25th July 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,552

MONDAY, 25 JULY, 2016

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

@nigeriantribune

From left, General Manager, Inshore Operations of West African Ventures, Mr Michael Amaeshike; Chairman, House Committee on Local Content, Honourable Emmanuel Okon; Executive Director, West African Ventures, Alhaji Ibrahim Sambo and the Warri Yard Manager, West African Ventures, Mr Subramaniyam Matheswaran, during the verification and inspection of local capacity of West African Ventures by the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, in Warri, Delta State, on Friday.

•Capital Market —Pg18

TribuneOnline

Nigerian Tribune

N150

Lagos targets N1trn yearly budget size by 2018 —P11

•Entrepreneurship —Pg28

•Money Market —Pg26

•Brands & Marketing —Pg27

Budget padding: Jibrin makes fresh allegations —P7

Why I chained my 9-yr-old son, arrested father speaks

Why IBB removed me from power —Buhari —P7

PDP wins Kogi East senatorial rerun

•INEC declares Imo exercise inconclusive —P32

—P30

Dollar sales to BDC: Naira to become stronger, stable —Experts —P12

Sonariwo, Akarigbo of Remoland, passes on

—P30

MEND confirms FG negotiating with militants —P6

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

Imagine the power was in your hands

29.07.2016 #IMAGINE

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

PHOTOS: D’TOYIN

CONSECRATION OF ARCHBISHOP OLUSINA FAPE AS THE NEW ARCHBISHOP OF ECCLESIASTICALPROVINCE OF LAGOS

The Most Reverend Nicholas D. Okoh (second right), presenting the new Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos, Archbishop Olusina M. Fape (second left) and other bishops.

Archbishop Fape and his wife, Toyin, with the Right Reverend Owen C. Nwokolo.

Archbishop Fape and his wife, other bishops and the Most Reverend Okoh.

Most Reverend Ephraim A. Ademowo with Bishop Fape and his wife.

Most Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa and his wife, Comfort.

From left, Co-Chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, Ambassador Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, General T.Y. Danjuma and his wife, Daisy.

Former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan (left) and Prince Lekan Fadina.

Cross section of bishops and their wives.

Chief Micheal Subomi Balogun and his wife.

Archbishop Fape (middle) with General Joseph Sani Soboiki and his wife, Jane.

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

RETURNS ON SOURCES OF FUND SOLD TO CUSTOMERS FOR THE WEEK ENDED FRIDAY 22-07-2016 S/NO.

SOURCE 1 FSDH

DATE OF FUND PURCHASED

2 DIAMOND BANK

EXCHANGE RATE

AMOUNT PURCHASED ($)

22-Jul-16

299.50

500,000.00

22-Jul-16

300.50

1,000,000.00

3 AUTO REVENUE

22-Jul-16

310.68

4 CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

22-Jul-16

300.00

1,000,000.00 5,000,000.00

5 ORDINARY DOMICILLIARY PURCHASED

20-Jul-16

294.43

132,363.71 7,632,363.71

TOTAL

RETURNS ON UTILIZATION OF FUND SOLD TO CUSTOMERS FOR THE WEEK ENDED FRIDAY, 22-07-2016 DATE OF FUND S/NO. CUSTOMER/FXPD/NON-FXPD

ITEM OF IMPORT

PURCHASED

EXCHANGE RATE

AMOUNT SOLD ($)

1 STERLING BANK PLC

PAYMENT FOR ASN AND IP ADDRESS SUBSCRIPTION

19-Jul-16

292.50

2 STERLING BANK PLC

PAYMENT FOR GOOGLE ADVERT

19-Jul-16

292.50

2,650.00 6,073.52

3 OLOKO AKINTAYO

SCHOOL FEES

20-Jul-16

295.50

11,916.00

4 UNIGROW IND LTD

MIBK(METHYL ISO BUTYL KETONE)

20-Jul-16

295.50

36,608.00

5 UNIGROW IND LTD

ETHYL ACETATE

20-Jul-16

295.50

93,392.00

6 ARASI TEMITOPE BURAIMOH

ACCA

21-Jul-16

295.50

262.76

7 UWAEZUOKE CHIAMAKA

UNIC ONLINE LTD

21-Jul-16

295.50

1,312.45

8 KAFARU MUKAILA IDOWU

SCHOOL FEES

21-Jul-16

295.50

1,340.60

9 AKINNAWONU MOSES

OLUYINKA FAITH AKINNAWONU

21-Jul-16

295.50

2,400.00

10 STERLING BANK PLC

RETAIL BANKING ACADEMY LTD

21-Jul-16

295.50

3,196.00

11 MARTIN-ISOJE SARAH CHIMENEM

COST FOR DONOR EGG BANK

21-Jul-16

295.50

10,000.00

12 OSIFESO TEMITOPE ADEBANKE

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

820.32

13 OLORUNFEMI EBENEZER

MORTGAGE PAYMENT

22-Jul-16

300.50

1,890.99

14 JONES ADEBAYO OLUGBEMIGA

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

310.00

5,387.16

15 IKIOSAM RESOURCES NIG LTD

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

6,057.81

16 EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE LTD

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

7,566.48

17 BISDOY LTD

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

8,500.00

18 RAYMOT GLOBAL CONCEPT LTD

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

10,000.00

19 SAM PHARM LTD

RAW MATERIAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

10,700.00

20 ARIYIBI OLALEKAN OLUSOLA

MEDICAL BILL PAYMENT

22-Jul-16

310.00

14,000.00

21 QPLAS LTD

DIVIDEND FOR YEAR 2014

22-Jul-16

300.50

16,369.08

22 RELIANCE UNIVERSAL CONCEPT LTD

KEROSENE STOVE

22-Jul-16

300.50

25,000.00

23 UNIGROW IND LTD

ETHYL ACETATE

22-Jul-16

300.50

27,366.40

24 QPLAS LTD

DIVIDEND FOR YEAR 20152

22-Jul-16

300.50

28,331.10

25 OLUNAIKE SAMSON OLUSEGUN

SCHOOL FEES

22-Jul-16

300.50

31,776.68

26 SAM PHARM LTD

RAW MATERIAL FOR PHARMACEUTICALS

22-Jul-16

300.50

36,400.00

27 LAMRADES G.V LTD

RIKON BRAND ANALOGUE QUARTZ WALL CLOCK

22-Jul-16

300.50

37,708.00

28 HENRY WEST INTERNATIONAL LTD

SUNSHOW BRAND AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION WATER PUMP

22-Jul-16

300.50

40,000.00

29 SAM PHARM LTD

ESSENTIAL DRUG FOR PHARMACEUTICAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

41,000.00

30 SAM PHARM LTD

RAW MATERIAL FOR PHARMACEUTICALS

22-Jul-16

300.50

42,915.00

31 J-O OBIAWARA WEST AFRICA LTD

AGRICULTURAL MACHINE SPARE PARTS

22-Jul-16

300.50

46,600.00

32 SAM PHARM LTD

ESSENTIAL DRUG FOR PHARMACEUTICAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

47,204.00

33 PERFECT PACKAGING LTD

PAPER

22-Jul-16

300.50

52,376.80

34 SAM PHARM LTD

ESSENTIAL DRUG FOR PHARMACEUTICAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

55,047.00

35 TRISA NIG LTD

RAW MATERIAL FOR PLASTIC IND.

22-Jul-16

300.50

59,070.00

36 CHEHAB NIG LTD

POWER TOOLS ACESSORIES

22-Jul-16

300.50

66,586.08

37 STARTREND INDUSTRIES LTD

PRIME ELECTROLYTIC TINPLATE(INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIAL)

22-Jul-16

300.50

69,420.00

38 GRAND ROY NIG LTD

NORWEGIAN DRIED PELLETS FOR ANIMAL MEAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

86,800.00

39 GRAND ROY NIG LTD

NORWEGIAN DRIED PELLETS FOR ANIMAL MEAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

86,800.00

40 WEPE NIGERIA LIMITED

DRIED ANIMAL FEED

22-Jul-16

300.50

99,360.00

41 PATNASONIC IND LTD

LOAN REPAYMENT

22-Jul-16

300.50

100,000.00

42 FEMTEJ VENTURES LIMITED

POLYMERIC POLYOL

22-Jul-16

300.50

101,184.00

43 ETERNA PLC

REDEMPTION OF BONDS

22-Jul-16

300.50

101,500.00

44 PACMAI INTERNATIONAL LTD

PHARMACEUTICAL GOODS/RAW MATERIAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

105,700.00

45 OBIOGBOLU GLOBAL COMPANY LTD

AGRICULTURAL CHAINSAW SPARE SPARTS

22-Jul-16

300.50

108,000.00

46 CELPLAS INDUSTRIES NIG. LTD

POLYPROPYLENE

22-Jul-16

300.50

122,400.00

47 GLOBE CHEM NIG LTD

RAW MATERIAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

126,270.00

48 PLENCO INDUSTRIES LTD

INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY-MOULDING MACHINE

22-Jul-16

300.50

130,000.00

49 SUNCHEM INDUSTRIES LTD

ESSENTIAL CHEMICAL RAW MATERIAL

22-Jul-16

300.50

210,600.00

50 IRIS SMART TECHNOLOGIES LTD

PASSPORT BOOKLETS

22-Jul-16

300.50

224,875.00

51 MOYE OIL PETROL PROD LTD

BASE OIL SN 500

22-Jul-16

300.00

500,000.00

52 FIRST BANK

INTERBANK

22-Jul-16

300.50

1,000,000.00

53 ACCESS BANK

INTERBANK

11-Jul-16

295.00

1,000,000.00

54 FCMB

INTERBANK

22-Jul-16

300.50

1,000,000.00

55 UNION

INTERBANK

22-Jul-16

300.50

1,000,000.00

56 ECOBANK

INTERBANK

22-Jul-16

300.50

500,000.00

57 PTA SALES

PTA

22-Jul-16

293.18

43,000.00

58 VISA

CARD

22-Jul-16

314.94

987,165.42

TOTAL

For further enquiries, please contact Sterling Bank Plc. Tel.: 014484481-5 or 014489470-94 E-mail: customercare@sterlingbankng.com www.sterlingbankng.com

8,590,898.64

news MEND to Avengers: FG negotiating with militants

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From Dapo Falade and Ebenezer adurokiya

I

N spite of the rebuttal of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) that the Federal Government was dialoguing with militants, defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has upheld the position of President Muhammadu Buhari that negotiations were ongoing.

MEND, which made this known on Sunday, through its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, however, added that the Federal Government was not in dialogue with criminals in the Niger Delta region as a way of resolving the renewed hostilities on oil installations.

The militant group said the Federal Government was in negotiation with militants and not criminals from the region through the oil companies and law enforcement agents.

According to MEND, “The Federal Government made it clear during our meetings that a negotiation with criminals is out of the question.”

While confirming the position of President Buhari that government was actually in talks with militants in the region, MEND said: “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Delta (MEND) wishes to confirm that indeed it has been in preliminary talks with the Federal Government through oil companies and law-enforcement agencies as revealed by President Buhari on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

These preliminary talks are the precursor to wider dialogue between the Federal Government and the MEND peace initiative, which will seek to find solu-

tions to the short, medium and long-term future of the Niger Delta region.”

It will be recalled that NDA spokesperson, selfstyled Brigadier General

Mudoch Agbinibo, at the weekend, had refuted the claims of President Buhari that the Federal Government was in talks with militants in the region through

oil multinationals and security agencies.

The group said the Federal Government was probably in talks with imposters from the region, noting that

NASS, most criticised institution in Nigeria —Lasun Kolawole Daniel-Abuja

THE Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Lasun Yusuf, has said the National Assembly is the most

criticised institution in the country.

The Deputy Speaker stated this when the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA),

led by its national president, Mr Bankole Bernard, paid him a visit.

According to him, “We have a National Assembly where everybody in Nige-

From left, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; Kwara State governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed; eldest son of the deceased, Yomi Akinleye; daughter-in-law, Mrs Akinleye; son-in-law, Mr Adebola and his wife, Jumoke, during a condolence visit by the Senate President to the governor, over the death of his mother-in-law, at the Government House, Ilorin, on Sunday.

Publish Dasuki’s statement, my accounts, Fayose challenges EFCC Sam Nwaoko-Ado Ekiti

GOVERNOR Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to make public the statement it has extracted from a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), in its ongoing probe of money allegedly meant for the purchase of arms and the funding of the last general election in the country.

Governor Fayose, in a statement on Sunday, also challenged the EFCC to publish his personal accounts it had frozen “to let the whole world know what are contained therein.”

A government statement said the governor threw the challenge at the weekend, while featuring on an interview programme on a radio station, Fresh FM. The statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, said the governor contended that “by publishing Dasuki’s statement, it would, at least, show whether the ex-NSA gave money to former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro or anybody to

give him (Fayose).

“The EFCC is only engaged in mind game. They think they can wear me out, that is not possible as God is on my side because I stand for the truth. EFCC has not told Nigerians how money was wired to me. They must be responsible to do investigation that would not be a media issue. What the EFCC and their APC collaborators are trying to do is to set the people of the state against me and they have failed.”

“We cannot all be in the APC, if we are then, we are no longer practising democracy. There must be opposition and that is to keep those in government on their toes, but if you now make silencing the opposition as your main programme, then, you are short changing the people. The people are hungry, they are ravaged by poverty and what you think is the best step to take is to kill the voice of the opposition. If the situation was this bad, the PDP would have been removed from office long time ago,” he added.

On the June 21, 2014 governorship election that brought him to office, Fay-

its demands were well articulated and that it would not hold any negotiation with the government without the presence of the international community.

ose said Dr Kayode Fayemi and APC leaders conceded defeat and that both local and international observers described the poll as free and fair.

“After the APC leaders failed to stop my inauguration, get me impeached, they know that they will still lose again in 2018. What

they are trying to do is to create a wedge between me and the people of the state who love me. As far as I am concerned, their project is dead on arrival. The voice of the people is the voice of God,” he stated.

The governor urged Nigerians to always carefully dissect every information

churned out by the party in power, saying the APC was leading the country as if it was still seeking the votes of the people.

This, the governor noted, “is why the government is more involved in propaganda than really informing the people about what is actually happening.”

ria criticises what we are doing.”

He noted that, “People who criticise us are right, but you don’t criticise us destructively.”

Honourable Lasun, however, tasked Nigerians and other key stakeholders in the Nigeria project to feel free in approaching the National Assembly with proposals that could help move the country forward, through lawmaking.

He added that the process of making law was time consuming and expensive, stressing that Nigerians should not see the National Assembly as doing nothing.

On diversification of the nation’s economy, the Deputy Speaker said the issue of tax was not being handled properly, saying “it is because Nigeria is endowed with natural resources, that is why we are not too keen about taxes.

All over the world, tax is the most important thing.”

The Deputy Speaker then tasked his guests to look into how the new foreign exchange regime was affecting airline operations in the country.

Speaking earlier, the association’s national president told the deputy speaker that, “we have challenges which make us to pitch our tent with your office. What is happening in the aviation sector, some of the airline operators are threatening to leave while some have left.”

Spend fresh allocation to pay workers, APC tells Fayose THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has asked Governor Ayodele Fayose to spend the fresh monthly Federal Allocation to the state to pay workers’ salaries and dying pensioners’ entitlements.

The Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement that the fresh Federal Allocation of N4.732 billion to the state, excluding Local Government allocation, presented an opportunity for the workers and pensioners to be paid at least four months of their salary arrears and allowances at once.

