in Ibadan, on February 2, 2016.

The mat t er has been transferred from the Magistrate’s Court to the state High Court and the first hearing was on Wednesday, February 17, 2016, where the Chief Judge of Oyo State presided over the sitting.

At the hearing, the family of Oyelowo, through their lawyer, had prayed

Electricity tariff: Court dismisses NERC’s suit for stay of proceedings Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin -Lagos A Federal High Court, on Monday, dismissed an application by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC) to stay further proceedings in a

suit over hike in electricity tariff instituted by a lawyer and rights activist, Toluwani Yemi Adebiyi.

Justice Mohammed Idris summarily dismissed the application after listening to both parties.

In the said application,

Commotion in Abia as police assaults army captain Celestine Ihejirika -Umuahia THERE was commotion on Monday afternoon in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, when police officers attached to the railway police manhandled a yet-to-be identified army captain for allegedly packing his 18-sitter Mitsubishi bus close to the station fence.

An eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) attached to the station was driving into the station in his white Toyota Higherlander car, when he spotted the bus and ordered the owner to repack the bus alleging that it was

blocking his way.

He said when the driver of the bus came out dressed in ash colour native attire, he greeted the DPO and quickly wanted to repack his bus, but the police officer ordered him to come closer and explain why he should block his way to the station.

He said: “the man continued to plead with the police officer who was viciously angry, but he refused to allow him to repack, but rather ordered his men to arrest the man, then the man told him he was a captain in the Nigerian army, but he insisted that he must obey his orders first.”

When the Nigerian Tribune visited the police sta-

the court for FIAT, that for there to be justice to all stakeholders in the case, it would be fair and appropriate for impartial independent legal practitioners to prosecute the case on behalf of the government of Oyo State.

The family premised its request on the fact that the accused herself was a legal officer, not only in the Ministry of Justice, but also an officer in the Directorate of Public Prosecution that is lawfully vested with handling cases like that.

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Monday, deployed additional trucks of petrol to arrest the emerging fuel queues in some fuel stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The NNPC, in a release, explained that it had increased the fuel truck- out to Abuja and environs from the usual average of 160 trucks per day to 250 trucks (8.25 million litres) to arrest the lull experienced due to last weekend’s State House of Assembly rerun election in Niger State, which affected truck movement from the Suleja depot.

The release, which was signed by Ohi Alegbe, the Group General Manager, Public Affairs, called on members of the public to refrain from all forms of hoarding, diversion and panic-buying of petroleum products. The corporation assured of availability of petrol to meet the demand of consumers in Abuja and beyond.

“Apart from the additional injection of volumes of petrol into the market, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) has stepped up monitoring across fuel stations to ensure strict compliance with laid down rules and regulations on the sales and distribution of petroleum products,” NNPC stated.

tion, residents who owned business around the police station were seen pleading on behalf of the soldier, but the DPO would not listen, rather he was shouting on top of his voice, saying “he must obey my arrest order, you people should tell him to obey my arrest order, you must obey my arrest, you said you are a captain, you must tell me how many wars you have fought.

“I have fought in three Boko Haram states, Bornu, Adamawa and Yobe before coming here, you must show me your identity today; drag him into the cell now.”

The situation created panic around the railway area as shop owners closed the shop

to avoid being hit by stray bullet, as the police officers were shooting into the air.

But the drama became messier when four soldiers arrived at the police station in about 20 minutes and discovered the man who was beaten by the police was actually an army captain; one of them was heard saying, “I thought he was even a junior officer,”as he ordered another police man to call the DPO. In less than 15 minutes, four Hilux vans, fully loaded with soldiers, landed at the police station expressing anger at what happened to their boss.

They later took the DPO away and another police officer with them to their base.

NERC is asking the court to stay proceedings until its appeal against two previous rulings delivered by the judge is heard and determined by the Appeal Court.

Justice Idris had, in one of the rulings, barred NERC from implementing any upward review in electricity tariff pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

Justice Idris also dismissed NERC’s preliminary objections to the suit.

However, while dismissing the application for stay of proceedings for lacking in merit, Justice Idris held that, contrary to the claims of the applicant, there were no indications that the appeal had been listed for hearing at the Appeal Court.

“It is clear that the applicant has an application before the court seeking for an extension of time to compile and transmit its record at the Appeal Court.”

“There is also another motion for leave to rely on the same record of appeal in

this present appeal. However, there is no indication that the application has been listed on the cause list or that it had been heard or adjourned for hearing,” the judge said.

“In the circumstance, this court can not grant a stay of proceedings on an incompetent appeal which is awaiting regularisation at the Appeal Court,” the judge further said.

“The application lacks merit and is dismissed accordingly.”

N10,000 cost was also awarded in favour of the plaintiff.

Justice Idris adjourned till February 29 for ruling on the application challenging contempt charge.

Adebiyi, in the substantive suit, is seeking an order restraining NERC from implementing any upward review of electricity tariff without a meaningful and significant improvement in power supply at least for 18 hours in a day in most communities in Nigeria.

7 news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Boko Haram: Dambazzau leads FG’s delegation to Cameroon, Chad Clement Idoko - Abuja

A

S part of efforts to consolidate the gains in the war against Boko Haram insurgency, the Federal Government has dispatched a delegation, led by the Minister of Interior, Lieuten-

ant-General Abdurahman Dambazzau (retd), to the Republic of Cameroon and Chad.

A statement by the Press Secretary to the Minister of Interior, Mr Osaigbovo Ehisienmen, said the delegation left Abuja on Monday, on a three-day working

visit to the two neighbouring countries.

Dambazzau was accompanied on this trip by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigrations Service, Mr Martins Abeshi, Director-General of the

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Solicitor-General of the Federation and other top government officials.

The statement said this was in a bid to consolidate on President Muhammadu Buhari’s earlier visits to the Lake Chad Basin Com-

mission Countries and the Republic of Benin, which, amongst other things, discussed the need to tighten security within the region.

It said the minister was billed to meet with the Interior Ministers of those countries, in order to strategise on tackling internal

Buhari appoints visually challenged special assistant Leon Usigbe - Abuja PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of a visually impaired man, Dr Samuel Inalegwu Ode Ankeli, his Senior Special Assistant with responsibility for his dealings with persons living

with disability.

According to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made available to the media in Abuja, on Monday, Dr Ankeli headed the Directorate of Persons With Disability at the Buhari/Osinbajo

APC presidential campaign headquarters, the first of any such department in a political party in Nigeria.

It said he led a team that successfully mobilised a large number of the more than 24 million disabled people in the country to support the APC candidate

and his running mate in the 2015 presidential election campaign.

Dr Ankeli, who hails from Benue State, went to school in Giwa, near Zaria and Kaduna before studying Veterinary Medicine from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He worked with the Benue

State government before quitting to give time to his activist role in the promotion of the well-being of the blind and people with all kinds of disability.

The statement said the new appointee leads a very active religious and sporting life and married with children.

pride of Africa, we cannot let this continue.”

He wondered why a lot of money was being generated from markets and parks, yet they remained very dirty.

He also charged the chairmen to provide proper account of revenues generated

from markets and parks and how they had been utilised over time, saying the committee would pick a day when it would spend the whole day with the area councils to ascertain exactly how much it generated everyday.

FCT too dirty —Senate

Gives Area Councils 21 days to clean up Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

SENATE Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said on Monday, that the Nigerian capital city is too dirty.

Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Dino Melaye, who made the observation in Abuja, said the

Area Councils have only 21 days to clean up the FCT. Melaye, who gave the directive after a meeting between his committee and the chairmen of the six area councils, said he was issuing a 21-day ultimatum to the councils to to clean up the city.

He said the parks, markets and the streets in the entire territory were so dirty that

they required urgent cleanup or face sanctions.

Melaye stressed that no state capital was as dirty as the FCT, adding that: “This committee is giving all of you three weeks to clean up the metropolis, the environmental sanitation in the FCT particularly and Abuja Municipal Area Council.

Abuja is supposed to be the

Scheduled launch of Light Rail scheme thrills Lagos APC THE Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the Light Rail project as a legacy development of Lagos State by successive progressive administrations in the Centre of Excellence.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has given a December deadline for the inauguration of the Phase I of the multibillion dollar project.

In a statement on Monday, by its spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, the Lagos Light Rail project, when inaugurated, would not only bring relief to commuters, but

change the face of business in the state.

The party lauded the Ambode-led administration for continuing the gigantic project in deference to the rich governance antecedents that had been in the state since the dawn of democratic governance in 1999.

According to the party, the project would positively impact on mass transportation in the mega city, lauding the administration for investing in the project.

The statement read in part: “When it becomes operational, the project will vindicate the progres-

Wike suspends 3 LG chairmen

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Monday, announced the suspension of three local government caretaker committee chairmen for failing to attend scheduled security townhall meeting.

The governor announced the suspension at Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Council Area of the state.

He listed the affected chairmen to include those of Abua/Odual, Ahoada West

and Ahoada East council areas.

It will be recalled that the governor had scheduled a townhall meeting, following recent cult clashes, killings and a near breakdown of law and order in the Orashi region of the state.

The Orashi region is made up of four area councils of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Abua/Odual, Ahoada West and Ahoada East.

The governor said that the chairmen’s failure to attend

sive commitment of the APC government to taking Lagos to another height of development as it has been doing for the past 16 years.

“We are elated by the news from the governor that the gigantic Lagos State Light Rail project that promises to revolutionalise mass transportation in Lagos will commence operation in December.

“We see this as the clear justification of the rare vision and foresight that has been brought to bear on the governance of a complex state like Lagos for the part sixteen years.”

the meeting showed that they were insensitive to the current issues of violence and crime that had recently enveloped the areas.

Wike used the forum to urge security agencies to clamp down on cult activities and all forms of crimes in the four local government areas.

He said the meeting was to enable government to empathise with the communities affected by the state of insecurity that had engulfed the area.

security threats, especially those with cross-border effects.

He will also visit refugees who fled Nigeria due to the ongoing insurgency.

Dambazzau noted that the increasing security concerns within the sub-region had necessitated that the contiguous countries continued to advance security partnership, as this would develop into a robust platform for collaborative action, information sharing.

He added that this would not only improve border security, but check inflow of small arms and light weapons, drugs, illegal migration, human trafficking and movement of terrorists across borders.

The minister said this effort, with more to come, would foster deep collaboration among the Lake Chad Commission States, with a view to providing conducive environment for security and economic development.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss OIatunji Nafisat Oluwafunmilayo now MRS. OJIKUTU NAFISAT OLUWAFUNMILAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

8

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lagos Driver accused of swindling neighbour in licence scam Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin

The tricycle operator who damaged mobile court vehicle while trying to escape arrest, at Ikeja, on Monday. INSET: Scene of the accident.

Tricycle rider crashes into mobile court bus while evading arrest Bola Badmus

A

tricycle operator, Mr Jonathan Oketa, on Monday at Ikeja area of the state committed more offences than he bargained for as he crashed one of the operational vehicles of the newly inaugurated Lagos State Mobile Court while trying to evade arrest.

Oketa was sighted while picking passengers at undesignated bus-stop and causing traffic gridlock along Allen Avenue, Ikeja.

It was while he was trying to evade arrest by operatives of the Mobile Court by putting his tricycle in reverse gear that he crashed the tricycle into the newly bought operational bus of the court with registration No ALL 741 DX. He was subsequently ar-

rested.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Task Force through its spokesman, Mr Taofik Adebayo, has disclosed that five tricycle operators were on Monday apprehended and convicted with a fine ranging from N25, 000 to N50, 000 each with 48 hours community services as an option to six months imprisonment.

The Ikeja court under Magistrate Aka-Bashorun also convicted 12 commercial bus drivers, including private car owners, who were apprehended by men of the Task Force around Computer Village.

They were fined the sum ranging from N20,000 to N40, 000 each with 72 hours community service as an option to one year impris-

onment. At Mainland Local Government Area, four commercial bus and three tricycle operators were apprehended and convicted by Magistrate, Patrick Nwaka.

The commercial bus operators were to pay fines ranging from N30,000 to N50,000 each as an option to a sixmonth imprisonment, while the tricycle operators were asked to pay a fine

of N50,000 and 24 hours community services each as an option to six month imprisonment.

At Mile 12 area, the court under Magistrate Nurudeen Layeni convicted eight apprehended tricycle operators for obstructing traffic.

They were fined N50, 000 each with 72 hours community services as an option to six months imprisonment.

Robbers using Keke Marwa as operational vehicle arrested Olalekan Olabulo FIVE suspected armed robbers, who have been terrorising residents of Orile area of Lagos State have been arrested by the police.

The suspects were alleged to be on their way for an operation, when policemen from the Anti-Robbery Squad from Orile Police Station intercepted their operational

tricycle.

A police source told Lagos Metro that “policemen from Orile Police Station were on a routine patrol to White Sand area, when they saw the tricycle.

“They became suspicious of how five hefty men could be in a tricycle at that time of the day and therefore subjected them to a thorough search.”

The image maker in charge

of the state police command, Dolapo Badmus, while confirming the arrest of the suspects to Lagos Metro, said that a locally-made pistol and two unexpended cartridges were recovered from the armed robbers.

Badmus said that “anti-crime patrol team, attached to Orile division, while on patrol at White Sand area, intercepted a tricycle with the

Registration No KTU 701 QH.” She added that apart from the rider of the tricycle, Ayomide Alabi of 62 Afolabi Street Bariga, there were four other male occupants in the tricycle.

The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department in Panti for further investigations.

A driver, Abiodun Ishola, has been accused of defrauding his neighbour of N90, 000 under the pretext of helping her procure driver’s licences.

Ishola, 34, a resident of Dopemu area of Agege, allegedly committed the offences in March 2014, at his residence.

According to the police, Ishola unlawfully obtained N90, 000 on pretext of procuring driver’s licences for one of his neighbours, Mrs Bukola Bolarinwa.

“The accused fraudulently collected N90, 000 from the complainant for driver’s licences, which he failed to do,” the police said.

He was accused of approaching the complainant that he could assist people to procure driver’s licences and if the complainant wanted to get her own she should patronise him.

He, however, pleaded innocent to the offences when he was charged before an Ikeja Magistrate Court and was granted bail in the sum of N150, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

9

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

metro

Nigerian Tribune

Edited by

Lanre Adewole

olanreade@yahoo.com

0811 695 4647

We’ll expose those behind abandoned projects — Lawmakers Chukwuma Okparaocha THE current state of some government’s projects, many of which are believed to have been in a state of abandonment for years, has become a source of worry to residents of the state who have called on appropriate

authorities to correct the anomaly.

Lagos Metro gathered that many of such abandoned projects, which include abandoned properties which are mostly meant to serve official and residential purposes, have become the haven of hard

drug-using street urchins.

Apart from abandoned properties, many of which can be seen mainly on Lagos Island and parts of the Mainland, other abandoned projects belonging to the government also include abandoned roads and abandoned dredging

activities.

Moved by the need to reverse this trend, the Lagos State House of Assembly has threatened to deal with any contractor found to have abandoned any government project.

The House made this move through the Com-

Judge, DPP disagree over cultists’ trial Gbemi Solaja THIRTEEN suspected cultists involved in the killing of two people have been ordered to remain in custody.

The presiding Chief Magistrate, Ms B.O. Ope Agbe said she was not satisfied with advice from the Director of the Public Prosecutions (DPP), withdrawing the charges against them.

The cultists were first

arraigned on October 28 2015 before an Ebute Metta Magistrate Court on a six-count charge of conspiracy, murder, membership of unlawful society, breach of peace and causing grievous harm.

They were charged for allegedly terrorising members of the public and killing two men and dumping their corpses in Maidan River.

At the resumed hearing

in the trial last Friday, the magistrate made the decision following the advice from the DPP, which exonerated the culprits of all the six -ount charge brought against them.

She adjourned the case till March 1 for ruling, while also instructing the DPP to make clear and precise in his legal advice, if truly he found that the accused were wrongly accused of the charges lev-

elled against them.

The suspected cultists are: Bello Ismail, 26; Shola Jaiyeola, 28; Kabiru Wahab, 23; Akeem Adeyemo, 36; Monsuru Ojopagogon, 29; David Lasisi, 35; Bayo Bakare, 30, Daniel Yosuf, 30; Ademola Ayelabowo, 27; Joshua Udoh, 20; Daniel Adeyemi, 28; Saheed Mohammed, 25; and Wasiu Aborisade, 40 were remanded in the Ikoyi Prison.

mittee on Works and Infrastructure, whose chairman, Honourable Abiodun Tobun, said efforts would be made to ensure that the contractors of the state government carry out their contracts properly.

Speaking during a tour of some dredging projects in the state on Monday, Tobun said that “Those, who have abandoned government projects, should pay the contract money back

to the government; we will bring them to the chamber of the House if they fail to do that.

“We will expose such persons and let Lagos residents know them. They have been given enough money to make profits and if you put the capital and profits in your pockets, you would be brought to book and dealt with. We will also write our reports and bring the person to the floor of the House.”

Nurse, 2 others arraigned for killing man THREE persons have appeared before an Ebute Metta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, on Monday, and are charged with the murder of one Helen Peters, 40. The accused are: Henry Uwadiegwu, 25, a security guard; Monday Ochonu, 25, his accomplice and Taiwo Adebiyi, 57, a nurse.

The accused are standing trial before Magistrate K.O. Ariyo for alleged conspiracy and murder, among other charges.

The prosecutor, Mariam Dauda, told the court that the accused and his friends had on January 19, at about 3:00 p.m. conspired to murder the deceased, who was Uwadiegwu’s benefactor.

“Uwadiegwu had invited the deceased to his home

at 36, Fashola Street, Papa Ashafa in Agege, where he had bound her legs and hands backward, gagging her before strangulating her with the help of Ochonu, his friend,” she said.

The prosecutor said that the accused had also invited Adebiyi, a nurse, to help in injecting the deceased with 50 milligrams of ‘Lagatine’ injection to paralyse her, which eventually led to her death.

Ariyo, however, said that the court would not take the plea of the accused as it lacked the jurisdiction to do so. She ordered the police to continue investigation into the matter and directed that the case file should be duplicated and forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs) for legal advice.

Sales reps in court over N11m lace theft Gbemi Solaja

An overloaded PSP Truck. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

No permission to hold party where 200-level student died — LASU Naza Okoli THE Lagos State University (LASU) authorities have stated that the students who organised the party which led to the death of a 200-level student, Miss Omolara Gbadeyan, did so without permission of the university.

According to a press release obtained by Lagos Metro on Monday, the party did not take place on

campus.

The statement stated further that, “The late Miss Omolara Gbadeyan, a 200-level student of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management attended a party hosted by the History and International Studies Students’ association, at an Events Centre at Igando/Ikotun Local Council Development Area on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

“The organisers of the party neither informed the university authority, nor sought any approval for same. This is contrary to the rules and regulations of the university. The party did not take place in the university premises.

“On the instruction of the university management, the incident was reported to the Police while the body of the deceased was deposited at a morgue of the Lagos State

University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), while an autopsy is being carried out to determine the cause of her death.”

The management also said the university’s Health Services Department, Security Unit and the Students’ Affairs Division are fully involved in the investigation, and that further details would be provided “as soon as the investigations are concluded.”

FOUR sales persons have landed in court after they allegedly stole bundles of lace materials from their employer’s warehouse.

The suspects and others now at large were arraigned for conspiring to steal the said goods.

Azeez Oseni, 26; Sukurat Isiaka, 28; Risikat Olatunji, 55 and Abimbola Olayemi Olafare 38, are currently facing charges at the Tinubu Magistrates Court.

According to the charge, Sukurat, on October 20, 2015 conspired with one of the sales persons, Azeez and stole bundles of lace materials, a property of Alhaja Sherifat Olugbode.

The stolen goods were then, allegedly given to the other two sales persons, Risikat and Abimbola.

The stolen bundles of lace is put at the sum of 11,500,000,000.

The Prosecutor, said the incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. at 38, Ereko Street Idumota.

The suspects are facing a three-count charge of felony, stealing and conspiracy.

The Magistrate, Mrs L.A. Owolabi adjourned the matter till March 26 for continuation of trial.

The offences, according to the prosecutor, contravene and are punishable under Section 285, 326, and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

businessnews Naira already devalued —Utomi 10

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

No, it is not —Finance Ministry Naira firms up, trades N370 to dollar at parallel market

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju Wale Akinselure

P

ROFESSOR Pat Utomi, on Monday, decried the ongoing devaluation/ exchange rate conversation as wrongly premised, maintaining that the naira had already been devalued.

This was even as naira experienced reprieve on Monday as it appreciated by N5 to close at N370 to the dollar at the parallel market.

The greenback had been exchanged at the rate of $1 to N375 at the weekend.

The official exchange rate, however, remained N199.50.

The Professor of Economics said that the Nigerian government could not shy away from the rate of the currency at the parallel market and insist on selling naira at the interbank rate, thereby giving room for some Nigerians to continue to benefit from the situation.

He said, “The whole exchange rate conversation is wrongly premised. Some want the currency devalued, others do not. The naira is devalued already.

It is those who do not understand the issue that are creating the problem. The value of the naira is known to everyone. What matters in this conversation is not the nominal value of the currency, what matters is the stability of the currency such that people can anticipate, plan and engage accordingly.”

However, the Ministry of Finance, on Monday, insisted that the currency had not been officially devalued.

The Special Assistant to Finance Minister, Mr Festus Akanbi, when contacted on Monday said, “Naira has not been devalued, that is why you have the official exchange rate at N199.50 and the parallel market rate at N370 to the dollar.”

Akanbi explained that the resolve of the government not to devalue the currency was informed by its intention to protect the nation’s economy from being subjected to abuse by portfolio investors.

“Pressure is being mounted on the government both from within and outside the country to devalue the currency. If that is done we may have more dollars because more portfolio investors would come to the country.

But the danger in that is

that as soon as there is a slide in the economy, the same people will leave and take their investments to other jurisdictions. So, we would be worse off.

“The government is determined to protect the currency and the economy from opportunists.”

Utomi noted that administrative control of the currency rate by the Nigerian government was difficult because of high cost, adding that Nigerians did not possess such high level of discipline for such control to be workable in the country.

“I have heard people say that it is importers that want the naira devalued, that it is those that patronise local products that do not want the naira devalued. Ah! I have never seen that kind of illiteracy in public conversa-

tions. It is the direct opposite. It is those who import things that will not want the naira devalued, so that what they import can be cheap; if the naira is devalued, what they import will become expensive.”

However, Utomi described the current economic challenge as a temporary blip calling for a diversification to tourism, as a short term measure, and a drastic cut in costs towards ensuring that existing resources are adequate enough to stabilize the nation’s economy.

Noting that Nigeria had experienced a similar situation in the 1980s, Utomi added that diversification would ensure that all zones become productive and impactful on the value chain.

This, he said, would ensure

that all zones are endowed to become globally competitive.

While hoping for an oil price rebound, he called for more shrewdness in the management of revenues derived from oil.

“This is a temporary blip.

Nigeria will not permanently be in a situation where it cannot afford to pay for its imports. Nigeria has experienced a sudden drop in its foreign income.

What Nigeria can do is to cut its cost dramatically.

When Nigeria experienced similar economic challenge in 1976 during Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime as Head of State, Obasanjo quickly did what we called low profile. The Head of State’s official car was a Peugeot 504, and nobody in the whole service drove a bigger car.

So, we trimmed our sales.

“We are in a similar situation today but members of the Senate intend to purchase Sports Utility vehicles. The motorcades of governors are getting longer. So, there is a delusion on the part of the political class about Nigeria’s reality. When a country experiences a temporary blip, what may be done is borrow money to get over these difficult times while you reposition your economy either by diversification or hoping for oil prices rebound.

“It was easier back then in 1982 because Nigeria had a blocked currency, that is, the value of the naira was administratively determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Today, the currency rate is expected to be determined by the market.

The market states that the value of the currency to the dollar is N400.

“It does not matter what the President thinks, what Pat Utomi thinks, the value of the dollar is N400. The only thing is that the Nigerian government has decided that it will sell its own dollars at a certain amount, not N400, probably N198.

So, how does the government determine who it will sell a dollar to at N198? You can carry out all the anti corruption campaigns of the world. Someone sees that he can buy the dollar at N198 and others buy at N400 will seek to make some money.

Regardless of all the army of the world in place, we must understand that human beings are greed driven.

“I am not saying that administrative decision making is not possible but the costs are so high and the level of discipline required is not available in this environment that I think it would work out. We should cut cost dramatically so that the resources we have can stabilize the country.

Government has become bloated. Now is the time to feel the pressure and begin to make changes, even constitutionally,” he said.

UBA earns ISO-IEC 20000-1:2011 Certification From left: Project Coordinator, Adamu Umar; Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma; Corporate Services/Human Resources Executive, MTN Nigeria, Amina Oyagbola; the Travel Chaperon, Ajayi Olubunmi and Health Portfolio Manager, MTN Foundation, Victor Orie-Ononogbu, with the second batch of beneficiaries of MTN Foundation medical intervention scheme on their return from India following successful surgeries.

No more bailouts for financial institutions —AMCON Kehinde AkinseindeJayeoba - Lagos IT has been revealed that it is no more business as usual for financial institutions in face of the present financial crises rocking the nation as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said there would be no more forbearance.

Managing Director, AMCON, Mr Ahmed Kuru, during a visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, stated that the financial institution in the country need to stand up to task so that businesses do not survive on support.

“This is not a time for forbearance. It is the time for businesses to come back and operate properly. This is the time to put in proper

corporate governance to show that businesses don’t survive on the basis of support but on the basis of the dynamics of those businesses,” he said.

He explained that the

corporation, set out to buy non performing assets from financial institutions, still has high margin loan in proportion to the equities being managed.

“Unfortunately because of

Sterling Bank MD receives Banker of the Year Award Chima Nwokoji - Lagos THE Managing Director and Chief Executive of Sterling Bank Plc, Yemi Adeola, at the weekend received the Sun Banker of The Year Award for 2015.

The Award presentation which was held at the EXPO Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, was chaired by the former Nigerian

Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sir Arthur Mbanefo.

Some other prominent Nigerians that also won various awards include Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, (The Sun Man of the Year); Governor Willie Obiano of Anam­bra State (Governor of the Year); Hajia Nana Shettima (Most Supportive First Lady);among others.

the deposition in some of the equities, there’s a wide gap that we must pray that the exchange picks up so that they close the gap,” he said.

While noting that the corporation has more than five trillion naira debt, he explained that AMCON was not created to respond to financial crises but to manage bad debt.

It will be recalled that AMCON used bonds to bail out 10 lenders and buy more than 12,000 loans from industries including aviation, gasoline marketing and manufacturing for about N1.8 trillion after the 20082009 oil price crash out of which AMCON had recovered 57 per cent of those assets at a rate of 1.07 times for what it paid for them.

UNITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has earned the prestigious ISO/IEC 20000-1: 2011certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI).

The certification which was awarded to UBA after a process and systems audit recognizes businesses that are able to link and execute business and IT objectives effectively through the implementation and consistent maintenance of service management requirements.

“This certification validates our commitment to delivering quality services, using the best in class technology and processes,” said Phillips Oduoza GMD/CEO UBA Plc. An ISO 20000 certification involves integrating all IT component services, processes and people into a single inter-operable and interdependent system via best practice standards, to ensure maximum realization of business objectives, resource optimization and continual improvement.

11

businessnews

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

FG threatens to sack agency heads over N500bn target Tola Adenubi -Lagos

T

HE Federal Government has said that many of the heads of agencies in the nation’s maritime sector will be sacked if the sector does not meet a target of N500 billion revenue set for it by the end of 2016.

Speaking on Monday at a two days Maritime Summit sponsored by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) and Tell Magazine, the Honourable Minster of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi stated that he has already informed all Heads of agencies in the maritime sector to generate N500billion by end of the year or get sacked.

According to him, “my target to the agencies in the maritime sector is N500billion, but they all think I am joking. You will see changes in the sector if that target is not met by end of the year.

The only way there won’t be reform in the maritime sector is if they give me N500 billion. If we achieve it, we set for ourselves another target for next year.

“The only way we can achieve that N500 billion is to put in place the proper reform. If they don’t achieve that target, I will ask Mr President to allow me hire another set of Heads of agencies that will give me what I want.

“If we cannot achieve it by end of this year, then there will be reform in the sector because we will need to remove all those who are stumbling blocks to our target. The change we want is not the type where money is shared among some few individuals.

“How many of you here are ready for change? I am saying this because many of you have been attacking us that this is not the change you voted for. What is this change that you people voted for; maybe we did not hear you well.

“For us, change is institutional. Change is not sharing of money. If what you people want us to do is to continue the sharing of money, then you can as well vote us out. It is the sharing of money that has got us to where we are now; a situation where we are even looking for money to feed the nation.

“If you think that the corruption in the maritime sector has stopped by the emergence of the new government, the answer is no.

If you think corruption in the transportation sector has stopped with the emergence of the new government, the answer is again no.

“We all need to sit to-

gether to agree on the right things to do. The right people must come into the industry to make the industry

much more productive. The days where because somebody knows Rotimi Amaechi, the Managing Director

of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) will give him contract is gone.

“I have told the Managing

Directors under my Ministry that I don’t want to know them, I don’t want to award contracts.

From left: General Manager, British American Tobacco Nigerian Foundation, Abimbola Okoya; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh; Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Anambra State, Afam Mbanefo and the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Cross River State, Dr Francis Adie, at the 41st National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development Meeting, held at the Coronation Hall of the Government House of Kano State.

FG begins plan to guide budget preparation process THE Federal Government has began the process of developing the successor Medium Term Strategic Plan 2017-2020 under the coordination of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Fatima Mede, said this at a workshop in Abuja, on Monday.

The workshop was to validate the report of the Needs Assessment Study of the Statistical Planning Agencies of the State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) project states.

The three SEEFOR states are Bayelsa, Delta and Edo. Mede said the Medium Term Strategic Plan was to guide the annual budget preparation process.

“This is expected to fully mainstream the interventions of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the change agenda of the Federal Government.

“The Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries responsible for Economic Planning and Head of Statistical agencies in the states should work closely with the ministry.

“You should also work with the ministry in actualising this important task of developing the successor medium term plan for the country,” she said.

She said Nigeria had signed the SDGs, adding that the goals were consistent with national as-

pirations of achieving the SEEFOR project object and inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Mede said the Federal Government alone could not be able to achieve these goals, as it required the collective efforts of federal and states, including the SEEFOR project-beneficiary ones.

“It is my belief that our meeting will provide a good platform for brainstorming on how to address the emerging issues.

“We should also task ourselves to create the enabling policy framework that will make our government to remain focused and committed to actualising these goals by 2030,” she said.

Earlier, Tunde Lawal,

4 banks sanctioned for not promoting cashless policy Chima Nwokoji - Lagos DEPOSIT Money Banks (DMBs) as well as merchants will on Thursday this week be given awards for their contributions towards driving the cashless programme at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme Efficiency Awards.

This is even as four banks were last year sanctioned for non reversal of dispense error within the specified 48 hour time frame given by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Also, Nigerian banks in the

past year paid out almost N400 million as cash back on the use of point of sale terminals.

Speaking with journalists on Monday at a press conference organised by the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), CBN’s Assistant Director, Payment Policy and Oversight, Banking and Payment System, Shola Agboola, said following the issuance of a circular directing banks to install and automise auto reversal, the apex bank had found four banks wanting.