The APC said it was glaring that the wage bill of the state was not up to N2.6 billion as always claimed by Fayose.

Olatunbosun said in the statement: “Since he claims to be a friend of the masses, Fayose should be honest with Ekiti people and with God now that he has been exposed by adding the N4.7 billion state allocation to the local government allocation which is almost the same amount.

“It is gratifying that the Federal Government announced the July allocations to the 36 states giving details of figure each of the states receives.

“Governor Fayose is fond of distorting facts about allocations to the state and on several occasions lying that the state receives barely N500 million after deductions.

“Now that the Fed-

eral Government has announced that July allocation to Ekiti State is N4.732 billion after deductions and separate from the local government allocation, Ekiti people can no longer be deceived that the state received peanut in July as an excuse for failure to pay salary.”

Olatunbosun also urged the governor to release “other peanuts” he refused to use to pay salary in the past and add it to the fresh allocation to pay workers and dying pensioners other entitlements due to them.

He charged Fayose to demonstrate that he was a friend of workers by releasing alleged stolen funds, including MDG’s cash traced to his accounts, to pay

workers.

He said: “The EFCC has made mind-boggling revelations on the various sums of public cash traced to the accounts of the governor, including kickbacks from contractors and multi-million naira mansions in Lagos and Abuja.

“As a friend of the masses and workers, this is the time to surrender the proceeds of sales of such illegal properties to help his friends in need over inability to pay their salaries.

“Only two weeks ago, Fayose received another N1.3b Budget Support Fund from the Federal Government to pay salary. This is in addition to the July State and local government allocation totalling over N9 billion.

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news

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Budget padding: Jibrin makes fresh allegations Taiwo Adisa -Abuja

F

ORMER chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, on Sunday, said he regretted joining efforts in making Honourable Yakubu Dogara speaker of the House, in view of the enormity of the padding he (Dogara) allegedly inflicted on the 2016 budget.

The former chairman, in a statement he personally signed, said his acusations were directed at the Speaker and not the entire House.

Jibrin, in the statement, gave details of how the process of screening the 2016 budget by the appropriation committee was hijacked by Dogara and a cabal within the House.

According to him, the relationship between him and Dogara turned sour long before the budget padding issue became public.

“I am compelled again for the purpose of emphasis to state categorically that my allegations are against the quartet of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor, not the House as an institution nor other members of the body of principal officers.

“The other members of the body of principal officers were, to the best of my knowledge, completely excluded from decisions on the 2016 budget and the budget inputs inserted on their names were exclusively carried out by these quartet.

“I have to state this very clearly because these quartet have resorted to desperate moves to drag the entire House of Representatives into the case of gross abuse of office I have levelled against

them as individual presiding and principal officers of the House. This is clearly a mischievous move to set me on collision with the entire house.

“Until yesterday, the police were laying siege to my house, blocking the entrance and exit and shouting that they want budget documents.

They embarrassed my entire family with a nursing mother and a seven-month old baby that cried all night.

“The game plan was to arrest me and dump me in police net while a heavy media propaganda will be carried out to mislead the world that I have been sacked and police have picked me up as a culprit in 2016 budget.

Whenever I am released, an irreparable damage would have been done to my person and that will stick for life. As God Almighty will have it, I had travelled out of town before they could execute their plan. God is always with the innocent.

“I, therefore, urge my honourable colleagues and the general public to call on Speaker Yakubu Dogara and the three other principal officers to stop their desperate attempt to drag the entire House of Representatives into this matter.

“They should also stop using the House spokesman, Honourable Namdas, to issue statements in respect to these allegations because it is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public into believing that they have the backing of the entire House on this matter.

“They should come out and defend themselves and prepare for the investigation that will be instituted by the House on this matter.

At least, the minority leader and the chief whip have attempted some response

which are at best lame.

“Let me make further revelations in addition to the ones I have already made which are in public glare.

“One: During the budget period, when they discovered that I was not the kind of a person they could use to perpetrate their illegality, Mr Speaker and the three other principal officers took away the entire Appropriation committee secretariat to a secret location where all sort of insertions were made into the budget.

“Again, the secretariat was taken away from me on Speaker Dogara’s instruction for the second time to a location I don’t know and all sort of insertions into the budgets were made and returned to me for signature. I said over my dead body. It was a massive crisis behind the scene until the early morning of the Friday that Mr President assented the budget. It was Senator Danjuma Goje that brokered a compromise that since the Deputy Speaker leads the harmonisation committee, he should also sign such that the harmonisation committee will share responsibility with us. Senator Goje pleaded with me so hard all night and later shouted heavily on me, reminding me that he is not talking to me as a Senator but as a father. I cried heavily all night.

“Two: When the budget harmonisation committee headed by Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun gave out 80 per cent concession across board to the executive demands during the harmonisation negotiation, it was agreed that the remaining 20 per cent should go to the entire NASS. The Deputy Speaker excused himself that he wanted to go and consult with Mr Speaker.

He came back after few hours and presented to me a handwritten note distributing the remaining 20 per cent to only principal officers. Seventy per cent of the 20 per cent was reserved for Mr Speaker and himself while the remaining 30 per cent of the 20 per cent goes to other principal officers. I am sure he will recognise the handwriting when he sees it. My colleagues didn’t know all of these.

“Three: Mr Speaker also directed me to create what I advised him will be a controversial line item under service wide vote to introduce about N20 billion project using the name of NASS. He directed me to see a highly placed PDP politician which I did and collected the documents. I advised him repeatedly against it but he kept pressuring me until I bluntly told him I will not.

“Four: When the Appropriation committee received all the budget reports from

Opeyemi Owoaseye - Lagos

tacked him from behind.

They asked him to pay a sum of N5, 000 for “Owo omo ta ku,” which he told them he did not have.

“They started beating him and later hit his head on the pavement and blood started gushing out,” he said.

Ige Akinsola, another relative of the deceased told Lagos Metro that the hoodlums tried stealing the fire extinguisher. “Some sympathisers arrested them while one of them tried stealing the fire extinguisher and handed them over to the police who later came to the scene of the incident,” he said.

The relative added that, “The corpse had been moved to the Mainland Mortuary, Yaba.”

The case was reported at Gowon Estate, and later transferred to State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCID).

The Lagos State Police

some members that knew what I went through will come out and testify. I also have evidence to show my internal struggles.

“In any case, under circumstances like this, and for young people like us that are lucky to have accelerated career growth, the system scares you from becoming a whistle blower. They will tell you that if you do such, nobody will trust you or have confidence in you again.

They will scare you that it is not good for your image and it will affect your career progression. Many young people in different sectors are faced with such frustrating situation.

“Even at the moment, if I take to the advice of some people, I will get deeply scared and just keep quiet, so that I can grow career wise? My usual response to them is that, isn’t that selfish? Your only luck will be if a trigger occurs then you open up. This is one such trigger. In any case, I would have opened up anyway. I have written so much about these issues and more on NASS. I posted over a month ago on my Facebook page that I will release the piece as part of my 40th birthday in September. Well, I never knew it will come much earlier.

Continues pg37

Why Babangida removed me from power —Buhari PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said he was removed from office 31 years ago because he was planning to purge the military hierarchy of corruption.

Buhari, who has not spared the military even in his ongoing anti-corruption war, said senior military leaders, led by former military

president, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Aliyu Gusau, removed him in August 1985 to save themselves from his wrath.

In an exclusive interview published in the current edition of The Interview magazine, Buhari challenged Babangida and Gusau to tell the truth on why they carried

Hoodlums kill 70-year-old truck driver A 70-year-old truck driver, Jerry Akinsola from Ondo State has been killed by hoodlums over N5, 000 in Ipaja area of Lagos State, on Tuesday.

It was learnt that the deceased and his motor boy who were both in the truck were heading towards a particular place when the truck developed a fault and Akinsola sent the motor boy to fill the truck with diesel.

Lagos Metro gathered that while Akinsola came down from the truck to give the motor boy a hand in filling the truck with diesel, the hoodlums attacked him.

One of the deceased’s relatives explained that the hoodlums killed the victim by hitting his head against a pavement.

“They had finished and were preparing to move when the hoodlums came out from nowhere and at-

standing committees, an analysis was conducted. We discovered that about 10 only out of the 96 standing committees of the House introduced about 2,000 projects without the knowledge of their committee members amounting to about N284 billion. I was alarmed. But I was cautious because at our pre-budget meeting with the committee chairmen, I was clearly warned not to touch their budgets. I reported the matter to the Speaker. He did nothing about it, obviously because he was working behind the scene with the committee chairmen. That was the beginning of the whole budget problem from the side of House and the whole exercise had to go through several versions before it was passed.

“People have asked why I waited this long to open up, so much was happening behind the scene. I fought the battle of my life to raise these issues internally and get Mr Speaker to address them to no avail. I pushed so hard that I got frustrated and depressed. All my attempts met brick walls. That was why some members were always raising their voice against me because they do not have the facts. I later on realised that the Speaker enjoyed that so much and colluded with his cabal to dump everything on me. I am sure not too long

Nigerian Tribune

Spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the case.

She said “the incident was reported in the division. The report was that the man was repairing his broken down vehicle when some miscreants accosted him to settle

them.

“While insisting on taking money, fracas ensued and the deceased was pushed to an on coming vehicle and he died in the process. Two suspects were apprehended and taken to the SCID.”

out the coup against him.

“I learnt,” he said, “that Aliyu Gusau, who was in charge of intelligence, took import licence from the Ministry of Commerce, which was in charge of supplies and gave it to Alhaji Mai Deribe.

“It was worth N100,000, a lot of money at that time.

I confronted them and took the case to the Army Council in a memo...I wanted Gusau punished,” he said.

In a statement on www. theinterview.com.ng, the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, said, “this is one edition that won’t let sleeping dogs lie.”

Babangida had told The

Interview in its December edition that there was nothing in the memo which Buhari said he submitted to the Army Council.

“Don’t forget that I was one of Buhari’s closest aides.

I was the Chief of Army Staff. So, I had an important position, an important role to play within that administration. I don’t think it had to do with a memo,” Babangida had said.

But in a tone which revealed that the past may neither have been forgotten nor forgiven, Buhari challenged Babangida and Gusau to come clean on why they removed him, asking The Interview to choose whose story to believe.

Hoodlums’ attack: School management, Hausa leaders speak Naza Okoli- Lagos THE management of Lagooz Schools, Lagos, and the leadership of Hausa Community at Agege, Lagos, at the weekend described as untrue reports that Lagooz Primary School was vandalised by hoodlums believed to be members of the Hausa community, during the school’s graduation ceremony.

Speaking to journalists in his office, the proprietor of the school, Mr Abayomi Otubela, alleged that the reporter from a national daily (not Nigerian Tribune) who

visited the school was sponsored by some people to publish the “malicious” report, threatening to take legal action against the newspaper.

“For record purposes, teenagers never attacked Lagooz Schools, and no property was damaged, the principal of the school was not beaten as reported in the newspaper, and no money was missing,” he said. “Ever since that report hit the headline, we have been inundated with several calls from the parents and well wishers of the school to ex-

press their concerns about the safety of their children with threats to withdraw their wards.”

According to Otubela, what transpired during the ceremony was “a minor incident” outside the school gate involving two young “well wishers” which later “led to a brawl”. He said the management had quickly invited policemen from Elere station who assisted “in quelling the situation.”

Also speaking, the leader of the Hausa Community, Alhaji Abubakar Zango, said his members were shocked

when they read that “Hausa youths” had attacked the school.

“We are all part of this community,” he said, “Hausa people have no reason to attack anybody here. We have an excellent relationship with both the school and other parts of the town.”

The principal of the school, Mrs Olivet Otubela who said she was never beaten up, also maintained that the claim in the report that N1.5 million belonging to the school was stolen by the attackers was completely false.

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news

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Balarabe Musa tips Mimiko to lead progressives

‘Govs should visit Ondo to learn’

T

HE chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and former governor of the old Kaduna State, Mallam Balarabe Musa, has called

on Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to take over the mantle of leadership of the progressives in Nigeria.

Balarabe Musa, who made the call on Sunday,

in Akure, the Ondo State capital, while addressing the press after an inspection tour of the peopleoriented projects put in place by the Mimiko-led administration, noted that

the cardinal programmes of the current administration in the state clearly demonstrated the traits of progressivism in Governor Mimiko and were in line with the objectives of CNPP.

According to the octogenarian politician, state governors under the umbrella of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), should visit one another with a view to exchanging ideas and visions with particular reference to Ondo State, which projects are people-oriented.

He said “I decided to see things for myself in Ondo State. What we saw in the state is an encouragement and projects worthy of emulation by other state governors.

“But now, I’m advising the current governors to visit

one another and learn from one another. If they do that, particularly, learning from Ondo State, it will enable them to perform better. I hope they will listen to this advice.”

Some of the projects inspected by Balarabe Musa and his entourage, included the ultra-modern mechanic village, mega schools, medical village, neighbourhood markets, among others.

While speaking, Governor Mimiko noted that his administration had impacted positively on the people, especially the downtrodden in the last seven years.

Oronsaye report: Review panel to commence sitting this week EFCC to commence prosecution in 65,000 ghost workers’ case Sanya Adejokun - Abuja

From right, Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and the national chairman, National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr Yunusa Tanko, at a press briefing in Akure, after their tour of Ondo State, on Sunday.

Lagos targets N1trn yearly budget size by 2018 To increase monthly IGR to N30bn by 2017, N50bn by 2018 Bola Badmus - Lagos

LAGOS State government has announced its readiness to reduce dependence on Federal Allocation (FA) and increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to N30billion monthly in 2017 and hitting N50billion target monthly in 2018 that will lead to a yearly budget size of N1trillion.

The state government disclosed this on Sunday following the conclusion of a four-day retreat for members of the State Executive Council, Body of Permanent Secretaries and heads of government agencies, held at the VIP Chalets in Badagry, with the theme “Reflect, Reappraise, Restrategise: Raising the Bar of Governance.”

In a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat and jointly read to journalists by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde; Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Akinyemi Ashade and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mr Fola Adeyemi, the government said participants deliberated intensively on the six pillars of Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP).

These, according to the communiqué, are infrastruc-

tural development, sustainable environment, finance, economic development, social development and security and governance.

Ashade said that appropriate measures were being adopted to achieve the target.

“Yes, it is ambitious.

It requires thinking and what we are going to do differently is to ensure that we use technology to drive

it in terms of automation and collection.

“The land administration system, the EGIS also will support this our initiative and we believe that once we are through with the automation of the processes, the reform in the consumption tax administration in the state and blocking all loopholes, we believe we will have the right funding to finance

all these plans and we will not forget Public Private Partnership because we are also going to use that to drive implementation of our plan,” Ashade said.

Ayorinde, while reading the communiqué, said participants reaffirmed the vision of the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration to make life better and more meaningful for the people.

Budget padding: SERAP calls for full investigation by EFCC, ICPC Ayomide Owonibi Odekanyin - Lagos A rights group, the SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), on Sunday, called for an independent investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) into the alleged N40 billion 2016 budget padding by the National Assembly.

According to the Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, should allow the anti-graft agencies investigate the allegations of the budget pad-

ding by the leadership of the National Assembly to save his name.

“SERAP’s call follows allegations by the immediate past Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmunin Jibrin, that the Speaker and three other principal

officers of the House attempted to approve N40 billion out of N100 billion approved for members for constituency projects.

“Jibrin claimed that he has also been victimised for refusing to support immunity for presiding officers.”

A committee set up by the Federal Government to further review the 2014 White Paper on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals and Commissions otherwise known as Oronsaye Report will this week commence sitting.

Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform, Dr Joe Abbah who gave this indication at an interview during the weekend also disclosed that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may soon commence prosecution of individuals found culpable in the 65,000 ghost names found on the payroll of the Federal Government.

The Oronsaye report, submitted in 2012, recommended scrapping and merging of 270 government agencies including many that have been approved for commercialisation and privatisation.

Abbah observed that the review committee became imperative because the report is already five years

4 die, 5 rescued in Taraba boat mishap Sylvanus Viashima - Jalingo

FOUR people were feared dead while five persons were rescued when their boats capsized in Mayo Ngear Axis of Gyembu in Sardauna Local Area of Taraba State at the weekend.

Among the rescued persons is a former Chairman of Sardauna Local Government Area of the state.

Confirming this to the Nigerian Tribune, the lo-

cal government chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Tepsy, said that efforts were ongoing to recover the bodies of the other four persons who are still missing.

According to Tepsy, “seven persons were on board the boat and two others were crossing in another boat when the unfortunate incident occurred.

“We were able to rescue five of the nine persons alive, but the other four are

feared dead. Our efforts now are geared towards recovering their bodies.”

Tepsy said the council was already putting measures in place to ensure that such mishap is forestalled in the future.

“We can not fold our arms and allow such mishap to continue. We are putting measures in place to ensure that we do not have such disaster, at least not of this magnitude.”

old and many of the issues overtaken by events.

Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Voice of Nigeria are some of the agencies already billed for commercialisation.

However, Abbah explained that the White Paper is still being reviewed because some of its decisions were not acceptable to the current administration.

Already, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had acted contrary to the White Paper by merging National Sports Commission with Ministry of Youth and Sports.

It has also rejected the acceptance to merge the trio of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency into a new body to be known as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA).

According to Abbah, advice from some international bodies shows that it is against best practice norms to fuse service providers with regulators.

He disclosed that the 65,000 ghost workers were discovered through the introduction of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS) and Bank Verification Number (BVN).

While stating that EFCC operatives were already working on the files of culpable individuals with a view to charging culprits to court, Abbah said some of the incidences involved people collecting multiple salaries.

12

businessnews

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Dollar sales to BDC: Naira to become stronger, stable – Experts

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju And Chima Nwokoji

E

CONOMISTS on Sunday lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its decision to allow the sale of foreign exchange to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators by agent banks to international money transfer operators, saying this would result in the naira firming up against other currencies.

This was also the position of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

The CBN, on Friday, had directed authorized currency dealers who are agents to international money transfer operators to sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licensed BDC operators.

In his reaction to the development, Professor Akin Iwayemi, former President of the Nigerian Economic Society, said, “Allowing banks to sell dollars to BDCs will increase the supply of dollars in the market and this will bring down the pressure on the naira which will eventually result in the value of naira shoring up. It is a basic economic principle that when supply rises, price goes down.”

According to him, with the huge remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora, foreign exchange supply would be buoyed and this would eventually improve naira’s exchange rate vis-àvis other currencies.

Speaking in a similar vein, Robert Olatunde, Head of Research at Afrinvest West Africa Limited said the policy shift would enable funds flow in from other sources to supply forex to the market, adding that the effect of this would be a stronger naira.

The Acting President AB-

CON, Aminu Gwadabe, in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune, said “it is very laudable for the CBN to consider a key sector of the economy like BDC into the market,” assuring that there will be some level of stability in the naira exchange rate.

With this development he said, the naira would be seen coming to acceptable and realistic exchange rate because due to non-admittance of the sector earlier, there was a lot of hoarding

and speculation as people were buying dollar which they ordinarily did not need just to guard against the fast depreciating naira.

“We will begin to see huge activity in the market because the announcement will stem the volatility in the exchange rate. Also, the convergence between the interbank and parallel market rate will begin to manifest and liquidity will be injected,” Gwadabe said.

According to him, the

policy will also address the rates issue, even as it addresses the plight of BDC operators that have been out of business as increased activity and employment generation will return to the sector.

The World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 showed that Nigerians living abroad sent home $20.8 billion in 2015.

The figure, it said, is by far the largest volume of remittances to any country in Af-

CIBN Valedictory Lecture: From left, Professor Segun Ajibola, President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Outgoing GMD/CEO, UBA Plc and Valedictory Lecture Speaker, Mr Phillips Oduoza; wife, Jumai Oduoza; Chairman of the Occasion and Founder, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr Pascal Dozie and Group Managing Director (Designate), UBA Plc Mr Kennedy Uzoka, at the 4th Valedictory Lecture in honour of Phillips Oduoza, organised by CIBN in Lagos on Friday.

Mass sack: PENGASSAN warns IOCs on FG’s directive Threatens to resume strike if... by

Soji-Eze Fagbemi

THE Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned all the International Oil Companies (IOCs) who cannot obey the Federal Government’s directive to recall all oil workers sacked without due process to leave the country.

President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Francis Olabode

Johnson, told Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that the workers, led by the unions in the oil and gas industry would help such IOCs, who disregard the pronouncement of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to pack their load and leave the shore of Nigeria.

Comrade Johnson, who frowned at the fragrant disregard of the Nigerian

government’s directives and policies by the IOCs, said a situation whereby agencies and oil companies behave as if they are more powerful than the government will no longer be acceptable or tolerated by the PENGASSAN and NUPENG. Asked on the possibility of implementing the agreement recently reached at a meeting held by the Fed-

‘Sterling Bank to consolidate on positive ratings by international agencies’ THE Executive Director, Finance & Strategy of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman has assured that the bank would consolidate on the positive ratings by the various international rating agencies by ensuring that it continues to deliver quality banking services to its customers and adhere strictly with best practice as applied to banking worldwide.

Abubakar who attributed the ratings by Global Credit Rating (GCR), Moody’s and Lafferty Bank Quality Ratings (LBQR) to the Bank’s strong performance and resilience amidst challenging operating conditions also noted that the ratings is a validation of the Bank’s business models.

rica and the sixth largest in the world.

“The United States is the biggest remittance sending country to Nigeria, followed by the United Kingdom.

Nigerians will receive $5.7 billion in remittances sent from friends and family members in the US and $3.7 billion from the UK in 2015.

Nigeria is also the third largest destination country for migrants from other African nations,” the Factbook said.

The CBN’s directive to

It would be recalled that GCR earlier in the month, affirmed Sterling Bank Plc’s national long term and short term ratings of BBB(NG) and A3(NG) respectively, with the outlook accorded as stable.

Similarly, Moody’s Investors Service had also assigned B2 Issuer rating to the bank.

This according to Moody’s is a confirmation of the bank’s “solid assets qualitymetrics and provision coverage, improvements to the Bank’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and risk management processes as well as its high liquidity buffers and a solid deposit funding base”.

Assessing the Bank’s quality, the Lafferty Bank

Quality Ratings (LBQR) also this year, reckoned Sterling Bank to be amongst the top 10 in the world, top three in Africa (after Capitec and Barclays Africa) and the top bank in Nigeria.

The Lafferty Group approach to Bank ratings involves an evaluation of key quantitative and qualitative criteria such as strategy, culture, customer care, brand promise and financial performance.

Michael Lafferty, Chairman, Lafferty Group had statement that “banks that score well on Lafferty Bank Quality Ratings tend to trade at a premium price to their tangible book value”.

GCR in a report made available to newsmen by Sterling Bank in Lagos at

the weekend attributed the Bank’s rating to its strong performance and resilience amidst challenging operating conditions.

Part of the GCR Report reads: “Sterling’s total assets amounted to N796.4bn (representing a market share of 2.8 per cent) at FYE15. The bank’s capital base grew 12.2 per cent in FYE15, solely through internal capital generation, with the risk weighted capital adequacy ratio (“RWCAR”) improving to 17.5 per cent at FYE15 (FYE14: 14.0 per cent). To further strengthen its capital base and support asset growth, the bank is in the process of raising up to N35 billion Tier II capital expected to be concluded in the third quarter of FYE 16.”

eral Government with the IOCs and the unions that the workers sacked without due process should be recalled, the PENGASSAN president said: “We had an understanding, but today what we are hearing is that some of them are reneging, especially FUGRO Nig Ltd. I must be specific here.

They are reneging.

“If the minister who is standing in for Mr President took a decision and they are reneging, that is an affront on the President of Nigeria. If the president has spoken, represented by the minster, you cannot just come and say you are the Managing Director (MD) of one company and that you cannot do it.

“If you know you cannot do it, we will help you to pack your load and get out of this country. That is where we stand.”

He also warned that the strike embarked two weeks ago was only suspended because of the intervention and mediatory role played by the government, warning that if the oil companies, however, refuse to implement the agreement reached, the union would resume the strike.

banks to sell forex to BDCs represents a major policy shift as the apex had resolved to stop the weekly sale of forex to BDC operators.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, while addressing a press conference in January to announce the discontinuation of sale of dollars to BDCs had said, “Operators in this segment of the market would now need to source their foreign exchange from autonomous source. They must however note that the CBN would deploy more resources to monitoring these sources to ensure that no operator is in violation of our anti-money laundering laws.”

According to the CBN governor, the apex bank resorted to this measure because it had noted that, “Whereas the CBN has continued to sell US Dollars at about N197 per dollar to these operators, they have in turn become greedy in their sales to ordinary Nigerians, with selling rates of as high as N250 per dollar.”

The CBN governor also said, “BDC operators have abandoned the original objective of their establishment, which was to serve retail end users who need US$5,000 or less. Instead, they have become wholesale dealers in foreign exchange to the tune of millions of dollars per transaction.

Thereafter, they use fake documentations like passport numbers, BVNs, boarding passes, and flight tickets to render weekly returns to the CBN.” But the measure which was targeted at relieving the pressure on the currency and shore up its value vis-à-vis foreign currencies achieved little as the naira continued its unrestrained cascade against foreign currencies, exchanging at a point at the rate of N360 to the dollar.

This forced the CBN to adopt the liberalized forex market last month.

While announcing the new policy on June 15, Emefiele said the exchange rate would be purely market-driven using the Thomson-Reuters Order Matching System as well as the Conversational Dealing Book. He, however, added that the CBN would participate in the market through periodic interventions to either buy or sell FX as necessary.

But in spite of the policy shift, scarcity of dollars has not allowed naira any respite as demand for dollars always outstrips supply with the effect that naira continued to be worsted by other currencies at both the interbank and parallel markets.

Hence, the decision by the CBN to rescind its decision on BDC operators sourcing their forex from other sources.

13

editorial

R

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Immunity for NASS leadership?

ECENTLY, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Honourable Leo Ogor, canvassed the inclusion of the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, the Speaker and his deputy in the immunity clause, through a Bill for an Act to alter the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The bill seeks to amend Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently gives immunity only to the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies. The bill proposes to extend the same gesture to speakers and deputy speakers of state Houses of Assembly.

It has passed the second reading, though in a ‘controversial’ manner, in the House.

The controversy over the proposal to extend immunity to officers of parliament has become heated in public discourse in both the traditional and new media. Those who support the proposal argue that providing immunity for the leadership of the National Assembly would guarantee the independence of the legislature. Indeed, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, insisted that the proposal had become necessary to prevent the executive from emasculating the legislature. He maintained that those against the move had effectively conferred legitimacy on the ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged forgery of the Senate rules. Some have also emphasised that the proposal is not to protect the two individuals under trial but to protect their offices and prevent them from being rubbished for political reasons. According to this school of thought, the lawmakers should have done this a long time ago to strengthen the principle of separation of powers.

In general, those who support immunity from criminal prosecution for public officials maintain that it prevents such officials from being distracted with frivolous litigations while performing their statutory roles. Many governors who were dragged to Election Petition Tribunals immediately after their election had cried out that they were being prevented from quickly settling down to work. Some who have had electoral cases pending against them for several years argued that these cases put them under pressure and prevented them from functioning optimally. Removing the immunity clause from the Constitution, they reasoned, would therefore expand the problem.

On the other hand, there has been a strong voice against the proposal, both within and outside the legislature. Senator

Magnus Abe, for instance, has argued that the National Assembly already enjoys immunity that enables its members to do their job on the floor of the National Assembly. In other words, the legislature is asking for more than is required to guarantee or strengthen its independence.

Those opposed to immunity for public officials in general have argued that it breeds corruption. It will be recalled that, while in office, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua had called for the abolition of the immunity clause, maintaining that it bred corruption. According to him, “Nobody in Nigeria deserves the right to be protected by law when looting public funds.” A group, Champions for Nigeria (CFN), also forwarded a petition to the National Assembly on the need to amend Section 308 of the Constitution to remove the clause, reeling out countries that had jettisoned the idea of immunity for their elected leaders.

We believe that the scope and character of immunity provided for public officials must be based on a careful consideration of the nature of politics in the country. Given the behaviours that have been manifested in parliament since 1999, immunity for the principal officers of the legislature will only advance impunity. Indeed, in many ways, the immunity clause has amounted to a recipe for impunity.

Thus, an expansion of its coverage is most likely to promote further abuse of power and deepen corruption. We think that the members of the National Assembly already enjoy sufficient immunity in discharging their responsibilities under the constitution. Where they face the threat of harassment, they should simply remain within the premises of the National Assembly as covered by the existing law.

The immunity clause has been used to cloak illegal, corrupt and criminal activities by some of those who are currently covered by it. This has been revealed by the several cases of corrupt practices decided by the courts. It is therefore not in the public interest in Nigeria where impunity is commonplace among public officials. Nigeria’s current immunity provision mirrors that of the United States and Britain which is narrower in scope, restricting protection to only the direct actions and statements of the legislator in his or her capacity as a representative. Where a legislator engages in illegal activity outside his or her legitimate role as a representative, he or she is subject to investigation, prosecution, trial and potential punishment like any other citizen. We think this should remain so in Nigeria as well.

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14 LETTERS TO THE

Monday, 25 July, 2016

editor

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

Defeating Niger Delta militants with technology

W

HY is the Federal Government finding it difficult to crush the Niger Delta Avengers? I understand that the terrain in the creeks is not really easy to secure, but with a more advanced naval force, the government will defeat the militants. It is so insulting for the militants to be telling the government what they want. I am really against the Federal Government dialoguing with them because they are only reacting to the blockage of their sources of income since the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

This is why I believe that the dialogue option between the government and the militants will not work — here are a group of boys who had fed fat on the nation’s oil sector for

a long time. Some of them began earning free money as a result of the amnesty programme initiated by former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and which the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan continued. Some militant leaders got lucrative oil pipeline monitoring contracts worth billions of naira, while some simply continued with their oil bunkering business. Now, when this new government came on board, everything stopped, and that is why they are back in the creeks, destroying oil pipelines.

Some of them have also started disturbing the peace of communities on the coastal line in Lagos and Ogun states; the kidnapping, robbery and raping currently going on in Ikorodu area, and the abduction of a traditional ruler in Iba, Lagos, are tes-

tament that the militants have joined another line of ‘business’ since the free money they were getting in the past has stopped.

However, the integrity of President Buhari will never allow him to succumb to the demands of the militants, and that is why I say

dialogue will never resolve this crisis.

What I expect the government to do is for it to equip the naval force to be able to curb the activities of the militants, as dialoguing with them will never bring about any solution.