“When we carried out our oversight function on the banks to ensure that they have done what they were asked to do, four banks were penalised and sanctioned last year, he said.

Also speaking, NIBSS Executive Director, Business Development, Christabel Onyejekwe, said the payment of cash back to bank customers have been stopped in December 2015 but would be replaced with the loyalty engine which will give out points for Point of Sale (PoS) usage.

Director, Macroeconomic Analysis in the ministry, said the workshop was aimed at strengthening the planning system in the country.

Lawal, who is also the National Project Coordinator for SEEFOR project, said the workshop was designed to offer stakeholders the opportunity to harvest ideas, insights and perspectives.

He said the workshop would offer stakeholders the opportunity to harvest ideas on how to initiate policies that would strengthen the national statistical, information and planning system in the country.

“The forum will equally serve as a platform to build and sustain the desired synergy between the federal and states’ actors to actualise our national aspiration.

“Statistical information is a strategic resource required for development planning.

It is our expectation that this arrangement will be replicated and institutionalised at all levels of government.

“The extent to which this resource is harnessed and used for development purposes would depend on how well the National Statistical System is organised and operationalised at the national and state levels,” Lawal said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the workshop was organised by the National Project Coordinating Unit in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

Nigerian Tribune

Bearish trend persist as market shed 0.04% Kehinde AkinseindeJayeoba - Lagos TRADING at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) began the week with sell-offs as major indicator closed on a bearish trend on Monday by 0.04 per cent.

Daily statistic report showed that the All Share Index depreciated by 0.04 per cent to close at 24,423.37 basis points, compared with the 0.70 per cent appreciation recorded on Friday at 24,432.51 basis points.

Also, market capitalisation dipped to N8,399,653,603,061.98from N8,402,796,652,783.28.

At the close of trading for the day, Seven Up Plc led 18 others on loser’s table with N1.50 or 0.88 percent to close at N158.50 per share.

Nigerian Breweries Plc followed with 99 kobo or 0.99 percent to close at N99.00 per share, while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc (CCNN) lost 38 kobo or 4.22 percent to close at N8.62 per share.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc lost 17 kobo or 1.01 percent to close at N16.70 per share.

FG empowers 740,000 agric producers Collins Nnabuife -Abuja THE Federal Government has said that it has plans to empower 740,000 market-oriented young Agricultural producers in rural areas under Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP).

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Shehu Ahmed, disclosed this while delivering his keynote address at a one-day Stakeholders Workshop on Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) in Abuja.

Ahmed, who was represented by the Director, Animal Production and Husbandry Services, Dr Egejuru Eze, said the programme which was aimed to cover the 36 states of the federation and FCT, had commenced with six pilot states selected from the six geopolitical zones including Bauchi, Imo, Katsina, Lagos, Niger, and Rivers states.

According to him, the beneficiaries of the project would comprise of 20,000 school leavers and rural youth leaders from each state of the federation.

12 news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Count me out of threat to blow up oil installations —Tompolo Says he’ll come out strong in face of persecution Ebenezer Adurokiya - Warri

E

MBATTLED leader of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has denied being the brain behind the trending publication on the social media threatening to blow up oil pipelines in the creeks if President Muhammadu Buhari does not withdraw soldiers from Gbaramatu Kingdom in few days.

The denial was contained in an electronic press release signed by Tompolo’s media aide and consultant, Paul Bebenimibo, and made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Warri, Delta State, on Monday afternoon.

Bebenimibo, who himself has been incommunicado for sometime now, said those behind the destructive threat publication were

Terrorism: Court suspends Okah’s trial pending his recovery from surgery A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, suspended the trial of alleged mastermind of Abuja 2010 Independent Day bombing, Charles Okah, pending his recovery from surgery in the National Hospital.

“In view of the absence of the accused, who had undergone a medical surgery in the National Hospital, Abuja, the trial shall be suspended till March 10, at 11:30 a.m,” Justice Gabriel Kolawole ruled.

Kolawole said the suspension would help him to recover and attend his trial.

He, however, ordered that Obi Nwabueze, standing trial alongside Okah, be remanded in Kuje prison and produced at the next adjourned date.

At the last sitting, the court ordered the Nigeria Prison Service to provide tight security at the hospital during the period Okah was expected to undergo surgery.

The court had ordered that after the surgery, Okah would be produced in court on the next adjourned date to face his trial.

people who were under an oath to see off Tompolo to his untimely grave.

He urged the traducers to perish the thought of his untimely death and have a rethink as Jehovah God would not allow their wishful thinking to materialise because Tompolo harboured no evil intention against anybody or his country.

“It has come to our notice that some mischief makers have made a publication in the name of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, which is trending

on the social media, that he has given few days to President Muhammedu Buhari to withdraw military from the Niger Delta region, otherwise he is going to blow up oil pipelines.

“We wish to state categorically that the said publication is not from Tompolo, rather it is the work of those that have sworn to kill him by all means, but Jehovah God forbid.

“Tompolo has stated before now, that he will not resort to violence or destroy oil facilities because of the issue

he is having with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC.) “No amount of provocation and persecution can make him to destroy the country that he has helped to build in recent time. He will discretionally continue to pursue his course legally.

“It is his prayer for those that are pushing for his death to have a re-think as he believes fervently in Jehovah God who sees the heart of every human being, that he has no evil intention against Nigeria or

any individual, therefore, he will come out stronger in the face of these temptations and trials,” the statement read.

It will be recalled that the ex-warlord is standing trial over corruption charges in a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos of which a warrant of arrest has been issued on him twice.

The court, only last week, gave an injunction to have his choice assets confiscated as required by the law since he has refused to show up in court.

ICAN president visits Ibadan THE 51st president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chief Olufemi Deru, will visit Ibadan today, to commission the newly-built lecture theatre at The Polytechnic Ibadan.

The 350-seater capacity lecture theatre donated to The Polytechnic by the institute will be formally handed over institution lourful ceremony.

The president will also be addressing the forum of ICAN members at the Banquet Hall, Premier Hotel, Mokola Hill, Ibadan, after the commissioning.

Head of WAEC national office in Nigeria retires

Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr Volker Turk, sympathising with some internally displaced children, during the UNHCR’s official visit to Malkohi community in Yola South area of Adamawa State, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN.

Shiites shun panel of inquiry, as public hearing begins in Kaduna Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna THE Shiites, on Monday, shunned the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, as the commission commenced public hearing on the recent army/Shiite clash which resulted in the death of thousands of the sect members in Kaduna.

However, at the commission’s inaugural sitting in Kaduna, the army were around to tell their own side of the story of the December 2015 clash.

It was gathered that the team of lawyers representing the sect had written to the commission of their inability to submit memorandum, because of lack of access to the leader of the Movement, Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, whose directive they needed to obey and work with.

However, addressing the sitting, the chairman of

the commission, Justice Muhammadu Garba, said, “This sitting has to be adjourned till Wednesday, because of the absence of one party involved in the inquiry.

“Counsel for the commission, Yusuf Ali, has been asked to find out the

whereabouts of the leader of the Shiites and report back to the commission.

“It is required by law for every party in the clash to be present at all the sittings of the proceedings.”

The Islamic Movement, had, before now, faulted the 13-man composition of

the panel, saying some of its members were already against the Movement.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after the adjournment, Ali promised to locate the leader of the Shiites within 24 hours to enable his lawyers to get access to him.

Boko Haram: Borno relocates 4,500 IDPs from public schools to camps James Bwala - Maiduguri IN continuation of relocating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from public schools to camps in Borno State, the state relocation committee (SREC), on Monday, commenced the evacuation and transportation of 4, 506 displaced persons to Bakassi camp in Maiduguri metropolis.

The relocation exercise, which commences from 8.00a.m, was coordinated by the military and other

security agencies amid tight security.

Addressing newsmen on IDPs’ relocation exercise on Monday, at Government College, Maiduguri, the Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Musa Kubo, who doubles as SREC chairman, disclosed that the Bakassi camp had the basic facilities for family size tents, water and security to accommodate and protect the lives of 4,500 displaced persons from the college.

He said the relocation committee was satisfied

with the IDPs’ willingness to be relocated from college to Bakkasi camp on Damboa road.

His words: “I have already addressed the IDPs on their relocation from this college to a camp at Bakkasi Housing Estate. In the camp, there is adequate water supply, there are toilets; and we have also collaborated with the military and other security agencies for a smooth relocation exercise that has been delayed for over two months.”

THE immediate past Head of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) National Office in Nigeria, Dr Charles Eguridu, has attributed his achievements in active service to the commitments of his staff members.

Eguridu said this on the sideline of the retirement thanksgiving reception, held in his honour in Lagos, on Sunday.

According to him, the cooperation of the staff, both senior and junior, made his tenure worthwhile and scandal-free.

“I was able to do what I did in the council because I stood on the shoulders of my predecessors.

“I came, I saw and I survived. I will not say I conquered, because it is an ongoing war against the ills of our society.

“The fact that I survived from the pressure of that office and retired without breaking down or losing my life is with the mercy of God and cooperation of staff.

“That I did not find myself in any form of scandal, such as examination leakage or corruption or even misappropriation of fund, is as a result of my ability to pull my staff together and bring out the best from them,” he said.

He advised his successor to define his marks and remain focused in order to achieve the same feat or surpass it.

“As a leader, you must be able to define your mark, know what you want to achieve set goals for yourself and move on,” Egurido said.

13

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

14 news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Gowon decries increasing rush for foreign certificates Clement Idoko - Abuja former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd), has decried the high number of Nigerians seeking university education abroad.

Speaking at the Golden Jubilee lecture of the Federal Government College, Warri, on Thursday, in Abuja, Gowon urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to improve the standard of education in the country in order to discourage people from sending their children abroad to study.

According to him, one of the reasons for establishing Federal Government colleges and made even better than some private schools, was to encourage Nigerian ambassadors to leave their children back home in Nigeria when they were sent abroad.

He added that “Our idea was to ensure a very quality education”.

Gowon paid glowing trib-

A

utes to the founding fathers of the nation for their role in the development of the unity school in Nigeria.

“We must give absolute respect to the vision of the founding fathers of the Federal Government colleges for bringing young men and women from all parts of the country to teach them how to live together, grow together and love one another and their country.”

In his address, the National President of the FGC, Warri, Sir Chyna Iwuanyanwu, urged the Federal Government to formulate a policy that will prohibit public office holders from sending their children abroad for primary and secondary education.

He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on education “The war against insurgency will come to nothing if we do not develop an educational system that will guarantee access to quality

education, especially for the future leaders of the country.

“It is in this spirit that Fegocowosa has decided to launch a N1 billion Endowment Fund for our school rehabilitation and we hope that Federal Government colleges and other legacy public schools in Nigeria will follow our footsteps, because under the prevailing economic environment, the responsibility of providing quality education for our children cannot be left in the hands of government.

In his presentation, the executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) Professor Julius Okogie, who is also an old student of the school, spoke on the need to improve access and quality of education in the country.

He called for robust curriculum of education and improved quality in all the unity school across the country.

Police complaint response unit serving purpose —IGP Chris Agbambu - Abuja In a bid to critically analyse the efficiency of the Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU), the InspectorGeneral of Police, Solomon Arase, on Monday, said the platform is serving the purpose for which it was established.

He also stated based on distribution of complaints, that Lagos State has the highest records of complaints with 424 at 33 per cent while Imo, Jigawa and Kebbi states, have no complaints.

Speaking at a press conference to give an update on the progress of the unit in the last 100 days, he said the CRU operations have instilled discipline in officers from the lowest to the highest cadre.

According to him, several officers have as well, being redeployed from duty posts, including a total redeployment of Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) by a police command.

Based on the CRU, he revealed that officers were dismissed for misconduct while 16 junior officers are facing serious disciplinary actions for professional misconducts.

It w ill be recalled that the IG, last year, commissioned the Police Complaint Response Unit, a community -oriented complaint management system tasked to deploy multiplatform reporting.

This mechanism allows for citizen complaint, concerns and queries regarding policing activities.

Arase, explained that based on the unit’s statistics, phones are the most used medium with 1012 calls, Whatsapp, 119, SMS 46, Email 40, twitter 26, Facebook 14, BlackBerry five and Hard copy, five.

He said; “the CRU is expanding with officers fluent in local languages for a more inclusive system.

We will continue to expand sensitisation and collaboration with the public.”

While speaking on the challenges facing the unit, he said more people in the rural areas are ignorant of the existence of CRU. Also, he identified lack of CRU information materials in local languages for people who cannot read or write English Language and non availability of similar agency to compare notes with peer review.

3 of 7-kidnap gang nabbed in Delta EbenezerAdurokiya-Warri Three members of a seven-man kidnap gang have been arrested by surveillance operatives attached to Oghara division of the Delta State Police Command.

The police, in a statement, said the suspects, during interrogation, admitted their membership of the seven-man kidnap gang terrorisng the area.

According to the statement, the trio also confessed that they were responsible for the kidnap of late Chief Onovigho Prince.

Speaking on how the miscreants were caught, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Celestina Kalu, disclosed that the police got a tip-off that

some strange faces were reported to loafing around Otefe-Oghara ,at about 7:22p.m on February 19.

She said with the information, her men and members of a local vigilance group swooped on the miscreants and got them arrested.

Kalu noted that “discreet investigation is ongoing with a view to apprehending other members of the gang.”

It will be recalled that many medical doctors plying their trade at the Delta State Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Oghara, have fallen victim of kidnappers in the past, with many of them relocating from the area at the expense of helpless patients.

Nigerian Tribune

15 news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Saraki challenges security agencies on strong national institutions As Dogara charges on intelligence gathering Taiwo Adisa, Ayodele Adesanmi, Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja

S

ENATE President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said on Monday, that the nation’s security agencies need to ensure the existence of strong national institutions that can guarantee the survival of the Nigerian democracy.

Saraki, who made the call while receiving members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) Nine of the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), Bwari Abuja, in his office, said any society, where laws were not enforced or people made to account for their actions would end up with weakened institutions.

He noted that the theme of the Executive Intelligence Management Course Nine, which is: “Institutional weakness: Challenge to the change agenda” could not have come at a better time than now when the present administration is making efforts to address the myriad of security and economic challenges confronting the country.

Saraki said: “The need to strengthen our institutions cannot be overemphasised, as it is a cardinal aspect for the sustenance of democracy and development.

“Challenges that arise as a result of weak institutions, among which are reduced motivation and productivity, loss of organisational purpose, dysfunctional government budgets, abuse of public office and corruption, are too numerous to mention here.

“The weakening of government institutions had thrived mainly because of the ineffectiveness of responsible authorities to enforce our laws and hold people accountable for their actions.

“On the other hand, when

institutions are strengthened, we would witness higher economic, political and social development.

“As executives and senior

officials, who have a very crucial role in the running of the affairs of government, it is important that you are properly acquainted with

the expectations and programmes of government and more so on the need to value and respect government institutions. That is

the only way you can set the right precedent for others to follow.”

He also commended the Department of State Ser-

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, presenting a souvenir to the Director, Institute of Security Studies, Mr Matthew Seiyefa, when the Course Nine participants of the institute visited the Senate President, in Abuja, on Monday. With them are, Chairman Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Shabba Lafiaji (second right) and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi.

Crude oil swap probe: Reps summon Alison-Madueke Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel - Abuja THE House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on Crude Oil Swap, on Monday, issued formal invitation to the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to appear before the committee on March 2.

This it said was in order to explain her role in the alleged multibillion naira fraud in crude oil swap arrangements managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The committee, in a letter dated February 22 and signed by chairman of the

ad hoc committee, Honourable Zakari Mohammed, routed its summon through the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC. According to the letter, the committee asked the former minister to appear with all relevant documents that would assist the committee in its investigative hearing.

The former minister is expected to appear before the committee with a full brief on all swap arrangements, a proof of Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval, NNPC board resolution on the crude oil swap contract, evidence of the approval limit of the board and that

of the Minister of Petroleum and the GMD. The lawmakers also asked her to bring any other relevant documents that could assist the committee and the proof to extend a contract that had expired and not yet renewed.

It will be recalled that former GMD of the NNPC, Mr Joseph Dawha, disclosed that the corporation operated the multibillion naira crude oil swap deal after it was expired before he assumed office.

He also absolved himself of blames over the flawed crude oil swap deal arrangement, stressing that NNPC entered into crude

oil swap deal and Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA) contracts with the trading companies in 2010, to terminate between 2013 and 2014.

Also, former GMD of NNPC, Mr Austin Oniwon, had also told the committee that NNPC resolved to embrace the crude oil swap agreement was as a result of huge debt of over $3billion it incurred.

He equally disclosed that the crude oil swap arrangement did not begin with him, as there was an oil swap agreement between the country and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia entered into in 1989.

Senate committee summons Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Perm Sec Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja THE Senate Committee on Cooperation and lntegration in Africa has invited the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Hajia Kadjat Bukar Abba Ibrahim and Ambassador Bulus Lolo, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, to appear before it to answer some questions relating to the 2016 budget.

Their appearance was in connection with how zero allocation was provided for capital expenditure for the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa.

The committee chairman, Senator Danladi Abubakar Sanni, who made this known during a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees, said the allocation of zero sum of money

for capital expenditure for this important Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa did not make the committee comfortable.

Senator Danladi disclosed that the committee was responsible for coordinating the activities of the new partnership for African development and any other matter relating to regional cooperation in Africa and annual budget estimates.

However, while defending 2016 budget before the committee the Director-General lnstitute for a Peace and Conflict Resolution, Professor Oshita .O .Oshita, informed that the institute had a budget estimate of N2.5 billion for the various capital and overhead expenditures.

This, he said, included United Nations (UN)-endorsed infrastructure for

peace and early warning and response among others, which the institute planned to implement in 2016.

He informed that the sum of N24,239,100 only was recommended for the institute to cover administrative projects and that no fund was earmarked for research and building programme, which were the institute’s core mandates.

vices (DSS) for establishing the institution, which he said had become a unique forum to encourage, not only inter-security and intelligence agencies’ cooperation, but also participants drawn from other strategic agencies of government.

The Senate President also said in support of the fight against corruption and to better the living standard of the people, the National Assembly had accorded priority to the accelerated passage of bills that would have the highest and direct impact on Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Monday, charged all Nigerian security agencies to embrace intelligence gathering and information sharing, to effectively tackle the serious security challenges facing the country.

Dogara gave the charge when participants of Executive Intelligence Course 9 of the Institute for Security Studies Bwari, Abuja, paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the National Assembly.

He identified as one of the major challenges in onerous task of tackling issues of insecurity in Nigeria as the inability of security agents to gather intelligent information and share it amongst themselves.

According to him, “ the paradox in the African context is that strong men build weak institutions and it is a worrisome situation, because without strong institutions, there is no way democracy can take root in the continent.”

He expressed optimism over a harmonious working relationship the visit of the faculty board members and 50 Course Nine participants of the institute would afford the legislature in Nigeria in its task of making quality legislation and oversighting of the executive arm.

Earlier in a remark, Director of the Institute, Mr M. B Seiyefa, hinted that the institute was established in 2012 by the management of the Department of State Security (DSS), in order to bridge the knowledge gap in security issues.

He also hinted of the resolve of the institute to tour the Sub-Sahara African region, in order to secure it and also explained that only 17 out of the 50 course participants were drawn from the DSS, while other security agencies made up the rest course participants.

16

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Food security:

As Dangote commences local rice farming

As Nigeria concentrates on re-shifting its focus on agriculture, private sector drivers, in a bid to ensure food security in the country are pitching in.

RUTH OLUROUNBI, in this report, looks at how president of the pan-African conglomerate, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, is helping Nigeria save over $20 billion in annual rice imports through his Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme, launched in Hadejia, Kafin-Hausa, Jigawa State.

W

ITH the oil not able to sustain the Nigerian economy anymore, the attention expectedly is shifting to agriculture which decades ago, was the propeller of the then buoyant economy. This is one of the reasons, according to the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, why he made a foray into productive agriculture.

It will be recalled that last week, Dangote launched a Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme in Hadejia, Kafin-Hausa local government area of Jigawa State.

Starting with 20,000 hectares of rice cultivation under scheme known as outgrowers, to be expanded to cover 800, 000 hectares over the next three years, Dangote said it was time focus was turned to agriculture as the saviour of the country’s conomy.

According to him, he commenced the scheme with the distribution of treated rice seedling for planting to some 5,000 farmers who are expected to participate in the scheme.

“We are committed to the development of the outgrower scheme by providing local, value added products and services that meet the ‘basic needs’ of the populace.

To this end, the Dangote Rice Farm Ltd, will run an initial pilot in Hago-Fadama, Kafin Hausa and Auyo areas which would see Dangote Rice developing smallholder farmers by providing quality inputs (certi-

fied seeds, fertilisers, agro-chemicals and petrol), improved agricultural practices and technology.

These provisions are expected to increase yields and production of quality rice paddy which would also be bought back from them by Dangote Rice Limited.

At the time when the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is calling for increased investments in smallholder agriculture in developing countries, if new global goals of ending poverty and hunger achieved, analysts are saying that Dangote’s outgrower programme in Jigawa State, which is expected to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to the host communities, may have been answer to the call.

As Dangote revealed at the launch in Jigawa State, over the period, aside the outgrowers aspect of the investment, Dangote Rice is planning to plant approximately 150,000 hectres of long grain white rice and produce near one million tonnes of high quality par boiled white rice for sale into the Nigerian market.

“Our internal policy within Dangote Rice Ltd is to procure 30 per cent of our rice production from local farmers who will be developed into outgrower groups. These outgrowers will be simultaneously developed alongside our commercial farming operations,” he said.

Why rice?

According to Dangote, “before the discovery of oil, our economic was built around potentials from our palm oil, groundnut, cotton, and rubber plantations. Now the price of oil has plummeted from a peak of $116 per barrel in June 2014 to as low as $29 per barrel in January 2016, this means there is huge loss of revenue to the government.”

According to him, Nigerian agricultural commodities and food imports bills has averaged over N1 trillion in the past two years (2013 and 2014), with foods like sugar, wheat, rice, fish accounting for 93 per cent of the total cost of imports, a situation he described as unacceptable for anyone who

About $20 billion is spent annually on importation of food items that could be produced locally.

loves the country.

He justified his investment in rice cultivation pointing out the situation the country has found itself needs a reversal. According to him, Nigeria spends nearly $1.8 billion per annum importing approximately 3.2 million metric tonnes of rice to feed its population.

“These are dollars that could be used on more impactful social development interventions if they were not needed for food imports,” he said, adding that currently the average yield of rice in the country is between 1.8 to 2.5 metric tonnes per hectre (MT/ha), depending on the region and the crop (wet or dry) and with or without irrigation 1.8 MT/ ha, which is significantly lower than the best practice yields in Africa of 9.2 MT/ha generated in Egypt.

Regretting that huge amounts were being expended on imported food items when the country had potential to produce locally, along with attendant losses of employment generation and wealth creation opportunities, Dangote, therefore, disclosed that the scheme has been designed as a one stop solution for the rice value chain.

In his remark during the rice seedling distribution, Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heneiken Lokpobiri, lauded the initiative of Alhaji Dangote, saying his intervention in the government efforts at providing food security for the citizenry; creating jobs Continues on pg17

17

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

‘Dangote Rice will save Nigeria $20bn yearly’ Continued from pg16

and reducing dependency on food importation are being boosted.

According to him, about $20 billion is spent annually on importation of food items that could be produced local-

ly, a situation which he said Dangote Rice investments would help reduce.

While expressing the government’s readiness to provide all the needed support to make the scheme a success, the minister said the government was putting in place

a strategy that would make farmers have greater access to farm implements to help them produce with ease.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to Dangote on Rice and Coordinator of the scheme, Lulu Carlos, explained that 6.1 metric

tonnes of rice is consumed annually, but not more than 2.6 million metric tons are produced locally leaving the rest to importation.

“We are happy to start today the partnership with the first outgrowers bloc of 200 hectares, shared among

President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote (right) and Jigawa State governor, Badaru Muhammed Abubakar, at the launch of Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme in Hadejia, Jigawa State.

FG moves to bridge knowledge gap within agricultural key players Collins Nnabuife - Abuja IN its bid to improve agricultural sector through knowledge sharing, the Federal Government launched the Knowledge Management Framework, an initiative to enhance knowledge flows between stakeholders.

Launching the initiative at the first multi-stakeholder workshop on the implementation of the Knowledge Management (KM) framework in Abuja, the

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh said the sector as one of the key drivers of the economy, needs innovation and efficiency to ensure job creation, wealth augmentation and the production of adequate food for the rapidly growing population.

Ogbeh, who was represented by the director, planning and policy coordination, Rabi Adamu, said addressing these constraints and ensuring that information and knowledge

flows between the government at all levels, the private sector, civil society and the farmers require engagement of all stakeholders in the country.

“The World Bank report 2016 focuses on innovation and this clearly implies that countries that neglect innovation will gradually fall behind. Knowledge management is the vehicle for innovation as well as for enhancing efficiency of programmes and policies. It is critical that we embrace

the efforts outlined in the KM framework close to our heart and nurture it to maturity,” he said.

He said ministry had established a technical committee with representative from all departments to drive the overall process, while the ministry had also created a Yellow Pages Directory which describes the ministry’s services with contacts details.

This, he said, would address one of the questions of investors.

How to start a worm farm business

By Ruth Olurounbi ACCORDING to agropreneurs dealing in worm farming business, vermiculture (the art of breeding and rearing eathworms) is a lucrative business. On the international scale, worm farming is a billion dollar industry with enourmous potential.

Although worm farming sounds very new in Nigeria, it is a business that is popular in the West and Europe. So how does one start?

Location The best place to rear worms is a warm, dark and dry environment is best,

according to Deborah Iseoluwa, a veterinary doctor, who consults on animal husbandry. According to her, the bedding should be moist, but not too damp, and the worms should be kept off direct sunlight and hot environment.

Container Your container doesn’t have to be fancy, it could be plastic or a wooden box, although Iseoluwa said wooden boxes are best containers because they are good insulators, as well as moist absorbers. While preparing your containers, ensure that you drill drain holes in the bottom to make sure that moisture is able to

pass through, otherwise, the worms may drown, if water is not properly drained off.

Worm types To choose which type of worm you want to use for your business, you have to decide what type of customers you want to cater to. According to Friday Osho, someone going into this business can look into gardeners, they us to improve soil nutrients, structure, and texture; fish farmers as they serve their fishes with them and poultry farmers, among others.

Feeding As with livestock business,

worms are to be fed daily so they don’t die. But, according to Iseoluwa, it should be noted that worms are not to be fed with meat, dairy and grains, to avoid exposing them to flies which could kill them. She recommended that granulated egg shells are best for the worms.

Sales Sales can occur when the worms are growing and mutliplying, to make room for others to grow too. Your prices is determined by how much investments goes into cultivating and rearing them, Osho said.

eight communities. I’ve seen the same project born in my country, Brazil, whereby from 2.5 metric tonnes in the beginning to today where we reached nine tonnes of paddy rice per hectare in productivity.

“Alhaji Aliko has instructed me to conduct the project here for at least 30 per cent from out growers and 70 per cent from our commercial farm to be established in the state. But this is not our limit.

We are today convinced that this equation will have more and more outgrowers participation in the future, due to very good and welcome response we are getting from all the communities we are dealing with.

“We are bringing to the people top quality seeds, fertilizers and chemicals as well the training and teaching the best and most modern agricultural practices, to enable you to boost your productivity and quality of your rice. We are also committed to roll out the scheme to cover another 1,000 hectares for the coming rainy season in June/ July, using the experience of this first plot to guide our progress,” he said.

The Jigawa State governor, Badaru Abubakar, thanked Dangote Rice Ltd for choosing Jigawa as the pilot state for the project.

He pledged the readiness of his administration to provide all necessary support to the project, saying the project was government’s commitment to improve agriculture and industrialise the state for job creation and poverty eradication.

“Right from my inaugural speech, I made it clear that, agriculture was one of my government cardinal points and we are ready to collaborate with private investors in achieving the desire goals,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

Women farmers want GES included in agric budget Collins Nnabuife - Abuja THE Small Scale Women Farmer Organisation (SWOFON) has urged the Federal Government to make provision for the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme in the 2016 agriculture budget.

This call was made by the National President of the organization, Sarah Yapwa, at the ‘Citizens Dialogue on the Proposed 2016 Agriculture Budget’ in Abuja.

The dialogue was organised by ActionAid, SWOFON, Voices for Food Security (VFS), National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), ONE and Oxfam.

Yapwa stressed the need for clarity and specifications of the GES in the budget, in order to ensure proper implantation and public monitoring.

“In the budget proposal, there is a provision for capacity building, which capacity building are they talking about? It is not clear and so will the implementation not be clear?

“There is need for specification so that we will know what government plans are, for us to follow and make sure they are achieved.

We have not seen the GES scheme in the 2016 budget; we call on the Federal Government to return GES to the budget because it is small holder farmer friendly,” she said.

She decried the continuous decline in the total allocation to agriculture over the years, urging the government to put up strategies to meet the 2003 Maputo Declaration of 10 per cent, explain that in 2011, the total budget allocation to agriculture was 1.9 per cent of the total budget and in 2012, we had 1.66 per cent.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@tribune.com.ng or by sms to 08053412982.

It MUST be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer.

Making Nigeria an export-oriented country

M

ANY people may be blaming the current fall in the price of crude oil for our economic crisis, but as an economist, I would say that the huge demand for dollars is the major reason we are in the situation we find ourselves today.

The United States dollars is the major currency used in global trade, and the demand for the currency by importers is what determines the exchange rate.

In Nigeria, we import everything, from petroleum products, to used cars, building materials, electronic products, agricultural produce, among others. It is so unfortunate that we also import table water and tooth picks.

With all these, the demand for dollars by importers is usually on the high side, and when demand is high, price goes up.

The solution to our economic problem is just that we need to produce more in the country so that we

reduce imports drastically.

Nigeria is the country that imports the highest volume of rice in the world; we ‘ship’ our hard earned dollars to Asian rice farmers when we can actually develop our agricultural sector.

In the area of importation of cars, we can make the automotive policy, which was made popular during the last administration work by producing more ‘Made in Nigeria’ cars, and then making the

banks loan Nigerians money to acquire the brand new cars, instead of the used cars we import from Europe.

We can do this for everything that we import, including petroleum products, which we can actually refine at home. When all these are in place, the demand for dollars will reduce, and then the value of the naira will stabilise.

I must, however, say that this is not a day’s job, as it requires long-term planning.

lives in the course of defending the people of the country, then the people will be ready to do anything for their fatheland.

There was even a report last year where the Inspector General of Police (IGP) gave the number of policemen who died in active service. The families of these officers should be adequately taken care of by the police authorities.

This is also applicable to other agencies like the military; our government must take care of the families of offiers who die in the course of duty.

Once again, I must commend the Osun Police Command for the gallantry the officers displayed in thwarting the robbery.

On the Ikirun robbery I want to commend the Osun State Police Command over the response to the robbery incident that took place in some banks in Ikirun recently.

Although the police lost two officers, they were able to kill four robbers, while also arresting another four. The robbers were well equipped, but the diligence and experience of the policemen came to bear in this particular operation.

With this, the people will begin to have confidence in

FG, tackle illegal bunkering Illegal bunkering is still thriving in the country, and the Federal Government needs to do everything in its power to tackle it. Oil bunkerers are economic saboteurs, and the federal might must be used to crush them. It is now so bad the bunkerers are now heavily armed, and a number of security agents have been killed by these evil people all in a bid to hold on to their reign of terror in this evil business.