This is the type of issues a sophisticated satellite system should address, but I thought we sent a satellite into space a couple of years ago? That satellite should be able to give signals to a central control command whenever there are movements on the waterways at

awkward hours. With this, the navy will be mobilised to respond to such movements and prevent attacks on oil infrastructure. As a result, only technology can help defeat the militants.

•Dr Nugwa Joseph, Lokoja, Kogi State.

On NFF’s search for foreign coach IT is so unfortunate that Frenchman, Mr Paul Le Guen, did not agree to the terms of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

One of the terms he rejected was the NFF’s insistence that he would reside in Nigeria during the duration of his contract. He only wanted to be coming into the country whenever the players had to be in camp. The NFF also wanted him to be discovering talents in the local league for the Super Eagles. The

major reason I believe Mr Le Guen rejected the offer is because of the security situation in the country.

For someone who had never visited Nigeria, listening to news about the country will instill fear in the mind. Global news organisations disseminate news about Nigeria as if there is war going on the country — from the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, to the agitation for secession in the South East, to cultists’

clashes in the South South, the Fulani herdsmen’s atrocities, among others.

I don’t blame Mr Le Guen because no one will be comfortable to live in the midst of all these security challenges; at least, while he was with the Cameroon Football Association, he lived in the country.

The Nigerian government shouldn’t see the decision of the coach not

to accept the NFF’s offer as ‘one of those things,’ but it should work hard towards restoring security in the country. Innocent Nigerians are being killed on a daily basis for no just cause. Every Nigerian life should matter to government and everything must be done to protect it.

•Fidelis Okoh, Okohstyle75@yahoo.ca

Attention, IGP Ibrahim Idris I was shocked that the new Inspector General of Police, Mr Idris Ibrahim, could accuse his predecessor, Mr Solomon Arase, of making away with 24 cars belonging to the police.

After reading Mr Arase’s response in the media last week, I think Mr Ibrahim should take it easy, whatever the differences he might have with his former boss.

In reaction to the new police boss’ claim, Mr Arase said Mr Ibrahim had his telephone number and could have contacted him if he was not sure of anything. Going to the media to bring up this issue is not in the spirit of police

brotherliness.

Mr Ibrahim may feel he is in power now, but a popular saying sums it all up: “Soldier go; soldier come, barrack remain.” Nobody will remain in public position for life, and he should seize the opportunity to see his ascension as a favour from God. There were many other officers who tried their best in the past to ascend to the top job, but God didn’t allow it, so it will be best if Mr Ibrahim takes it easy. Whatever might have happened in the past only aided his promotion to the top job he is holding now.

•Salihu Yakubu, Kaduna State.

Kidnapping: Appeal to Ambode THE Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, should quickly convene a security summit in the state so that stakeholders can brainstorm on how to tackle the activities of criminals who operate through the creeks.

The recent kidnap of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni, has shown why this summit is necessary at this period in time.

These criminals, after having their illegal bunker-

ing business curbed by the Nigerian Navy, have descended on innocent citizens. Today, several communities in Ikorodu axis of the state have been deserted, as these criminals now operate with ease.

This security summit will generate ideas which will help in tackling the high crime rate at the coastal communities.

•Taju Ogundele, Ikorodu, Lagos.

15

opinion

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Lasisi Olagunju

I

Lasgunju@yahoo.com (08111813053)

S it that everyone has been silenced, or these times are just normal or what really is happening? One Igboman wrote a provocative piece last week challenging what he called the inexplicable silence from the South West in the face of the debilitating economic crisis in the country and, in particular, the zone’s manifest marginalization in the present power order. I read it online. He claimed that in private discussions, he found Yoruba people livid with anger at the shut-out they suffer presently but they just won’t vent their spleen in the open. Why? Are they afraid? Afraid of what and of whom? He asked.

I read the Igboman and asked: What is he really insinuating?

What is his own stake in this matter? Why can’t he just concentrate on mending his own rent garment? Can’t people just mind their business for once? Questions. Questions. But then I knew there were some truths in his unsolicited advocacy. What is happening?

Yes, there are problems. Some are eating and can, therefore, not talk now. Some ate too much and today suffer constipation and cannot talk again. Some are just, by choice, dumb.

But these are not the people who lead because they don’t last. Men who eat with 10 fingers are never on the radar when searches are conducted for leaders who speak for the people. The leaders who matter know themselves. They also know when their masquerade must come out to confront the principalities of injustice. The north has the President, Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, SGF, NSA, Heads of the Army, Air Force, Police, SSS, Immigration, Prisons, Customs, Civil Defence — then the Ports, NNPC and others - and we are still counting. Trust and competence are said to be the criteria for these choices. So, trust and competence that were present with the Yoruba before and during the 2015 polls no longer reside in them?!

And, it would have been excused if the “trusted” and the “competent” men of the moment are doing the job right for the people’s wellness. But the people are suffering and dying in manners that suggest the entire country is fast turning into one vast IDP camp. And we are silent!

The 2015 coalition that defeated the PDP was one of promise, wile and guile. A party apparently saw the others as dispensable after the war. The hunter thinks the monkey a fool. The monkey is not a fool. He has his own logic. Have you ever heard the story of the friendship between wily monkey and burly crocodile and how monkey eventually proved that raw strength and brute force alone can’t see one through life? Mounting on crocodile’s scaly back through the waters of life’s serial failures to victory, triumphal monkey yanks off his friend: What a strong, great swimmer you are But how dim-witted is your being Now, I am done with you, ugly one

Yoruba and Buhari’s government

You can swim on to the next river.

But then, every wise person knows that there are consequences for every bridge burnt.

The Yorubaman has a very complex sociopolitical persona. His worldview is also as complex as his politics. There is this rat (eku) in Yorubaland called eda. It is always the cause or bringer of bad things. There is always an eku eda in every season of trial. And, so the Yoruba would interrogate every bad situation, identify the eku eda which “created” it and challenge that rat to find a solution to the communal affliction it caused. When former President Goodluck Jonathan felt so comfortable, big, strong and powerful and then shut out the Yoruba from his government, it was not difficult for the Yoruba to identify among them, Olusegun Obasanjo as the eku eda who inflicted the Jonathan government on them. And, so, he had to be asked to be part of the solution to the challenges the people faced in and with that government. And he was. Every Yorubaman knows who the eku eda of this Muhammadu Buhari era are. Should they, therefore, start agitations now that what they saw, resented and rejected in the Jonathan government now pales in the face of what today’s power wielders dispense to them with ease?

One sunny, harsh afternoon in 1982, I engaged my late father on the grim economic and political realities of the Shehu Shagari era. Sitting beside him under the cool, enchanting canopy of our cocoa farm, he took a long look at the horizon. His reply was “Baba t’o dake yi” (This Baba that is silent).

“Which Baba?” I asked.

“Awolowo,” he answered and then took me on a long lesson on the politics of the Yoruba. He wasn’t a politician, never went to school but had been around long enough to know that unusual silence from the Yoruba leader should give any fumbling Nigerian power wielder every reason to worry, and every sufferer of systemic privations reason to hope.

Power, to the Yoruba, is a divine test, he told me. When you use it with fairness and justice, you receive God’s pass mark,

otherwise, you are a stark failure, and your place, another takes in the heart of the Yoruba.

“When you are withdrawing from a friend whose ways you no longer understand, should he hear the receding thuds of your steps?”

“No, it is not wise.”

“If a merchant was here last year to buy our cocoa and defaulted in payment, can he come again this year?”

“He can only come if he thinks we are fools.”

“And if he calls you a fool by coming what would you do?

Remember he is rich and powerful.”

“We handle him with wisdom.”

“He supplies the chemicals with which we fight black pod disease.”

“Yes.” “Great. And without the chemicals there won’t be harvest next season.”

“Yes. We must have the chemicals.”

“Good. When the ocean charges at your vessel with fury, you do not charge back at it paddling with fury. If you do, it overwhelms you and the boat capsizes.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Sometimes even swinging your arms becomes a burden.

What then should a man do?”

“You fold them on your head.”

“If a man takes you for monkey, how would you react?”

“I will demonstrate to him that we are no monkey; that even monkey is no fool. He is wise. He is only using his introspection to deal with the situation.”

In January this year, there were trending photographs online of a monkey holding onto a distressed puppy in Rode, India. A report quoted a Facebook post as observing that the monkey “makes sure the little dog’s stomach is full before eating himself” and “protects the pup from other stray dogs.” Interesting. “The adorable friendship,” a commentator stressed, “is a tribute to the power of animal compassion.”

Should that vulnerable puppy then see the monkey as a fool for the sacrifices he made? The monkey is no fool; he has his own sense of justice, and care. And he serves justice in the right measure, at the appropriate time.

Justice is the appetiser, the main course and the dessert on the Yoruba’s political menu. He serves it daily to everyone who comes his way. He expects and demands it from every other person who interacts with him privately and publicly.

So, if he then sees any fellow, partner, friend who thinks justice is a privilege and not a right, the Yorubaman has options.

First, he gives the cheating fellow the benefit of the doubt, offers him advice and even makes excuses for him. Next, he grumbles. Next he shouts. Then he keeps quiet. That quiet stage of silence is the port of no return.

Of loving, giving and caring

By Tola Adeniyi

THE word love as it is used by so-called lovers is most intricate and intriguing. A word that is full of many definitions, meanings and applications. It is a word that has engaged the thoughts of philosophers, the clinical analysis of psychologists and the preoccupation of many creative bards. The word is alluring and very romantic. But what does it mean?

I will probably not go that route as we talk of loving, giving and caring. Love to me is a so-much-abused word with a result that I can safely say I am not sure what it means.

But I know what it connotes. I know the obvious signs of the word, and I can recognise the practical, tangible part of its expression. The bit I am not sure about is when people glibly say ‘I love you’.

There is the affection of a father or mother to a child. I know and recognise the love grandparents have towards their grandchildren. I know how much I dote on mine, and how much of my thoughts they occupy. That is the loving that I feel comfortable to speak about. But the love a man professes to his wife or partner and can take the advantage of it to maltreat that wife or partner is the one I find most confusing.

Stories abound of men and women who murdered their so-called ‘loved’ ones because of money or thirst for power.

I find it difficult to believe that a man who could butcher his wife and cut her body into pieces and wrap them up and put in the freezer ever loved the woman he claimed to ‘love’.

This is the dilemma I have when it comes to using the word ‘love’ to describe the feeling one professes to the other.

Love, therefore, remains in the mind, in the thought. But giving, even if it is an expression of the thought or feeling of love is visible. You give your time to some one who means a lot to you. You visit. You spend time together. You spend time writing letters. You spend time on the phone. And on a bigger scale, you exchange gifts.

Giving is in itself a divine idea. The more you give, the more blessed you are. Every culture, every tradition and every religion recognises and appreciates the value and virtue of giving. A person who is miserly or tight-fisted is hardly respected in/by any culture. In fact, every culture has a derogatory word for the miserly.

Giving comes from the soul. And it is the most practical way of showing affection to another person. In manwoman relationships, it is advised and recommended that both the woman and the man should imbibe the virtue of giving. A woman should not expect that each time she goes to the movies or to a restaurant, it is the man who should foot the bill. It is good and respectable if the woman also gives her lover/friend/partner/husband a treat, fully paid for by her.

And men who take advantage of the affection women have for them and by so doing allow the women to always foot the bill must recognise that they are mortgaging their pride and dignity. Sooner or later the women in their life would leave them after branding them ‘a sucker’ or

‘sponge’!

Caring is most certainly a virtue and expression of affection, either for a given person or for generic humanity.

As I said about having difficulty pinning the word ‘love’ on specifics, the word caring is very explicit. It is also action-laden. It is not just a thought. It is not intangible.

A caring person is too easy to recognise. By simply giving up one’s seat in a bus to the elderly, or a pregnant woman or a woman carrying a baby, one has demonstrated an act of caring. Caring comes from the kindness of the heart.

The Ijebu, a sub-culture/sub-ethnic of the Yoruba race, places more value on care than money! ‘Aajo j’owo!’, caring is of more humane value than just giving cash, they claim with air of finality. If a friend is performing the final funeral rites of his or her mother, that friend is more likely to appreciate the contribution of a friend who sacrifices time to be with him or her than the friend who merely sends tonnes of money.

My 85-year-old auntie popularly called ‘Face’ by her admirers is fond of telling any invitee to her ceremonies that ‘it is your face I want at the party, not your money. Face, you hear? Face!’ and that was how she became known as Madam Face!

Of the three words loving, giving and caring, caring is about the most endearing. It behoves all of us to give and care. As to the expression of love or its being, its abstractness has rendered it indeterminable.

•Adeniyi, a veteran journalist, lives in Lagos.

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Monday,25 July, 2016

Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 Group Politics Editor taiadis@yahoo.com

Ondo 2016: Looming crisis in PDP

Exactly a month to the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, leading stakeholders are enmeshed in intrigues over the process that will produce a standard-bearer, reports HAKEEM GBADAMOSI.

A

S different parties step up plans for the November 26, 2016 governorship election in Ondo State , it seems that all is not well within the camp of the governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the choice of its standard-bearer. Two out of the three senatorial districts in the state, the North and the South, are alleging a grand plot by the party leadership and the incumbent the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to impose an aspirant, Eyitayo Jegede, from the Central senatorial district, on the party.

Stakeholders behind the allegation within the party from the two zones are demanding a level-playing field in order to avert a possible backlash. In short, they have promised to resist such imposition on the ground that the Central senatorial district has had its fair share of power. According to them, power should shift to either the North or the South as the incumbent governor, Mimiko, who will be completing his two terms of eight years in February, 2017, hails from the Central district.

It will be recalled that the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati, who governed the state between 1999 and 2003, hailed from Akoko in the Northern senatorial district.

He was succeeded by the late Dr Olusegun Agagu from the South for six years (2003 to 2009) before a court sacked him to pave the way for Mimiko (Central senatorial district). Thus, all the senatorial districts in the state have had the privilege of having their individual turns in power at one time or the other.

However, three major schools of thought have since emerged over the controversy of the perceived power rotation among the senatorial zones. While some observers say the pendulum could swing to either the North or the South, others are of the view that the governorship slot could be seeded to any of the three districts as they have all produced governors at different periods since 1999. The third school of thought is that the process of rotation should go back to where it started in the interest of fair play and harmony.

But the major stakeholders and leaders of the PDP from the South and North districts are kicking against the alleged discreet moves by the powers-that-be to impose Jegede from the Central district on the party. To avert the perceived injustice, the leaders have been involved in a series of high-level meetings and consultations aimed at checkmating those behind the hidden agenda. The first salvo was served by the leaders of the Southern PDP when they summoned a meeting at the instance of the lawmaker representing the South senatorial districts at the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Yele Omogunwa. The people re- affirmed their

Mimiko

resolve to produce the governorship candidate of the party.

They opposed the purported support of Mimiko for Jegede, who hails from Akure, and emphasised the need for the governing party to go into the election as a united entity in order not to lose the state to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

Omogunwa, who spoke on behalf of the people, said: “We have a peculiar situation, especially as regards the emergence of the PDP governorship candidate, and it is important that we all go into the election as one because it is only this way that the PDP can be victorious at the poll.” They alleged that

Clement Faboyede, chairman, Ondo PDP

the governor had met with some leaders in different parts of the state informing them of his preferred choice.

Among those that attended the Southern Stakeholders’ meeting were Honourable Kolade Akinjo, Honourable Mayowa Akinfolarin, Chief Eddy Olafeso, Dr Lucas Gbakinro, Pastor Segun Ayerin and Honourable Akin Sowore. They unanimously declared: “As much as we should support the candidate of the governor, we also have the right to fight for what we believe is the right cause.”

Similarly, aspirants from the Northern district, who included Senator Remi Okun-

It is important that we all go into the election as one because it is only this way that the PDP can be victorious at the poll.

rinboye, Rt. Honourable (Dr) Bakkita Bello, Bamiduro Dada, Prince Nekan OlateruOlagbegi, Dare Emiola, Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye, Dayo Fadahunsi, and Yekini Olanipekun frowned at the purported backing of Jegede. The aggrieved aspirants and stakeholders further alleged that the governor had earlier held a meeting with them, with state and local government executive members of the party in attendance, where he told them that he had not endorsed an aspirant from the central senatorial district as PDP’s candidate.

Therefore, the northern district stakeholders urged Mimiko and other leaders of the party promoting the Central senatorial district agenda to align with the rotational/zoning principle of the party in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.

Specifically, they called on the political stakeholders in the state not to renege on the agreement signed in respect of zoning before the 2012 governorship election that produced Mimiko as governor. The core term of the agreement, according to them, is to rotate the choice of PDP’s candidate among the north and the central senatorial district, adding that it was the turn of the North to pick the party’s ticket.

Mimiko, who defected from the Labour Party (LP) to PDP in 2014, was not part of the agreement. Besides, most of the stakeholders who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) have left the party to opposition APC in the state. Thus, some analysts say Mimiko might not be bound by such agreement since he was not part of it.

But the northern aspirants said that such “position by Mr Governor is considered a miscalculation that will further put Ondo North Senatorial district at a serious political disadvantage, putting the state PDP at a loss and laying bad precedence in the state. That all the undersigned leader align their position with the rotational/ zoning principle of our party. This is in accordance with the MOU reached by the state leadership of the party towards the October 20, 2012 election, that the governorship of the state be rotated amongst the three senatorial districts.”

Some youths from the aggrieved camps in the state PDP under the North/South Senatorial Youths Campaigners (NSDYC), have joined in fray. They have promised to frustrate the adoption of Jegede as the party’s candidate. He is the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

They accused the state PDP leadership of planning to destroy the party to pave way for the opposition to win the forthcoming election in the state by presenting a weak candidate to the electorate. They also alleged that the party was working in collaboration with a former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, towards providing logistics for Jegede’s campaign if he emerges as the party’s candidate.

However, observers say the current disputations among stakeholders in the state PDP border on both individual and group interests. While some see the whole drama partly as a gang-up against Jegede, it is believed in certain quarters that the governor, during a meeting, told some stakeholders that Akure had been sidelined politically since the creation of the state.

He was quoted as saying all the aspirants were close to him and would not want the primary to generate any form of bad blood within the party. Mimiko is yet to publicly anoint Jegede as his choice for the ticket thereby keeping virtually everyone guessing based on his body language.

17

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Group Business Editor Sulaimon Olanrewaju | 08055001708 | lanresulaimon@yahoo.com | @lanresulaimon

analysis

entrepreneuership

markets

leadership & management

AMCON: In whose interest?

By Yunusa Ibrahim

T

HE deteriorating macroeconomic environment and some earnings-constraining policies from both the monetary and fiscal authorities has seen a lot of businesses in the country gasping for breath.

From banking to oil and gas, down to manufacturing, a lot of firms have been struggling to record decent profit.

Clearly, the prolonged slump in the price of crude oil as well as the incessant attacks on oil installations have continued to impact negatively on the economy, with attendant spillage on firms in the country. In fact, going by the present situation, the federal government has hinted that implementing the 2016 budget, a very important fiscal policy document, whose execution a lot of people had thought would help reflate the economy, is now a mirage.

This followed recent comment by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal, that the N6.06 trillion budget for this year will only be partially implemented as a result of revenue shortfall.

He had blamed the decline in economic activities on the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, which has claimed responsibility for the wave of attacks on oil installations in the oil-rich region.

These, coupled with the foreign exchange crisis, which has seen a lot of volatility in the naira, as well as a looming recession, are all sources of concerns.

Nevertheless, despite the weakening macroeconomic outlook, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), a key government agency that was created to be a key stabilising and re-vitalising tool in the economy, has continued to parade itself as an enemy of businesses with overall negative bearing on the economy already in dire straits.

The government agency that was set up to efficiently resolve the non-performing loan assets (NPLs), appears to be working in the opposite as its activities have continued to injure businesses.

AMCON was set up primarily to address the financial crisis of 2008/2009, with specific respect to what the Nigerian banking system were going through.

AMCON was set up to provide liquidity by purchasing the NPLs of these commercial banks. By doing that, it freed liquidity so that they could lend to the real sector. At that time the NPL ratio was as high as 60 per cent and the industry average in the prudential guidelines stated that it should be around five per cent.

So, AMCON was set up to free the liquidity and reduce the NPLs to five per cent. Secondly, AMCON was also encouraged to provide financial accommodation to some of the financial institutions,

Ahmed Lawan Kuru, MD, AMCON

When companies obtain loans for legitimate businesses are being harassed and embarrassed in the name of aggressive debt recovery, it signals danger for economy growth. including some of the obligors in the industry that were considered strategic.

What people try not to understand is the fact that quite a lot of those facilities that were bought from financial institutions were facilities that were bad ab initio. They were facilities that had been restructured severally and some of these banks had already put them in memorandum account. What it means is that they had fully provided for them.

On Tuesday, August 8, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the executive management team of AMCON and approved the reconstitution of a new team.

To this end, Mr. Ahmed Lawan Kuru was named the Managing Director. Kuru was the Group Managing Director of Enterprise Bank Limited, an institution that was previously owned by AMCON. Kuru had in an interview said when AMCON was set up, quite a number of the facilities it acquired were restructured and in the first couple of years of AMCON establishment, they were able to make some recoveries from those facilities.

“But five years down the line, with the economic situation that is challenging the global financial system, with the price of crude oil down, obviously a lot of our obligors are having challenges meeting their obligation. Also, we are having challenges regarding the valuation of our assets.

“We are not able to get the true value of our assets because of the economic situation based on the drop in the price of crude oil. If we say we are going to offload our assets based on market realities, we may not get 60 per cent of the value.

So, what we are trying to do is to find a way of restructuring some of these facilities,” he had disclosed.

But feelers from AMCON showed that

Kuru’s AMCON may be doing the opposite of what he promised on assumption of office.

In an interview with CNBC Africa, he had also promised that AMCON will not in the process of loan recovery allow any company indebted to AMCON go under. But AMCON has since employed draconian tactics to shut down businesses. From Aero Contractors Limited, Bi-Courtney Limited and Capital Oil Limited, the list is endless. Last month, AMCON sealed the Abuja premises of Silverbird Galleria belonging to Senator Ben Murray Bruce. The galleria currently houses the Abuja studio of the radio and television stations of the senator as well as his other business interests. Apart from Bruce’s companies, the seven-storey building also houses other business interests such as Shoprite, United Bank for Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Mango boutique, and Etisalat office, among others. The building was sealed

by AMCON through the assistance of law enforcement agencies around 8am following a court order secured by AMCON. Conspicuously written on the fence of the building as well as other strategic locations was an enforcement notice by AMCON which says, “Possession taken by court order 26/06/16.”

The same was done to NICON Group which is owned by Jimoh Ibrahim. In this case, the corporation froze the account of the billionaire. But the ruling which empowered AMCON to take the action against AMCON has since been upturned.

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos ordered the de-freezing of the accounts. Hon Justice Seidu gave the order following the hearing of a case brought before the court to discharge the freezing order hitherto obtained by AMCON. After listening to the arguments to discharge the freezing order, counsel to AMCON led by Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN could not respond to the applications for the discharge but asked for an adjournment to exploit settlement and reconcile accounts in dispute through their respective accountants.

Ali conceded to an immediate vacation of the freezing order in the face of the applications against it with damming and unassailable facts and for unfettered settlement discussions to take place.

The court agreed to the application to discharge the freezing order and the matter was subsequently adjourned to August 1, 2016.

Also, a recent case at hand is that of MRS Holdings Limited, which AMCON claimed is indebted to it. Contrary to AMCON’s claims, the company has maintained that it is not indebted to AMCON. Continues on pg27

Monday, 25 July, 2016 18 CSCS to achieve 100% dematerialisation by Q3 2016 THE Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has disclosed that 98.4 per cent of shares quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange are now available in an electronic format in CSCS depository leaving only 1.6 per cent of share certificates still in physical certificate form.

This disclosure was made

by Mr Joe Mekiliuwa, Gen-

eral Manager, Operations at CSCS, during an interactive session with the capital market stakeholders in Lagos.

Mekiliuwa said that CSCS was working assiduously with Registrars to ensure that full dematerialisation is achieved before the end of quarter three.

According to him “efforts are geared towards assist-

ing the relevant Registrars to ensure that the remaining 1.6 per cent, although seemingly infinitesimal, is firmly attended to so as to achieve 100 per cent success rate before the end of quarter three (Q3).”

In order to address various problems associated with share certificates such as delay in issuance, verification, loss, theft, forgeries

amongst others, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in partnership with other stakeholders, resolved to eliminate these problems by opting for the full dematerialization of share certificates.

Full dematerialisation is the complete elimination of existing physical share certificates in the Nigerian capital market and putting

Nigerian Tribune

to an end the issuance of new share certificates.

The Registrars of companies, who are involved in the implementation process, are required by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to turn in the registers of all companies they manage to CSCS Depository within a given period of time.

Unilever records 1,178%, increase in profit for H1:2016

From left, Dipo Omotoso, Head, Secondary Market, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Chris Mmeje, Finance Director, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals; Ade Bajomo, Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, NSE; Dr Ebere Igboko Ekpunobi, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Office, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals; Roseline Oputa, Director of Sales & Marketing, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals and Okoro E. Nwaka, Head, Corporate Affairs, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals at the Exchange recently.

Investors stake 1.4bn shares worth N9.3bn on bearish trade Stories by Kehinde Jayeoba-Akinseinde

T

RADING on the Nigerian stock Exchange (NSE) continued a downward walk as analyst predicts further lull.

A turnover of 1.350 billion shares worth N9.287 billion in 18,679 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.149 billion shares valued at N13.616 billion that exchanged hands last week in 21,868 deals The local bourse opened the week on a bearish note as the benchmark index declined 0.2 per cent as investors took profit in large-cap stocks.

The market extended decline for the rest of the week, dipping 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent from Tuesday to Thursday before closing 1.2 per cent lower on Friday amid poor Q2:2016 numbers as well as influx of profit warnings and notifications of late filings.

Therefore, the NSE ASI slumped 4.0 per cent W-o-W to settle at 27,659.44 points.

Market capitalisation pared by N393.6

billion during the week to settle at N9.5 trillion, thus Year to Date (YTD) return worsened to -3.4 per cent.

Activity level in the market was mixed as average volume traded declined 6.2 per cent W-o-W to close at 255.7 million units and value traded rose 24.6 per cent W-oW to close at N2.1 billion respectively.

Performance by sectors was broadly bearish with all sector indicators closing in the red except Consumer Goods index which appreciated 0.9 per cent W-o-W on the account of gains in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+3.0 per cent). The Banking index led sector decliners, down 7.3 per cent W-o-W as a result of declines in ETI (-15.4 per cent) and GUARANTY (-7.8 per cent). The Industrial Goods index followed closely, depreciating 7.1 per cent on the back of losses in WAPCO (-10.4 per cent) and Dangote Cement Plc (-5.5 per cent).

Similarly, the Insurance and Oil & Gas indices declined 3.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively against the backdrop of

losses in Custodian Insurance Plc at 9.5 per cent, Continental Insurance at 7.8 per cent, Oando Plc at -25.6 per cent, and Eterna Oil Plc at five per cent.

UNILEVER Nigeria Plc’s has posted a turnover and Profit after Tax of N32.28 billion and N1.094 billion respectively with improvements across board for its half year 2016 result.

In its recently released financial result, the company showed consistency in performance over the last two quarters demonstrates the Company’s strong resilience in a challenging operating environment.

Profit after tax for the full year increased by 1,178 per cent from N86 million in H1 2015 to N1.09 billion in H1 2016, while 12 per cent growth in turnover from N28.72 billion in H1 2015 to N32.28 billion in H1 2016.

Cost of sales increased by 16 per cent to N22 billion for the period ended June 30, 2016 from N19 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2015.

Net finance costs reduced by 54 per cent to N0.67 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to N1.47 billion reported for the corresponding period in 2015. H1 2016 results show that net finance cost as a function of operating profit improved significantly to 31 per cent (H1 2015: 94 per cent), reflecting sustained improvements in cash management.

Trading conditions remained difficult in the second quarter of 2016 with prevailing tight consumer wallets and rising costs. However, Unilever Nigeria has continued to optimise its planning capabilities and demonstrate resilience in navigating the difficult operating terrain.

Lafarge Africa posts N30.2bn loss for H1:2016 LAFARGE Africa Plc has recorded a loss after tax of N30.2 billion for the first half (H1) of 2016, compared to profit after tax of N27.3 billion recorded for the same period of 2015, representing a decline of 210.73 per cent This is coming on the heels of a profit warning issued by the company through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week on its unaudited second quarter result for the period ended June 30, 2016.

The company also reported a loss before tax of N30.2 billion, a depreciation of 198 per cent in comparison with profit before tax of N30.8 billion posted in the first half of 2015.

Financial charges for the company grew by 159.5 per cent to N4.6 billion against N1.8 billion in 2015. Revenue also de-

clined by 29.5 per cent to N107.4 billion against N152.2 billion in 2015.

The company in its profit warning last week had explained that the impact of the naira devaluation is expected to be a N28 billion naira unrealised exchange loss arising from US Dollars borrowings, which at the time of devaluation consisted of 310 million US dollars shareholders loans and 85 million US Dollars external loans.

According to the company, these loans relates United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (Unicem) and where mainly set up prior to the acquisition by Lafarge Africa Plc of its original 35 per cent stake in Unicem. The notice stated that Lafarge Africa Plc has then increased its stake to fully own Unicem.

19

Monday, 25July, 2016

The 60-second

business coach PAGE 24

PAGE 24

Leaders’

forum PAGE 24

Unleashing the power of priority

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

H

ARDLY does a leader set out to fail. Many a leader, on assumption of office, is brimming with energy and vision of what to do and how to go about actualizing his vision with the hope of ensuring great good to the people and the organization he leads. He has everything worked out with the timeline attached. He wants to touch lives. He wants to inspire his people. He wants to turn around the organization. He wants to positively impact the environment. He wants to leave a mark. He wants to build a legacy. He wants his tenure to become a reference point for all that is good.

But as it often turns out, the leader loses momentum shortly after getting into office. As he settles down to work and get immersed in his official schedule, he gets so engrossed in the business of running the organization that what he had lined up as the specific changes he wants to effect in the organization gets shoved to the background. The leader is so entangled in managing the day to day challenges that he hardly has time to spare for the consideration of his original target, plan and vision.

Continued on pg20

Quote LEADERSHIP

Capital is the byproduct of having the right mindset and addressing the right issue and challenges. —Nate Morris

Mo Abudu, MD, Ebony Life TV

20

21

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Leaders and power of priority

BOOK

Continued from pg19

This is the undoing of many. A leader who gets bogged down by the daily challenges of his organization will not get much done; he will not stand out; he is bound to be a mediocre. He will lend credence to the credo that the more things change the more they remain the same. Managing daily or routine issues is not the business of the leader; that is something for line managers or lower level officers to handle. The leader should concern himself more with those activities that have great consequences for the organization, not run of the mill chores.