I hope the Federal Government can set up a task force that will be responsible for tackling the activities of bunkerers. Anticorruption agencies must also be on the look-out for their backers.

•Chuks Odion, salemj@gmail.com

the police.

However, the police hierarchy must ensure that the deceased officers’ families are quickly given their breadwinners’ entitlements. One of the problems we have in the past is that when one dies for the country, then one’s family will be badly treated.

However, if adequate compensation can be given to those who lay down their

•Isaac Akinde, Iree, Osun State.

We should, therefore, start working towards becoming an export-oriented country, instead of an import-dependent one.

We should study why Germany is so prosperous in Europe despite all the challenges the region is facing. Germany exports more than it imports, and we all know about German

engineering. We may not be as sound as the Germans as far as technology is concerned, but we can focus on cocoa, oil palm, rubber, and other agricultural produce. What will save our economy now is just for us to export more than we import.

•Yetunde Soares, Lagos.

Benefiting from Buhari’s travels SOME people have been questioning the benefits behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent travels outside the country. Last week, he was in France, and this week, he has travelled to Egypt; he will also visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

At this period of economic upheaval, it is understandable that some are already criticising the president, but the truth is that such visits will eventually lead to our breakthrough economically.

However, what I want the president to be doing

more is signing bilateral trade agreements with the governments of countries he visits.

During the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, there was a trade pact with China for the supply of Cassava chips. China sells many things to us, and they must just make sure that the trade agreement is balanced. That is why it is important to look for what to sell to the country in return.

We are the largest producer of cassava in the world, and China needs cassava chips for its animal feed industry. I understand that local cassava buyers have not been treating farmers well, so why can’t the government buy directly from the farmers, and then sell to the Chinese.

The same thing can be said about cashew nut; India imports large volume of cashew nuts from us, but it is the foreign commodities buyers who benefit mostly, not the farmers. So it is high time the government set up a committee to be buying the produce from farmers, while selling directly to end users in other parts of the world.

We have seen that our over-reliance on oil has led us nowhere; it has infact brought us pain, and the earlier we looked at other sources for foreign exchange, the better.

So in as much as the president is not going on tourist visits, then he should be supported so that Nigerians can enjoy the benefits from his travels.

•Kunmi Oluyemi, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

19

editorial

T

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

The reformation course for errant police personnel

HE Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police Force recently graduated some 42 police personnel after a reformation course at the Police Training School, Ikeja, Lagos. The oneweek course introduced by the Command was meant for policemen who had committed offenses in the line of duty, ranging from extortion to drunkenness. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, who urged the offenders to change their attitude, also said that the training was meant to reform the officers and men rather than to punish them.

There is no doubt that the Nigerian public which has been at the receiving end of police brutality would expect the initiative to succeed in making human beings out of the police personnel for whom the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, had only recently recommended psychiatric tests. We have observed in our previous comments that the police force is in dire need of reorientation from being a colonial force of suppression to a civil outfit that will engage the citizenry politely, cognizant and respectful of their fundamental rights. The Lagos Command’s initiative was obviously also headed in a similar direction by giving the affected police personnel a second chance in the hope that they too would approach their duties in a humane manner.

We hope, however, that the reformation course came after the affected personnel had been disciplined and made to face the consequences of their various misdemeanors and that they are all light offenders who committed offenses for which even notional sanctions in their records would suffice. Having been treated like human beings, the affected policemen should be kept under surveillance to ensure that the desired change in behaviour is reflected in their various subsequent postings. In this connection, the Lagos CP was right on point when he observed in his speech that “some policemen conduct themselves ignorantly without conforming to the rules of engagement.” This aspect of the disposition of police personnel on duty to the public is most worrisome and it has caused a lot of

unwarranted grief that, as the CP noted, had dented the image of the force.

We expect that the Lagos initiative which according to CP Owoseni was the first of its kind will be replicated in other commands in the hope that, gradually, a new force guided by civility and decency will sprout from the old.

Elsewhere, the police usually recruit from the best of human resources available irrespective of the level of entry and their exposure to physical training and fitness is never at the detriment of the intellectual aspects of their job. Arguably, the police personnel implicated in denting the image of the force could hardly have been those intellectually inclined in the force, hence the easy and convenient regression to violence as the first option.

It is also imperative for the leadership of the various commands to engage with their officers and men at the level of counseling to sieve those predisposed to violence or given to grudges from those billed for engagement, rather than unleashing them on an unsuspecting, hapless public.The counseling will also help the policemen to vent their various grudges and predicaments before their superior officers who can then effectively gauge their suitability for public engagements. There is absolutely no doubt that the NPF needs urgent cleansing to weed off the dangerous personnel in its fold who have continued to damage its reputation without adding any value.

We commend the Lagos Command for this initiative and recommend it to other commands as a noble effort in the direction of making human beings out of the many disoriented men and women in the force who have been out of control for a long time and who are bent on settling scores with the society like sociopaths. Not even the recent killing of one Mr Arinze Daniel allegedly by the policemen stationed at a bus stop checkpoint while he was trying to produce his identity card, unfortunate and tragic as the event was, is able to dissuade us from seeing the merits in this effort to return the police to the path of humaneness and decency.

AFRICAN NEWSPAPERS OF NIGERIA PLC Founders: Chief Obafemi Awolowo GCFR, SAN (1909 - 1987)

Chief (Dr) H.I.D Awolowo CON (1915 - 2015)

Chairman Rev. (Mrs) Omotola Oyediran Co-Chairman Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Edward Dickson Controller (Business Development) Fola Oke Chief Accountant Oluremi Olufisayo, ACA

Ibadan Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08077227269; 08034135733 Lagos Office (Advert Hot Lines): 08055333067; 08033013177 South South Regional Office: No. 50 Ikwerre Rd., Mile 1, Diobu, P/Harcourt, Rivers State

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

GOT NEWS?

Abuja Office: Suites G2. 05-07, PEB04 Plaza, Plot 2027, Dalaba Street, Beside NAPTIP Headquarters, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja Advert Hot Lines: 08033199716; 08078891797 Kaduna Office: AN 20, Lagos Street, by Keffi Rd., Kaduna.

Ikeja Marketing Office.

Block C, First Floor, Motorways centre, Opp., 7up Alausa, Ikeja.

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

20

opinion

Tuesday,23 February, 2016

An average Nigerian and the inflation quagmire

B

ABA Ibeji looked frail and his skin exuded a dirty brown hue. The brownness of the visible flesh around his neck and face was not his natural pigmentation, but he was so coloured due of the layers of dust, held steady with shimmering dots of sweat that have accumulated on his face after a very long walk on a recently muddy-sand filled road. His white and blue bathroom slippers had as well been repainted by the dust to a depressing shade of pale brown.

Frantically, he made his way to the only road side shop on the stretch of the dusty road he’s been travelling on. All the items in the wooden kiosk wore a rich layer of dust like foundation on a woman’s face after the primer. Its rusty roof creaked, willingly obeying the Physics law of expansion as hellish rays of the scorching sun perched upon it. A makeshift bench, constructed from unfinished timber, sat in front of the kiosk.

As Baba Ibeji approached, he gave a weak smile and quickly patted the dust off the edge of the bench to make himself comfortable. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, psychologically feeling the air massage his worn out muscles.

He had been up since dawn, working on a construction site as a brick carrier but his shift for the day was over at 2pm and he was on his journey home.

However, he needed to get some supplies for his pregnant wife and his twin boys. The storeowner had approached him in no time and the transaction kicked off earnestly. Baba Ibeji, who was too exhausted to start a conversation with the prattling seller, simply pointed at what he wanted to purchase while the seller, undeterred by his lack of interest in her small talk while cackling away like a cockatoo, put the items in a tiny plastic bag.

After a careful selection of the items he believed should gain ascendancy on his scale of preference, Baba reached into the back pocket of his ragged work trouser and pulled out a worn out centenary N100 note and another good looking N50 polymer bill. A sudden awkward silence ensued as the loquacious seller stopped in mid sentence and stared at him with fire in her eyes.

Baba Ibeji, shocked but oblivious of his trespass, flashed an hesitant smile to reveal a horribly plaque-infested set of teeth

in a mouth of unending bacteria proliferation and inquired his balance of the seller.

At that moment, the temporary dumbness that had taken hold of the talkative seller was exorcised and she angrily spat out venomous words at her victim.

Baba Ibeji, who had requested to buy a sachet of tomato puree, the smallest loaf of locally made bread, popularly called “Agege bread”, a sachet of water, an egg and a sachet of evaporated milk for his pregnant wife, insisted that by his calculation the total cost of his purchase was N145, reason why he paid N150.

The loquacious seller had sneered at him as the altercation intensified and with one calculated move, pulled the plastic bag from his grasp, “are you not in this change era? Everything has gone up, Oga!” In her summation, the total of goods purchased by Baba Ibeji was N220 due to inflation as sachet water and tomato puree had each doubled in price. The loaf of bread which used to be sold at N50 was now up for sale at N70 and the price for sachet evaporated milk as well had gone up with over N10 and eggs were not left out of the contagious inflation as the increase in one item had a trickling effect on others.

Baba Ibeji was perplexed, though never a student of Economics, he applied the opportunity cost theory so he could afford the most important items.

veracity with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688 Baba Ibeji, I can assure you, is not the only Nigerian marooned on this island of cost cutting as prices hit the sky, tears it apart and crosses unbridled to the other side of heaven.

The average Nigerian is currently witnessing an excruciatingly painful financial dilemma as everything, aside from the dollar, keeps rising and rising. Ironically, incomes, salaries and wages, remain stationary, if not on the decline in some severe austeritystricken states. A situation that suffices to describe the bulk of Nigerian states at the moment.

According to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts, there has been a steady rise in Nigeria’s Inflation Rate since April 2015 as recorded by the National Bureau of Statistics. In April 2015, inflation rate was 8.7 per cent, but it became 9.2 per cent in July of the same year and by the time 2015 was closing, it had risen to 9.4 per cent.

In January of 2016, annual inflation rate in Nigeria came in at 9.6 per cent and has been the highest since December of the year 2012 as a plummeting naira keeps pushing import prices up, mainly food.

Compared to January of 2015, food cost increased by 10.6 per cent and imported food prices grew to 11.2 per cent. Additional upward pressure came from: transport (+10.6 per cent); education (+10 per cent); clothing and footwear (+9.8 per cent).

In Nigeria, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change over time in prices of 740 goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living. The index weights are based on expenditures of both urban and rural households in the 36 states. Some of the most important categories in the CPI are Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuel and Clothing and Footwear.

Therefore, the bare necessities of life – food, clothing and housing may someday become luxury in Nigeria if the rate of inflation keeps going steady and the naira keeps falling. Sadly, Nigerians were anticipating better years after the transition from transformation to change but so far, has change made life easier for the Baba Ibeji’s nationwide, who constitute about 80 per cent of the country’s population?

The Supreme Court vs the Nigerian people

By Tola Adeniyi

IT appears the Supreme Court has stretched the wig meant for its head to cover its eyes and ears such that it no longer sees what Nigerians are seeing and cannot hear what the generality of Nigerians are hearing. It has by its recent conduct made itself the fabled Ostrich that covers its head in the sand while its huge body is all bare for the public to see. And as they say in my language ‘oku ti won sin; ese re wa ni’ta’, a body supposedly buried has all its legs exposed to public glare!

It does not appear that the Nigerian Supreme Court is bothered by the image it may be wittingly or unwittingly presenting to the Nigerian public, which under normal circumstances, regards it as the ultimate in the dispensation of justice and equity. It does not appear also to be bothered if its actions are suspected to be tainted by words that may not be palatable to the ears of readers of published materials.

For quite a long time, Nigerians have been clamouring for a divine end to the humongous corruption that has perennially crippled the land. Nigerians wanted an end to corruption in public life, corruption in political and electoral matters, corruption in government, and corruption in the dispensation of justice. Nigerians were simply tired of the huge amount of public money that gets missing, or misappropriated or outrightly stolen by people who have access to their common patrimony. Bribery is one plague that has seized the jugular of the fabric of society that every Nigerian fervently prays to God to remove from their daily life.

The mood of the country before the general elections last year was generally against electoral malpractices. Nigerians felt that they had suffered a lot in the recent past, a period spanning a decade and a half, that they determined to give themselves fair, free and credible elections where their votes would count and loss of lives brought to the barest minimum.

It was in the reflection of that national mood that the then President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, went public with a bold statement that his political ambition did not merit the blood of any Nigerian. He was so categorical in his pronouncement that Nigerians should refrain from shedding human blood in

their frenzied bid to win political victory. The era of maiming and killing innocent people to actualise political ambition was meant to be over and done with.

Nigerians, therefore, expected that whoever went contrary to the public declaration made by former President Jonathan should be considered an enemy of the people and should not be patted on the back by anybody or any institution. In the same vein, nobody who watered his electoral ‘victory’ with human blood should be allowed to keep his or her loot. This was and still is the expectation of Nigerians.

In fairness to the polity, the warning given by Jonathan was largely heeded except in some pockets that had been notoriously bred with the lucre of thuggery and brutishness.

It is against this backdrop that Nigerians are calling into question the way and manner the Supreme Court appears to be conducting its affairs. Nigerians generally do not believe that some of the recent judgments dished out by the apex court reflect what the public knew about the elections that prompted the trials that sought final determination by the Supreme Court.

We know that the law is an ass. But beyond that cliché is the belief that lawyers do not have to be asses, and more so, people on the bench should not be asses. The tragedy though is that much as people expect the preachment on the pulpit to change human behaviour, experience of life has shown that the Church or Mosque does not change the character of the person that sleeps in the holy places. As we say in popular parlance, a person may pass through the university without allowing the university to pass through him.

A judge, a doctor, a pastor or bishop, an Imam or a Babalawo

is first and foremost a human. And he or she is subject to all the whims and caprices of every human. Judges take bribes.

Doctors, lawyers, the police and all those who are privileged to be in positions of authority do take bribes and are susceptible to corruption. But when a national mood cries for a change in orientation and ethics, any institution suspected to be not in sync with popular expectation is usually put on trial.

Nigerians have started seriously lamenting the absence of great Supreme Court judges of yore; the Justices Eshos, Oputas, Bellos, Karibi Whites and other greats whose exploits on the Supreme Bench were lauded and applauded by the people.

The Supreme Court should not misdirect itself by assuming that its supremacy is above the will of the people. Or worse still, to assume that it is superior to the unsparing swords of God. History is replete with stories of judges being chased out of court rooms, judges being stoned to death during popular uprisings, and judges being jailed when God appoints new rulers to judge judges.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria must place its ears close to the ground. It must adjust its wig and ensure that it [the wig] does neither close its eyes nor its ears.

Respectable Professor Itse Sagay has spoken. Ordinary Nigerians have also spoken. Currency chewing moguls, puffpuff cheeks and stiff necks are rejoicing and celebrating. All is well and good.

Those who know what is right and good, but choose to do what is wrong and bad, can only enjoy ephemeral, limited and tainted glory. Those who should know the difference between judgment and justice but instead require to be sent back to secondary school to learn basic English would only have themselves to blame on the day of reckoning.

The Supreme Court of any land can not afford to run against the current. The Supreme Court of any land cannot afford to dash the genuine hopes and genuine aspirations of its people.

The Supreme Court is the last hope of the people, and it is supposed to be the most respected organ of the judicial system.

If the head is rotten……

•Chief Adeniyi is a veteran journalist.

21

politics&policy

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Implications of Sheriff as PDP boss—Kaze

Honourable Bitrus Kaze represented Jos East/Jos South Federal Constituency of Plateau State at the House of Representatives for eight years. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, he speaks on the emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of PDP, the 8th Assembly and his ambition to be Plateau chairman of PDP. Excerpts:

W

HAT is your view on the emergence of Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

Let me be honest with you: from what I heard, the emergence of Senator Modu Ali Sheriff is not commanding the enthusiasm that should ordinarily accompany a new leader. There is what people call integrity deficit or image deficit given his recent antecedents and the propaganda or accusations against him. But there are two good things about his emergence.

To me, a bad decision is better than no decision. For PDP to go to congress without a national chairman is a disaster.

That he fills the gap is not a bad thing.

Secondly, the best thing about his emergence is that it is just going to last for a few months, probably to finish the tenure that is subsisting, because I don’t see how PDP, having taken an official decision that the presidency will be zoned to the North in 2019, will still leave the chairmanship in the North. I believe Senator Sheriff will be there for just some months.

Looking at his background, especially his political experience, do you see him bringing the expected reconciliation to the PDP within a short period and organising a successful convention?

It will take some time for this party to attain genuine reconciliation. It is very easy to destroy overnight but it takes time to rebuild. But I do not think that any chairman

Kaze

in a single tenure can bring about genuine reconciliation and rejuvenation of the party. Though he is an experienced politician, having been a member of ANPP and APC and now in PDP, and a person with such multilateral experience should know the political terrain of Nigeria, I doubt if the short time he has will be enough to make genuine reconciliation. Another thing is that his emergence, that itself is another problem. I do not see him putting the party back on track because of time and the controversy surrounding his emergence.

You played a prominent role during your two-term tenure in the House of Representatives. What is you assessment of the 8th Assem-

bly?

You must forgive our colleagues in the 8th Assembly. The All Progressives Congress (APC) doesn’t understand how to manage the legislature. They have never been in power at the centre, and their helplessness has not helped in the stability of the National Assembly. The APC also has been desirous of one person or the other taking over the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives instead of those who emerged by popular votes. So, we are seeing a National Assembly that is not agile or egalitarian.

We have not seen probe even though probes in the National Assembly are viewed with a lot of skepticism. We have not seen a National Assembly that is innovative. I don’t blame the National Assembly because the government itself in the past eight months has no definite policy as to what it wants to do. You don’t expect the National Assembly to define a policy for this government. So, the lacklustre legislature that we are experiencing in the 8th Assembly is a reflection of the rudderless government in power.

Are you satisfied with the way and manner the 2016 budget proposal is being handled by the National Assembly, especially the numerous controversy trailing the budget from various angles?

The Buhari APC government has introduced a new dimension of corruption.

This is the first time we are seeing a budget where up to N10 billion will be padded into a budget and somebody is saying it is

just a typographical error. We have seen a situation where a minister came out and said it was not the figure he gave that appeared on the budget. At the beginning, it was missing budget; then it became padded budget, a budget with stolen figures.

The budget that the APC government wrote for the presidency alone is about 75 per cent higher than what the Jonathan administration used in 2015. This is not exuding confidence at all, it vindicates some of us who have insisted that corruption does not have the colour of PDP and it does not have color of APC alone; corruption is national cankerworm. The sooner the Buhari government sees it as a national problem other than PDP problem, the better for him. The National budget is a national scandal.

You mean the anti corruption crusade of this administration is a ruse?

We have always maintained so. I have no document to present to anybody that Buhari’s government, whether as a former military Head of State, former Petroleum Minister and man in charge of PTF—I do not have the report of any forensic that says he is clinically and financially fit in all this. What about his ministers, key officials in the anti corruption crusade?

There is nothing to show that the guys he appointed are corruption-free. In any case, some of them have serious corruption charges in their states and they seem to have a hiding place in his government.

The anti-corruption war being fought by President Buhari is clearly selective, it is not genuine. It is only a cover to gain popularity.

‘Why media, opposition should work together’ Mr Sunday Ologunde is the state secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Kwara State. He speaks with Biola Azeez on the state of affairs in the party and other issues.

SHOULD the Alliance for Democracy (AD) produce the next governor of Kwara State, what programmes would people expect that would make a difference?

There will be total change. The first thing that strikes our mind is free education for our children, because children are the leaders of tomorrow. The only legacy responsible people leave for their children is qualitative education. Education is the key to our vibrant future. Everyone craves good education. You give them free education. For instance, some children were offered university admission in this state, but the parents could not pay the tuition until the porter was closed. Salaries of the parents are not paid. The situation here is that when the state cannot pay salaries, people are rendered poor. Why? It’s the salary earners that would go to markets and engage in spread of economic activities.

We’ll also introduce free health services.

So many people have died because of inability to buy N100 drug. Go to government hospitals and you will see the expensive bills you’ll be given on drug. Now, you talk of hungry people getting money to buy drugs for serious illness. Make health services free, which I believe is possible, because it’s the government. How do you explain somebody having almost a trillion in his personal account among the politicians. If that money gets to the state,

surely, it will turn things round for better.

Primary, secondary and tertiary health sector should be put in place for the need of the people, particularly in the grass roots. People don’t need to trek two kilometres to get government primary health services.

Talking about rural integration, many people residing in the urban centres in the state are virtually doing nothing tangible. About five of these young ones share a room. In some places, the youth owe rent of a room apartment they live in for many years. They are doing nothing, but use urban centres for cover up. But when you reintegrate them into the rural areas, and you provide all necessary facilities like good roads, electricity, water supply, solar-powered electricity in the rural areas the people will have sense of belonging.

Are you sure, given the get-rich -quick mentality among the people ?

Yes. You can get these people to engage in farming. Mechanised agriculture will be provided for the rural dwellers. And the rural people will enjoy all these social amenities, for instance good roads, to transport their farm produce to urban centres and make money. We are even ready to feed some states in the country, if we are given chance to govern, with the success expected from our agriculture programmes.

What are the kind of changes you want in the nation’s electoral system?

Five years’ single term is it. Second term is always uneventful, wasteful.

What’s your take on the N20 billion bond the state government is planning to take as loan?

We have not felt the impact of money taken as loan so far. So, why another one?

Look at the state of infrastructure, roads, water supply and , industries. They need to be revamped. Why should they continue to borrow? Rather, the government should look inwards by providing a conducive environment for people of the state to eke out a living. All the industries should be made to work, so that jobs are created and socioeconomic life would come alive, so that people will be able to pay tax.

Are the opposition parties in Kwara performing their role as expected?

The opposition in Kwara is not given the opportunity to thrive or perform as we would have wanted it. You know, if you want to do anything in the country today, you need money. People should be hearing the voice of the opposition all the time.

Those in opposition should be allowed to speak all the time. The press should be allowed to carry opposing angles to what’s happening in the ruling party.

Opposition and the media should be seen to be working together because that is where you can voice your opinion. So,

the opposition in Kwara is not functioning well because they are very, very poor. And not that they don’t want to function but they are handicapped. There’s no money.

We’ve been rendered helpless. It’s only through the grace of God that journalists are assisting democracy to thrive in the state, otherwise, we don’t have the means to do it.

Look at what APC did during the PDP regime. Just because they had the resources to pursue their case. And they were able to pursue it even to Europe, America, all over the world. And that’s how they were able to wrest power from the ruling government. It exposed the PDP and its electioneering atrocities.

22

politics&policy

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerians in diaspora gave Buhari lead on looted funds —Ajaja Mr Smart Ajaja, an indigene of Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, who has been living in USA for decades, speaks on some policies of the Federal Government and other efforts to reposition the country.

Assistant Editor, CHRISTIAN OKEKE, brings excerpts:

S

ince the current Federal Government came on board, we have seen policies such as the one on forex exchange and the BVN policy that Nigerians in Diaspora cried about sometime ago. What policies of the government are stifling the interest of Nigerians abroad?

When the foreign exchange policy was announced, I was a little concerned about that. But, I think there has been a reversal now. This is how to know a good government, a government that listens. There was a stifling effect even on us in the Diaspora, limiting how much we could bring into the country. There was a clause to that effect that you can only bring in $2500 cash but I know that since I have been here, I have spent a lot more than that.

On a very serious note, I feel so sick seeing money being traded on the streets. All the countries that I have been to, I have never seen money being traded the way it is being traded here, so government has to curb street trading of money. It is disgraceful and it is really terrible for the status of Nigeria. I think we should go beyond that level of doing things; there has to be a stop to it. They should re-organise the financial sector to really stop this trading of money on the streets. It is very embarrassing, I don’t like it, even though there are people who think that it is a good way of doing things because of the gain they make from the exchange rate. It is a disgrace.

Since he assumed duties, President Muhammadu Buhari has been doing his best to garner international support to identify and recover stolen funds stashed abroad. Is there anything Nigerians in Diaspora are willing to do in order to assist this government to identify the stolen funds?

Nigerians in Diaspora are the ones who gave government the lead that identified some of those funds that were returned. But there is still a lot to be done because most of the people bringing money to launder abroad have cronies among us in the diaspora that they use as fronts for money laundering. Some of us are so vulnerable that we make

ourselves available as accomplices. The looters couldn’t have transferred all that money without the help of some Nigerians abroad. So, I think this BVN will, to a great extent, solve that problem. If the government cannot monitor the movement of physical cash out of Nigeria, there is nothing we can do because they have agents who they use to transfer these money across to put them in banks.

The looters have special bank accounts created for that.

But one good thing about the United States, which is lacking in Nigeria is that every human being is a security agent because they put the country first before anything. For instance, if I accept money from you, they know how much I make based on the income tax that I file every year. If suddenly they start seeing much money than I make, there will be a trigger and before you know it, the FBI will be knocking on your door for you to explain the sudden deposit in your account. When you are not able to explain it, it becomes a serious problem. For instance, once you deposit $10,000, the teller is going to tell you to wait.

By then, he has gone to make a call to report what you have done. I am just telling you how everybody, for love of the country, is a security agent. The security of the country is the responsibility of every citizen. You don’t have to depend on the police. The police only act based on the information they receive from citizens. That is why places which are like that are relatively more secure than what we have here. We are very unwilling to give information here because of sentiment tied to friendship, bond of brotherhood and, by association, ethnicity. Until we abandon that and accept one thing, competence, as the only tribe in Nigeria, we will not move forward.

When President Buhari travelled to the US, some individuals claimed he told the Nigerian community that, for now, they shouldn’t come to the country because of the economic situation we have right now, but some Diasporas want to come home. Would you say the climate is ripe for such move?

Ajaja I think his position was misconstrued. I think it has to do with the security situation. I have been living in the United States for the past 20 years. Quite a few of my friends have come here and got kidnapped and we had to start paying ransom. I think that was the perspective he was coming from. The Nigerian nation needs the diasporans. If the reports of money transfer that was made available in 2014 is anything to go by, the Diaspora contributed nearly 30 per cent of the entire budget of Nigeria. That is something that cannot be wished away, so I think he was misunderstood.

Diaspora Nigerians are coming into Nigeria to invest everyday and I encourage them to keep doing that. Talking about the hard times, a lot of damage has been done to the Nigerian economy. It didn’t start today. As far as I can think, I would say the real trouble that has destroyed the Nigerian economy, the foundation, was laid in 1985 when there was a coup that ousted the current president.

Amendment of procurement act: A move towards economic recovery and accountability

By Bamikole Omishore With the continuous fall in the price of the Naira against other currencies in the World Market, it is gradually becoming imperative for Nigerians to come to the realisation that it is time to focus on patronising locally manufactured products. It has indeed dawned on many of us that the economy will not improve except if we take pride and ownership in made in Nigeria goods and services.

The National Assembly under the leadership of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has however been working assiduously in this respect as the Senate moves to ensure the amendment of the Procurement Act and give legislative backing to and expansion of the responsibilities of the Bureau of Public Procurement. Above all, the body language of leaders of thought across board will shift positively towards ensuring the much-needed political will to encourage local production and consumption of goods.

In particular, the recent visit of the President of the Senate to Made – In – Aba Trade fair held in Abuja and the recent online discussions regarding the use of Innoson Motor Vehicles have kicked off the opening of a new vista in the way the use and patronage of locally manufactured good is seen. Prior to this awareness, the average Nigerian sees the Igbemo Rice from Ekiti State or the Nasco Corn Flakes from Plateau State as substandard in comparision with the Thai Rice or Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. This narrative is about to change.

The Buy American Act of 1933 in the United States remains a benchmark to us in Nigeria to look at in strengthening our local industries via the basic economic forces of demand and supply. The new Procurement Laws

which the Senate under Dr. Bukola Saraki foresees will guarantee a better lease of life to the local manufacturing industries while also tackling unemployment and bring back the pride of Nigerians to in locally produced

Bukola Saraki, Senate President

goods even amidst competition from foreign products.

The amendment of the Public Procurement Act 2007 will make it obligatory for Ministries, Department and Agencies of Government to first consider and patronize Nigerian products before their foreign alternatives. The passage of the revised Law will have ripple effects on the manufacturing industry as it will assure local manufacturers of a ready and sure market for their products.

While all these efforts are ongoing, it behoves on the Manufacturers of these Nigerian products to ensure they up the ante in terms of giving the best quality products. Their products must have comparative advantage. They should no longer produce adulterated or substandard goods and service because the market is available. Also, its high time we got the very best into our markets to ensure overall consumer satisfaction and building confidence in the Nigerian brand. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Standards Organization of Nigeria will also have to renew their commitment to ensuring high standards in this respect.

The State Houses of Assembly should also toe the footsteps of continued determination of the National Assembly under the able leadership of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki in ensuring that enabling laws are put in place to jump start the Nigerian Economy and inspire the growth and development of local industries. For Active Citizens like myself, a new Procurement Law will mean value for money, economic efficiencies and national confidence – especially in the use of public funds and of course, improved transparency and accountability in government procurement activities.

Omishore is a public affairs commentator.

23

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

leadership &

management

with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

The flipside of leadership:

Burden and responsibility

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

S

unday Oliseh, head coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, did the unthinkable recently when he declared war on those who criticized the crash of his team out of the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHANS).

The sweat merchant faulted everyone but himself. He insulted Nigerians, blamed the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and abused his former team mates calling them “bench warmers”.

Oliseh anchored his angst on the unfairness of his critics. By his reckoning, his team had done well, losing just two matches out of the 14 played since he took over as the head coach. He even said that the CHAN was not a very important competition and wondered why Nigerians decided to make a mountain out a molehill of the inability of his team to qualify for the knock out stage of the competition.

Continues on pg24

Sola Oyebade, CEO and Creative Director, Mahogany International

The 60-second page 24

Leaders’

business forum coach page 24

page 24

Quote Leadership

“The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership.”— Jim Loehr

24

25

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

leadership&management Sunday Oliseh and the flipside of leadership Continued from pg23

However, this outburst speaks volume about Oliseh as a leader.

Oliseh might have been a good footballer in his days, an outstanding football analyst and a good coach but he still has a few things to learn as a leader. Just like many people, Oliseh is more interested in the glamorous part of leadership. But glamour, honour, accolades, perks and praises are not all there is to leadership; there is also the flipside which is bifurcated into burden and responsibility.

Burden of leadership Many are aware of and covet both the benefits and perks of leadership but want to avoid its burden.

Leading at any level is burdensome.

Hereunder are some of the burdens that come with leading.

Criticism One of the facts that leaders have to live with is criticism. For good or bad, every activity of a leader will come under criticism. The reason for this is obvious; everything in life has merits and demerits. There is nothing that is absolutely good or absolutely bad. So, every choice made by a leader has its downside and some people will choose to concentrate on the drawback and as a result take the leader to the cleaners.

Another reason this is so is that whatever the leader does, there will be some people who will believe that they can do it better and they will condemn what has been done.

When his activities come under criticism, a wannabe leader wastes no time reacting to this; he does everything to defend himself and justify his actions but a great leader does nothing of such. Rather than react to criticism, a great leader allows his result to speak for him. As the saying goes, if the act condemns you, let the result absolve you.

Tested leaders know that criticism is part of the package and realize that whoever cannot stand the heat should quit the kitchen. So, they take criticism in their stride.