Success as a leader is hinged on setting priorities Without prioritizing his activities, a leader will soon realize that he spends quality time on non-essential duties. Making the main issue the main issue is the main task of a leader. A leader is supposed to be guided by the big picture, which is where the organization is headed, not where it is. Routine chores are indicative of the organization’s present situation. For the present situation to transform into what is envisioned by the leader originally, he has to extricate himself from the prison of the present and work towards bringing his vision to reality. Until the leader constantly keeps the big picture in focus, he is unable to differentiate between activities that have lasting effects and trivial ones. The impact made by a leader is directly proportional to his ability to make the big picture his focus.

Power of focus Focusing on important tasks is critical to a leader’s success. Focus is essential because it does not give room for distractions. When a leader focuses the totality of his energy on what is important, success is almost assured. Contrary is the case when he is unable to put all his energy in one direction. It is likened to diffused light.

Diffused light has no effect. But concentrated light, when passed through a magnifying glass, can burn a paper or even a fresh leaf.

When light is more focused, it becomes a laser and laser can burn steel and destroy cancer.

So, when a leader learns to focus on what is important, his journey to vision actualization and greatness has commenced.

A King’s Hobson’s choice After an inter-communal war, a king was captured by another.

Austin Avuru, MD, Seplat The captured king had no doubt what his penalty would be; decapitation in the full glare of all and sundry. He resigned himself to fate and awaited his appointment with death. Then, his captor, determined to subject him to further ridicule, promised to spare him if he could take a glass filled to the brim with water over a distance of 100metres without spilling any bit of the liquid. The captor then lined up a side of the course with those who were to hail the captured king while the other side was filled with those who would boo him as he moved with the water-filled glass.

Knowing that he had a chance to cancel his rendezvous with death, the captured king decided to take the gamble. He was able to take the water-filled glass over the distance without spilling any part of it. His captor was surprised and asked him which of the two groups that lined the course motivated him to achieve the feat. The captive told him that he did not pay either of them any attention because he was

Knowing and separating activities that provide the highest level of returns from the rest is the beginning of wisdom for the leader.

Folusho Olaniyan, CEO, Contact Consulting focused on saving his life, his eyes were fixed on the finishing line; he was focused on hitting the finishing line without spilling as little as a nanolitre of water.

Because the captured king was focused, not only was he able to achieve what was considered impossible, he was also able to save his life. Focused leaders always save their organizations because they achieve seemingly impossible tasks.

Four categories of activity Former President Dwight Eisenhower of the United States of America categorized activities into four. Known as Eisenhower Decision Matrix, the categorization has helped millions of people to channel their energies into activities that result in all-round progress.

Urgent and important Activities that are urgent and important are those that the leader must attend to immediately. They are those activities that are crucial and critical to the business of the organization. Delaying them may be counterproductive. Tasks such as these are not delegated by the leader but must be attended to by him to ensure that they do not go awry. However, Eisenhower was of the opinion that “what is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

Urgent but not important Activities that fall into this category are such that, though may be time-bound, are not essential to the overall objectives of the organization. Such activities should be

Nick Imudia, Nokia Managing Director, West and Central Africa delegated and should not be allowed to eat into the time of the leader.

Important but not urgent If an issue is important but not urgent, it means that the leader can stay action on it.

Though this may be an activity that could positively affect the fortune of the organization, since there is no urgency attached to it, it should be kept in view until the time is right to act on it.

Not important, not urgent Activities that fall into this category are such that the leader needs not bother about.

They are chores that can be ignored; they are activities which do not add real value to the existence or objectives of the organization.

Such activities may be disregarded or at best delegated. If a task is neither important nor urgent of what value is it to a leader or his organization?

Determining the value of a task To determine whether a task is worthy of a leader’s attention or not the following ques-

Arunma Oteh, Vice President & Treasurer of the World Bank tions should be asked and answered.

According to Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, 80 per cent of an organization’s revenue is generated by 20 per cent of its activities while 80 per cent of its activities produce only 20 per cent of its revenue. This is what is known as the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 Rule. This principle has been found to be true in almost all spheres of life. It is therefore essential that a leader identifies the 20 per cent that produces the 80 per cent and ensures that it gets priority attention.

The leader can even take this further by finding the 20 per cent of the 20 percent which produces the 80 percent. This will be the four per cent that produces the 64 per cent. By concentrating on the four percent which yields 64 per cent result, the leader will not only be optimizing his time and other resources, he will also be positioning his organization for maximum benefits from his activities.

What are the benefits?

Are there benefits attached to the performance of the task? If the leader is convinced that carrying out the activity is beneficial to the organization he should go ahead and do it. If there are no serious benefits attached to it, there is no point traveling that route. However, the more important the benefit is to the organization, the more important the task is.

What are the most important things I must achieve to be regarded as a success?

A leader must be able to answer this all-important question. What are those things that will define his leadership and tenure? What are those things that, irrespective of what else he does, without doing them he might be regarded as a failure? Those are the things he should concern himself with. Whatever does not fall into this category should not be What would happen if I didn’t given the benefit of his time. do it?

Are there consequences for igWhat gives me the most return? noring the activity? If there are no A leader should also answer the question: consequences for this, the activity is What are those things that give me highest not worth the time of the leader. He returns? Knowing and separating activities should get someone else to do it. that provide the highest level of returns from the rest is the beginning of wisdom for the What am I ultimately trying to leader. accomplish?

The Pareto Principle

The leader should also be able to answer the question of what his ob-

jective is by engaging in the activity.

He should also be able to determine how doing this fits into his goals? If there is no correlation between the leader’s goal and the expected outcome of the activity, going through with it will be a wrong use of time.

Flying without net: Turn Fear of Change into Fuel for Success

Time management One other thing that a leader has to take care of in a bid to prioritize is activities is time management. Some experts prefer to call this self or life management but there is no difference between time and life management.

Life is calibrated in seconds, minutes, hours and days. In other words, life is measured in time. So, if a person is able to manage his time well, he has already managed his life well. Hence, the proverb, if you lose an hour in the morning, you will spend the rest of the day looking for it.

Experts have said that to make the most of one’s time, it is best to have a list of all one wants to accomplish in a year. This is called a yearly list. Items on this list are to be divided into months; this is called the monthly list. From the monthly list, the weekly list is generated, while daily list is generated from the weekly list.

By generating a list of all the major tasks he has to undertake on a daily basis, a leader is forced to channel his energy to what is important.

With that he avoids the trap of chasing shadows and devoting time to activities of little or no relevance to his overall goal. With that, it is easy for a leader to track his activities and find out before it is too late how close to or far away from the realization of his vision he is.

According to Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There is just a thin line between failure and success. To avoid failing, the leader has to ensure that he gets his priority right.

FEELING anxious these days? It’s an understandable sensation when trying to accomplish significant life goals, and starting a business definitely falls into that category. Justin Menkes, author of Better Under Pressure, noted the human urge for unwinding and for being drawn to “the comfort of relaxation rather than to the challenge of discovery.”

For a high achiever, anxiety combined with chaotic challenge-seeking can be one’s undoing if left unchecked. The business world is beyond brimming with people anxious over the next project, the next career move, and the next life event.

Very few answers to our worries come to us immediately. Luckily some good books such as Flying Without a Net: Turn Fear of Change Into Fuel for Success by Thomas J. Delong, Professor of Management Practice in Organizational Behavior at the Harvard Business School, are helpful. The jargon-free book delivers a helpful read that will give you a sophisticated means to accomplish your tasks with grace and aplomb.

Put the past into the past instead of transferring old perceptions into new situations.

Drawing on his extensive research and consulting work, Delong lays out the leading causes for a dysfunctional loop within a familiar personality type, the high-needfor-achievement professional. That loop can lead to anxiety with a bottomless craving for achievement regardless of personal costs and an entrenched resistance to change.

To bring redemption Delong constructs a framework that prescribes how this anxiety can be managed. He does not sell happy-go-lucky solutions. Instead he weaves

By Thomas J. Delong

research and past experience to come up with useful recommendations.

“Taking safe risks is paradoxical, since high achievers relish seizing opportunistic risks to get ahead, yet they are also riskaverse to the extent that they are fearful of taking a risk and failing. High-achiever types manage the paradox by being both perceptive about risk and selective about risks they take…As long as they only take calculated risks, they can avoid feeling vulnerable.”

Much of the content in Flying Without a Net is well reasoned without belaboring its points. Delong admits his foibles along the way, and notes that we are all vulnerable: “Just because these traits are common… doesn’t mean that they have to derail your career.”

Highlights to help you start soaring: • High achievers fear being wrong, leading to anxiety and to feeling a lack of purpose.

• Anxiety comes from wondering the purpose of tasks, feeling isolation from other people and questioning the significance of self.

THE 60-SECOND business coach

Four leadership blunders that destroy teams’ motivation

By J. Maureen Henderson TEAMS are delicate organisms, the corporate equivalent of a Bonsai tree that requires copious and precise attention to cultivate it, prune it and encourage it to flourish. A healthy team can move mountains and a demoralized one can’t wait to move on to greener pastures. The responsibility for team health rests in the hands of the team leader. A good leader can build and manage a great team. A poor leader can take a great team and destroy it through carelessness, ineptitude

or just plain bad judgment. If any of these behaviours describes your approach to leadership, you can bet that your team’s motivation is going to wilt and shrivel before your very eyes.

Berating subordinates I once knew a CEO who had the bulk of his executives peel off over a six-month period. The main impetus for their departures? The CEO’s dreaded Monday 8:30 a.m. staff meetings where he’d frequently engage in table-pounding tirades about the company’s lackluster results and

throw out blame like he was tossing beads during Mardi Gras. You can’t get people to do better work by telling them their current work is the equivalent of a pile of dog excrement. Outside of professional sports locker rooms or military units, yelling at your team about their perceived shortcomings will not yield winning results.

Not providing the full picture Nature abhors a vacuum and so do most employees. Being asked to do X without understanding the context or how it feeds

into Y is both disorienting and disheartening. It’s difficult to give your best effort when you don’t know to what end it’s being applied. Bad leaders don’t think about building buy-in and fostering an atmosphere where information flows freely and each employee knows the goals his or her work contributes to. If you withhold the big picture from your team, expect them to withhold outstanding work from you.

understands the need to stroke the ones on her team. Don’t wait until it’s crunch time and you need a herculean effort from them to dole out the praise — they’ll be skeptical of your sudden magnanimity and rightly so. If you want great work in the future, acknowledge the great work they’ve given you in the past. Poor leaders under-praise or wait until their team is already thoroughly deflated before handing out hasty compliments.

Not acknowledging effort Everyone has an ego and a good leader

Failing to steer the ship There’s a difference between providing

hands-on direction and micro-managing, but that balance is difficult to strike and recognizing it comes from experience.

Unfortunately, many new leaders embrace a laissez-faire approach to leading a team in hopes of not appearing too meddlesome and nit-picky. While their desire not to interfere comes from a good place, working for a boss who doesn’t step in to fix dysfunctional team dynamics, who hesitates to make tough calls and who isn’t willing to get down in the trenches with his or her team when needed is a guaranteed motivation killer.

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leadership&management

Monday, 25 July, 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

Enhancing your leadership relevance - 3

A leader that wants to remain relevant must train his followers to be systems thinkers. What this means is that every member of the team must learn to see the big picture rather than snapshots of events or functions. In an organization, no function is unimportant. A badly treated company driver can drive an executive to death, albeit unwittingly! The man at the gate who has no relational skills may drive potential customers away and irreparably dent corporate image. Departmental independence stops where functions overlap. If all departments in the organization are made to know that at every stage, each individual and department’s input is what results in the overall corporate outcome, good or bad, it makes everyone in the loop recognize that he is contributing to something bigger than himself. Recognizing that his contributions are valued, the follower brings in measured and invaluable contributions that contribute significantly in a positive way to corporate outcomes and bottom-line A man cannot give what he does not have. A leader that unwittingly factionalizes his own establishment by a ‘divide and rule’ tactic arising from his own insecurity can hardly teach others to be systems thinkers. Without systems thinking skills, a leader will preside over a fragmented organization where each person sees himself as a star that can shine independent of the input of his colleagues. When this happens in any organization, it is a matter of time before it sings its swan song!

The average age of today’s top executive is about thirty two years. This is so because competition has opened up more job options for today’s competent worker who is young, ambitious and upwardly mobile. The implication of this is that good staff is getting harder to come by and harder still, to retain! Conversely, many organizations do not have a structure that guarantees tenure of office to any employer at whatever level and they make no secret of it. They pay great wages all right but they only continue to do so only for as long as the employee remains relevant to their needs. Many organizations have no retirement package that shows the employee that his employer is concerned about his post-employment survival. Consequently, getting competent staff that will also remain loyal and work for the long haul is becoming more and more difficult. The general thinking is, “Let me hustle

now and get to the top and make as much as I can while I am still young. After all, none of these employers really cares about my person. They only want my skills.”

I know a young man who changed jobs about four times in less than two years, each time with a higher position and correspondent salary increase! I also know a CEO who will go to any length to poach anyone that he knows is good from his current employer. He lures them with huge salaries but unfortunately, in many instances, it becomes evident to many of such employees that they were only employed so that the competitor would not have access to them! Many of such people have been known to resign in frustration!

The constant flow of inter-organizational human capital translates to the crude fact that no leader should take employee loyalty for granted! There simply are not too many loyal employees anymore. This is the reason why many CEOs have made the grievous mistake of significantly cutting down their company’s training budget. The thinking is, “What if we invest so much on their training and they leave thereafter?” My answer to that is very simple. “What if you refuse to train them and they stay?” In my humble professional opinion, the latter is more dangerous to the progress of any organization. Using unskilled hands is like trying to cut a tree with a dull axe. Here is how the Bible puts it in Ecclesiastes 10:10, “A dull axe means harder work, being wise (i.e. acquiring requisite knowledge and its application) will make it easier.” NCV (parenthesis mine).

In any case, if you poached them from another organization because of their skills, how would they have acquired those skills if that organization did not equip them? And how would you have found them relevant to your own operations? What goes round comes around. It is indeed true that the decapitator does not like anyone wielding a sword around him!

To minimize high employee turnover, hire people in a way that matches skills with the employee’s personal expectations on the job and for the future. When employees can find a nexus between their life goals, vision for the future, ambition and their job functions, they tend to go the long haul. Secondly, encourage their input into criti-

cal decision-making as well as execution. This engenders a sense of stakeholdership that stems the tide of frustration that can occur even in spite of a mouth-watering paycheck!

Finally, if you are in the production sector, you must understand that the era of commodities is gone forever.

People don’t buy products anymore! Yes you read that right. No typo or semantic errors! The world is awash with so many commodities and products that the enduser cares less what name you call the product or who the manufacturer is unless that information is relevant to his purpose for buying it! Faced with so many options (which you wrongly or rightly label competition), the customer is more concerned with what a product does for him than he cares about who manufactured it! In other words, people buy the product of a product. Simply put, we all buy a solution coded in a value proposition which a product in turn represents! Every buying decision is emotional. It therefore follows that to connect with the buyer’s pocket, you need to first connect with his heart. No wonder Zig Ziglar defined sales as the transfer of enthusiasm from one person to another. You must therefore be able to convince the buyer that his money is better in your hands than it is in his pocket.