During a presidential campaign in the United States of America, one of the two candidates reveled in lampooning and deriding his opponent. On the contrary, the opponent never said any vile thing about him. One day, journalists asked the candidate who refused to get dragged into verbal war with his opponent why he opted for that.

He said when he was a young boy there was a dog who always barked whenever the moon was up. He said but the barking never stopped the moon from shining, adding that he had resolved to let the dog

them. That is why Nelson Mandela says in his autobiography that, “A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”

This is not an easy choice for leaders, but those who want to leave indelible footprints on the sands of time know that it is best for them to allow those they are mentoring enjoy the limelight at the leaders’ expense.

continue with its barking while he continued with his shining.

So, instead of hurling insults at those who criticized his below average outing at CHAN 2016, Oliseh should have taken the criticism in his stride and focus on improving his team.

Service A leader exists to serve others.

Many, including some leaders, believe that the leader is to be served.

That is holding the wrong head of the stick. Anyone who waits to be served is not a leader. The hallmark of leadership is service.

The leader serves by engendering an improvement in the lives of his people. Hence, leadership is synonymous to selflessness. Anyone who is out to improve his own lot will make a shipwreck of his leadership.

That is why the leader serves without counting the cost.

Apparently this is alien to Oliseh’s understanding of leadership. Oliseh sounded as if he was doing the country a favour by taking on the duty of the head coach. Leadership is about rendering top of the range service without expecting much in return.

That is why it is a burden.

Take the blame Leaders are quick to take the blame not just for their misdeeds but also for the misdemeanour of others.

A great leader always has the back of his people. He never throws any of his men to the wolves. When they make genuine mistakes he takes the bullet for them and helps them overcome challenges that can

BOOK

Responsibility The other aspect of the leadership flipside is responsibility. In the discharge of his duties a leader must take up certain responsibilities.

Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder, LEAP Africa turn them into mediocre. The only member of his team that is allowed to bear his own cross is the one that gets involved in clearly ethical issues or the one that consistently performs below par.

Leaders take the blame for the mistakes of their team members because this builds trust in the team, bolsters confidence and propels team members to stretch themselves. When team members trust their leader enough to protect them even when

Phuthuma Nhleko, former CEO, MTN Group they make mistakes, their confidence level is increased and they go to any length to work for the success of the team.

Oliseh should have refrained from blaming everyone in sight for the lackluster performance of his team.

Doing that exposed the kind of leader he is.

Share the credit Leaders solely take the blame but gladly share the credit for success

Sunday Oliseh, Manager, Super Eagles

recorded with their team members.

A great leader, even when he is solely responsible for the success of his team, readily gives the credit to his members.

Why do leaders take this route?

The reason is that a leader’s pursuit should not be success. A leader who is after success will struggle for credit with his team members. A leader should make significance his pursuit.

Significance speaks of building people and leaving a legacy. What better

Triggers By Marshall Goldsmith

Marshall Goldsmith’s book is divided into four parts. In part one: “Why Don’t We Become the Person We Want to Be?” he explains why meaningful behavioural change is so very hard to do.

We not only have to deal with the internal triggers that keep us from moving forward but also with the triggers from our environment. To be able to successfully change our behaviour it’s important to recognise and identify the triggers that keep us where we are, but don’t want to be.

One of the many gems in this book is Goldsmith’s explanation why we are such superior planners and inferior doers. He uses the theory of ‘Situational Leadership’ to show us that there is a leader and follower inside all of us. The leader plans our desired behavioural change and the follower in us has to execute that plan. We think that they are both part of who we are. But we are wrong. We often start the day as

a bifurcated individual, part leader and part follower, but as the day progresses, the two grow further apart.

Situational Leadership was developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard at the Center for Leadership Studies in the late 1960s. Which leadership style a person should use with individuals or groups depends on the readiness level of the people the leader is attempting to influence.

Basically there are four distinct leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Goldsmith suggests that if we use the different leadership styles with our own behavioural development issues, we’d probably have a better chance

to succeed in that endeavour. Executing the change we hold as a concrete image in our mind is a process that requires vigilance and diligent self-monitoring, which brings us to part two of the book: “Try”.

Besides offering some powerful tools in the form of questions and lists, Goldsmith introduces the acronym of AIWATT: Am I Willing, at this time, to make the investment required to make a positive difference on this topic? He calls this the first principle for becoming the person you want to be. It helps us to choose to either engage or “let it go”.

Goldsmith claims that we do not get better without structure. This brings us to part three of the book where he offers multiple structures to help us succeed in becoming the person we want to be. Structure not only increases our chance of success, it makes it more efficient at it.

As always, and what I like so much about Goldsmith’s writings, he uses many examples to state his case. It not only helps us to understand his point of view but helps us to become more effective learners as well by placing the theory in a context that’s easily recognisable.

way is there of building a legacy than raising confident and surefooted people who will continue to do what is right?

Deflect attention Everyone wants to focus on the leader, especially if the team is doing well, but great leaders never allow the klieg light to focus on them.

What they do instead is to deflect the attention to the activities of the group rather than allow it to be put on

The buck stops here The primary responsibility of leadership is decision making. Leaders are employed to take their organizations from one point to another.

They accomplish that task by taking decisions. Their decisions determine what is done and how it is done or what is not done and why it is not done. When leaders make decisions, those decisions either make or break their organizations. Interestingly, those decisions also make or destroy the leaders.

When Oliseh was engaged, it was because the leadership of NFF believed that the nation was not getting from Stephen Keshi, the former Chief Coach, what it expected. NFF gave Keshi the boot and gave Oliseh the job with the stated expectation that he should qualify the team for World Cup and take it to the semi final

stage of AFCON. How will Oliseh achieve this objective? It is by taking decisions. He has to decide who to invite to camp and who does what on the field. Although he has assistants, he is the one who gets the flak when anything goes awry.

One issue about decision making is that it is done based on available facts as well as those marshalling those facts. If a leader does not have all the facts while making a decision, the probability is high that he will make a wrong decision. If a charismatic lieutenant is canvassing a position which is based on flawed assumptions, if care is not taken, the leader may be taken in. it is for this reason that a leader must strive to improve his knowledge base on a daily basis.

While there are occasions that call for instant decision making and the leader has to act immediately, it is better that a leader should tarry a while and subject every issue to deep reflection before committing himself one way or the other.

If a leader makes the right decision 100 times but makes the wrong decision at the 101st time, he is not spared, especially if the effect of the wrong decision is calamitous. Nobody remembers the good decisions he once made, everybody’s focus is on the wrong decision he has just made. Hence, a leader is only as good as his last decision.

It was former United States president, Harry Truman, who said, “The buck stops here.” He knew that in the final analysis, nobody, but him, would be held responsible for whatever happened in his administration.

Therefore, he did not allow himself to be goaded into taking any irrational decision. He thought through every decision he had to make as the president.

When right decisions are made and things turn right, people get to see the glamour but they never get to appreciate the rigour that went into making things happen.

Inspire others The leader also has the responsibility for inspiring others. This is a very critical aspect of leadership because the output of a workforce is directly proportional to its level of inspiration.

While a motivated workforce gives a heartwarming performance, the best that can be expected from an uninspired workforce is an insipid performance.

While the workplace environment and the availability of tools can motivate employees, what is most important to them is the organization meeting their present and future aspirations. So, a leader has the responsibility to consistently assure his people that both their present and future are secure by ensuring that the organization remains a going concern. Even when the organization is facing challenges, the leader must continuously assure the people that it will overcome the challenges and he must be seen working towards achieving this.

It is then that the workforce will remain inspired.

Achievement of corporate objectives No matter what else a leader does,

if he fails to achieve the corporate objectives, he has done nothing.

Irrespective of how an organization carves its vision or mission statement, it boils down to three things; satisfying the yearnings of customers, meeting the aspiration of the employees and fulfilling the expectations of the shareholders. What are the yearnings of customers? They want top of the range products and services at competitive prices. What are the aspirations of employees?

They desire generous reward for their services to the organization and fairness from their leaders. The expectation of the owners is adequate return on investment which will ensure that the organization remains a going concern.

So, in striving to achieve corporate objectives, leaders, especially CEOs, need to understand that they have three constituencies with different aspirations to satisfy. Once they can maintain a balance among these three interest groups, their job is done.

Last line Ironically, it is the proper handling of both the burden and responsibility of leadership that produces the glamour of leadership.

It is for this reason that great leaders do not get weighed down by the burden and responsibility of leadership. As a matter of fact, it is this flipside of leadership that motivates them. Knowing what awaits them at the other side of a successful voyage through the burdens and responsibilities of leadership keeps leaders consistently motivated.

THE 60-SECOND business coach

3 ways leaders can combat personal biases

By Joseph Folkman Employees and leaders of any company are faced with the challenge of making quick and efficient decisions. While these one-off decisions are undoubtedly important, a recently published Harvard Business Review article reveals that the personal intuition behind the decision-making process is flawed and can actually lead companies astray.

Intuition is shaped by a person’s personal exposure to a topic and associations in their memory. However, when decisions are more fully based on personal biases, and less on logical reasoning, this results in poor decision-making. This process is exacerbated when workers are under pressure, are multi-tasking, or fatigued, and it becomes increasingly crucial to take time to logically evaluate the options of any decision.

“Because most of us tend to be highly overconfident in our estimates, it’s impor-

tant to ‘nudge’ ourselves to allow for risk and uncertainty,” say authors Soll, Milkman and Payne. They suggest four ideas to help eliminate the influence of personal biases in the work force and help workers be more decision-ready.

1. Think about the future Maintaining perspective for what could be in the future is crucial to the work force and what will be beneficial in the long-term.

Make three estimates. In the case of questions needing a numerical response, instead of making a quick one-off decision, get in the routine of attempting to make three estimates for any question at hand. Estimates made should be conservative, probable and high, in order to develop a range for all possible outcomes. This in turn helps leaders to better prepare and plan for events on either end of the spectrum.

Think twice. Second-guess the first judgment.

Assume that the first conclusion was wrong, and contemplate what the second resolution would be in the same situation. Even if only as an exercise, giving a second thought to imme-

diate responses will help to train employees to give additional thought before making a decision.

Use pre-mortems. Instead of doing a postmortem to understand past failures, use pre-mortems to identify reasons for possible future failures. “First, [this] tempers optimism, encouraging a more realistic assessment of risk,” write the article’s authors. “Second, it helps you prepare backup plans and exit strategies. Third, it can highlight factors that will influence success or failure, which may increase your ability to control the results.”

Take an outside view. Workers tend to develop tunnel vision and strong biases when they have exerted a significant amount of time working on a project. Complementing this perspective with an outside view will help leaders to consider other ideas and to determine whether or not they should really continue on with their project or original plan, despite how much effort was already spent.

2. Think about objectives While caught in a decisive moment, it is easy to

only consider the results of a choice on a small scale. Developing a broader perspective of what the company is trying to accomplish will aid in all decision-making processes.

Seek advice. Counsel with another person, get a fresh set of eyes on the problem, bounce ideas off another person, and reason it out together.

Having someone else who can present a fresh perspective will allow employees to have a more complete and comprehensive view of what is going to be most beneficial for the company.

Cycle through your objectives. Remember the purpose behind why something is being done.

By continually trying to achieve all company objectives, decisions are going to be more directed towards reaching company goals.

3. Think about options Attempt to identify a list of best options to a question, ultimately honing down the list to three to five possible solutions. Because a decision is only as good as the best option in the list, be sure to be thorough, open-minded, and focused on the long-term before making a final decision.

26

leadership&management

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

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

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

Keep the flame on your crest

In my undergraduate years, though I was not a student of Drama, I was privileged to have honed my acting skills under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and featured in quite a number of his productions. One of such was Requiem For a Futurologist where I acted the part of an Indian mystique Gupta Singh. A part of his lines reads, “What does a child do when you take away his toys?” He promptly supplies the answer, “Tantrums. He throws tantrums!” That was almost forty years ago!

There is no time in our history as a nation when the truism in these lines becomes more poignant than now. The reaction of many Nigerians to the cascade slide of the Naira is characterized by a panic wave that seems to be fuelled by media frenzy. Because of the inconvenience created by the gap between the official rate and the parallel market, everyone has been jumping on the tantrum-throwing bandwagon.

What this has done is to further put pressure on the foreign exchange market. I will not assay a full treatise on the issue now but would submit that we quit the tantrum throwing mode and do a rethink. Devaluation has never helped our economy. It only benefits a few who depend mainly on imported materials. Breton Woods’ economic theories have never resulted in sustainable models of development in the Third World! This is a time to put on our thinking caps and become a productive economy instead of the consumer nation that we have been.

When India went through a similar experience, it shut its doors against imports with the Mahatma Ghandi quoted to have said that if India could not produce its own clothes, Indians should go around naked! It began the journey of economic recovery for the country of over one billion people. When the Yen took a hit shortly after the Second World War, Japan simply looked inwards. We dare not do differently. So, instead of throwing tantrums because we can no longer get free forex to import matchsticks and toothpicks, we need to do a corporate catharsis of the convoluted course

of our collective conspicuous consumption patterns. Any of the other knee-jerk reactions being bandied around might give some palliatives but it cannot ever be the panacea that we need. At best, it would only postpone the evil day. The logic? Pay now and play later. Or play now and pay later (which we have done hitherto). Now to today’s discourse.

As a young child, I loved reading the book ‘Aesop’s Fables’.

It is a compendium of English folklore. The stories are short but pungent with life lessons that teach profound morals.

Today, I want to share some lessons from one of the stories that have stuck with me over the years. I have rendered it in my own words but the lessons are no less poignant.

Legend has it that the fox used to be extremely scared of the cock. Anytime a cockerel was in view, the fox would make a frenzied dash in the opposite direction. One day, as he made to run, the cock would call out to him, ‘Hey fox, why are you always running away every time you see me? I’m completely harmless as far as I know’.

The fox replied, ‘You harmless? With that ball of fire you carry on your head, it’s not safe for anyone to be your friend’ ‘Fire?’ retorted the cockerel, ‘There’s no fire on my head, it’s just a crest – and it’s all flesh for that matter! Here, you can touch it!’

‘To believe that is to believe that the sun rises from the west!’ said the fox and took off as usual.

This happened a couple of times with the same result until one day, when, upon the insistence of the cock, the fox decided to summon enough courage to actually touch the crest on the cock’s head. What he found was pleasantly surprising. It was all succulent flesh after all, and not a ball of fire!

Within seconds, the cock ended up in the fox’s belly!

There are salient lessons to be learnt in the story. The first is that God has placed something in you that is designed to command people’s respect. It is called your uniqueness.

Apart from its being your platform of advancement, it is also the plank of your distinction that makes you stand out from

the crowd. It is the basis on which the larger society accords you sustainable respect. No man can devalue you until you agree with the price he set. The unique dimensions of your life are to be celebrated, not despised.

Furthermore, do not sell yourself cheap. The surest way to live forever in the shadows is to try and make everyone like you. Unfortunately, not many people realize that the more of a people-pleaser you are, the less of yourself you become.

One of the most humbling lessons any man can learn in life is that not everyone can be his friend. In trying to make everyone your friend, you risk losing the respect and dignity reserved for your uniqueness. Remain the enigma you were created to be. What that means is that you do not need to explain the enigma that your life is to everyone because you want them to approve of you.

The simple reason for this is that not everyone who greets you ‘Good morning’ actually wished you woke up that day!

If you keep explaining yourself to everyone who questions your uniqueness, you will not finish till you drop dead.

There are many people around you who are looking for every opportunity to define you so that they can confine you. It gives some people pleasure to know things about you for the purpose of simply having a weapon to nail you. Some people are simply dying to demystify your persona so that they can self-congratulatorily demean you. Do not oblige them. Keep the ‘flame’ on your crest. The more enigmatic you are, the better for your public profile. It’s the only thing that is guaranteed to consistently win you respect.

It is pertinent to learn from the wisdom of the Master Himself, Jesus Christ. In one of His mentoring sessions with His disciples, He taught, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matthew 7:6) May the flame on your crest ‘burn’ brighter!

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

What determines what you see

Many years ago, I concluded irrationally—from afar, that someone was proud, but when I got a little close to the person I am talking about, I found out that I was wide off the mark. She was the most humble person anyone could share his or her walk with. What gave me the inkling that she was proud? It was who I was that determined what I saw. I was proud and that was why I saw her being proud. My personality came through when I was assessing her from afar. But when I began to perk up who I was and got a little close to her, I began to see her differently. Chum, it is not debatable that who we are determines what we see.

Recently, I came across this quote somewhere: “cheaters always accuse you of cheating. Liars always accuse you of lying. Insecure people make you feel insecure. Pay attention to how people treat you, it is a reflection of who they really are.” An impious man/woman cannot treat others kindly.

Why? It is because there is no kindheartedness in him/her.

And we do not really see people; we only see who we are in people. Also, you cannot disconnect who you are from the way you treat people.

On the condition that you can understand and identify with what I am sharing with you today, it is going to help you a lot in life, business and leadership. This is one of the reasons why many people are failing in life, business and leadership. Failure in life, business and leadership is sure if you do not know how to relate well with those who are relevant to your destiny. For the umpteenth time, if you cannot relate well with people, it is going to adversely and unfavorably affect your life, business and leadership.

A traveler nearing a great city asked an old man seated by the road, “What are the people like in this city?” “What were they like where you came from?” the man asked. “Horrible,” the traveler reported. “Mean, untrustworthy, detestable in all respects.” “Ah,” said the old man, “you will find them the

same in the city ahead.” Scarcely had the first traveler gone on his way when another stopped to inquire about the people in the city before him. Again the old man asked about the people in the place the traveler had left. “They were fine people: honest, industrious, and generous to a fault,” declared the second traveler. “I was sorry to leave.” The old man responded, “That is exactly how you will find the people here.”

The way people view others is a reflection of themselves. If I am a trusting person, I will view others as trustworthy. If I am a critical person, I will view others as critical. If I am a caring person, I will view others as compassionate. The truth is; your personality comes through when you talk about others and interact with them.

The way you view others is determined by who you are.

You cannot get away from that truth. If you do not like people, it really is a statement about you, since who you are determines how you view others. Your viewpoint is the problem. If that is the case, do not try to change others. Do not even focus on others; focus on yourself. If you change yourself and become the kind of person you desire to be, you will begin to view others in a whole new light. And that will change the way you interact in all your relationships in both life and leadership.

John Maxwell has this to say: “Have you ever started a new job and had someone with experience in the organization tell you to watch out for this person or steer clear of that person? That has happened to me a number of times. When I took my first professional leadership position, my predecessor told me to watch out for two people: Audrey and Claude. “They will cause you a lot of problems,” I was told.

So I went into my job expecting trouble from them. First, I watched Audrey. She was a strong woman—and she had a strong personality. {It takes one to know one} To my surprise, working with her ended up being a wonderful experi-

ence. She was confident and competent, and she got things done. We had a good working relationship, and she became a family friend. And Claude turned out to be an old farmer, who loved the Church. True, he was the greatest influencer in the organization. {More than thirty-five years later he still is.} But that didn’t hurt my feelings. Why should I have expected a man twice my age, who had been in that church all his life to follow me just because I had a leadership position and title? I made it my goal to work with Claude, and he and I got along well.”

John Maxwell’s predecessor did not really see Claude and Audrey, he only saw himself in them. Who he was determined what he saw! John had a wonderful experience working with Audrey and Claude, but his predecessor had a catastrophic and calamitous experience with them. What made the difference? John Maxwell and his predecessor’s personalities were not the same. Who John was came through while he was relating and working with them. Remember, it takes a competent and confident man/woman to see a competent and confident man/woman, and it takes a mediocre to see a mediocre. Remember, who you are determines what you see.

Lastly, your husband is not the problem; the problem is who you are! If another woman, who has a different personality—should take over your husband, her experience is going to be different from yours. And your wife is not the problem; the problem is who you are too! On the condition that another man who has a different personality should take over your wife, he shall have a different experience from what you are complaining about right now. Change your personality and you shall start to see your husband/ wife differently. Our problem is that we want others to change, but we do not want to change. The truth is—things begin to change when we change, not when others change.

27

Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

The South-West

Editor Wole Efunnuga 08111813056 crew

sari Tunde B9u3530 081275 ndare nga - Ogu Yejide G8b1e16706853 0 unesan Tunde O9g54634 6 1 1 08 act:

r us; cont Got news fo bune@yahoo. ttri southwes hwesttribune@ ut co.uk or so ail.com gm

AFENIFERE IN 1999...Luncheon organised by Sir Olaniwun Ajayi (Esq.) in honour of Oodu’a governors-elect and their deputies with state chairmen and some Afenifere leaders in February 7, 1999. Sitting from left: Ayo Fasanmi (A.D.V. Chairman), Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State govenor; NF Aina (former Chairman Ekiti); Segun Osoba, former Ogun State governor; Otunba Solanke Onasanya, Ade Adefarati, former Ondo State governor; Abraham Adesanya (Leader of Yoruba); Bisi Akande, former Osun State governor; Olaniwun Ajayi (Host); Adeniyi Adebayo, former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Adebanjo (Acting Chairman, AD), Kofo Bucknor-Akerele, former Lagos State deputy governor, G. O Dawodu (Chairman, Lagos). Standing from left to right: Afuye; Akosile; E. O Awofala; Tunde Runsewe; Pekun Awobona (former Remo North chairman); Dapo Balogun; Gbenga Kaka, former Ogun State deputy governor; Dr Akerele Adu (former Chairman, Ondo State), Femi Okurounmu (former Chairman, Ogun); D Alabi, Ekiti State deputy governor, Kayode Adebayo (former chairman, Ikenne); Dele Odulesi; Biodun Onafuwa; A. O Yesufu.

Afenifere

What does the future hold?

Despite the insistence of the Afenifere members on the homogeneity of the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, the emergence of Afenifere Renewal Group is still seen as a counter-force, suggestive of a cracked house. TUNDE BUSARI writes

I

f there is any issue agitating the minds of Yoruba youths, nay Nigerian youths, it is the question of when will the old generation handover leadership of the nation to the youth? Closely related is the poser: what manner of country or leadership will be handed over to them, and at

what time?

While Nigerian youths are still trying to find answers to some of these questions, Yoruba youths are more troubled with what they termed ‘war in Afenifere’ which signposts a crack in the hitherto united group.

From Action Group, to Afenifere, to

‘Why Iragbiji and hills are siamese twins’

Afenifere Renewal Group, to Yoruba Unity Forum, etcetera, etcetera. Where lies the interest of Yoruba youths?

Where lies the hope of the Yoruba youths and why should they continue to queue behind the old generation leaders?

What benefit(s) do Yoruba youths

INSIDE

stand to gain by laying claim to Afenifere membership? Should they trust these leaders or find alternatives. This piece attempts to find answers to some of these posers.

Given the controversy that usually Continues on pg28

Adeyipo: Local community playing host to world figures

28 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Afenifere: Still united?

Honourable Wale Osun

Chief Ayo Adebanjo Continues from pg27

trails any discussion on the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, especially with the emergence of the Afenifere Renewal Group, sign that the group is not enjoying a sound health and is indeed gasping for a breath is thick in the air.

Youths appear to have been particularly disillusioned and less interested in what goes on in the group.

This is a clear departure from the past, especially during the widely condemned regime of the late General Sani Abacha, when Afenifere alongside other pro-democracy groups teamed up and birthed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).

Between May 1994, when the group was formed and June 1998, the names of the late Adekunle Ajasin, Abraham Adesanya, leaders of Afenifere, were always in the news as counter-force to the Abacha regime.

But less than 20 years after, Yoruba youths expected to identify with the group, have little hope in the potency of the group.

The Students’ Union President of the University of Ibadan (UI), Olateju Aliu, cannot hide his indifference to Afenifere on the premise that the group is too rigid.

Aliu argued that the group should have made itself accessible to the youth. But, according to him, reverse is the case, stressing that it is far away from the youth.

“I don’t want to say they forget to know that the youth have the future. If they continue like this, I still don’t want to say the group will go into extinction simply because the members are already old,” he said.

Aliu finds a soul mate in the President of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Omotayo Akande, who also expressed his misgiving saying the group lacks the strength to sustain its history.

While he said the group still deserves its freedom of association, Akande, however, maintained that it does not command the

kind of respect and influence enjoyed by Arewa Consultative Forum as the HausaFulani socio-cultural pressure group.

“You can always know where Arewa Consultative Forum belongs on issues that affect their region and its people.

Afenifere will be relevant if they include youths and promote issues that affect an average Yoruba youth instead of being an appendage of political parties,” he said.

Aliu and Akande’s consensus position notwithstanding, another youth and journalist-turned activist, Ariyo-Dare Atoye strongly believes in the significance of Afenifere to the present and future of Yoruba nation.

He says no other group aside Afenifere represents Yoruba better among other ethnic groups, making a reference to its role in NADECO years and the transition to democratic governance that followed it in 1999.

“In spite of some dissent voices noticed, Afenifere is still relevant as a pressure group Yoruba people can be proud of. It is made up of people of proven integrity whose role in Yoruba struggle for true federalism would not be forgotten in a hurry,”he said.

To the credit of the late National Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Chief Adisa Akinloye is the name Afenifere. It came about following the search for Yoruba translation of the moto

of the Action Group (AG) to drive its message to the grass roots.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the ban of politics and political activities

by Nigeria Military Government that emerged after the January 15, 1966 coup de tat inevitably elevated Afenifere to a distinct socio-cultural group.

It became an umbrella under which members of the defunct AG took shelter to discuss issues bordering on Yoruba interest among other ethnic groups that made up Nigeria.

Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, an Afenifere leader offered an insight into the transformation of Afenifere to an autonomous group.

“It happened that despite the ban on political activities by the military in 1966, Afenifere lived in the mind of the people in the West and even beyond. The masses still love Afenifere because of its strict adherence and commitment to its ideals which emphasised on their welfare.

“Its ‘life more abundance’ slogan was and still is unrivalled by any other group. This made a lasting impression in the mind of the masses to the extent that when ban was lifted on politics our Alliance for Democracy (AD) received overwhelming acceptance of the masses.

“All the candidates we presented to them, from governors to local government chairmen, were voted for. We did not have money to spend, yet the masses

Notwithstanding the depth of the division, Adebanjo does not foreclose realignment, saying the door of Afenifere is still open to those who are ready to uphold Afenifere’s philosophy.

Nigerian Tribune

gave us their votes,” he noted.

Ajayi also confirmed that aside the welfare of the masses, a true federalism, resource control and sovereign national conference make up the selling point of Afenifere, the principle, which, according to him, guide the organisation till date.

It was also learnt that soon after governors and other elected candidates of the AD had won their elections in 1999, Afenifere called a meeting at Ishara Remo where the elected were reminded of the need to stick to the principle of the group as a means to reward the confidence the masses reposed in them.

Governors Ade Adefarati, Ondo; Lam Adesina, Oyo; Bola Tinubu, Lagos; Olusegun Osoba , Ogun; Bisi Akande and Niyi Adebayo were said to have attended the meeting held in the compound of Ajayi in Ishara-Remo, Ogun State.

“We also held special session at each of the five state House of Assembly where we told them that convocation of sovereign national conference is sacrosanct.

But things took a surprise turn when the governors in exception of Adefarati decided to make themselves unavailable and practically inaccessible. They started to do things in a contrast to the ideals of Afenifere, ideals that earned us the votes that took them to government of their respective states,” he recalled.

While opinion is divided on the stage at which Afenifere started to witness a low point and disunity creeping into the family, the November 1, 2015 resignation of the Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti confirmed the alleged cracked wall of the group.

Fasoranti emerged the leader of the organisation consequent upon the death of Senator Abraham Adesanya who also succeeded the first civilian Governor of Ondo State, Chief Adekunle Ajasin.

Although Fasoranti would later rescind his decision November 4, 2015 following an emergency meeting of the leadership of the group in Akure, the Ondo State capital, his reason for throwing in the towel remains an issue of rigorous debate on the relevance or otherwise of the group in championing Yoruba course.

In his letter of resignation, which he personally signed and addressed to the Secretary-General, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa and other leaders, he lamented the state of the group as regards alleged disloyalty as well as non adherence to the principle on which it was founded in 1951.

Remarkably, Fasoranti is one of the few surviving old members of the group.

Others include the duo of Ajayi and Chief Ayo Adebanjo.

Justifying his action, Fasoranti, in the letter, expressed worry at the rate which the focus and goals of the group were being eroded, a development, he stated, that made it difficult for members to work in harmony, despite efforts made to actualize an impregnable forum.

“Let me state clearly that the issue of adoption of the National Conference report had always been the focus and goal of our people in Afenifere even long before the National Conference was set up. The support of a leader, who promised to implement this report was not a mistake and inevitable despite all public insinuations.

“Considering my age, efforts and selfless dedication to my country, my state (Ondo), my parties, my past leaders and members in Afenifere in Nigeria and the Continues on pg30

29 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Why Iragbiji and hills are siamese twins — Aragbiji

The Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul Rasheed Olabomi ascended the throne in May 27, 2008 after a meritorious service as a civil servant. In an interview with TUNDE BUSARI, he speaks on his experience on the throne.

Excerpts:

K

abiyesi, how has it been in the past eight years in the palace?

What is most important here is to give thanks to God for seeing me thus far. No one else deserves the appreciation than God who has made it possible to rise to this position and win the confidence of the people.

Being a traditional ruler is more than what you think. It is not like mounting a rostrum and campaign for vote to rule for the maximum of eight year. This is a lifelong covenant with your people all of whom see you as their father and to whom they must run when occasion requires. We are closer to the grassroots than the government. So, you should guess the kind of complexities one deals with on a daily basis.

But I must be fair to thank God for the wisdom and courage. He gives me from time to time to handle situations as they come.

How did Iragbiji come to being?

Iragbiji was founded over 600 years ago by Sokungbade who was a hunter. During game he chased an antelope to the top of Oke Iragbiji hill. The antelope ran into a hole and Sokungbade pursued it and brought it out.

Both eventually emerged at the front of the palace. Our Ori Oke festival has its root in this memorable incident. There is a stream on top of the hill known as Ayeye stream. It is medicinal and a cure for barreness and diseases. During the time of the unfortunate outbreak of small pox some hundred years ago, it was the water that was used to cure the ailment. There are a lot of things with which God endowed us in this part of the world before the advent of the white people. That is why those heritages survive till date. It can safely be said, based on the history, that Iragbiji and hills are inseparable. You can see our peculiar landscape on which sit big rocks. Our panegyric is even derived from this natural endowment. Iragbiji oloke meji tako tabo.

Ori Oke festival is one of

The Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul Olabomi your cultural heritages in Iragbiji, how significant is the festival today?

Apart from Muslim and Christian festivals, Ori-Oke festival is the one that pulls large crowd to the town. Its significance cannot be ignored in the spiritual development of Iragbiji. The festival holds annually in June to mark a new yam season. We don’t eat yam until the festival holds. I can tell you that it is pulling more crowd now. Osun State government officials witnessed the last edition and were impressed with what they saw.

There is also Egungun festival which also attracts my sons and daughters living outside to come home.

But you are a Muslim and former Secretary General of Osun State Muslim Com-

munity, are your roles as a Muslim and custodian of tradition not conflicting?

The roles are not conflicting because there is a way to balance them. 90 percent of Iragbiji population is Muslim. But this does not say we should abandon our culture and tradition. It is never done. As a traditional ruler and custodian of custom, I am duty bound to do it as it is so that it will give us the desired result.