Consequently, the leader must develop emotional intelligence skills that enable him to forge relationships both with his followers and his market in a way that communicates to them that he is on the job to serve them by caring enough to help them solve particular problems in their lives through the deployment of certain services or products. When this is properly done, the focus is less on the product. Attention is focused on the SOLUTION that it offers. Result? Unalloyed buy-in that engenders loyalty and guarantees comeback traffic, the soul of any enterprise.

Are you in leadership as a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon or do you intend to be around for a long time? Indeed, time will tell sequel to your input. Suffice it to say however, that the degree to which you master these skills will determine which side of the divide you eventually fall into!

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

Humility: Missing link in today’s leadership

YOU want to make obvious that you have what it takes to be an effective leader and have people follow your direction in the 21st century? The answer is very simple: Be humble! Kiss pride and bid it goodbye. Without humility, you can never become successful today. But the truth is: Humility is one of the rare virtues in this day and time.

Leaders who want to inspire followership, and I use the word “inspire” deliberately, need to demonstrate not simply their accomplishments but their character. Take pride in what you have done, but use it as a platform to bring people together to do greater things, e.g. increase sales, improve quality, transform the continent of Africa... Use your leadership for something other than self-aggrandizement. The bane of our country is this: People are in leadership for personal aggrandizement, not to serve the people who are within their sphere of influence.

The sense of humility is essential to leadership because it authenticates a person’s humanity. We humans are frail creatures; we have our faults. Recognizing what we do well, as well as what we do not do so well—is vital to self-awareness and paramount to humility.

Today, I am going to teach you how you can begin to demonstrate humility in leadership.

To begin with, power comes with rank but you do not have to pull it to make it work for you. You can encourage others to make decisions by delegating authority and responsibility.

Encourage your people to write their own performance objectives and set team goals. Allow them to make decisions.

Your authority comes in the form of imposing order and discipline.

Also, to become humble in leadership, you’d need to start promoting others above yourself. Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman note in their shaping text—that a characteristic of successful leaders is their ability to promote others,

sometimes to positions higher than their own. Such leaders are talent groomers; they are those upon whose leadership success of the enterprise rests.

To become humble in leadership, you shall need to learn how to acknowledge what others do within your sphere of influence. Few have said it better than Paul “Bear” Bryant.

“If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That is all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” Practice that attitude always, especially when things are not going well, and your team will rally together because they want you to succeed. In short, humility breeds humility.

Can you be too humble in the workplace? Yes. If you fail to put yourself, or more importantly your ideas, forward, you will be overlooked. Chances for promotion will evaporate, but worse you will not give anyone a reason to believe in you.

All of us need not lead others, but those who do seek to influence, to change, to guide, and to lead their organizations, need to find ways to get noticed. Again humility comes to the rescue. That is, if you celebrate team first, self second, people will notice what you and your team have achieved.

And once more, let me return to a passage from Ernie Pyle who was killed in action in the Pacific months before in anticipation of victory. “We won this war because our men are brave and because of many things — because of Russia, England and China and the passage of time and the gift of nature’s material. We did not win it because destiny created us better than all other peoples.” In today’s corporate world, we might say we have a diverse team with ample resources and we are thankful for the opportunity to compete. But I prefer Pyle’s closing admonishment: “I hope that we are more grateful than we are proud.” If you want to become successful in leadership today, run from pride as far as your legs can carry you.

Some narcissistic business leaders are treated like rock stars, but leaders who are humble and admit mistakes outshine them all. In the cause of my moving around, interacting with leaders, one thing I have found out is that on this continent, leaders hardly admit mistakes. Most leaders in Nigeria carry themselves as if they are infallible. They wrongly believe that when a leader admits mistakes his followers would stop seeing him as their leader. This is one of the reasons why we are where we are today.

As I begin to coast home today, I want you to understand that humble leaders seek input from others to ensure they have all the facts and are making decisions that are in the best interest of the team. No one person has all the answers.

If you think you do, then it is probably time to re-evaluate yourself. Remember, people want to work for people who value their opinions rather than ignore or dismiss them.

Humble leaders are comfortable asking for input and can just as easily be decisive when the situation calls for it.

It is tough to be more transparent and open—even those who consider themselves humble do not want to look like they have messed up. But, as human beings, we all make mistakes. When you are willing to share your own missteps, and how you dealt with and recovered from them, you earn trust from your team.

Many leaders want to control everything. But some things cannot be known up front or beforehand. You have to know when to take charge—or when to let go and not try to force everything to go your way. Sometimes, it is important to admit that you do not know the best answer, and wait until you have the best information to make a decision or change.

Lastly, the present world is in a dire need of humble leaders.

And you shall need to become one. See you where great leaders are found!

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Monday, 25 July 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Aeroland boss on succes:

‘You can start a business without capital and succeed’

The chairman, Aeroland Group and Sole Representative of Virgin Atlantic/GTMC Training Institute in Nigeria, Segun Adewale, who is also the National Vice Chairman, National Association of Travel Agent of Nigeria (NANTA), speaks with TUNDE OGUNESAN about his success story and how he established the travel agency without capital.

I

BACKGROUND was born in Alimosho area, Lagos State, though I am from Ekiti State. When you get to Alimosho where I grew up, you will be welcomed by poverty.

But I thank God that I had the privilege of believing in God’s dream for my life and it is materialising.

I attended the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School, Abule-Oja, Lagos State. That was around 1972–1978 and then went to Oriwu College, Ikorodu, for my secondary school education. I got my secondary school leaving certificate in 1983. Then, I proceeded to the University of Ibadan, Oyo State to study Geography and capped it all

with a Master’s degree in Public Administration.

I remembered vividly my experience at the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State during my Master’s years. I was doing commercial taxi popularly known as kabu kabu’ from Iyana Oba, LASU to Iyana Ipaja to pay my school fees. I was using one Toyota starlet for the commercial route and I was very popular with it. On a few days when I discovered that I did not make enough money, I had to embark on night trips to Abeokuta and Sango Ota around 8.30-9 p.m. and return by 10 p.m.

That route used to have a large turnout of commuters at night. I did all that to pay my school fees. I kept on

pushing, and with my belief that if you are really close to God, know Him and the reason you were created, you can become somebody.

Establishing Aeroland Travels One man, Mercy Ron said the moment you imagine why God created you, your problem is 50 per cent solved. The reason many people are poor today is that they don’t know why they were created by God. I started my business—Aeroland that way.

Continues on p24

24

Monday, 25 July 2016

Nigerian Tribune

5 steps to creating a killer marketing strategy NOT every marketing plan is a good marketing plan. There are certain qualities it needs to meet to be able to do what it is supposed to do and be considered an effective plan that will convert customers and be successful.

It is easy to tell a “potentially successful” marketing plan apart from a mediocre marketing plan. Generally, there is a framework that a killer marketing strategy would follow.

This article will look a five qualities of such a plan. I’ll be using example of a fashion brand since it is easier to follow.

1. Focus on the market.

Your target market should be narrowly defined. You can’t please everybody. Doing so will actually put more pressure on you and may result in losses. A fashion brand’s target market can be anyone, but it has to be narrowed. You have to first decide between genders (male or female) and then the age factor.

Everything else in your plan will be essentially based on your target audience.

Other factors that need to be taken into consideration are your target audience’s likes and dislikes and purchasing power.

The formula lies in choosing, dividing and then conquering.

2. Focus on the product.

This goes hand in hand with the market focus, but needs its own heading. If you’re targeting working women in their 50s then offer quality, formal and semi formal dresses.

Also, explain what a certain product does. For example, if you offer shoes that help gain height, explain how they work. Such a product will further narrow down your target audience to shorter women, allowing you to market even more effectively.

3. Have measureable specifics.

Everything should be quantifiable and ideally in numbers. Include all major and minor details with proper dates since a timeline is important.

A good marketing plan is driven by strategy, but the details and tactics

will give it the push it needs.

The plan has to show result of each activity so that it becomes easy to measure ROI. A fashion brand cannot have vague goals like “product quality clothes” or “make clients happy.” While, it is important to produce high-quality products and have happy clients, such goals are not quantifiable and hence should not be a part of such a plan. Instead, have solid goals like “reach $1 million sales in five years.”

This again, depend on the timeline if your marketing plan is for one year or five years.

If you are starting a new business you can have both short-term and long-term marketing plans. Both these plans need to be interconnected, i.e: your short term marketing plan should help you attain your long-term goals. However, make sure your goals are attainable.

4. Accountability and responsibility.

Do not count on people to do their job, especially in groups. The truth is that groups get done very little when compared to individuals. To get better results, have a specific task for every individual and ask them to work on it.

Take care of the accountability factor and keep an eye on results to make sure all individuals are putting their best foot forward. Be sure to reward achievement and reprimand for failure to meet the desired goals.

A good marketing plan needs more than just involvement -- you need to be committed to it. Everyone should know their job and be aware of the outcomes of performing or not performing their part well.

5. Revisions and reviews.

A marketing plan is really a planning process and not a plan. We live in a dynamic environment and cannot afford to have static marketing plans. A good marketing plan will do everything from setting goals to tracking performance and measuring it in quantifiable units.

Source: entrepreneur.com

‘Nigerians need practical entrepreneurship’ Continued from p23

I studied Geography and I said I wanted to be on my own, though I had no money. But I still believed that I would make it. I was reading a book and the author said that “it is not what you study that matters, it is what you know.” Most of us, our emphasis is on what we study and not what we know. Nigeria has changed from what you studied in school to what you know. And if I have to say anything about entrepreneurship, job creation and all sorts, I think with my practical example, it is a story I can tell anytime if you wake me up in the dead of the night. I still maintain that to really make it, it is not what you study but what you know! I am quite sure that many people are students of this school of thought.

However, academic background makes reasoning in this regard better, easier achieved than otherwise. I can teach anybody on how to start a business without having a capital. I started my

business without capital. I had an idea because I studied Geography. After my Master’s degree, it was very glaring that the jobs were not there, so I said ‘let me start a business in the aviation industry,’ because of the way it was being run was not proper. I concluded in my mind that I would go there and make a difference.

I met one guy, Layi Abidemi, in 1995 after concluding my Master’s degree. I told him I wanted to register a company and he said it would cost me about N27, 000. I can’t get the money but I was determined to raise it. With my wife, we ventured into the kabu kabu business again to raise this money. Unfortunately, we couldn’t raise the money after a very long time, we could only raise N5,000. In those days, kabu kabu business was not like today that you can make thousands of naira in a few days. But I was determined and told myself I won’t relent, believing that one day, with God and knowing the reason I was created, I could become somebody.

Mall for Africa to enhance e-commerce in Nigeria

By Seyi Sokoya A relatively new entrant, Mall for Africa is currently positioning itself to break down barriers to international commerce by addressing the needs of foreign exchange and global shipping as well as enhance the e-commerce industry in Nigeria.

The initiative founded by Chris Folayan and Tope Folayan, was established as a bridge to the world and a solution to the peculiar challenges experienced by the Nigerian and African shopper. Currently operational in Nigeria, Kenya, the UK and the US,

it has a market expansion vision of providing service across sub Saharan Africa and including on its list of stores Nigerian businesses, who seek to expand their service provisions across the continent.

The CEO of the Mall for Africa, Mr Tope Afolayan, said at at a forum recently in Lagos that the company takes pride in its prompt customer service among other benefits, adding that, “With over 180 stores in various categories such as fashion, electronics, auto-mobile parts and others, Mall for Africa exists to make life easy for individual buyers, business

owners and procurement officials.

Through its application and on line platform, buyers can shop any store in the UK and the US such as Amazon, E-bay, and have their items delivered anywhere in the Country.

They can select the items they want and with four clicks have the items purchased and shipped to them in Africa.”

He added that a further advantage to shopping with Mall for Africa is the elimination of needless extra luggage charges. Customers have the option of home delivery or receive From left: CEO Mall For Africa, Tope Folayan; Founder, Mall For Africa, their goods through pick up points. Chris Folayan and Country Manager, Mall For Africa, Kunle Oguneye.

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The breakthrough I had an experience I can never forget. One day, the clutch cable of my Toyota starlet got cut; so, I became used to driving the car without clutch. I had to use my hand to hang the gear to pick some sets. You can imagine the experience. The wiper was not even working, such that during the rain, as the driver, I also served as wiper. I would bend my head outside to clean the glass.

Despite that, I still believed that one day, I would make it. Though I wasn’t desperate, I could do several things to make money.

Even while I was going through all that, I still counselled people on how to make it but I was telling people you can make it.

I remember one day, while we were still occupying a one-room apartment, I was telling my wife that by the time I made it, she would be buying her clothes in America or England.

I told her ‘you can’t buy clothes in Nigeria again, because I will be so rich then.’

Now, I try teaching prosperity, so many people. I have motivated many of my drivers and they left to do well, so also my security personnel. Number one thing is number one thing, identify what you are created. What I like is to empower people, let people make it.

I don’t like theory; I don’t know how to do it.

When God said ‘let there be light’ and there was light, He did not have capital but the faith to make it happen. That is what people lack in the Nigerian society of today. Many people have their business dreams perished looking for capital. You can start something little with a daunting spirit. That was how I started. So, I raised the money, got the business registration done and started from somewhere. Why people stay long on the level of raising capital, the dream perished. They want to start on a high, but no, it doesn’t work that way.

Today, I have other businesses that grew from Aeroland but I still maintain my first business.

Practical entrepreneurship It is simple. You don’t need all the theories of this world to do that. I am a living example. It has to do with the people, their belief in God’s purpose—what they were created to do. For example, one of my director once said: “Lagos is the only place in the world where you can pick money on the street.” You must recognise this and make it work for you. I have a driver, Peju, who now resides in Canada with his family.

I saw his passion for success and I said let’s teach you what I did to get to where I am now. I thought him how to do travels, he is now abroad and he is doing fine. If he had waited for capital, he might not do anything at the end of the day.

I noticed his passion, and assisted him. That is the point.

Also, two weeks ago, I saw an elderly woman around 70-year-old selling pap very early around 7 a.m. I parked my car, met her and bought all the pap. I told her ‘this pap is nice and I want you to be supplying us at Aeroland.’ The total cost of the pap was N2,000, so instead of her hawking on the road, she now prepares it for us and goes home earlier, healthier and makes her money.

This is simple entrepreneurship. We drink champagne of N30,000 but to empower people in this class doesn’t appeal to much people in the society. I can give her more money, but let her supply the pap for all of us at the office to drink. Now, she is not hawking again, she brings the pap three times a week to our office and we pay her N6, 000.

Monday, 25 July 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Ruth Olurounbi

0811 695 4637 (sms only) e:ruth.olurounbi@tribune.com.ng t:@Olurounbi

How to build better relationship with the media LAST week, we started by highlighting the benefits of having a relationship with the media. This week, we will conclude with 7 ways to build better relationship with the media.

Make yourself available Sometimes last year, I was at TVC for a brief internship. I was assigned to the business desk of the media outlet. During my stay there, there were frequent needs for experts’ opinion on some economic issues and we always had them on. One particular person stood out to me because he was always available to explain economic issues to the in-house reporters. I am sure if you watched Channels TV, or read newspaper reports, you’d have seen some quotes attributed to certain people, as well as their designation.

For instance, a Ms Shade Oluwasoga could be explaining a point to a journalist. If Ms Oluwasoga was a CEO of a company, her name, the name of the company and what the company does goes into the story to highlight her role to the story. What her company does, as well as her role in the said company serve to give credence to her expertise and to show her credibility in handling the said story. But, as with the experts aforementioned, if Ms Oluwasoga has not made herself available, we probably would not have heard about her. So, to be a source to journalists, you have to make yourself available.