My duty as the traditional ruler is very clear. So also is my duty as a Muslim. Being a Muslim is personal to me because Islam is not the official religion of Iragbiji. Yet we are enjoying peaceful co-existence among all faiths. None disturbs the other. I can even tell you that the roles I play among religious leaders are complementary. Oba has administrative responsibility to ensure

90 percent of Iragbiji population are Muslims. But this does not say we should abandon our culture and tradition.

his town is well administered.

Part of the things we administer are the cultural festivals. It is my duty to ensure all go well.

Oba is father to all religions. I host Christian leaders here in the palace during their festival.

Christians organise carol here.

At the same time, I recognise and pay attention to traditional worshippers like Ifa devotees, Oya, Obatala, Osun, Sonpona and others. No Oba should discriminate against any of the religions. If he does, he must prepare for the consequence.

We cannot afford to throw away what belongs to our forefathers.

Even when Prophet Muhammed arrived Medina, he met non -Muslims yet they co-habited in peace. This was one of the factors that attracted Islam to some of the non-Muslims to willingly convert to Islam. We should also bear it in mind that Nigeria is a secular state. This gives enough room to co-existence among all faiths.

Can you update us on the state of the Iragbiji museum project?

The truth is that the museum is capital intensive. Since I ascended the throne, it had been my vision to have a befitting museum inside which historical

Nigerian Tribune

materials of Iragbiji would be preserved and showcased to tourists. So far, I have personally made some efforts in that direction by collecting relevant items and keeping them in the museum, inside the palace. I am trying all means possible to create a system whereby some lost artifacts are recovered. It is a community development project. Unfortunately, hardly can we find private developers to come and support us. It is a project even government needs to come forward and fund. I made effort to bring in National Museum and Monument Commission. The curator in Osun State here advised me to reach out to their headquarters. Unfortunately, they could not make it. I had thought the commission would have visited and seen what we had on ground. I realised if we are not careful, those artifacts that remind us where we are coming from would disappear into oblivion. But with my effort, we have some collections of artifacts including items used in the past. I collected old lantern, what we called gas lamp, old photography components, home appliances, and ornaments like bangles. This museum is the only one in Osun State and one of the few in Nigeria solely set up by a traditional ruler. A good number of visitors and tourists had come to town and seen what we have there.

I think the objective is being achieved gradually. But I will be happier if government can come in and upgrade it. This is an era when oil price is crashing; we need to look elsewhere to generate revenue. One of the areas is tourism if government is ready to explore it as it is down in some countries which make good money from tourism every year. It is sad that I have 21 tourist sites but none of them is developed by the government.

You were in the US last year, can you share your experience and mission there?

My sons and daughters resident in America invited me to the US in the past four years.

I had to honour them last year and it was a beautiful experience. It was memorable being in their midst. It was joy and indeed a pride to be together with one’s children in foreign land.

The trip afforded us the opportunity to reunite. Others who are resident in Canada also joined us and we all had an interesting gathering. There was a dinner in my honour at Maryland. I used the occasion to confer chieftaincy titles on Adeniyi Sobalaje for his wonderful contributions.

He is now Otunba Fiwagboye.

His wife is conferred with Yeye Fiwagboye. Also, I conferred Otunba Mayegun on Muyiwa Jayeola and his wife, Yeye Mayegun. In short, the 17 days I spent in the US were very exciting. It was fulfilling visiting them and they were all happy too.

30 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

‘We are still one; there’s no faction’ Continues from pg28

Diaspora, I inform you all that I have decided to step aside as leader of Afenifere,” the letter read.

Soon after the news broke, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), a breakaway faction, rose and went to town, describing Fasoranti’s resignation as vindication of its stance.

Chairman of ARG, Hon. Wale Osun, issued a statement entitled: In ARG, Afenifere philosophy stands underailed.

In the statement, he explained that Fasoranti’s action only confirmed the fear which ARG had long expressed after the reconciliation summit held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan in 2006 hit the rock.

Osun reminisced that the failure of the Ibadan summit paved a way for the emergence of ARG, founded with a view to protecting the goals of the founding fathers of Afenifere.

The statement read: “Afenifere has now clearly exhibited itself as an out of touch institution whose lack of rudder has led to a total derailment from the fundamental values upon which it was built. Chief Fasoanti’s exit as the leader of Afenifere is a clear indication that the organisation has come to roost.

“We in Afenifere Renewal Group had seen the need for a renewal of Afenifere movement, anchored on the original philosophy of our late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as the legitimate voice of Yoruba people, providing the visionary, selfless and altruistic leadership that our people and land require and deserve.

“At this very critical period in the history of Nigeria and our people, we in the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) will continue the pursuit of the lofty ideals enunciated by the founders of Afenifere at its inception in Owo in 1951.

“We call on all well intentioned YORUBA people to steer away from the unhealthy recriminations of the past, inherited in unwholesome ego, dividing our people and enabling the continuing slide from the heights hitherto attained through the vision of that great leader of all times, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and the hard-work and forbearance of Chief Adekunle Ajasin and Senator Abraham Adesanya, all of blessed memories. There is work for us to do, says the Afenifere anthem, and we in ARG are more than prepared to focus on this.

“We therefore seek the support of all YORUBA people, including those who still retained their Omoluabi values in the old order, to join ARG in our fervent pursuit of promoting, protecting, and ensuring the development of Yoruba people and communities in all spheres of human endeavours as embodied in our watch word: ‘freedom for all’ life more abundant.’”

Chief Adebanjo laughed of Osun’s statement, asking him to tell the world the real reason behind what he called their rebellious act.

Adebanjo maintained that Afenifere, in contrast to Osun’s claim, remains on the path it threads from inception, stressing that those who are faithful to the principle, philosophy and ideology of Awolowo’s politics are still strong members of the group.

He said further that only politicians,

Sir Olaniwun Ajayi who are not comfortable with what Afenifere stands for, turned their back at it and headed for their comfort zone.

“Things changed the moment Bola Tinubu said we can no longer be his leader forgetting the role we played in his becoming governor of Lagos State. He wanted to do many things inconsistent with the integrity of our group and knew we would not fold our arms and watch him. And once I did not ask him to give me contract or give largesse to any of my children, we must tell him the truth and maintain the status quo.

“We are Afenifere original. I am saying it again that they are all my products.

That is where you journalists should go further and investigate to know the truth. At my age, what else am I looking for again to be telling lie? What else do I want that I have not got? But I am worried about your generation and generations yet unborn. I am saying it again that Afenifere has no faction,” he said.

While Osun is not denying the primacy of Afenifere, which he referred to as mother body, he is, however, insisting that ARG is an autonomous group, a baby of circumstance of sorts.

Osun recalled that the current Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin was a member of the group of youths who came up with the ARG after the Ibadan summit had failed to mend the fence.

He also named the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in 2015 Lagos State governorship elections, Jimi Agbaje and the current Minister for Solid Mineral Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi among the pillars behind the ARG. “This happened after the three-day retreat in Ibadan could not bring those people together, especially when one of the elders who was to turn 80 years granted an interview in which he lambasted and accused the governors of all sorts of things. The interview caused a setback.

“This incident forced Chief Bisi Akande to reply him. Then the reconciliation broke down and the crisis resumed. You would recall that the Ibadan Alliance for Democracy (AD) presidential primary election is a factor in the dichotomy. It was not finally settled but managed.

“When it seemed the Ibadan effort has been frustrated, then some of us said we were tired of this, hence our decision to

The masses still love Afenifere because of its strict adherence and commitment to its ideals which emphasised on their welfare.

come up not with new Afenifere but a renewal group, that would actually renew the hope of our people in their leaders,” Osun told the Nigerian Tribune in a telephone interview.

In what looks like corroborating the history of the ARG, Odumakin validated Osun’s narrative. He said the group had the best intention to restore the hope of Yoruba in its socio-cultural group, a concern shared by all founding members.

He added that the group realised it could not afford to fold its arm when Afenifere leaders and former governors were not; on good term.

Odumakin stated that the group was first christened Yoruba Retreat Group after which the name was changed to ARG. He pointed out that the group assured the Yoruba of their mission to maintain a path of impartiality and stand for the interest of Yoruba nation.

Just as the group was gradually gathering momentum at home and abroad, an incident, according to Odumakin, became a clog in the wheel of the progress so far achieved by the group, lamenting that the incident informed his disengagement and eventual return to Afenifere.

“What happened was on the issue of which direction the group would go. I proposed and insisted on having an independent group, non aligning with any political party. But others wanted it to be part of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). So, we cannot agree on this.

“When I realised that some of us had been duped through the back door. So, we pulled out. It would be wrong to say there are two Afenifere. There is only one Afenifere and that settles it,”Odumakin stated.

Notwithstanding the depth of the division, Adebanjo does not foreclose realignment, saying the door of Afenifere is still open to those who are ready to uphold Afenifere’s philosophy.

“They know where we hold meeting.

They are free to come, after all nobody sent them away,”he said.

Panacea to the issue, according to Osun, is the acceptance of the principle of democracy by Afenifere members, arguing that vibrant opposition is an important element of representative government in giving room for the expression of varied views.

He, thus, urged Afenifere to come to term with the reality that minority should also have its voice even though, he said, majority will always have its way.

“We should build a democracy that allows people to criticise and question certain positions. We should allow people to think in different way. This is going to be our strength as a nation at the end of the day,”he noted.

National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams is positive that Afenifere and Afenifere Renewal Group would one day find a way round their disagreement and jointly pursue Yoruba agenda.

“It is going to happen in our lifetime. It is not a matter of relevance or irrelevance of any of the group. The peace move going on among our traditional rulers should be allowed to reach a positive destination. Gradually we are going to get there. Yoruba race cannot afford to play divisive politics,”he said.

31 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

To a lot of people that had read Dr Bayo Adebowale’s “The Virgin’, his setting of the seven communities of Elerin District in Oyo State, is just a fictitious creation of an imaginative mind. This however is not the case as these communities not only exist but one of them, Adeyipo village, is the home to the biggest collection of African books, music and heritage. YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE who recently visited Adeyipo reports

A

look down from Olorunda aba village in Lagelu Local Government Area reveals nothing but an area just opening up to civilisation and development but when one moves father down, the story begins to change as it begins to look like a journey to nowhere, but after ten kilometers of a bad dusty road, spanned by thick bushes on both sides and one that cannot accommodate two cars at a time, you suddenly emerge in what could be termed an anomaly in that terrain; beautifully laid out buildings amidst well sculpted lawns, a beautiful garden and a well swept orchard and courtyard in the middle of corrugated lawns and mud huts.

To the poetic-minded, this village can be described as three rows of a little over thirteen corrugated iron sheets of rural mud edifice sleeping peacefully under the bright afternoon sky on an endless vast of nature at its best.

Welcome to Adeyipo village, the location of great films; Mainframe’s White handkerchief, The narrow path, The wind of change and Eru Amukun amongst many others and more importantly, the home of the largest African studies library in Africa with over 100, 000 volumes, the African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Center (AHRLC), following only, the North Western University in the United States which has 250, 000 volumes and is the largest African studies collection and the School of Oriental affairs in the University of London that has 200, 000 volumes. Indeed, the AHRLC is an unfolding dream.

Stepping into the compound of the AHRLC which is not fenced, one is welcomed by a vision, the Curator and Chief Librarian, 72 years old Yeye Akilimali Funua Olade, an African American named Michelle Paul at birth who left the United States 38 years ago because she was tired of being treated like a nigger and needed to find her roots. Yeye who always dressed in Aso Oke insists that no one speaks English Language to her and since her first name as given by Ifa according to her is Yeye, she prefers younger people to call her Iya Agba.

Adeyipo village, though has produced many great men, is as rural as it was over four decades ago; no electricity, no government school, no roads, no health care centers and no potable water. In fact, to the people of Adeyipo, the best thing that could happen to them is the AHRLC, as the only well depended on by the community is the one dug by the library and the only school for the children of this village is the private school organised by the library and which presently occupies a two-room building set aside for the Adeyipo supermarket. The only opportunity for them to watch television, listen to music or watch films also comes through the library which powers its generator to show films to them in the audio visual/ computer room, an arm of the village community library.

Without the library, the village, as it is, would not be mentioned in any journal and may even get overlooked if a map of the local government under which it falls is to be drawn. But due to the presence of the library, the brain child of Dr Bayo Adebowale, who because of his love and preservation of culture, was given various titles, the most recent of which is the Balogun Agbasaga of Yoruba land, Adeyipo is a name

Dr Adebowale

Adeyipo: Local community playing

that resonates in the academic community both within and outside the shores of the country.

Students and lecturers visit for research regularly and it also plays host to writers who visit for retreat and even churches that bring their youths for camp programmes.

Indeed, the library and Adeyipo had been home to so many writers for a period of time as Dr Adebowale believes you do not write a good African novel, sitting in an air conditioned room of a hotel or a resort but in the original African setting that is the theme of every African story.

Dignitaries from various walks of life had been to Adeyipo either for research or to witness firsthand, the acclaimed academic and cultural relevance of the library and determine if it is an exaggeration and they all left fulfilled on based on their comments in the visitors record book. Few of those that had visited Adeyipo included former governors of Oyo State; Dr Omololu Olunloyo; Alhaji Lam Adesina; Senator Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja; Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala and many professors like Prof Akinwumi Isola; Prof Dapo Adelugba; Prof Lekan Oyegoke; Prof Kunle Adeniran, Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade; Prof. Niyi Osundare and Prof. Isaac Adeyemi among many others.

Thespians and activists are not left out; Hafsat Abiola; Poet J.P.Clarke; Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Dr Tony Marinho, Adebayo Faleti and many others are on the roll call. One of the most recent visitors to the library is the Governor of the Osun State, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, who expressed his surprise that such a big library could be hidden deep down in a village.

AHRLC started in 1988 at Ila Orangun, in Osun State with just 500 books as African Heritage Research Library, to cater for the educational needs of students and researchers but relocated to Adeyipo village in August 1992 after the creation of Osun State. It was then that it expanded to include in its curriculum, the cultural aspect of life of the people and assumed the new name, African Heritage Research Library and Cultural center.

AHRLC is the only library that works seven days a week all year round as it does not observe public holidays and it is a six -in – one unit library; the music of Africa library with over 10, 000 collection of the works of musicians and artistes in

host to world figures

Africa and the diaspora.

Other projects of the AHRLC are the adult education and literacy programme which is a social responsibility project aimed at broadening the horizon of the village people and improve their socio cultural outlook while also teaching them to read and write, the Ayan Agalu talking drum museum focused on preservation of the various academic, social and cultural engagements of the talking drum, the African orchard which is a park of mango and almond trees which is always cleanly swept for the relaxation and entertainment for visitors by the villagers; acrobatic displays, rara/ ijala, cultural dances, recitation of incantations and other forms of spontaneous flow of creativity, the community hall and a 12 room visitors chalet.

It also takes its visitors on tour to village relaxation spots like the village sacred grooves, the igbale forest, ojutu stream, farms and plantations and the hamlets linked by various footpaths.

Adeyipo is now synonymous with the African Heritage library and if you tell any villager you are going to Adeyipo, they lead you straight to the library without asking you questions about who or what you seek.

Indeed, the fame of the library is further proved as Nigerian Tribune on its visit met two undergraduates from the University of Ibadan; Enilolobo Anuoluwapo and Adeyemo Aderonke, who were at the

Adeyipo village though has produced many great men is as rural as it was over four decades ago; no electricity, no government school, no roads, no health care centers and no portable water.

library for a six weeks Industrial Attachment Programme.

According to Yeye, the library is very popular in the academic community. “Most African studies students come here from various universities because we have more materials than their school libraries. Even their lecturers come here regularly because they understand and appreciate the depth of the materials here. Even the Department of African Studies at the University of Ibadan has like 5000 volumes in its library and the students come here.

The AHRLC also has some ongoing campaigns, the most prominent being the ‘Atunse Ede’ campaign. The campaign was organised to stop the Yoruba Language from going into extinction as according to Yeye, it has been established that the Yoruba Language and culture is dying.

“The Yoruba Language is dying. Our children cannot speak plain Yoruba again but what is called adalu ede, a mixture of Yoruba and English Languages. The mother tongue which comes from the home is no more and this is what the campaign is about because there is already too much English Language and our children are losing morals and their heritage. So like they say, each one teaches one and each one corrects one and slowly you will get it.

“We are looking at putting up a kind of summer school where children from various backgrounds will come together and relate with the village children irrespective of class and they will only speak and read in Yoruba to encourage them to embrace their language and culture,” Yeye explained.Dr Bayo Adebowale is indeed making history in Adeyipo village and the location of AHRLC has in no way affected its productivity, rather, it has created a unique identity for a laudable project.

32 thesouth-west

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Ede, a community brought alive by presence of 3 higher institutions Oluwole Ige

A

part from being an ancient town, Ede, a community in Osun State, located in Osun West Senatorial District has a distinctive feature that makes it stand out among the communities and towns in the South West states. This feature or peculiarity bothers on the location of higher institutions of learning in the town, namely: The Federal Polytechnic Ede; Adeleke University, Redeemer’s University.

Ede is one of the most popular ancient towns in Yorubaland. It lies on approximately latitude 07° 40′North and longitude 04°30′East. It is in the guinea savannah zone. It has two local governments namely Ede North and Ede South local governments.

The people of Ede, who engage in farming, trading and commercial activities are found on a large scale because of the central nature of the town and closeness to major cities like Osogbo, Iwo, Ife and Ejigbo. Similarly, it also has railway tracks connecting Lagos and Northern Nigeria, and River Osun which passes through the town, including Ede Water Works that supplies water to about 20 local governments in the state.

But, the presence of three higher institutions in the community had been a dominant factor in boosting the social and economic activities of Ede, thereby making it an envy of other towns.

Conscious of the inherent benefits of these opportunities, business-minded residents and natives of the town have exploited the location of these citadels of learning to enhance their means of livelihood.

From Poly Road to Oja Oba, Ajeniju Street, Ogala, Ajegunle, Cottage-Aisu, Station Road, Ede-Owode Road, among others, business complexes and trading activities are on a large scale as the growing population of students of these institutions increases the demand for goods, items and services.

Estate developers and property owners are also having a swell time as majority of the undergraduates reside in private hostels and residential buildings, constructed by indigenes and other residents of the community.

With the volume of business activities and the influx of the people into Ede, many banks and other financial institutions have since opened up branches in the community to cater for the numerous needs of their customers.

However, as the merits, associated with the presence of these higher institutions rub on positively in terms of the economy of the community, there are a few and insignificant cases of crime in Ede, which do not take the shine off the advantages.

Speaking on how the presence of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede had impacted on its host community, the Public Relations Officer (PRO)

Olowookere

Entrance of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede of the institution, Mr Kazeem Oyedeji said “this institution affects Ede in the area of Community Relations Service (CRS)”.

According to him, “this bothers on community relations, employment opportunities for the indigenes of the town, education advantages regarding easy assess to admission. Federal Polytechnic Ede also boosts the economic activities of the town and increases the social networking”.

“Apart from serving as employer of labour, we also provide career counseling for the people of the community, making contributions to communal development efforts, financial donations and purchase of local materials, among others”, Oyedeji added.

Speaking to our correspondent, some of the traders said the presence of the three higher

Nigerian Tribune

institutions in Ede had been a blessing to them as most of their customers are students and staff of the Federal Polytechnic Ede, Redeemer’s University and Adeleke University.

A trader, Mrs Adenike Lawal said “we are lucky to have these institutions in our community.

Their presence has really boosted social and economic activities in Ede. Majority of our customers are students and workers of these schools. Through them, we have been earning our livelihood and without them, life would be pretty difficult for us economically”.

Another trader, Mr Sunday Adeyemi, who owns a business centre corroborated the view of Adenike, explaining that “as far as the economy of this community is concerned, the roles of these higher institutions are critical to

the development of Ede. My business thrives on the patronage of students, who make photocopies of documents and typing of their projects. They also buy stationaries from me”.

Speaking on the impacts of the higher institutions on the town, the chairman, landlords association of Ogala community in Ede, Chief Bimbo Olowookere submitted that “majority of the tenants here are students and from their tenancy, we realised money. So, I can tell you that the location of these higher institutions in Ede has been a big blessing to all of us who own residential buildings and hostels.”

Frantic efforts made to seek the view of Timi of Ede, the paramount of the town, Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal Laminisa I, on Friday did not yield result.

Uchuchu Community begs FG to intervene in boundary dispute Yinka Oladoyinbo The people of Uchuchu Community, a border town in Ibaji Local Government area of Kogi State have called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, and for the purpose of lasting peace and justice, revisit the core issues revolving around the festering Kogi and Anambra States boundary dispute which may be taking a new dimension.

The traditional ruler of Uchuchu community, the Onu of Uchuchu (Doga), His Royal Highness, Chief Michael Akoje, said the community had been denied fair hearing over issues on the boundary dispute between them and some communities in Anambra State.

According to the traditional ruler, Ibaji Local Government Area which was carved out from Idah Local Government Area in 1996 was part of the old Kabba province in the then Northern Nigeria and has its administrative headquater at Onyedega and having boundaries with Anambra and Enugu states at the Easern axis and Edo and Delta states at the western axis. He said before the 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates, only three communities namely Uchuchu, Odeke and Obale all in the present day Ibaji local government area of Kogi State shared boundary with the then Onitsha province, now Anambra and Enugu states.

He said it is on record that in 1905, there was a severe fight over fishing ponds between the people of Uchuchu and Enugu which one Mr Douglas, a Briton was sent with his troops to settle. The Monarch, quoting extensively from a document, Onitsha-- Idah divisional boundary file No OMPRE of 7/12/ 109, it reads in part “ I understand there was fighting in this Region about 1905 and Mr Douglas was sent with his troops. It was he who made the boundary between Enugu and Ichuchu to run from Inu to Itolo. This lake was originally being used by Enugu and it was about the fishing that the fight began. Mr Douglas gave the lake to Uchuchu and since then Onitsha had made no claims to them”.

On this note, Chief Akoje said

the Uchuchu community shares boundaries with the people of Nzam, Imiata and Enugu Otu (Aguleri) all in Onitsha province and now in Anambra State, and that any community or group of people laying claims to have boundary with Anambra State from Ibaji local government other than Uchuchu, Odeke and Obale, must be a visitor to Ibaji land or a mischief maker.

He also said the hostilities between Kogi and Anambra states over boundary dispute started to manifest in 1922 following the muted idea of establishing a forest reserve which he said the people of Onitsha province ‘encroached’ some areas in Kabba province.

He said in the proposal of the Forest Reserve sent to the Acting

Surveyor--General of Nigeria, W. De. Norman in Lagos and with the 1928 modification of Onitsha Province in his response via a letter to the Honourable Secretary Sothern Province Enugu with Ref No 858/504 dated 29th June, 1931.

While giving recipe on how the festering boundary dispute could be finally resolved, the traditional ruler advised the Surveyor-General of the Federation, his counterpart in Anambra and Kogi States and other stakeholders to revisit the demarcation exercise carried out

by J. I Jewel and his officers of the Onitsha provice which was faulted

by Acting Surveyor-General and make necessary correction before any further boundary tracing could Akoja be possible.

Ekiti Senator’s constituency drive Ayodele Adesanmi

Olujimi

Senator Abiodun Olujimi, the Senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District of Ekiti State recently showed her passion to the people of her constituency when she gave out ten vehicles of various brands as part of her constituency development initiative.

She equally gave out generating sets, sewing machines, motor cycles, food items and cash to the elderly with beneficiaries drawn from Omuo, Ekiti South West, lkere, Emure, Gbonyin and Ise council areas of the state which form Ekiti

South Senatorial District.

Present at the event to present the items to the beneficiaries is the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Olusola Kolapo who urged them to make good use of what they were given and lauded Senator Olujimi for the kind gesture considering the cash crunch bedevilling the country.

The Deputy Governor added that the government alone cannot adequately empower the people on its own and called on others in viable positions to come out and assist the needy and the unemployed.

He explained that government is doing what it could do to make the

indigenes of the state happy and called on the people of the state to support the government in power in the state.

Senator Olujimi thanked the people of her constituency and asked for their support and prayer in order to help her fulfil her promises to them, adding that it was her mission to ensure that the average citizen in her constituency is empowered.

One of the beneficiaries, Toyin Oladapo from Ogotun Ekiti, on behalf of others, thanked the senator for the items, assuring her of their support.

33

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

infotech

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

How to tackle challenges in Nigerian ICT industry —Akinluyi Mr Tolu Akinluyi is a telecoms professional with a lot of experience in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria. He is currently a Communications, Media and Technology Executive at Accenture Nigeria, a global professional services company. In this discourse with BODE ADEWUMI, he highlights some of the key challenges in the Nigerian ICT industry and provides suggestions aimed at tackling these challenges. Excerpts:

T

HE genesis and the development of the industry According to the National Communications Commission (NCC) in 2001, there were a total of about 867,000 connected lines nationally, with about 266,000 mobile connections.

This number has increased to over 150 million connections today, with about 135 million mobile connections, largely driven by the launch of GSM mobile services in Nigeria. In this period, the contribution of the telecoms industry to Nigeria’s GDP has risen from 0.3 per cent in 2001 to 8.53 per cent today. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) the total contribution of ICT industry to the GDP was stated at 10.13 per cent in 2012, with the telecoms sector accounting for about 82 per cent of this figure.

This growth has also driven internet penetration in the country. According to the ITU, over this same period, internet penetration in Nigeria has increased by over 3000 per cent. The NCC now reports that Nigeria has over 93 million mobile internet users, however, it is important to note that while this figure is impressive, a lot of connections are not yet of sufficient speed to be categorised as broadband.

This dramatic growth of the industry has caused growing pains. The industry currently faces a series of business, technical and regulatory challenges, which pose risks to long term sustainable growth.

While many of these challenges are already being faced in more mature markets globally, there are additional local market conditions which exacerbate the situation in Nigeria.

Provision of broadband access to Nigerian Citizens A widely accepted definition of broadband is a link capable of delivering internet access at a rate of at least two megabits per second (2Mbps). Broadband has become the ‘oxygen’ of the information age.

It is crucial in enabling Nigerians access the internet, which is the largest repository of information and knowledge.

The ideal broadband supply chain comprises of international connectivity (via submarine cable links), a national backbone network, metropolitan access links, and the local access network (the last mile). The Nigerian government has developed a broadband plan which is aimed at increasing the broadband penetration rate from about 6 per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent by 2018.

In Nigeria, there are now multiple submarine cables on the shores of the country. These include the Glo-1, Main One, WACS and SAT3. However, all the cables are landed in Lagos therefore access to other points in the country is limited. It is necessary to extend the cable systems to other coastal regions of Nigeria in order to

Nigerian Tribune

Akinluyi ensure resiliency and security. The Nigerian Government therefore has a big role to play in helping to drive this agenda.

The backbone links in Nigeria have mostly been developed by individual telecoms operators to suit their business and technical requirements (in many other mature markets these were developed by Government owned incumbent operators and later unbundled to ensure open access). As a result, there is an abundance of connectivity on certain key routes, whilst many routes in the country still do not have connectivity.

Furthermore, the networks owned by the different operators are not interconnected and therefore not as resilient as possible.

The Nigerian government/NCC must follow through on its plans to promote seamless interconnectivity and open access infrastructure sharing among operators.

In Nigeria, the last mile is mostly based on wireless technology as a result of the low

fixed line teledensity in the country. Therefore, most internet connectivity in Nigeria is done via wireless devices. While this helps to provide quick connections, wireless connectivity faces interference and speed challenges which make it less desirable that wired last mile connectivity. The broadband plan must therefore also address the need to provide a mechanism to facilitate an increase in wired last mile connectivity.

Regardless of the portion of the broadband supply chain, the challenges faced by operators are common and numerous. These include regulatory challenges associated with getting civil works permits, high costs involved in getting these permits, vandalisation and theft of cables, and lack of reliable power resulting in the use of generators which is very expensive.

The Government must take steps to remove the regulatory road blocks facing the operators, and continue to drive its broadband plan to ensure targets for broadband penetration can be achieved.

The government must take steps to remove the regulatory road blocks facing the operators, and continue to drive its broadband plan to ensure targets for broadband penetration can be achieved.

Realising the digital dividend In 2006, the Nigerian government signed an agreement with the international telecommunications union (ITU) that mandated the digitisation of terrestrial TV signals by June 2015. This switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting is meant to free up analogue transmission frequencies, so that they could be re-used for mobile telephony and broadband access. The process has been completed in other western countries such as the UK, and is termed the digital dividend. The switchover will also lower the cost of transmission for TV signals and provides a host of benefits for consumers

including a wider choice of programmes, more interactive services, and lower prices for interactive television receivers.

The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was unable to meet the deadline due to a lack of funds. Missing this deadline puts the country at risk of sanctions from the ITU in part because border counties to Nigeria that have already migrated from analogue to digital, are likely to get distorted broadcast signals from television stations located in border towns in Nigeria that are still transmitting analogue signals.

The NBC has developed a plan to complete the switch over by June 2016. The Ministry of Communications and NCC must actively support the NBC to drive this plan to completion to avoid the ITU sanctions and to free up the frequencies for use by the Telecom industry. Completion of this plan will therefore play a big role in enabling the broadband plan.

It is important for the Ministry of Communications and NCC to start developing plans to adequately utilise the digital dividend spectrum. These plans need to be developed now, to ensure that the spectrum is appropriately auctioned and effectively utilised as soon as possible, once it becomes available to help advance our national broadband agenda.

Completion of 2.6GHz spectrum auction The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently suspended the auction of the 2.6GHz spectrum due to administrative challenges. This spectrum is set aside for the provision of advanced wireless broadband services.

The advantages of this spectrum are numerous. They include high spectral efficiency and throughput, global standardisation (and therefore better economies of scale) and high capacity. These advantages make this spectrum highly desirable to telecoms operators, and therefore the Government must drive the completion of the auction process in order to deliver on the promise of the broadband plan. Furthermore, completion of this auction will help ensure a competitive environment in addition to widespread broadband at economic prices.

Overcoming mobile Quality of Service (QoS) challenges Since the inception of GSM mobile telephony in Nigeria about 14 years ago, Nigerian subscribers have complained about service quality issues. Complaints include frequently dropped calls, network unavailability, undelivered messages, as well as poor call quality. These problems have been exacerbated by the fact that there are no widely available alternatives to mobile telephony in the country, due to a limited number of fixed line connections.

On the other hand, mobile operators have blamed a myriad of technical and environmental issues for the poor service quality.

These include lack of regular power supply, vandalism and theft of network infrastructure, insecurity in certain parts of the country, and over regulation.

In a bid to address the concerns of telecoms operators, the NCC has recently announced that the Critical Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Infrastructure Bill which has been sponsored by the Federal Government will be passed before the end of the year.

34

infotech

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Lenovo national promo winner takes home brand new Kia Rio Stories By Bode Adewumi

N

INETEEN-YEAR-OLD university undergraduate, Vivian Onyemaechi, has emerged the winner of the grand prize of a brand new Kia Rio in the final draw of the Lenovo National Promo. Onyemaechi was announced as the car winner at an elaborate and funfilled event in Lagos recently.

Represented by Nnamudi Marcellinus, Onyemaechi took away the Kia Rio star prize, while seven other finalists received various consolation prizes including blenders, deep freezer, smartphones, refrigerators and others.

Slot brand ambassador and entertainer, Dbanj was on hand to present the winners with their prizes at the event.

Astounded at being the recipient of the grand prize, Onyemaechi said that her prayers had been answered right on time.

“I am overjoyed to be the winner of the Lenovo National Promo’s Kia Rio grand prize. My prayers have been answered through Jesus Christ our Lord. In fact, I never be-

lieved anything of such to be true, not until Lenovo made such a difference that even the blind can see. I encourage other customers to always show interest whenever a Lenovo promo is on. Whenever it comes to telecommunications, electronics and accessories, Lenovo is the best,” she enthused.

Lenovo launched the nationwide campaign in December 2015 alongside two of the latest additions to its VIBE smartphones series, the Vibe P1m, which comes with a long-lasting 4000mAh battery that gives users up to three days of battery life and the Vibe S1, which combines the ability to take creative selfies

Huawei unveils G-Power smartphone in Nigeria HUAWEI recently launched its mid range phone, the G-Power into the Nigerian market, in partnership with Jumia having stunning displays in select high traffic location within Lagos State. The new smartphone features a big battery with its 4000-mAh battery combining performance, simplicity, convenience and beauty, which supports reverse charge to other electronics.

According to the Country Manager, Huawei Consumer Business Group Nigeria, Mr Leo Jiang, “The Huawei G-Power is a mid range smartphone that isthe best life and work partner for consumers all day long. The G-Power smartphone provides about 90 hours of light usage, 48 hours of heavy usage, 39 hours of call time and 15 hours of web surfing.”

The Huawei G-Poweris the ideal and affordable smartphone which helps strike a perfect balance between simplicity and usability and represents the on-the-go lifestyle, youthful spirit and positive attitude of consumers.

Speaking further he added, “Through a deeper understanding of smartphones and the consumer’s needs, Huawei G-Power is created with a power saving technologies 3.0. Its 5-megapixel front-facing camera creates a fun-filled ‘selfie’ experience and the 13-megapixel rear-facing camera makes its possible to takecrystal clear, professional quality, beautiful photos during the day and night. Its 1.3 GHz quadcore processor gives higher processing speed to enable consumers achieve faster while multi-tasking. This new device also reflects Huawei’s continued dedication to bringing the latest innovation and style to our consumers at all levels.’’

The G-Power features a sleek, simple and elegant design,dual sim compatible with a stunning 5” HD IPS touch screen display with 296 PPI to give users a clear and comfortable experience.

President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Professor Adesola Aderounmu (left), with the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Aliyu Aziz Abubakar, during a courtesy visit of the NCS President to the Director General in Abuja, recently.

with a fashionable exterior, with its two front cameras and attractive curved-glass back design.

To participate in the promo, customers were expected to buy any Lenovo smartphone from accredited dealers nationwide towards standing the chance of winning star prizes including a brand new Kia Rio and 10 educational grants worth N200,000 each as well as various consolation prizes. The educational grants have been awarded to ten lucky customers selected at three different draws and drawn from different parts of the country.

The Kia Rio grand prize draw marks the conclusion of the promo and was executed in partnership with all major smartphone dealers in the country. The event was witnessed by the Head of the Lagos Office of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr. Joshua Nggada and Deputy Manager, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (Lagos Zonal Office), Mr Onyemenam Daniel.

Expressing his delight at the success of the promotion, Marketing Manager, Lenovo Technologies West Africa, Mr Bolade Oyekanmi thanked the company’s customers for the very positive response they showed towards the campaign.

New Horizons pioneers U-17 ICT competitions for schools NEW Horizons Computer Learning Centres, Nigeria’s private Information and communications Technology training institute is organising the first annual Under 17 national ICT competition from February to March 2016 to boost and elevate ICT curriculum and skills empowerment in primary and secondary schools level.

Mr Bolaji Olaoye, General Manager, Education Services, New Horizons, said the programme, which is part of New Horizons Corporate Social Responsibility will serve as a catalyst to bridge the knowledge gaps between Nigerian youths and their counterparts in other technology –driven countries of the world.

He said the competition which would include participants from over 200 Nigerian schools would “involve two separate segments in primary and secondary schools levels and serve as an avenue to breed the technology whiz-kids of our time and upcoming generation who will form the nucleus of young industry captains that will transform the economy of Nigeriaand Africa in the shortest possible time.”

Olaoye affirmed that the competition is a firm conviction that Nigeria can also be positioned as global ICT leading country and world champion the same way Nigeria had established itself as a consistent world champion in the Under-17 World football tournaments over the years.

He said “the mission is to catch our youths at tender school ages for high quality ICT Skills-oriented Programs that will foster the rapid growth and development of their technology skills-set and consequently place them at the frontal

row of global champions.”

He intimated that necessary sensitisation of schools for participation had started and that the initiative was approved by primary and technical stakeholders in the education and technology

world some of which are, Lagos State Government Education and Science ministries, Comptia, Certiport, etc.

He informed that the programme would run from February 2016 with the grand finale holding

in March 2016. The prizes as listed are: Star prize of a brand new school bus, multiple all-expenses sponsored trips to Dubai ICT City, multiple laptop computers, many tablets and other consolation prizes.

Viber launches ‘Public Chats’ in Nigeria, Africa VIBER, a messaging and calling apps with more than 664 million users globally, has opened its latest social channel ‘Public Chats’ to partners in Africa and the Middle East.

While announcing the launch recently, Mr Mark Hardy, the Chief Marketing Officer, Viber,

described the Middle East and Africa as important markets for Viber, and extended invitation to local influencers and brands.

He said: “We are sure they will enjoy chatting, commenting and debating live on this active social channel whilst sharing tips, news, and local content to our

MTN selects Gemalto for rollout of GSMA Mobile Connect services GEMALTO has been selected to provide its LinqUs Mobile ID platform to MTN Nigeria. This new project, operated for MTN in SaaS mode by Gemalto Allynis Services, marks the first commercial rollout of SIM based services delivering convenient mobile authentication for all mobile users.

The rollout of GSMA Mobile Connect authentication service is compliant with the latest GSMA standards, Mobile Connect, and ‘MTN Token’ is available immediately to MTN Nigeria’s subscribers and positions the operator as the country’s foremost provider of secure digital identification and authentication.

MTN Token offers its users a universal digital ID combined with a mobile-based second factor authentication, for easy and secure web service access, payments and financial transactions

validation. When using MTN Token for eCommerce, banking, insurance, ePublic and corporate networks services, the user’s mobile phone number is employed as the username. Depending on the level of protection required by the service provider, the process is completed by simply pressing OK on the handset, or entering a unique user-selected PIN code.

Any service provider in Nigeria can now easily adopt MTN Token services to dramatically strengthen protection of online services against identity theft and cybercrime. It also enables the operator to offer a convenient digital journey to its customers, removing complex registration and log-in processes, while sparing them the hassle of remembering new username/password combinations.

constantly connected mobile audience across the region.”

According to Hardy, the platform has already been joined by selected partners across the continent as well as key markets like Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt, for the regional launch.

“Brands, organisations, celebrities, public figures and social influencers from these countries can now join Viber’s global platform to reach a local and regional audience,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Jeremy Doutte, the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia, one of the first partners to join this new social channel in the Middle East and Africa, said Viber users can expect more Jumia Public Chats to open across the continent in the coming months.

“We are really excited with this partnership,” he said. “As new African customers discover the Internet first through their mobile, we want to address them wherever they are. Viber is a mobile first company with an outstanding reach in Africa. Jumia is also a mobile first company and the first online shopping destination in Africa. Joining forces will enable both Viber and Jumia to deliver quality content and good vibes to our users.”

35

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

brands& marketing

Issues, as Lagos NIPR goes to the poll

By Akin Adewakun

T

HESE are, without doubt unusual times for the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). For the first time in the history of the chapter, members will again, on February 25, 2016, file out to repeat an electoral exercise they had earlier done in July last year, that brought on board the incumbent Chairman of the chapter, Joseph Okonmah to over-see the affairs of the Chapter again for the next two years.

Statutorily, elections are held into those elective offices within the chapter once in two years.

Interestingly, the last election was different. Okonmah had hardly heaved a sigh of relief after being declared winner over Mr Kunle Ogedengbe, his main challenger, in an election many considered as free and fair, when the fiat came from the national body of the institute that those election results should not be respected.

And since the house had been dissolved and the new elected executives would not be allowed to exercise those mandates, a caretaker committee, headed by Reverend Olusola Niyi was put in place to oversee the affairs of the chapter, pending the conduct of another election.

The election cancellation Reasons have been adduced for the probable cause of the cancellation of the July 2015 elections. But the major reason identified has been the failure of the leadership of the chapter to turn in the audited report of the chapter one month before the conduct of the ill-fated elections, as stipulated by the law governing the conduct of elections at the chapter.

Interestingly, why some stakeholders have thrown their weight behind the cancellation of the elections results, not a few have, however expressed shock at the decision to do away with the results of an election that actually took its toll on the energies and resources of members of the chapter.

Some have even queried the wisdom of singling out only the elections for cancella-

Joseph Okonmah, former Chairman, Lagos Chapter, NIPR and winner of the July 2015 elections. tion when other activities of the AGM had been allowed to hold.

‘For me, it is not about whether the election results were cancelled or not, it is the wisdom in allowing the AGM to hold when it was obvious that due process was not followed. I think the whole AGM should not have held in the first instance,’ argued another member, who pleaded anonymity.

Interestingly, Brands & Marketing’s checks among some members of the immediate past executives of the chapter revealed that the contentious audited report of the chapter could not be turned in one month before the elections due to financial challenges.

According to a member of the immediate past council of the chapter, there were

some financial carry-overs in the books of the Chapter, a development that delayed the auditing exercise.

“We had some financial challenges then, and there were financial carryovers, due to paucity of finance. This quite delayed the auditing process; since the auditor would not sign those books until these are reconciled,” explained the member.

The election candidates Interestingly, while the cancellation is seen from Okonmah’s camp as a setback, two prominent members of the chapter, Segun McMedal and Rev Olusola Niyi, are seeing the development as a blessing in disguise.

The two, together with Okonmah, have

Outdoor Advertising: Brandmycar.com.ng targets mass market MOBILE out-of-home advertising company, Brandmycar.com.ng has announced the launch of its Brandmykeke platform in Lagos.

The company, which prides itself on crafting avant-garde alternative Out-of-Home (OOH) media platforms/ for brands seeking visibility in their markets of choice, made the first batch of these transit advertising platforms available to advertisers last week in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Brandmykeke platform, in simple terms, is advertising deployed on the hoods and back panels of Tricycles or Three-Wheelers (popularly referred to as Keke Napeps).

It is a made-to-measure advertising solu-

tion ideal for mass market products. Prior to the introduction of the Brandmykeke platform, producers and Brand and Marketing Communications Managers of mass market products had a seemingly horrid time getting their products across to their target audiences, especially within closeknit communities.

Describing the development as another fresh, unique and first-of-its-kind in advertising media in Nigeria, the CEO, Amaka Okolo, stated that the company had designed the platform for brands because of the unique use of tricycles as means of mass transportation in most Lagos neighbourhoods.

“We realise that the advertisers want exposure. Because tricycles operate in areas of large population, we are certain that the platform will give a lot more value to advertisers.

“We also noted the slow movement of the tricycles and believe that interaction between brands on these platforms and the market will be a lot stronger, thereby deepening brand penetration,’ she stated.”

Ms Okolo also stated that the new outdoor advertising initiative will ensure brands have deeper penetration into targeted markets in inner streets and hitherto unreachable neighbour-hood

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

m:08054683584 e:akadewakun@yahoo.co.uk

since signified their intentions to vie for the most exalted office of the chapter.

Curiously, while Okonmah’s interest in the office again might not really raise any eyebrow, since he would, ordinarily, be expected to re-contest, same can not be said of McMedal and Olusola’s decisions to throw their hats into the ring.

While McMedal was Chairman, 2015 Annual General Meeting Event Committee, which the election was a major part of Rev. Olusola was the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee put in place to over-see the affairs of the institute when it was obvious that Okonmah would not be allowed to exercise his mandate. This, some members have argued, puts a moral question on the ambitions of the duo.

For instance, the argument, in some quarters is that, as the chairman of the events planning committee, McMedal was expected to take the flaks and pats of the outcome of the event. The ultimate cancellation of the elections results casts a huge question mark on the event and therefore puts that moral question on McMedal’s ambition. Was the event programmed to fail, as it is being alleged in some quarters, to allow the upcoming boss take over, more so, when the other candidate at the last election, Kunle Ogedengbe failed to show up on the election day.

McMedal has since has since refuted those insinuations though. For him, as the chairman of the Events Planning Committee, his mandate did not include the elections, arguing it would be unfair for anybody to hold him accountable for whatever was the fall-out of such elections.

Rev. Olusola is not spared of this moral question either. Some have wondered how the immediate past Chairman of the Caretaker Committee put in place immediately after the cancellation of the July 2015 elections, could find it so easy transiting from that role to that of a candidate in the forthcoming elections. Not a few have argued that what would have been honourable for Rev. Olusola would have been to take charge, as stated in his mandate, conduct another election and hand over.

But, the die seems cast and the electoral promises are never short in coming as attention shifts to the February 25 election date. While Okonmah has consolidation as one of the major planks of his campaign, McMedal has continued to tell whoever cares to listen that the chapter needs a re-engineering and the person to bring that into fruition is him. Will Okonmah be three times lucky, after winning the last two elections conducted at the chapter? Can Rev. Niyi or McMedal spring a surprise?

No doubt, answers to these puzzles will be provided in the next few days by Col. John Agim-led electoral committee and without that, the Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information (NASPRI) seems ready to conduct the elections.

For Enam Obisio, a member of the chapter, the most important thing is for the right person, with the right credentials, to win the elections.

‘The Lagos Chapter is the flagship and as a result, it is very strategic. We cannot afford to fail. And what the three contestants should know is that whoever wins should be ready to build bridges and behave like a true leader,” he added.

36

brands&marketing

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Level of consumerism still very low in Nigeria –Consumer Rights Advocate

A

consumer rights advocate and Chief Executive Officer of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), Ms. Sola Salako, has described the level of consumerism in the country as still very low, adding that the average Nigerian consumers would still not fight for their rights, even when they are infringed on.

In an exclusive interview with Brands & Marketing in Lagos recently, the no –banking- day campaign convener argued that brands and other service providers in the country had continued to exploit the passive nature of the Nigerian consumers to further deny them of getting value for their funds.

She explained that she recently called a no banking day for March 1, this year, as a way of protesting the excessive charges banks in the country had subjected their consumers to.

According to her, the campaign, which is pan-Nigeria, is one of the many plans of the Foundation to begin to redress the flagrant abuse of consumer rights in the country.

She explained that since flagging off the no-banking-day campaign, the response from the banking public had been overwhelming, stating that the Foundation would be unrelenting until the world’s attention is drawn to the plight of the consumers in Nigeria.

‘The challenge that we have in

Nigeria is that the level of consumerism is still very low in the country. A lot of consumers are suffering in silence, either they

don’t know how to seek redress or they are simply non-challant. That is why we that have the platform would take up the struggle and

1, this year, is to make Nigerians boycott their banks and their services as a way of registering their protests over excessive charges.

From left, Assistant Brand Manager, Flavours, Coca-Cola NigeriaLimited, Olajumoke Oyewole; Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited,Patricia Jemibewon and Category Manager, Flavours, Nigerian Bottling Company, Bunmi Agbaje during the launch of Fanta’s 2016 Communication Campaign held at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island on Tuesday. PHOTO BY SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Sonia Foods embarks on $8m productions line expansion SONIA Foods Industries Limited, manufacturer of Sonia Tomato Paste has announced the commencement of major improve-

ments at its Shagamu, Ogun State factory plant, as part of ongoing plans to meet the growing demands for its products and maxi-

Visafone fetes subscribers at Val AS part of its efforts aimed at engaging its teeming customers, Visafone Communications Limited, one of the nation’s leading Code Division and Multiple Access (CDMA) operators, recently hosted subscribers to a special dinner at the prestigious Red Restaurant, Eko Hotels and Suites.

Tagged Visafone Customer Appreciation Dinner, the event held to mark this year’s Valentine’s Day, saw select subscribers to the CDMA service provider wining and interacting with officials of the company.

Explaining the rationale behind the event, the company’s Head, Brands and Corporate Communications, Mr Joseph Ushigiale, stated that the dinner was organised to appreciate the support of its teeming subscribers.

“We are Nigeria’s foremost CDMA Company and we realize the role of our subscribers in taking us to the top. We organized this Valentine dinner for our esteemed customers just to say thank you to them for their support to the Visafone brand through the years,” he stated.

He described the event as providing another opportunity for Visafone Customers to engage the brand, adding that the Visafone brand would continue to focus not only on providing top notch CDMA products and services, but also activities that would enhance the lifestyle of its customers.

ensure consumer rights are not violated in the country,’ she stated.

According to her, the purpose of the no-banking-day on March

“Apart from providing our customers with a delay free transaction that uses the network to meet the daily voice and data services needs of our subscribers, we also care about their lifestyles.

“We understand that they deserve to relax and unwind once in a while and we think that Valentine’s Day is an excellent opportunity to say thank you to them,” Ushigiale said.

Speaking on the event, a sub-

scriber, who would want to be simply identified as Mrs Adeyemi, commended the brand for deeming it necessary to invite some subscribers out at the period, noting that this would go a long way in further bonding the brand with its teeming subscribers.

‘Now that I’m here, I can say that Visafone has given my husband and I the perfect treat for Valentine,’ she stated.

DUREX unveils new offerings DUREX, a sexual wellbeing brand, has introduced its single, more affordable and handy condoms, to ensure consumers are able to be with and connect safely with the one they love.

At the Meet the One interactive consumer unveiling, held in Lagos, Durex reassured its consumers of its high quality condom that is extra safe for an affordable out-of-pocket price.

The Marketing Manager Durex, West Africa, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola, said the new introduction is a response to consumers demand for quality and affordable product.

According to her, in the last couple of decades, there had been an increased awareness on sexual health behind interventions on increased public awareness campaigns on condom usage.

She expressed the company’s

belief in every Nigerian’s right to have safe sexual well-being with high quality condoms had been at the fore front of the engagement.

mize efficiencies.

The capital improvement project, valued at more than $8 million, according to the company, will create more jobs and enhance the quality of its flagship product, Sonia Tomato Paste and its entire product chain.

The company has also increased its production capacity through the installation of additional machineries for production of tomato paste in tins of various sizes (400g, 210g, and 70g). The production capacity of this additional machine would now be 7MT/HR for each size.

Speaking on the development, the company’s Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Nnodebe, expressed the management’s delight at investing in the Shagamu plant.

This, he argued, would mean more jobs for residents of the city, while also supporting the state government’s efforts at providing employment for its citizenry.

He stated that the company had always stuck to its simple ethos of

improving the lives of people with quality products, since commencing business in the area about five years ago, while assuring consumers of the company’s resolve of giving them value for their money.

‘Our customers are very important to us and we want them to feel that way. We work hard to ensure that every customer has a great tasty experience with Sonia Tomato Paste and our other products. For us, at Sonia, their satisfaction is key, that is why we are wholeheartedly committed to giving consumers that value with our products.

“In line with our expansion drive, and the commitment to utmost value, we intend to vertically integrate backwards,” he stated.

He disclosed the company’s plans to build an ultra-modern factory and farm in some states that would have the capacity of producing the tomato concentrate, with the said production process completed within 36 months from February 2016.

UAC Foods reaches out to less privileged children AS part of its corporate social responsibility thrusts of giving back to its operating environments and in line with the global celebration of St. Valentine’s Day otherwise known as Lovers’ Day, UAC Foods Limited, makers of Gala, recently reached out to some special children’s homes by donating products to them in the spirit of the season of love.

The UAC Foods team visited Modupe Cole Memorial Childcare and Treatment Home School, Akoka, Lagos and Down Syndrome Foundation, Masha, Surulere, Lagos with a special celebrity

appearance by Harrysong, one of the Musicians in the Five Star Music Group, recently named as the Face of the Gala brand.

The Senior Brand Manager (Snacks), UAC Foods Limited Mrs Folasade Abiola, who led the company’s delegation to the homes, described the gesture as that aimed at expressing love and care to the children in these homes especially during this auspicious celebration of Valentine.

She added that the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative is in tandem with the corporate philosophy of Doing Good of the UACN of

Nigeria Group.

“Children with special needs are the most appropriate people who require all the love and care especially during this season of celebration of love,” she said.

Also speaking during the visit and products presentation, the Proprietress of Modupe Cole Memorial Childcare and Treatment Home School, Mrs Florence Kayode expressed her profound appreciation to UAC Foods Limited and the entire UAC Group for their support for the home over the years, while calling on other corporate organisations to emulate the company’s gesture.

37

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

property

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Chukwuma Okparaocha

m: 08038984495 e: chukscop2005@gmail.com

Nigeria’s fallen foreign exchange power weakening investment in housing sector As experts predict 27% rise in cost of housing projects Stories by Chukwuma Okparaocha - Lagos

A

S at the time of writing this report, a dollar was worth almost N400, in an unprecedented trend in the country’s history.

This development is expectedly beginning to have a ripple effect on the entire economy, a situation made worse by what has been described as the present “lack of currency” in the system.

A lot of sectors are said to be steadily reacting to this strange trend, especially when just a few years ago, the nation witnessed what has been described as one of the best oil booms in its short history, as crude oil sold for above N100 per barrel.

But sadly, several months down the line a barrel of crude oil now sells for less than half that amount, while there is no telling when an improvement will he seen.

As the naira continues to fall against the US dollars, some industry watchers have predicted at least an average of 27 per cent increase in the cost of housing projects, a situation that is expected to get worse especially since Nigeria depends mainly on oil as its main source of revenue, which means a continuous drop in oil prices will continue to have huge impact on the nation’s economy.

According to information gathered by Tribune Property, the effect of this development, which has left a sour taste in the mouth of investors, is already being felt by developers as the cost of construction has risen significantly.

This is to be expected since most of the materials for construction are being imported from some investment savvy countries such as China.

Strangely though, information gathered also suggests that soon the housing sector might begin to witness an increase in the number of vacant properties, especially in the nation’s highbrow places such as Lagos’ Ikoyi and Victoria Island, as well as Abuja’s Maitama District, among others, where houses are often rented in dollars and all ensuing service charges are sometimes also paid in dollars which both run into several millions of naira.

The reason for this is not farfetched, a lot of companies that often lodge their expatriates in such houses which smell of opulence are increasingly finding it difficult to continue to fund such ideas. As a result, some of them are beginning to

cut down on some of such expenses and benefits hitherto enjoyed by their expatriates, while others may have even begun to embark on expatriates downsizing exercise.

While piecing this report together, Tribune Property got wind of how one of such expatriates “lost his job” in a certain company which had been investing heavily on its expatriates’ housing needs. Sub-

sequently, because the expatriate in question who is from the US can no longer afford to pay with his own money the luxury he had practically enjoyed for free at the ‘expensive’ Tango Tower’ in Ikoyi, Lagos, he is currently hunting for a smaller apartment which he can conveniently pay for pending the time he will “find a new job.”

Experts’ views In his remarks about the Nigeria’s falling foreign exchange power, a housing expert, Ayo Biobaku, chairman, QMB Builders’ Mart Limited, in a recent chat with the media had reportedly said that the skyrocketing exchange rate of the dollar to the naira was killing the building materials’ sector in the country. Biobaku, admitted

that prices of building materials would definitely go up in view of the fall of naira.

Sharing a similar view, Kunle Awobodu, Managing Director, Reo-Habilis Construction Limited, insisted experts and builders were already anticipating a rise in construction costs as regards to building materials’ prices. The fear, according to him, is associated with the fall in naira value.

“The fall in naira value will definitely affect building materials, which are usually imported. The past two years witnessed a rise in building construction activities as new estates emerged in different parts of Lagos. But the booming real estate business might suffer a decline due to anticipated rise in the cost of building materials.

However, the meltdown in the stock market may turn to be a blessing to the building construction sector as investors might divert resources to real estate business,” he said.

Another report obtained by Tribune Property suggested that since a significant amount of real estate projects in the country were either directly or indirectly funded by government, it meant that a drop in oil prices would yield less funds for property development.

“And with governments struggling to even make monthly salary payments to workers, contractors and organizations, there will be even less cash in circulation,” the report noted.

Policy inconsistency bane of town planning profession in Nigeria —Experts INCONSISTENCY in policies and inconsistency in training of members have been identified as the bane of town planning profession in the country.

This was the view of the immediate Past President, Association of Town Planners consultant of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Mr. Moses Ogunleye, who also identified negative public perception of town planners as another problem affecting the profession.

Ogunleye made this known recently, during a programme organised by town planners to expose members to new ways to endear the town planning profession into the heart of all categories of people.

On branding strategies require to lift the profession, Ogunleye tasked the three umbrella bodies of town planners: NITP, ATOPCON and Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC) to rework and fine-tune town planning training in the country.

He also listed the need to explore other professions, effective communication, strict adherence to code of conduct and monitoring among others as brand strategies needed to promote town planning profession.

In his view, another expert, Mr. Waheed Kadidri, said that one of the challenges confronting the profession was government’s attitude to the profession as well as low appreciation of urban and regional planning.

Kadiri, a past president of NITP said, “When decisions are taken, budgets are proposed and locational decisions are taken without considering urban and regional planning implications. Planning is remembered when there is need to blame someone or a group.”

“There is also the problem of political interference rather than intervention in the planning process to the detriment of the resulting “Planning actions” and a perverted perception of what planning is all about,” he added.

Also commenting, former Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos, Mr Toyin Ayinde, stated that the desperation by professionals to make money at all cost had made some professionals to throw caution to the wind when doing their work. He also pointed to lack of discipline among professionals as another major problem confronting the practice.

He tasked professionals in the public service on the need to always fast-track approval of plans submitted to them by their colleagues in the private practice as long as necessary documents were submitted and laid down rules were followed .

Through this effort, he said the profession would be visible to all and people would appreciate the work of town planners.

He said, “Communal success is the only thing that is sustainable.

You must assist your colleagues to make them succeed and make planning profession successful.”

“There is need to embrace communal success. Practitioners in the public service should seek synergy among those in the private service for good success of the profession,” he added.

Another senior town planner in the service of the Lagos State government, Mr Tunji Badejo, identified loss of societal values, lack of understanding, scarcity of correct information and lack of empirical data for planning purposes, band wagon effect and lackadaisical attitude as challenges affecting the prospects of the profession.

On how to brand the profession, a media practitioner, Professor Lai Oso, said that the institute must be pro-active to react to public issues. He stated further that it must articulate and communicate the values of town planners to the public, adding that practitioner would need to up their game in order to compete favourably with other professions in the built environment.

38

news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Taraba guber: Why we affirmed Gov Ishiaku’s election —Supreme Court Sunday Ejike - Abuja

T

HE Supreme Court of Nigeria on Monday gave reasons for affirming the election of Darius Dickson Ishiaku as the validly elected governor of Taraba State in the April 11, 2015 governorship election held in the state.

The apex court, who dismissed an appeal brought before it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Hajiya Aisha Jumai Alhassan, challenging Ishaku’s election, slated yesterday to give reasons for its judgment delivered on February 11, 2016.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the reasons of the Supreme Court in its judgment on the Taraba State governorship election appeal, held that APC and its governorship candidate have no locus standi (legal right) to file the petition to chal-

lenge Governor Ishiaku’s election.

The seven-member panel of justices of the apex court said the appeal was dismissed for lacking in merit, adding also that, “the appeal has no redeemable substance and is accordingly dismissed.”

The court held that the evidence brought before it confirmed Ishiaku’s membership of the PDP, saying that, “The matter is very simple, the apex court has ruled on matters of this nature at dif-

ferent occasions.

“There is no way a candidate of another political party who did not participate in the primaries of another political party could suddenly rise to challenge the conduct of such an exercise.

“It is therefore clear that the appeals and all cross appeals against the election of Governor Darius Ishiaku of Taraba have no redeemable substance,’’ Rhodes-Vivour held.

By these reasons, the apex court further affirmed the

decision of the lower court to the effect that the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal grossly misdirected itself by upturning Ishiaku’s victory.

Rhodes-Vivour held that governor Ishiaku is a full member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that the party sponsored him as its governorship candidate for the April 11 governorship election in Taraba State.

The apex court held that the PDP in Taraba State conducted a primary election

that produced Ishaku as its governorship candidate in the said election.

Hajiya Alhassan, now the Minister for Women Affairs, had approached the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the November 7, 2015 decision of the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that sacked Ishaku from office and declared her as the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election held in the state.

Court frees 22 ABUAD students, remands 5 Sam Nwaoko -Ado Ekiti

A magistrates’ court sitting in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, withdrew charges preferred against 22 students of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), over a recent protest in the institution for allegations of arson and attempted robbery.

The state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr Gbenga Daramola, told the court on Monday that the parents of the students had written letter of apology to the management of the school.

He claimed that the management of the school had consented to withdraw the charges against the students based on the letter of apology and affidavit of facts admitting their involvement in the incident.

He, however, said five of the students had a case to answer and urged the court to remand them in police custody.

Counsel for the accused, led by Mr Chris Omokhafe, thanked the management of the school and the DPP for withdrawing the charge against their clients.

He also thanked the court for sitting after closing hour in order to see that the students were released from prison, having been kept there for over three weeks.

He prayed the court to order the police to allow the parents have access to their wards at the police custody.

The chief magistrate, Adesoji Adegboye, struck out the charges and discharged the students accordingly.

Chairman, House Committee on Governmental Affairs, Honourable Sulaiman Kangiwa (left), exchanging pleasantries with the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr John Kennedy Opara, after receiving a plaque presented by the NCPC during the oversight visit by the committee members to the commission’s Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday.

Intervene in Aregbesola/doctors’ face-off, NMA tells Buhari Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

THE South-West caucus of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), over the weekend, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene in the face-off between Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and the doctors in the state public health sector, who had been on strike since September, 2015.

This is coming against the backdrop of the state government’s position that the striking doctors remained sacked for abandoning their duty posts for more than six months.

Rising from an emergency meeting held in Osogbo, the state capital, the SouthWest caucus of the NMA, which included the state chairmen of the body in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo, said that President Buhari’s intervention in the crisis had become expedient in order to avert imminent genocide that may be the fallout of the doctors’ indus-

trial action.

In a communique signed by the chairmen of the NMA in the South-West states, namely Dr Suraj Ogunyemi (Osun), Dr Olatunji M. B (Oyo), Dr Betiku O.B (Ondo), Dr Akinbote J.A (Ekiti) and Dr Odewabi A. A. (Ogun), the caucus lamented that it was sad to note

that “a government saddled with the responsibility of moving a society forward, saddles herself with the act of decimating the exact population from which she canvassed her votes for reasons best known to her.”

The communique reads in part, “there is a need for intervention of parties outside

the state and especially the Federal Government to halt the genocide of the people of Osun State by Rauf Aregbesola and his cohorts.”

The news of the “tug of war” between the doctors in Osun and the government of Osun State amplified by Mr Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is no news to the populace.

Lawmakers commend NCPC boss THE House Committee on Governmental Affairs has commended the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr John Kennedy Opara, for his leadership style.

The Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Suleiman Kangiwa, made this commendation during their oversight function to the NCPC Corporate Headquarters, Abuja.

The chairman of the committee described the NCPC boss as an achiever and a hardworking leader who

has brought various innovations to the commission.

According to him, “your innovations and achievements in this commission are highly commendable and worthy of emulation.

You are a leader that knows where you are, where you are going to and how to get there.”

He explained that leadership in every organisation makes the difference.

He commended the NCPC boss for proper appropriation of funds allocated to the commission and for his vision of mak-

ing NCPC one of the best agencies of government in Nigeria and assured his support towards the vision of the Commission.

He called on heads of other government parastatals to emulate the leadership style of Opara by coming up with innovations that can move the country forward.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary informed on the track records of the commission since its inception.

He further intimated on the four pilgrimage programmes the commission runs in a calendar year.

Nigerian Tribune

Activist distributes 1,000 eye glasses in Bayelsa Austin Ebipade - Yenagoa HUMAN right activist, Elvis Donkemezuo, has donated over 1,000 medicated eye glasses and free healthcare treatment to indigenes of Odi community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Speaking at the grand ceremony, Donkemezuo, who led a team of medical workers and doctors, said he decided to contribute to the health and wellbeing of the community to bring succour to sick persons.

Donkemezuo, a member of the Ijaw Youth Council World-wide, noted that the eye is the compass of the human body. He said “when the eye is infected, mankind will find it difficult to lead other humans and machines into productive use.”

Donkemezuo also donated funds to beneficiaries to support them and their families to remain afloat in spite of the harsh economic reality in the country.

Education remains vaccine for national development —NCNE boss By kehinde Adio THE Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), Professor Rashid Aderinoye, has reiterated that education is the only vaccine that Nigeria could apply to bring about allround economic development that will promote peace in every sector of the economy.

Professor Aderinoye made the observation on Monday at the official opening ceremony of the five–day workshop on strategic planning and technical report training, organised for the NCNE staff by the commission in collaboration with the Centre for Human Resource Development, University of Ibadan.

According to him, education is a necessary tool to change the attitude of Nigerians, young and adult, to contribute meaningfully to nation building.

Speaking in the same vein, the Director, Centre for Human Resource Development, University of Ibadan, Professor Ayo Hammend, stated that the training would enhance the participants’ competence on the job.

news I can’t afford to fail —Bello 39

Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja HE Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Monday, said he could not afford to fail the people of the state.

The governor said he was determined to reposition the state and make it a first destination for development through investments.

The governor also said that he would not be dis-

T

tracted from achieving his laudable goals by agents opposed to change.

He promised to “refocus the state to meet the needs of her people through quality education, healthcare delivery, agricultural revolution and a Marshall plan to make Kogi State the industrial hub of West Africa.”

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to

the governor, Kingsley Fanwo, said the bilateral dialogues with local and foreign agencies would start yielding fruits, pleading with the people of the state to support his administration to bring the desired change.

“To achieve development, we know we have to achieve ethnic, industrial and political harmony.

Civil servants must re-

ceive their salaries to curb incessant strike actions and the attendant security challenges associated with such. My government has moved to ensure that ghost workers are removed from our payrolls to pave the way for genuine workers to earn their salaries regularly.

“We have also moved to stop the deductions from local government alloca-

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

tions that have made it impossible for councils to pay their staff. The directive requiring all permanent secretaries to proceed on leave was to pave the way for a transparent staff audit of ministries, agencies and parastatals. I am prepared to fulfil my pact with the people to remain a fair governor who is interested in developing the state and its people.”

The governor also pledged to work harmoniously with the state House of Assembly.

Benue rerun: Observer groups commend INEC, security agencies Collins Nnabuife - Abuja

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike and the Eze-Oba of Ogbaland, Sir Chukwumela Nnam Obi, during a special security town hall meeting, at Omoku, on Monday.

Kogi govt orders disconnection of power to judge, ex-gov, others’ houses Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja THE Kogi State government has ordered the immediate disconnection of power to the residence of the President of the State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Shaibu Atadoga.

Apart from the judge, also affected by the disconnection order is a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Idris, whose residence is supplied power from the Government House.

The state government had through a letter from the office of the Chief of Staff (COS), Mr Edward Onoja, last week, said government could no longer provide electricity to those buildings.

However, while the governor cited paucity of fund as a reason for the disconnection, it was alleged that the development might not be unconnected with the role played by Atadoga in the inauguration of the immediate past governor, Idris Wada, in 2012.

Though the matter is said to have been reported to the state Chief Judge, Nasir Ajana, for his intervention, the disconnection

order was carried out on Monday.

It will be recalled that the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has since his inauguration stated that his administration would

not condone abuse of privileges as serving and former officials of government should no longer incur debts for government to offset.

Speaking over the devel-

opment, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Strategy, Abdumalik Abdulkarim, who confirmed the disconnection, said it was meant to cut cost.

INEC makes U-turn, declares PDP winner of Kogi Central rerun Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday, reversed its decision over the Kogi senatorial rerun as it declared Ahmed Ogembe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Kogi central senatorial election.

Ogembe was declared the winner of the election having scored 45,468 to defeat his closest opponent, Nurudeen Abatemi of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), who polled 31,163 votes, while Moses Wokili of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) got 9,966 votes.

It will be recalled that INEC had on Sunday declared the elections into Kogi East and Central senatorial districts inconclusive

citing cancellation for that of Central senatorial, while no reason was given for that of Eastern Senatorial district.

However, controversy still continued to trail the result of the Kogi East senatorial election as the INEC kept sealed lips on Monday.

The candidate of the PDP in the election, Attai Aidoko, was said to have gone to the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Monday following the declaration of the election inconclusive.

Speaking after the declaration of the result, Ogembe said he was not surprised that the electoral body reversed itself and announced him the winner.

Ogembe, who is the incumbent chairman of Okene Local Government Area, said it was wrong for

INEC to have declared the election inconclusive based on the submission of the presiding officer that cancelled votes during the election.

He, however, said his victory had shown that the PDP still remained relevant and the party to beat in the state.

The senator-elect also promised to use the new position to contribute to the development of the people of the Central senatorial district of the state.

However, a statement by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Halilu Pai, said the commission corrected itself when it discovered that the local government collation officer mistakenly cancelled the result of the whole ward.

THE Coalition of INEC Accredited Observer Groups has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies for the role they played in ensuring the peaceful conduct of the Benue South rerun election.

The group, in a communique issued and signed by its Director-General, Dr Gabriel Nwambu, on Monday, stated that the election was keenly contested basically by two political parties.

The group stated that observers were posted across the nine local government areas of the state where elections were held.

It further said that they inspected the sensitive and non sensitive electoral materials before, during and after distribution across the state.

In its observations, the group said “the Benue South Senatorial rerun election of 20th February, 2016 actually held across the nine local government areas of the senatorial district.

“INEC employed and trained ad hoc electoral officials who were on ground timely to manage the election processes.

“Accreditation of eligible voters commenced at about 8.30a.m. across the nine Local government areas.

“The turnout of electorate was relatively low, although voters were seen as early as 8:00 am ready to exercise their franchise.

This is attributed to the grassroots voter education and sensitisation conducted by the INEC and the political parties.”

Nigerian Tribune

Gov Wike directs security agencies to curb crimes in 4LGs RIVERS State governor, Nyesom Wike, has directed security agencies to clampdown on cult activities and violent crimes in four local government areas of the state.

Also, the Governor Wike announced the suspension of the Caretaker Committee Chairmen of Abua/ Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West local government areas, for failing to mobilise their stakeholders to attend the special security town hall meeting for Orashi region.

Addressing thousands of Rivers People at Omoku on Monday, during a special security meeting, Governor Wike said the meeting, which had in attendance Security Service Commanders and the Commissioner for Police, was aimed at restoring peace to Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni, Onelga, Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas of the state.

He said insecurity in the four local government areas had nothing to do with politics, pointing out that it was a move to stem the tide of cult-related killings in Onelga, kidnapping, armed robbery and communal clashes in the other three local government areas.

Governor Wike said henceforth, security agencies had been mandated to take appropriate actions against those who shield cultists, kidnappers and armed robbers in the four local government areas.

Ibadan Shall Prosper prayer summit holds Sunday THE Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Region 21, will hold “Ibadan Shall Prosper” prayer summit, with the theme: “The New Beginning,” on Sunday, February 28, at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, Oyo State, by 2:00p.m.

Regional Pastor, Pastor Dele Balogun, will minister at the prayer summit, while the special guest is Busola Babalola. Pastor E.A. Adeboye is the General Overseer.

Pastor Adeboye

south-westnews Adetunji’s palace wearing new look ahead March 4 coronation 40

By Tunde Ogunesan

A

HEAD of March 4 coronation of the new Olubadan of Ibadan, High Chief Saliu Adetunji, his Popoyemoja residence in Ibadan, is gradually wearing a new look.

When the Nigerian Tribune visited the palace on Monday morning, an old building in-between Chief Adetunji’s palace and Chief Imam Folorunsho’s mosque was last week demolished to pave way for

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

the renovation exercise.

It was gathered that the structure to be erected are modern main hall for meetings of Olubadan-incouncil and other meetings as well as offices of the new Olubadan cabinet.

The Popoyemoja palace was already puffing with life as the palace royal drummers have resumed at the new Olubadan’s palace.

Nigerian Tribune further gathered that various civil engineers from various quarters had visited the site.

As at yesterday afternoon,

some loads of gravel had been deposited on the site.

When contacted, Media

Assistant to Olubadan Adetunji, Mr Adeola Oloko, said the palace was currently un-

dergoing some renovation.

“The palace is currently going through renovation

Nigerian Tribune

to accommodate some offices and car parks for the Olubadan.”

Ijebu-Igbo council of Obas holds inaugural meeting THE Ijebu-Igbo Council of Obas is set to hold its inaugural meeting on Thursday with a plan to reconstitute the Ijebu-Igbo council of Obas and Chiefs. It will also convene a summit of IjebuIgbo sons and daughters to discuss some challenges in the town and proffer solutions for reasonable and acceptable changes for improvement in the society.

Oba Ibitoye Solaja, speaking on behalf of other obas stated that the royal

fathers requested the Ijebu North Local Government Chairman to take over the management of Orimolusi’s palace pending the installation of a new Orimolusi.

They also appealed to Governor Ibikunle Amosun to complete the Ijebu-Igbo overhead bridge as part of his laudable achievements.

The obas also charged all Ijebu-Igbo sons and daughters in the diaspora to come home and contribute their quota.

Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko (midlde), cutting the tape. With him are the Commissioner for Education, Jide Adejuyigbe (right); the Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom, Oba Victor Kiladejo (second right); PDP chieftain, Mr Segun Adegoke (second left); deputy governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo (fourth left) and others, during the inauguration of St John’s Anglican Caring Heart Mega Primary School, Fagbo, in Ondo East Local Government Area.

Guber poll: Why APC is popular in Ondo —Ayorinde Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

THE lawmaker representing Owo/Ose Federal constituency at the House of Representatives, Honour-

Accord faults Oyo govt on use of caretaker administration

By Dare Adekanmbi

THE Oyo State chapter of the Accord Party has described as unacceptable, reasons adduced by the state government for not conducting local government election and running the 33 councils with caretaker administration in the last five years.

In a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Dr Nureni Adeniran, said the excuse that litigation by members of the dissolved Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) against the state government caused the delay was flimsy and “an oftentold tale that has lost flavour.”

He said the issue in question had nothing to do with the conduct of council election but payment of the entitlements of the aggrieved OYSIEC members, which, he said, Governor Abiola Ajimobi deliberately refused to do so as to give excuse for the “illegal and unconstitutional” act.

Dr Adeniran, who is a lawyer, also punctured the statement credited to the governor’s media aide who cited Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to justify the continuous use of caretaker

government.

He said the quoted section only guarantees the existence of a democratically elected government at the third tier of government with no provision for caretaker administration in the laws of the country.

“The power granted to state to legislate on the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the local councils are not in any way an absolute power of arbitrariness.

“This is because there is an inbuilt mechanism in Sec-

tion 13 (1) of the Constitution to prevent such illegality wherein it is stated that if any other law is inconsistent with the provision of the constitution, the constitution shall prevail and such other law shall to the extent of its inconsistency be void,” he said.

The party advised the state government to be responsible and responsive to the yearnings of the people and fulfil its promises, including the cable cars he pledged to bring to the state if re-elected.

able Bode Ayorinde, said the large number of aspirants jostling for the ticket of the All Progressives Party (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo, was an indication that the party has become a trusted brand by the people of the state.

Ayorinde, who stated this at the weekend, in Akure, Ondo State capital, said APC has become the new bride in the state because of the change phenomenon that is sweeping across the nation, which the people of the state are craving to be part of.

He said “APC has become the new bride because of the chances of winning the election. The change phenomenon or syndrome that has enveloped the nation and the positive development at the federal level has endeared the people of the state to APC.

“The principle of transparency and accountability, which the party stands for and exhibited when it comes to adding value to Nigerians, also contributed to the popularity and acceptance of the party within political circle in the state.”

The lawmaker also explained that the state needs economic re - engineering in order to reposition the state and put it on the right path to development.

Ayorinde said “the sorry situation of our dear Ondo State, which is faulty, having nothing to show for the 40 years of its existence, makes the party a beautiful bride. This is the reason we have as many as 30 aspirants jostling to be the candidate of the party.”

He explained that the present situation in the state calls for expertise in the area of finance and administration, noting that the present

Fayose approves N236.9m car loan for 773 Ekiti workers EKITI State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has approved the immediate disbursement of N236, 860,000 as motor vehicle loan to 773 workers in the state public service.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, who made this known in Ado-Ekiti, said the loan, which ranges from N80,000 to N1.5million will be paid in full to the beneficiaries.

He said grade level of the 773 beneficiaries was taken into consideration in approving the loan for them.

The Finance Commissioner said applicants who could not meet up with the screen-

ing condition of 50 per cent of their net pay set by the state government would be considered as soon as the condition is met.

He advised civil servants

who applied to check their names on the list, which has already been pasted at the Accountant General’s office.

Chief Ojo emphasised the commitment of the Fayose’s

administration to the welfare of workers in the state public service, promising that another list of beneficiaries of the workers’ car loan would be released in due course.

Aseyin lauds Ajimobi on caretaker chairmen nominations THE administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has been lauded by the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba (Dr) AbdulGaniy Adekunle Salawudeen Oloogunebi Ajinese 1, for the recent announcement of persons nominated as local government caretaker chairmen in the state, describing the step as an im-

petus for local communities’ growth.

Oba Ajinese, while reacting to the announcement said the people at the grassroots could not wait to have administrators in their areas to further the development agenda of the state governor.

“So many things are pend-

ing for the attention of the caretaker committees to look into and provide ways forward to ease the lives of rural dwellers.”

He implored the state government to as a matter of urgency, look critically at ways by which more internally generated revenues could be sourced at the grassroots.

administration of Dr Olusegun Mimiko had done well in the health sector because he is a medical doctor.

He said Mimiko has failed in terms of bringing economic development to the state because of his deficiencies in that field and called on the people of the state to put round peg in round hole by voting for him and APC during the next governorship election in the state.

He also faulted Mimiko’s drive to fund the economy through internally generated revenue, saying that it would not help the government out of its current financial situation.

“Any government that wants to run a state on internally generated revenue will run the state aground, I am a businessman, and we must think outside the box to turn the state around.”

Ayorinde promised to turn the state around through the creation of industries in the state and resuscitating moribund industries when he becomes governor, saying there was need to embark on wealth creation through creativity.

Speaking on his chance to emerge as the APC candidate, he said, “My chances emerging as the candidate of APC are very bright and these are the reasons. I am the most visible among them; I ply my trade in Ondo State and add to the economic development of the state. I’m not a foreigner and I’ve never been outside the state. I’m not a Lagos based coming to Ondo State to contest and I am the highest employer of labour in Ondo State after state and Federal Government.”

41

news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Alake urges govt, private sector on SMEs development Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta

T

HE Alake and paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has urged government at all levels and the private sector to develop Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to grow the nation’s economy.

The monarch stated this on Monday, while addressing newsmen on the activities heralding the 30th anniversary of Lisabi Festival, slated to hold from Monday, February 29 to March 6, 2016.

The theme of the celebration is “Creating Wealth through Small and Medium Enterprises.”

Oba Gbadebo noted that the current economic doldrums currently facing the country was as a result of neglect in developing SMEs by government, adding that the economy would jump-start if the enterprises were made viable.

The traditional ruler la-

mented that failure to develop SMEs was one of the major factor of unemployment in the country, while emphasising the need for government and the private sector to focus on the nation’s SME sector.

He said, “The failure of our economy is because of the failure of the small and medium scale enterprises

because that area collapsed; that’s why we have so much unemployment.

The small and medium scale enterprises employ far more people than government could ever imagine that it could employ.

“So, this is where we want every one of us to imagine ourselves as employers of labour. The way out of Ni-

geria’s economic chaos, the way out of the unemployment we have in this country, we want to emphasise that entrepreneurship is the answer. We have to be our own employers of labour.”

In his remarks, the Globacom Business Director, Ayo Ogunranti, commended the monarch for

his relentless efforts in repositioning Egbaland for cultural and economic advancement.

He described SMEs as the engine room for moving the economy forward.

The chairman of the Lisabi Festival Committee, Chief Rasheed Raji, said this year’s celebration will be a remarkable one and that the

‘Ikirun security operatives’ gallantry should be emulated’

Half million to Business Director, Ogun, Mr Ayo Ogunranti (left); the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo; Chairman, 2016 attend CAC All Globacom’s Lisabi Festival Committee, Navy Captain Rasheed Raji (retd) and the Glo state Manager, Mr Ikechukwu Onuekwusi, at a press conference held on Monday, to Nations’ Holy announce activities for this year’s festival sponsored by Globacom.

Pilgrimage to 2017 census: NPC kicks off demarcation of enumeration Odo Owa areas in Oyo MORE than five hundred thousand of prayer tourists would besiege the ancient town of Odo Owa, the birth place of Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, as the authorities of Christ Apostolic Church, Worldwide announced the commencement of the 2016 edition of All Nations’ Holy Pilgrimage to the town.

The pilgrimage, which is in its seventh edition this year, would kick off on Wednesday, February 24; it would run through Friday, February 26 at Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola Mountain. Theme of the programme is: “Let there be light.”

Announcing the prayer programme, the chairman of the Church’s Evangelical Committee, Pastor Emmanuel O. Odejobi, said this year’s edition would be devoted to prayer for the revival of the nation’s economy and its political stability.

“We all know that the economy of the nation is in the doldrums, but for our God, the power to turn things around is exclusive to Him. Nothing is impossible for God.”

annual event had ensured the unity of the various people of Egbaland.

Events lined up for the programme include booming of guns at the Olumo rock and football competition on Monday 29th.

A procession to the historic Lisabi forest by Obas, Chiefs, Baales, eminent personalities and others would take place on Saturday, March 5. It would be followed by homage by groups, associations, clubs as well as sons and daughters of Egbaland at the palace square later in the day.

The festival would be rounded-off with a thanksgiving service at the Cathedral of St Peter, Ake, Abeokuta on Sunday, March 6.

Says census will be biometric-based

By Oluwatoyin Malik

THE National Population Commission (NPC) has hinted that the hope of any area of Nigeria in gaining advantage through the manipulation of enumeration area demarcation would be an illusion, as only persons physically seen would have their biometrics taken and be counted.

The position was made known on Monday, by the Federal Commissioner supervising Oyo State, Chief Lere Oyewumi, during the kick-off of enumeration area demarcation (EAD) for Ibadan North West Local Government, Ibadan in preparation towards 2017 population and housing census.

Activities towards the enumeration area demarcation took off immediately in the 11 wards in the local government chosen in Oyo State and would last for a month, Oyewumi said, adding that the activity would also be taking place in other 28 local governments in Nigeria.

The Federal Commissioner explained the enu-

meration area demarcation as the division of the nation into sizeable units that could easily be covered by a set of enumerators within the time of census.

He however, warned that the EAD exercise is not the enumeration of

people living in Nigeria, and that its outcome would not in any way determine the population of any community.

He described the exercise as a kind of test-run, saying that unlike 2006 when paperwork was adopted for enumeration, “we are

planning to have biometric census, including facial capturing, fingerprint, etc.

The instruments we are going to use for this census must be tested and fine-tuned. This is information technology age; you cannot use paperwork again.”

Oyo PDP regroups for 2019

By Tunde Ogunesan

AS the national headquarter is battling to sort out issues with its new acting national chairman, chairmen of the 33 local government councils of the party and all members of the state executive, on Monday, met at the party’s state office, Molete, Ibadan, to deliberate on the way forward for the party.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the meeting primarily was to chart a way forward for the party in the state after its dismal outing in 2015 election.

Since 2003, the party failed to win a single seat in the state House of Assembly, while it only won one seat in the House of Representatives, a situa-

tion which was not unconnected with last minute defection of some notable members of the party.

The public Relations officer (PRO) of the party, Honourable Kehinde Salawu, confirmed that the meeting was aimed at charting “a new focus for the party.”

Salawu, in a telephone interview with Nigerian Tribune said the meeting was “targeted at how to move our party forward.”

He added “For the umpteenth time, we are assuring our members that PDP still remains a party to beat. We are not relenting on our oars to chart a new way for the party. This meeting clearly showed

that the machinery of the party is still working as against insinuations.”

When asked on the party’s preparations for its congress and convention, Salawu said “we’re waiting on our national headquarters for directives.”

Meanwhile, prominent members of the PDP, Oyo State chapter, recently held a “way forward” meeting at the Ikolaba residence of Senator Ayo Adeseun in Ibadan.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that stakeholders within the party met to review the activity of the party in the last general election, especially the rift that led to the decline of the once flying party in the state.

SECRETARY, Ilesa East Local Government Council, Honourable Lanre Balogun, has called on security officials in Ilesa to emulate the gallantry of the security operatives at Ikirun, who, last week, successfully arrested some robbers who attacked banks in the area. Balogun stated that the brave security operatives successfully “countered the armed robbers and disallowed them from perpetrating evil in the area.”

Balogun stated this while speaking against the backdrop of recent armed robbery attack in Ikirun, when bandits attacked two major banks in Ikirun, Osun State.

The council boss also commended the gallantry of the police, most especially, the DPO of Iragbiji, who strategically manned a security bullet proof tank to counter the armed robbers during the attack at Ikirun, which aided the arrest of four of the bandits and disallowed them from carting away the sum of N7.5milion looted from the banks.

While calling on the leadership of the police in the country to recognise the efforts of the DPO, he also commended Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, for providing adequate security outfits for the people in Osun State and maintained that, he would also commence a campaign to “sensitise people on the need for adequate security in their respective homes, offices and market places within Ilesa East Local Government Area.”

42 news FG embarks on initiative to boost healthcare

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

By Tunde Ogunesan

T

HE Federal Government has embarked on a reform programme in the health sector, through a new scheme entitled Saving One Million Lives (SOML) initiative in its bid to ensure the recent dwindling income from oil revenue does not have much effect on healthcare services in the country.

This was revealed by the Chief Responsibility Officer and Team Leader of Mothergold, Dr Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, while speaking at the end of a two-day workshop entitled: Saving One Million Lives (SOML), which held simultaneously both in Ibadan and Enugu, recently.

Dr Fagbenro-Byron further stated that the global and local partnerships “are the proven way of leveraging resources to meet the human development needs of society especially in health and social services sectors.”

He noted that “Our common objective is to unlock billions of naira for healthcare in Nigeria. The criteria to access these funds includes the states committing to match funds received with results achieved. The two-month implementation plan that this workshop sets to achieve is a clear strategy to leverage funding for resource gaps. As real development is state-led, the trigger for this initiative must be the Federal Government’s immediate release of health services development finance which is seed money with extreme multiplier effect.”

The development partners of the two-day event including the World Bank are providing support to SOML, through a Programme for Results (PforR) which will be implemented at state level,

being closer to the people.

The workshop, which brought participants from government health ministries and department, as well as a few from the civil society, private sector and other stakeholders together, was used as a

platform to galvanise areas of competence including contextual understanding of the challenge of healthcare services, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation, environmental, as well as beneficiary support.

OGUN State Ministry of Urban and Regional Planning said it would not relent in its sensitisation and awareness programme until the good people of the state key into the ‘Build Right’ campaign of the state government.

The Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Bashorun Adebola Adeife made the disclosure, during an inspection tour and sealing off exercise of suspected illegal developments at Igbesa, Owode-Yewa, OkeOdan, Idiroko and their

development in the health sector, which includes a recognition that health of women and children is taken as a reasonably accurate gauge of the effectiveness of health service delivery systems of society at large.”

From left, President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Dr Teju Somorin; President/ Vice Chancellor, Babcock University, Professor Ademola Steven Tayo and Senior Vice President, Academic, Babcock University, Professor Iheanyichukwu Okoro, during CITN visit to the institution, on Monday.

CAC president lauds Odusona at 50th memorial service

By Tolu Olamiriki PRESIDENT of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun, has lauded the second president of the church, Pastor J.B. Odusona, at the 50th memorial service held in his honour, at the CAC General Secretariat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Pastor Akinosun stated that the CAC worldwide, being the first indigenous pentecostal mission faced challenges of persecution by orthodox churches coupled with the uncooperative stance of the colonial government decades ago.

Akinosun said spiritual piousness, total consecration and high integrity were the outstanding qual-

ities of the early patriachs of the church which, he said, the late president of the church, was noted for.

“This fact, among others, enhanced effective monitoring of everyone’s faith, being their brothers’ keepers, to actually know who-waswho in the early days of the establishment of the church.

He averred that the challenges faced by the early patriarchs of the church, accounted for why whoever must succeed in directing the leadership affairs of the church, must be very outstanding in spirituality, education, integrity, tenancy, exemplary ethics, social interactions, as well as leadership ability which the late CAC leader had when he was the president.

He said Pastor Odusona

Key into ‘build right’ campaign, Ogun commissioner advises residents

By Gabriel Oshokha

According to FagbenroByron,”Nigeria now has a national and international consensus on the need to aim for Universal Health Coverage and improve maternal and child health, hence, the country’s justification for partnerships for

environs in Ogun West Senatorial district of the state.

Bashorun Adeife said the exercise which is a continuous one, would make the people to obey the state physical planning law until sanity is achieved in the area of physical development in the state.

Speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Muftau Adetimileyin, said the ministry would sustain the campaign until the jinx of illegal structural development is broken in the state.

He, however, maintained

that people should take advantage of the campaign to ‘Build Right’, to avoid risking the possibilities of demolition which, he said, is painful and does no one any good.

“The government is very serious in approving the physical law to ensure sanity and orderliness in the state.

“Also, those who are erecting structures on the Ogun standard roads set back, should stop it and remove their structures, before the long arm of the law is applied,” Adetimileyin said.

was one of the reliable custodians of the history of CAC, adding that he was one of those who meticulously documented the testimonies of Oke-Bola, Ibadan 1930 revival organised by Prophet Daniel Orekoya, where miracle were performed.

Akinosun, however, urged CAC members to aspire and emulate the founding fathers of the church and build on the legacies left be-

hind, by using the 21st Century opportunities.

Earlier, Pastor Joseph Oyebanji, said the late cleric was a peacemaker among his contemporaries, adding that this singular attribute allowed him to achieve much in his missionary activities. He, however, urged Nigerians to learn from his lifestyle, as he was a leader who accepted discipline when there was the need to discipline him as a leader.

Kano kicks off civil servants bio-metric data exercise Kola Oyelere -Kano KANO State Head of Civil Service, Muhammad Awwal Na‘iya, said the state has kicked off bio-metric data capture exercise for civil servants in the state, saying the exercise would help the government to fish out civil servants with double employments and ghost workers.

The exercise started with four MDAs which included the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, Project Monitoring Bureau, Hisbah Board, as well as Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Danbatta.

The Head of Service, who disclosed this on Monday, said the rationale behind the conduct of the exercise, was to have up- to-date record of workers serving in the government of Kano State, as well as to ascertain the correct remunera-

tion record and grading.

“We have put in place adequate measures to ensure that a hitch-free bio-metric data capture exercise devoid of any anomalies is carried out,” he said.

He assured that the exercise would fish out civil servants with double employments and ghost workers, stressing that anybody found wanting would accordingly be brought to book.

The head of service was accompanied by the state chairman facilitation committee on Bio-metric Data Capture, who is also the Permanent Secretary, Manpower Development, Kuliya A. Zubair, Permanent Secretary, Information, Garba Musa, Permanent Secretary, Establishment, Salisu M. Gabasawa and the Permament Secretary, Salary and Wages, Alhaji Laminu Rabi‘u, among others.

Jigawa gov assures development partners of counterpart funding Adamu Amadu -Dutse GOVERNOR Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, has assured development partners with the state government of prompt releases of counterpart funding.

The governor made the promise on Monday, in his office, while receiving the Chief Nutrition Officer of the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF), Arjan De Wagt, who paid him a visit.

Alhaji Badaru Abubakar said the 2016 budget contained so many programmes that would uplift the socio-economic lives of the people in the state.

The governor explained that the current administration is committed to sustaining health of children and pregnant womenin the state, noting, “this reason made us to give free medical treatment to children under five and pregnant women in all the health facilities of the state.”

IGP offers six pupils scholarship THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, has awarded scholarship to six pupils of Police Primary School, Lafia, under the Force Education Scholarship scheme.

Mr Lawal Shehu, Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State, presented the award certificates to the recipients, on Monday, at the State Command Headquarters in Lafia.

He said the award was in line with the IGP’s desire to improve the welfare of all police personnel and their families, especially the rank and file, who constitute the bulk of the force.

According to Shehu, the idea of the scholarship is to assist mostly children of deceased officers and to ameliorate the economic plight of their widows in footing the education of the children.

“One of the fears of Police officers in service is what would be the fate of their children when they die, but with the scholarship, that fear would be greatly allayed,” he said.

43

news

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Bishop Kukah challenges Buhari over slow pace of economy Celestine Ihejirika - Umuahia

T

HE Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari‘s economic blueprint, saying eight months after assumption of office, Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the anticipated change.

Bishop Kukah said this at a valedictory lecture tagged ‘Diginity in Labour”, organised as part of programmes marking the end of five-year tenure of the outgoing Vice Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Professor Hillary Edeoga.

Kukah said “Great leaders were able to transform challenges into opportunities saying that this is one of the finest moments for us to transform our nation,” he said.

He identified lack of imagination and capacity to rise to the challenges as problems of Nigerians, saying; “have you seen any Nigerian President’s speech you feel like going back to read?.

“On job creation, Bishop Kuka said,” for me, one serious thing that has not

really happened in Nigeria is that we have not been able to establish the question how did we get to where we are? In our traditional culture you would not contemplate getting married without having a job, so, there are cultural norms that harbours laziness of any sort, but somehow, we ended up with a culture which made people wearing joblessness and laziness as tag of honour.

“There are people who are making so much money with no means of earning.

The situation where the Nigerian president or governor of a state sees so many people and wondering what am I going to do with all these people?”

In her remarks, the wife of Abia State governor, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu, represented by the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady

Chinedu Brown, eulogised Professor Edeoga, for creating an enabling environment suitable for learning and for impacting entrepreneurial skills among students of the institution.

She said that the state government since inception, has created a new economic blueprint aimed at encouraging youths in the state to be self-employed through the intro-

duction of Education for Employment and encouraging indigenous artisans to package their products for exportation.

In his remarks, Professor Edeoga thanked the state government, university senate, management, staff and students as well as friends of the university for the support given to his administration and urged them to extend same to his successor.

Managing Director of Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Mr Mobolaji Sanusi (right), exchanging pleasantries with the Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr Segun Osinowo, at LASAA office, Lagos, recently.

2014 immigration recruitment tragedy: EFCC arrests Moro, 2 others Saliu Gbadamosi -Abuja THE immediate past Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, was, on Monday, arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in connection with the botched 2014 immigration recruitment exercise.

The former minister, who was in charge of the ministry during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and presided over the tragic recruitment exercise was arrested alongside the then permanent secretary of the ministry, one Abubakar Madaki and a director whose name could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

No fever than 23 Nigerians died while more than 100 sustained varying degrees of injury in the ensuing stampede that occured during the exercise in many of the venues across the country, including the National Stadium, Abuja.

The recruitment tragedy occured on March 15, 2014 when an estimated 6.5 million job seekers from the 36 states of the country, including the FCT, stormed recruitment venues for the 4,000 vacant positions in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

Each of the job seekers were made to pay N1,000 by the consultants asked to

undertake the recruitment exercise on behalf of the NIS. A source with the commission told the Nigerian Tribune that Moro and the two others were picked up to explain their respective roles

in the exercise.

Head, Media and Publicity in the commission, Wilson Uwajaren, could not be reached for confirmation as of the time of filing this report, but a reliable source

in the anti-corruption body, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the arrest of the Benue-born former minister.

According to the source, “it is true Comrade Moro was arrested today (Monday)

with two other persons. His arrest might not be unconnected with the 2014 tragic recruitment exercise to the Nigeria Immigration Service in which lives of some job seekers were lost.”

NHRC on collision path with companies violating Nigerians’ human rights Sunday Ejike - Abuja

THE National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on Monday, threatened to shutdown the operations of any company whose activities violate the rights of Nigerians.

The executive secretary of the commission, Professor Bem Angwe, handed down the threat in Abuja, while inaugurating a special investigative panel on oil spills and environmental pollution in Nigeria.

Angwe said the era of flagrantly violating the rights of the people by polluting and degrading the environment in the name of oil and gas explorations were over, saying also that the commission would not hesitate to issue interim injunction where necessary to protect the rights of Nigerians.

He said the panel would conduct. “an open investigative hearing to fast-track

the investigation process.

Accordingly, the complainants and the alleged violators will be guided by the panel on the modus operandi to ensure a quick and efficient extraction of facts during the investigation”.

Other terms of reference

of the panel are; “To consider all complaints on oil spillage and similar activities of oil pollution of the environment, to invite memoranda from members of the public on any action, omission, negligence leading to such

oil spillage, non effective clean up of such pollution or spillage, non- payment or wrongful payment of compensation and to find out persons responsible for any acts of alleged environmental pollution or degradation as complained.

ASUU condemns Oshiomhole over demolition of UNIBEN staff quarters Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure MEMBERS of the Academic Staff Union Universities, (ASUU), Akure zone, on Monday, condemned the action of the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, over the demolition of buildings in the staff quarters of the University of Benin, despite an impending suit at the Court of Appeal, over the matter.

The zonal coordinator of the union, Dr Alex Odiyi, during a press conference in Akure, Ondo State capital , condemned Governor Oshiomhole of taking law into

his hands by demolishing the properties, which ownership is still under contention in the court.

The Akure zone of ASUU, however, called on the Minister of Education, to wade into the matter to ensure that the properties belonging to the institution is not unlawfully taken away from the school, saying “these belong to the Federal Government of Nigeria and should not be poached by the Edo State government or its cronies.”

Odiyi said “the recent action of the governor is understandably because his

days in office, as governor are numbered. His ostensible reason will be to want to sell the properties and make money for Edo State government If that is the case he should be asked why he tampered with a property whose ownership is still under contention in the court.

“Rather than allowing the case to run its course in the Court of Appeal, Governor Oshiomhole took the laws into his hands and went on a demolition spree. This is not good, naturally, it attracted condemnation from well-meaning individuals,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

Lagos NURTW boss warns members against cultism LAGOS State chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, has warned members of the union to shun cultism, thuggery and other vices that could soil the image of the union, saying the union would not hesitate to disown any member that engaged in illegal acts.

He stated this in his office while reacting to an allegation that cultism is a prerequisite for joining the union.

Agbede said the allegation was uncalled for.

“Our organisation is a trade union movement affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), to organise workers in road transport sector of the economy. We have nothing to do with cultism,” he said.

Agbede warned members not to engage in any vice that could tarnish the image of the union, saying the union would always cooperate with law enforcement agencies to ensure that all undesirable elements operating in society are brought to book.

“As law abiding organisation, we don’t support criminals. We are always willing and ready to make sure that the few bad elements within our group are fished out.”

Agbede warned that the leadership of any branch where any illegality occur, will be penalised to serve as deterrent to others.

Census: NPC commences enumeration in Taraba Sylvanus Viashima - Jalingo THE National Population Commission (NPC), on Monday, commenced the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) of Jalingo Local Government Area, Taraba State, for the 2017 census exercise.

Senator Zik Sunday, the Federal Commissioner of the commission in charge of Taraba State, disclosed this at a press conference in Jalingo.

Senator Sunday appealed to traditional rulers, the media, religious leaders among others to enlighten members of the public to support the commission’s officials to enable them lay a solid foundation for a successful census.

“I want to appeal to our stakeholders to sensitise the public to support the enumeration officials to lay a good foundation for the 2017 census,” he said.

Sunday said the process of the 2017 census began in 2014 in Akoko Local Government Area of Ondo State where some officials were trained.

44

communitynews

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Attempted robbery: Iwo monarch commends Osun police Oluwole Ige-Osogbo

Members of the Junior Chamber International, Ibadan, during a Lassa fever enlightenment campaign at Bere Market, Ibadan.

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi, has commended what he called the gallantry of men of the Nigeria Police Force, Osun State Command in thwarting armed robbers’ attempt to rob banks in Ikirun recently.

Oba Akanbi also lauded Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his foresight in considering security as the first major thing to put in place ahead of everything, adding that if not for the adequate provisions that had been made for the police by the Aregbesola administration, the attempted robbery would have been successful.

The monarch made the commendation in a statement signed by the spokes-

Ignorance, poverty blamed for poor response to charity in communities Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

The founder of Olakunle Ojo Foundation, Mr. Olakunle Ojo, has observed that “pervasive ignorance and poverty in Nigeria” have combined to reduce the citizens’ willingness to partake in charity works and volunteering.

Ojo, who stated this while donating materials to Relief and Rehabilitation Home (for the destitute) in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, in commemoration of his 46th birthday, said Nigerians must imbibe the spirit of char-

ity and philanthropy to be able to support the various communities.

Ojo donated numerous bags of rice and beans; a deep freezer and toiletries to the home, among others and they were received by the Director in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr Samuel Fabusoro.

On hand to witness the occasion were the celebrant’s father, Professor Afolabi Ojo, the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Commander of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ekiti State, Mr Suleiman

Jadi; Odogun of Ado Ekiti, Oba Aladetoyinbo; Akogun Akin Ojo, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmen in Wards 1 and 2 in Ado Ekiti, Mr Gabriel Adetukasi and Mr Azeez Adedoyin, among others.

Olakunle observed that many with the desire to give didn’t have information on how best to help the underprivileged, while those with information at their disposal have no financial means to actualise their desire.

He, however, enjoined rich Nigerians to imbibe the culture of giving, par-

Jigawa govt empowers 12 unemployed youths with N2.3m The Jigawa State government, last week, said it had distributed over N2.3 million worth of economic empowerment packages to 12 youths in Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area of the state.

Alhaji Muhammad Sabo, the Secretary, Economic Empowerment Programme, Hadejia zone, told newsmen that the programme was designed to empower youths and women, provide job opportunities and enhance wealth creation.

Sabo said five persons received N100,000 each to enable them engage in animal fattening, while two others got N400,000 each to set up business centres in Kafin-Hausa.

He said that N1million was also given to five persons to purchase bulls and start a livestock produc-

tion farm.

The secretary said the funds were provided under the first phase of the programme, noting that government planned to expand the scope of participation under the second phase of the scheme.

“It is a soft loan revolving scheme to be repaid within two years,” he said.

According to him, the state government has earmarked about N50 million to facilitate successful implementation of the programme.

He called on the beneficiaries to ensure judicious use of the money and engage in productive activities.

Mallam Shehu Usman, the coordinator of the programme in Kafin-Hausa, said the youth were allowed to choose their own businesses.

Usman commended the gesture, saying it would reduce poverty as well as improve the social and economic conditions of the people.

ticularly to orphans, those suffering mental illness and other physically challenged persons, rather than lavishing their wealth on parties and other frivolous ventures.

Ojo said he inherited the act of giving from his late mother, Mrs Florence Ojo, whom he said had been taking her to orphanages to celebrate her birthday since age seven.

“My first principle in life is giving to anyone that is in need. Whatever lending hand you give, you are doing it for God. You are not supposed to be a millionaire before helping your neighbours, that has been my belief.

“Taking care of this category of people is a collective responsibility. It should not be left for government alone. Governments have provided some centres and it is our responsibility to make these places com-

fortable for them because they too are part of our society who should enjoy some comfort,” he said.

He said he was not driven by any political aspiration to celebrate with the less privileged, saying “over 200 widows were empowered in 2014 by this foundation which I founded in 2014. I just believe it is a normal thing for any right thinking human being to imbibe,” he stated.

The celebrant’s father, urged the foundation to reach out to other existing orphanages in the state to ensure balancing.

Mr Fabusoro, who lauded the celebrant for the gesture, said the centre was established in 1976 with the intention to rehabilitate inmates and make them acquire skills that would make them to easily reintegrate into society after reformation.

person for his palace, Prince Dauda Abimbola.

According to him, without adequate security, investments whether local or foreign, would remain a mirage.

“There is no doubt that Osun is impregnable to criminals and this is commendable. This can easily be attributed to the foresight of Governor Aregbesola in considering security most paramount. I am aware of the state’s heavy investment in security equipment.

“I am aware of about 25 highly sophisticated Armoured Personnel Carriers which have been provided for the police which are found on our roads in Osun. I am also aware of the many patrol vans available for security agents.

Everywhere you go, there is a sense of security because you see highly motivated men and women of the Nigeria Police.

“What happened in our state on that fateful Friday was yet another test case of the preparedness of our security agencies to combat crime. We must congratulate the government for this and we most salute the gallantry of the officers, who showed confidence and prevented the men from their evil plot,” the Oluwo remarked.

Oluwo, however, urged government and the police not to relent, adding that criminals of today always employ new tactics to overwhelm their victims.

He added: “I want to urge the government and the police to intensify efforts in the area of security. Our attempt to promote our culture through tourism will be a mirage if visitors feel unsafe. I also urge residents of the state to be vigilant while cooperating with the law enforcement agencies in their efforts to make Osun uncomfortable for criminals.”

Community dissociates self from suspected ritualists Biola Azeez-Ilorin

The leadership of Iluteju, behind Muslim Cemetery, Osere area of Ilorin, Kwara State, has dissociated the community from criminal acts, particularly as it relates to some arrested ritualists who claimed to be residents of the community.

The Chairman of the Community Development Association, Mr. David Ayeni and the Secretary, Mr. Ola Adeshina, in a statement issued to jour-

nalists in Ilorin, stated that the accused persons were not genuine residents of the community.

It will be recalled that a prophet, Gabriel Josaya and his accomplices, were recently arrested by security agents with human skulls.

It was alleged that the prophet had gone to Muslim cemetery around 2a.m.

He was reportedly apprehended after scaling the fence of the cemetery with a black polythene bag containing human skulls.

The accused person and

his collaborators have since been charged to court.

While distancing themselves from the accused, the leadership of the community said, “we, the residents of Iluteju community wish to dissociate ourselves from this nefarious act and the accused persons.

“We are law-abiding Nigerians and genuine residents of the community would never invade Muslim cemetery for nefarious acts.

“This cemetery has been

in existence for a long time without any member of the host community being involved in such inhuman act. Therefore, we urge the security agencies to prosecute the accused persons because they are not genuine residents of our community.”

The community also appealed to all bona fide residents of the area to continue to live in peace and go about their legitimate businesses without fear, assuring that security agencies are on top of the situation.

45

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

foreig naffairs

08116954632 with seyi gesinde foreignn ewseditor@gmail.com

US, Russia agree on ending hostilities in Syria

T

HE United States and Russia have reached a draft agreement on the cessation of hostilities between the Syrian government and opposition groups.

The proposal on Monday calls on all sides to sign up to the agreement by midday on Friday February 26 and to cease hostilities by midnight the following day.

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor, James Bays, reporting from the United Nations in New York, said high-level sources from a number of countries had confirmed that an agreement between the co-chairs of the taskforce, Russia and the US, had been reached.

“Clearly they’ll have to get all the warring parties to sign up to it but there have been days of negotiation about how this will work,” Bays said.

“I understand an announcement will come from the US Secretary of

US, South Korea to practice offense during joint exercises THE United States and South Korea will reportedly practice preemptive military strikes to take out North Korean nuclear sites next month when they begin the largest joint exercises ever conducted by the two allied forces.

In the wake of North Korea’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Washington and Seoul will focus in part on defending against attacks by weapons of mass destruction during this year’s annual joint exercises.

In some scenarios being game planned by military strategists, the best defense is a good offense, one that would eliminate a North Korean missile site, nuclear facility or other strategic military target prior to an imminent attack.

“These types of exercises, this type of training, considering the nature of the threat, it’s going to be the new normal for North Korea, unless they were to roll back their nuclear program, which I don’t foresee that happening anytime soon,” said Northeast Asia security analyst Daniel Pinkston with Troy University in Seoul.

State John Kerry in the near future.”

The US and Russia are co-chairs of the international task force working towards a reduction in violence.

The development could pave the way for further talks and possibly a ceasefire between the rebels and the government of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad.

The deal excludes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and the al-Nusra Front, which are listed as terrorist groups by the UN Security Council.

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara said the move reflected a determination on the part of the Russians and the US to force a change on the ground in Syria.

Putin

Obama

EU referendum: Leaving EU a ‘leap in the dark’ says Cameron DAVID Cameron has warned that leaving the European Union “could hurt working people for years to come” as he put the case for staying in the EU to MPs. He said the choice was between an “even greater Britain” by staying in, or a “leap into the dark” by exiting.

There were thinly veiled swipes at Boris Johnson, including the PM ruling out the idea of a second referendum.

More than 100 Conservative MPs want to leave the EU, including some ministers sat alongside the PM in the Commons.

In the statement to the Commons, Mr

David Cameron

Cameron told MPs that, as a prime minister who was not going to seek re-election, he had “no other agenda than what is best for our country”.

That was seen as pointed reference to Mr Johnson, has been accused by some of putting personal political ambition ahead of principle in deciding to campaign for EU exit.

The Conservative MP has rejected that suggestion and insisted that he has long been sceptical of the benefits of UK membership and the UK has a “great future” outside it.

At least 20 dead after powerful cyclone hits Fiji THE death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck the South Pacific island nation of Fiji Saturday has risen to at least 20, as authorities rush to deliver aid to survivors.

Aerial footage taken of Fiji in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston reveals a typical picture of the aftermath of a devastating storm — a landscape filled with houses reduced to rubble, flood-

ed streets, uprooted trees and scattered debris. The storm also knocked down power lines across the archipelago, leaving many residents in remote parts of Fiji cut off from communication.

The category five storms made landfall on Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu, carrying winds reaching 300 kilometers an hour, making it the biggest cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.

A car driving past uprooted trees following Cyclone Winston in Fiji’s western division.

PHOTO: AFP

otherNEWS

UN: Children biggest victims of 2-yr conflict in Ukraine THE United Nations (UN) children’s fund calls the daily suffering endured by more than 500,000 Ukrainian children victimised by two years of conflict intolerable.

UNICEF finds children living in areas controlled by Russian-supported rebels in eastern Ukraine are being deprived of their most basic rights and needs.

The U.N. children’s fund considers the many children affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine as much more than just “collateral damage.” It says the deprivation and trauma experienced by those who are most affected - some 580,000 children living near the front line - will have life-long damaging consequences.

UNICEF representative in Ukraine Giovanna Barberis said these children were being deprived of their basic rights, including education, housing and the right to play. Speaking by telephone from the capital Kyiv, she said about 215,000 of the 1.6 million people displaced by the conflict could not return to the homes they were forced to flee.

“Over 200,000—so one in three are in need of psychosocial support…These are children that have witnessed violence and fighting and that are really in need of immediate support,” said Barberis.

Uganda elections: Opposition leader held again as march planned

Kizza Besigye

UGANDAN opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been bundled into a van outside his home by police as his supporters planned a march to protest against the results of a presidential election.

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party leader had been under heavy police guard

since he was placed under house arrest on Saturday, shortly before the election results were announced.

President Yoweri Museveni, who seized power as the leader of a rebellion in 1986, was returned to power with 60.8 percent of the vote. Besigye secured 35.4 per cent, according to the

electoral commission.

Besigye was also arrested on election day last week as he tried to show journalists what he said was a vote-rigging operation in a suburban house. He was arrested on a separate occasion during election week when he tried to hold a rally in the centre of the capital, Kampala.

Protests by rural caste rock Indian state VIOLENT protests by a rural Indian caste, during which 16 people were killed, continued for a fourth day in the northern Haryana state, but leaders of the protesting “Jat” community have appealed to rioters to clear blockades after reaching a deal with the government.

The demonstrations highlight the growing resentment among relatively affluent groups as India faces a scarcity of jobs for its massive young population. The protests have paralysed roads and rail links and caused crippling water shortages in the Indian capital.

The army took control of a

key canal, which is the main water source for New Delhi, but authorities said it would take some time to repair the damage done by protesters and restore supply to about 10 million people facing a water scarcity. The shortage prompted authorities to shut schools in the capital.

People block Chandigarh Shimla highway in Panchkula in Haryana state, India.

PHOTO: AP

46

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Treasurer, National Organising Committee, Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Games NOGIG, Mr Sanjo Bankole; the second vice chairman, Captain Adedayo Awobokun; Head of Corporate Sales, Globacom, Mr Kamaldeen Shonibare; Chairman, NOC, NOGIG, Mr Ambrose Imokhai and Secretary, Mr Azike Festus, during the press briefing on the forth-coming Glo-sponsored 2016 NOGIG Games in Lagos last weekend.

I’m yet to be paid for winning 2004 Women’s Nations Cup — Izilein •Begs Dalung to intervene

By Ganiyu Salman

F

ORMER Super Falcons coach, Godwin Izilein is banking on the Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung to ensure the payment of $28,750 bonus for the technical crew which he headed when Nigeria won the 2004 African Women’s Championship (AWC) in South Africa.

Izilein told Tribunesport by phone that his own share of the winning bonus is $12,000, while the remainder is for his assistants, Ann AgumanuChiejine and Mrs Lizzy Ogiemwonyi, a police officer.

“I have made several attempts to get the money released through the authorities but all to no avail, and I am now hoping that the Sports Minister will help me out this time.

“Nigerians could recall what happened when we won the championship in 2004, my players were paid right there because they refused to leave South Africa, after the football federation then failed to fulfil its promise of paying all entitlements after the competition. In fact, I don’t know why that of the technical crew was stopped in the first instance?

“I had to stay back with the players and monitored them after the Federal

Government delegation had left back home. I pray God will touch the hearts of those in charge to pay me and my assistants. I have sent all relevant documents to his office (sports minister) and I believe that this issue will be laid to rest once and for all. I worked for it but today, I’m begging to be paid,” lamented the former coach of the defunct NNB FC of Benin.

Izilien, equally faulted the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on the appointment of Florence Omagbemi, Perpetual Nkwocha and Ann-Chiejine, as Falcons coaches pending the arrival of an expatriate.

“The truth of the matter is that no woman coach in Nigeria is experienced enough to handle the Super Eagles successfully today.

That they played football is not enough criterion to assign them to handle the senior national team. It is the greatest joke. In fairness, they were successful players but they lack the technical know-how to coach the team. They should have started at the club level.

How can you bring rookies to coach the national team?

“Uche Eucharia worked with me and it would have been better to allow her stay for the sake of continuity. Let these ladies handle club sides first to gain the needed experience in coaching.

“This is like the case of Sunday Oliseh as Super Eagles coach. I was against his appointment because he is not mature as a coach

to handle the senior team. I looked at his temperament with his level of experience in coaching and what he is going to face as Super

Eagles coach, is he going to write thesis on football or what? Look at what is happening today? He is a wrong choice for the job

and we have started to toy with the women’s football too in this country,” the former Bendel Insurance FC handler said.

Ambode pledges support for Barcelona to set up academy in Lagos Bola Badmus- Lagos LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has applauded the decision of FC Barcelona to establish its first Football Academy in Africa, precisely Lagos, pledging maximum support of his government in ensuring the successful take off of the project.

Ambode made this known on Monday at the Lagos House in Ikeja, while receiving senior management staff of the La Liga side.

He stated that he was delighted with the development as it was in line with his administration’s philosophy for sports development.

Ambode described the development as an historic moment for the state, saying it was indeed a thing of joy coming at a time when the state was still basking in the euphoria of the successful hosting of the Lagos City international Marathon.

He said Barcelona’s visit came at the right adding that the state was committed to such partnership.

“This visit by FC Barcelona is coming at a point where I

believe strongly that we have nothing else to say than to say we are committed into this partnership because we know the partnership will give us the first FCBEscola in Africa. I was made to understand that this is the first of its kind in Africa and so, Lagos is priding itself as a major receptor of the next academy to be established in Africa.

“I know that this will create a very good platform for youth development, grass-

roots empowerment and also for the value of sportsmanship. We share the same values with FC Barcelona which are respect, courage, humility, social integration and community service,” he said.

Ambode also pledged full support of the state government for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in hosting the first ever Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos, between December 10 and 23, 2016.

The Director of Business and Member of FC Barcelona Management Board, Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal, who led the team to the State House, thanked Ambode for the support given to them so far in actualising the project.

He said FC Barcelona decided to establish its Academy in Lagos due to the impressive population of the state, and the opportunity to share the philosophy of the team with the state.

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode (right), being presented with a branded jersey of FC Barcelona of Spain by the board member of the club, Pau Vilanova i Vila Abadal, during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday.

47 tribunesport

Tuesday, 23 February, 2016

Champions League:

Enyimba, Nasarawa, Akwa wk 2 fixtures rescheduled

This is our best chance to beat Barca —Wenger

M

ANAGER Arsene Wenger has claimed Arsenal will never get a better chance of beating Barcelona in the Champions League, as both sides gear up for their first leg, round of 16 fixture at the Emirates tonight.

Barca are favourites to beat Arsenal and go on to win the competition back-to-back for the first time. The Spanish giants won the Champions League in 2006 at Arsenal’s expense, and also knocked them out in 2010 and 2011.

But Wenger believes they stand a genuine chance of causing an upset, and has charged his players to be patient, disciplined and not go overboard tonight.

He said: “It’s our best chance no matter how big the chance is. We have to take it and have a go at them. I believe in these big games, in the first tie at home, we can’t be stupid.

“Many times we’ve won away and at home we have conceded.

We have to find a good balance between defending and attacking.”

The Gunners’ boss has also backed former Barcelona man, Alexis Sanchez to rediscover his form against his former side, as he has in poor form and scored just once since his return from injury last month.

The Chilean was poor again as

Corruption charges: Lulu

loses bid to stop trial

A Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed an application for a “nocase-submission” filed by a former president, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Sani Lulu, in a corruption charge against him.

A “no case submission” is a legal argument put to a court at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case, whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence.

Justice Evoh Chukwu, dismissed the application in a ruling delivered on Monday at the resumed trial of Lulu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Lulu and three others are facing trial in an eightcount charge bordering on mismanagement of N1.3 billion while in office.

The judge held: “The defendants are bound by the Public Procurement Act (PPA) and as such should defend themselves in the charge leveled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.”

the Gunners were held to a goalless draw by Hull City in the fifth round of the FA Cup and Wenger, while admitting Sanchez wasn’t up for the game against Hull, stated that he will be turbo-charged against Barcelona.

“I don’t think he was completely ready to come on. It looked like that but he grows with the game does Sanchez.

“He has a game based on risk and when he’s completely highly tuned in, it becomes dangerous. Don’t worry about Tuesday, he will be tuned in.”

Wenger stated that his team had it difficult to prepare for last weekend’s FA Cup clash with Hull City than tonight’s game.

“It’s more difficult to prepare against Hull than Barcelona.

Against Barcelona, everyone is focussed naturally so it’s more about creating belief and confidence because Barcelona are super favourites for this game.”

Mesut Ozil

Monday Edet wins Insurance Golf Open

By Olawale Olaniyan A member of Ibadan Golf Club playing handicap 2, Monday Edet last Sunday won the fourth edition of the Insurance Golf Open in Ibadan.

Edet, played 147 Gross over the two-day to clinch the star prize ahead of Niyi Ige and Babangida Sulaiman, among others.

“Nothing came on my mind after I learnt that I was the champion because I knew my training yielded a good result for me.

Though I was a bit fit for the Open and believed in my game and more or less everything worked perfectly for me and I give the glory to God,” Edet, who is also a member of Tiger Golf Club told Tribunesport.

Captain of IGC, who won the Open last year, Akin FunmilayoWilliams lauded the sponsors for their commitment to sponsor the tournament for five years.

He stated that the just-ended edition was indeed a landmark in the history of the Open because of the large turn out of golfers and prizes presented to winners.

“I must give kudos to these great Insurance companies notwithstanding the economic challenges in the country they still decided to ensure the sustenance of this golf tournament.

“These Open is not by accident but by the contributions of the former Captain of the club, Chief

Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja for his resilient effort in mobilising the sponsors of this great tournament,” he added.

In his address, Agbeja, who headed the Local Organising Committee for this year’s Open, disclosed that “Kudos to all the Insurance companies that have supported us this year. We are all aware of the difficult business environment in Nigeria today and to boast of 17 sponsors this year is a feat that we are all proud of.”

The Mutual Benefits Assurance Managing Director, Mr Olusegun Omosehin told Tribunesport his organisation enjoys sponsoring the Open every year “For us we see the Insurace Open as that avenue for Insurance as an industry to engage with the insuring public, IGC present that plaform where we engage directly with the teeming public, this is the fourth edition and honestly, the mileage is going bigger, wider and better,” he said.

THE match Day 2 fixtures involving three clubs in the Nigeria Premier League have been rescheduled and will now hold on March 16.

The fixtures are Akwa United versus Ikorodu United; Enyimba International versus Shooting Stars and FC IfeanyiUbah vs Nasarawa United.

Salihu Abubakar, the Chief Operating Officer of the League Management Company (LMC), explained that the fixtures were put on hold at the instance of the clubs involved in continental competitions.

Also, the Match Day 3 fixtures involving the three clubs will accordingly be played on March 23.

“The clubs were already not in the Match Day 3 fixtures due to their continental fixtures holding on the weekend of February 26 to 28, but we have received representations from officials of the three clubs pleading to be allowed to focus on their continental fixtures,” Abubakar said.

Nasarawa United is billed to fly out today to Dakar, Senegal for the second leg of its CAF Confederation Cup tie against AS Academie Demonstration Foot, after the winning the first leg 2-1 in Abuja.

Enyimba International will host Vipers of Uganda in the second leg of the CAF Champions League after losing the first leg 1-0 in Kampala. The match will hold at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt.

Akwa United will also play its second leg tie of the CAF Confederations Cup against Vita Club de Mokanda of Congo.

Abubakar said the adjustment in fixtures did not affect other clubs whose games will hold on Wednesday (tomorrow) as previously scheduled.

From left, the winner of the Insurance Golf Open, Monday Edet; Captain, Ibadan Golf Club (IGC), Akin Funmilayo-Williams; former IGC Captain, Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja and former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola presenting trophy to the winner of the 4th edition of the Insurance Open last Sunday at IGC, Onireke, Ibadan. PHOTO: OLAWALE OLANIYAN.

SIDELINES

NO 16,442

TUESDAY, 23 FEBRUARY, 2016

N150

With the current status of the naira, footballcrazy but poor Nigerians have globalisation to thank for not having to board a plane in order to enjoy the Champions League!

Emenike:

I would have been disappointed if I hadn't scored against Blackburn

N

IGERIA striker, Emmanuel Emenike says he would have been disappointed had he not scored for West Ham in last Sunday’s FA Cup 5-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Emenike netted a brace against the English Championship side to open his goals account since his arrival in England on loan from Turkish club, Fenerbache till the end of the season.

‘The Hammers’ cruised to the quarter-final of the competition after they came from behind to thrash Blackburn Rovers 5-1 in a fifth round FA Cup tie.

"I knew I was going to lead the attack, so all eyes were on me and I knew it would be a big disappointment if I didn't score because the expectations were getting higher every day,” he told AfricanFootball.com.

“I feel more confident now than

before. But I am not going to relax, the goals will motivate me to score more, some of my mates know how hungry I was to score goals and that's why I celebrated as if it were a Cup final."

He said he has settled down nicely in London because he has often spent his holidays there.

"There is a great atmosphere at the club. I have enjoyed good motivation from my team-mates and the fans, they are behind my goals.

They have welcomed me well and have been supportive since, that has helped me greatly.

“I'm also feeling very much at home already because I am used to the weather and the culture. London is my home because this is where I often come for my holidays.

“I am growing into the team and hopefully we can write history together in the FA Cup," said the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner.

Oliseh

Eagles' job:

Oliseh ready to pay Babangida

Emenike celebrates after scoring

Players want Hiddink to stay put — Mikel

By Olawale Olaniyan

Mikel

NIGERIAN international, John Obi Mikel says 99 per cent of the players in Chelsea want Guus Hiddink to become their permanent manager.

The Dutchman was appointed caretaker boss last December following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho.

Atletico Madrid coach, Diego Simeone and Italy boss, Antonio Conte have been strongly linked with Chelsea, but Mikel says Hiddink remains the right man for the job.

"It is the choice of the owner, the club and the board. They will have to decide.

"But if you speak to the players, 98 or 99 per cent of them want him to stay so I mean, we are very happy, we are performing well and let’s hope this continues.

"It depends on the board and it depends on Guus if he wants to continue. He has said that he is here until

the end of the season but you never know, he might change his mind.

"If the club want to appoint him fair enough. His record speaks for itself," the midfielder who scored an away goal in the Blues’ first leg, last 16 clash against PSG in the UEFA Champions League last week told the Daily Mirror.

Mikel further defended Hiddink's credentials for the Blues permanent job.

"The players feel more relaxed, people know what their jobs are and people are getting on with their jobs in a more relaxed way. And in a way which means they can perform very well. He [Hiddink] doesn’t get into people’s business," said the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner.

Mikel last Sunday played for 82 minutes during his team's 5-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup before he was substituted.

NIGERIA head coach, Sunday Oliseh has now agreed to pay his former Ajax Amsterdam teammate, Tijjani Babangida after he insisted on having him on his backroom staff.

“He has maintained he will decide who he works with and that is why Babangida will return to the Eagles camp when it reopens for the AFCON qualifiers against Egypt next month,” an official informed on Monday.

“He has been his close and confidant right from their playing days and he counts on him a great deal.”

"He has made his position on this matter very clear to his employers.

"And also the contract he signed with the NFF allows him to appoint an assistant coach as well as a special assistant."

This scenario also played out in the case of Stephen Keshi, when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) let go his assistant coach Hounadinou Valere. ‘Big Boss’ agreed to shoulder the responsibilities of his assistant, who he also worked with in Togo.

Last week, the NFF disengaged Babangida without giving any reasons.

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. 23/2/2016.