You could call in business reporters into your office to introduce yourself to them and offer few specific suggestions about stories you could, to the best of your qualification, qualified to offer expert opinion on. Why do you think many politicians do press conferences or media roundtable with select journalists? The more you put yourself out there, and the more credible you are the more exposure for your company or brand.

Grant interviews to journalists From my experience, I have seen many business people run away from doing press interviews. One of the few people in the business world who engages well with the press is probably Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holding and UBA Group and the Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, the parent to Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme.

I have friends in the start-up scene that would never grant interviews to the press, for one reason or the other.

Doing interviews gives valuable coverage for your company and yourself.

It is helpful for the future too because the journalist whom you had been

friendly and helpful to when she/he requested an interview with you will always remember you whenever she/he needs a quote. Note: you do not have to grant an interview if you do not want to, so please do not feel pressured to do so.

To guide against being misquoted in interviews, give yourself time to prepare for such interviews. Provided the deadline permits them, you can ask the journalists to leave the questions with you and you call them back with your responses when you are ready. If you are afraid of saying the wrong things, you can ask them to leave their email addresses so you can respond in an email.

Pay attention to the media To interact successfully with the media, you need to understand how stories are told. Aileen Pincus advises that you “become a sophisticated consumer of news.

Read, listen, and watch news reporters with an eye toward issues you might contribute something to. Watch how experts are used to move a story forward and how concisely they can frame a point.”

This is particularly important if you want to be referred to in the future. A reporter’s job is to deliver news in a short, concise manner, your job as the source is to “essence of your point, rather than forcing reporters to heavily edit and select your points for you,” according to Pincus. Decide quickly what points you have to offer and offer them as clearly as possible.

Engage with reporters on the social media One of the reasons I love the social media is the engagement. I could engage with a lot of people as quickly as possible and vice-versa. And thanks to the social media platforms such as Twitter and the others out there, you now have means to stay up -to-date on journalists’ interests to interact with them.

Here’s something you should know though, keep your interactions with them as informal and genuine as possible, especially if you want to build a relationship that goes beyond your professional exper-

tise with them. I have a very few people on Twitter who have become friends to me, even though at first, our interactions were based on professional expertise.

Also, please note that you do not want to bombard the journalists on your timeline with news about your company or product; you don’t want to come off as being pushy or desperate.

Be helpful with your resources Those who follow me on the social media would notice that I ask for information and resources online. My primary reason for asking is to encourage start-up founders/entrepreneurs share their resources with me with the hopes that all that I have discussed above could happen. As Jim Dougherty puts it, his blog post: 7 Ways to Build Better Relationships With Journalists written for CISION, “when building relationships, you can offer your resources and connections to journalists. Make an introduction on LinkedIn, offer a subject-matter expert for a topical interview. The difference being that you are reacting to the needs of a journalist rather than pitching a specific PR story.”

Dougherty write about content marketing and social media on @leaderswest and he’s frequent contributor to the @cision blog.

I couldn’t have said it so clearly. Do not hoard information or resources. Be helpful, share.

Conclusion It is my hope that these points have served to help you understand how to build a better relationship with the media.

I have to say this though: in your efforts to engage with the media, do NOT, and I repeat DO NOT lie to a reporter/journalist.

Why? Because the reporter depends on your expert opinion or data you are sharing with him/her. If you feed such reporter with falsified data, you have: one, damaged the reporter’s reputation, which is the currency she/he trades with and two, you have blacklisted yourself from becoming a source, not with her/him and possibly other journalists. So, in whatever you do, do not stretch the truth or lie.

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

NDIC cautions bank directors on failure to pay back loans

THE Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has expressed concern over the increasing wave of non-performing insider loans in various banks and its consequence on

the stability of the nation’s banking system.

He called for strict compliance with the existing code of conduct and a review of the existing laws and regulations to provide stiffer penalties for Directors who take advantage of their positions

and failed to pay back their Loans.

Alhaji Ibrahim expressed this concern while receiving the newly elected President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Professor Segun Ajibola and

some of his Executive Members who paid a courtesy call on the NDIC Senior Management in Abuja. According to him, the development had posed credibility questions which were capable of eroding public confidence in the banking system.

with Chima Nwokoji m:08032637535 e:chimatitus@yahoo.com

UBA’s GMD calls for closer collaboration among African central banks To formally retire July 31

OUTGOING Group Managing Director of panAfrican banking group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc Mr Philips Oduoza has called for increased collaboration among African central banks in order to drive intra-African trade on the continent.

He said this on July 22, 2016 when he delivered the fourth Valedictory Lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on the topic “The Emergence of a Nigerian Pan-African Bank” to a parked hall of bankers and financial industry players.

Oduoza used the lecture to share his experience and challenges in helping build one of Africa’s largest banking groups, UBA Plc, not forgetting the lessons learnt from the bank’s expansion into Africa.

He spoke extensively on UBA’s expansion into Africa, the rational for the expansion and the strategies adopted to derive maximum value and reduce the risks of UBA’s foray into different African countries.

Speaking specifically on the need to improve intra-Africa trade in order to drive the growth of Pan-African banks like UBA, Oduoza decried the low levels of intra-African trade. “The volume of formal intra-African trade is relatively low and estimated between 10 per cent and 12 per cent of Africa’s total trade. Comparable figures are 40 per cent in North America and about 60per cent in Western Europe” He listed lack of the required infrastructure and policies as the major challenges to intra-Africa trade while noting that the adoption of policies like tax hol-

idays, waivers, and market interventions to promote investments in sectors outside commodities will help diversify African economies and drive intra-African trade.

“I strongly feel African Central Banks have a greater role to play by collaborating to promote the development of cross border trade platforms in order to encourage the informal sector to join the formal banking system.

When this is done, the opportunity will be readily captured by Pan-African banks.”

He also noted that “Intra-African trade growth will be further supported by the introduction of a visa-free travel policy across the continent by the African Union as well as the development of intra-regional transport infrastructure.”

Oduoza harped on the need for improved financial inclusion on the continent, noting that research has shown that only 34per cent of African adults have a bank account as at 2014.

He suggested the adoption of mobile money services could help drive financial in-

clusion on the continent.

“Data shows about 12 per cent of the population in Sub-saharan Africa have a mobile money account as against 2per cent of adults worldwide. I believe mobile technology has the potential to vastly expand financial inclusion across Africa. Pan-African banks with a good understanding of the continent can leverage their technology platform to capture this opportunity. Invariably this will mean a growth in retail banking as most of those financially excluded fall within this bracket”

From left, Executive Director, Corporate Banking Group, FirstBank, Dr Remi Oni; Group Head, Corporate Banking Group, FirstBank, Mr Osahon Ogieva and Consul General, French Embassy, Nigeria, Mr. Laurent Polonceaux at the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry networking event on Thursday.

Nigerian Tribune

Money Market Review

RATES in the money market remained in the double digit band and trended higher on all days of last week due to tighter system liquidity. On Monday, aggregate system liquidity opened lower at about N188.2 billion from N269.

8billion on Friday, thus Open Buy Back (OBB) and Overnight (O/N) rates settled at 17.0 per cent and 19.0 per cent respectively.

Dealer at Afrinvest West Africa disclosed with no major inflow or outflow from the system on Tuesday the OBB rose 1.0 per cent to settle at 18.0 per cent while the O/N rate marginally eased 8basis points (bps) to 18.9 per cent. On Thursday, the over allocation at the Treasury-bills auction offset the expected impact of the N131.5 billion open market operation (OMO) maturity thereby reducing liquidity levels and driving OBB and O/N rates 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent northwards to 19.4 per cent and 21.2 per cent respectively.

Liquidity levels improved on Friday, thus rates eased to 16.6 per cent and 17.6 per cent. As a result, OBB and O/N rates declined week on week (W-o-W), down 4.2 per cent and 5.2 per cent to 16.6per cent and 17.6per cent respectively.

Trading in the Treasury -bills market opened the week on a bearish note on account of lower liquidity in the system as well as investors expectation of higher stop rates at the T-bill auction on Wednesday. On Monday average T-bills rates settled at 13.5per cent sustaining the trend on Tuesday as average rates rose 0.5 per cent. On Wednesday, there was a T-bills maturity of N36.9 billion (91 Days), N39.2 billion (182 days) and N52.0 billion (364 days) however the same amount was scheduled to be rolled over and all instruments were oversubscribed at the auction but the 364 days instrument was over allotted at N129.0 billion.

Consequently, average rates at T-bills market rose to 14.7 per cent on Thursday. Average rates rose 3.1 per cent W-o-W to settle at 14.7 per cent.

Foreign Exchange The volatility which began in the market fortnight ago persisted last week as the local unit weakened on all but one trading day of the week. The depreciation of the currency that was recorded last week was tightly linked to the cessation of foreign exchange (FX) intervention by the CBN during the week until Friday.

At the interbank market, the naira weakened on all trading days of the week saves for Wednesday. On Monday, the domestic currency traded at N292.15/ $1.00. On Tuesday, the naira further depreciated to N294.57/ $1.00 but appreciated mildly to N294.23/ $1.00 on Wednesday.

On Thursday, there was another massive depreciation at the spot market as the naira fell to N310.43/ $1.00 before strengthening to N305.25/$1.00 on Friday. Parallel market rate waned throughout the week, down 3.6 per cent W-o-W from N365.00/ $1.00 last Friday to N378.00/ $1.00 by the end of the week.

In the week ahead, currency analysts at Afrinvest West Africa Limited expect the Apex Bank may carry out interventions and clear up some of the pent up FX demands to soften the pressured rates at the interbank market amidst Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expectation.

Bond Market Sentiments in the Bonds market were rather bearish last week as investors sold off across board. Average yields rose 30bps across benchmark instruments to close at 14.9per cent on Monday. On Tuesday, the sell offs in the market moderated with increased buying interest in the mid to long tenured instruments driving average yields marginally down three bps.

On Wednesday, the sell offs in the market continued especially at the shorter end of the curve as average yield across benchmark instruments rose 17bps to 15.0 per cent. Likely linked to the T-bills auction, on Wednesday which signalled a better investment opportunity for investors. On Thursday, investor sentiment further waned as average yields increased 29bps to close at 15.3 per cent.

‘CBN’s intervention in forex market ‘ll protect the naira’ A chartered accountant and the Principal Partner /CEO of Victor Owonifari & Co., Mr. Victor Owonifari, has described the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the interbank forex as a step that will go a long way in putting the naira in a vantage position when compared with other currencies of the world.

Owonifari, who said this during an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos, noted that the market

should be allowed to operate freely and find its equilibrium, but as the regulatory body, the CBN should intervene once in a while to curb excesses and supply shortfalls, thereby protecting the naira.

He further stressed that as the apex bank had repeatedly informed Nigerians that it allowed for flexibility to come into play and was prepared to intervene only when necessary to prevent volatility in the forex mar-

ket; the new system was expected to operate as a single market structure through the interbank and autonomous methods.

The financial expert, however, added that the recent devaluation of the naira to the US dollar had led to an increase in the cost of imported goods, thereby making Nigerians to pay more for imported goods without a corresponding increase in quality and quantity.

Owonifari also noted that

the increase in the pump price of petroleum products and prices of household commodities in the early part of the year was partly responsible for the sudden rise in inflation rate to 16.5 per cent.

He urged the government to checkmate the trend of inflation in the country by not only ensuring the reduction of the people’s dependence on imported goods, but by also creating an enabling environment that will be attractive to

investors and small scale business owners in order to have positive effects on the naira, provide job opportunities for Nigerians, reduce capital flight and bring down inflation to an acceptable limit.

The chartered accountant lamented the state of the nation’s economy, stressing the urgent need for the diversification of the economy with government’s support for SMEs and investments in agriculture.

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moneymarket

Nigerian Tribune

Monday, 25 July, 2016

FCMB upgrades Debit Card for quick access to over 850 countries

FIRST City Monument Bank (FCMB) has said that holders of its MasterCard, Visa and Verve Cards are in for better value, seamless service and excellent experience following the full implementation of its recently commissioned technology solution, otherwise named, Finacle 10.

According to the Bank, holidaymakers will now have access to over 850 airport lounges around the

world with their priority pass card (available only to MasterCard holders) since the cards are acceptable all over the world.

Compared to commonly issued cards, FCMB MasterCard, Visa and Verve cards (Verve is for local transactions only) are configured in variants that suit different lifestyles, usable by all segments of the society and are quite easy and simple to activate.

FG paying high interest rates to clear excess money in circulation INDICATIONS emerged last week that the Federal Government (FG) through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) have in an aggressively move to mop up excess liquidity have been paying investors high rates.

At the last Treasury –bills (T-bills) auction held on Wednesday, the 364-day T-bill was issued at 16.5 per cent, a 7.2 per cent hike from the 9.3 per cent in January dealers said. Same as the OMO auction held the following day where the 364-day tenured OMO bills were issued at 17.0 per cent marginal rate from 13.5 per cent the previous month.

Dealers said sales at both auctions were significantly higher than the offered amounts.

Cowry Assets Management Limited in a note to investors disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria auctioned treasury bills worth N127.96 billion, viz: 91-day bills worth N36.78 billion;182-day bills worth N39.17 billion; and 364-Day

bills worth N52 billion on Wednesday, July 20, even as an additional N75.54billion in 357 day bills were sold via Open Market Operations.

“The out flows exceeded matured bills worth N259.47 billion, viz: 91-day billsworthN36.78 billion; 182-day bills worth N39.17 billion; 364-day bills worth N52 billion and174-day bills worth N131.52 billion.

Consequently, NIBOR for 1month, three months and six months rose to 17.99 per cent (from 15.30 per cent), 19.28 per cent (from 16.60 per cent) and 21.19 per cent (from 17.96 per cent) respectively.

“Meanwhile, FAAC disbursed N538.79 billion for the month of June (a126.89 per cent month-on-month increaseoverN237.47 billion for May) on Thursday, July 21. This week, we expect stability in interbank interest rates as a result of the impact of recent FAAC disbursements,” the dealers at Cowry Assets Management sated.

This lender, with a robust product suite for businesses and individuals alongside its award winning service culture is said to be leveraging diverse capabilities by investing extensively in channels to reach more customers.

The Bank’ s customers are embracing alternative channels such as mobile at an impressive rate, whilst many crave for the reassurance of a 33-year enduring experience of a financial institution that has endeared itself to its customers.

Responding to the media in Lagos, the Group Head, Cards and Electronic Banking at First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr John Iwuajoku said, “We have set our eyes on providing robust products and facilities that meet the demands of today’s innovative environment, complex desires and experience of our teeming customers in order to provide them with flexible options for maximum benefit and excellent long lasting customer experience. This is very important to us. The comfort we are promising our customers with our cards includes increased transaction limit even in the face of other institutions shutting down their international transactions. Ours give access to much more than moderate transactions with subsisting exchange rates reflected on transactions executed with all FCMB cards anywhere in the world”, Mr. Iwuajoku, stated.

The advent of financial innovation such as smart card, credit card, electronic transfers in the payment system space and the launching of internet banking has transformed the world into a global village linked with electronic impulses.

AMCON: In whose interest?

Continued from pg 17

In a statement, the company stated: “Our attention has been drawn to a recent publication by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria alleging that MRS Holdings Limited is indebted to it in the sum of N81 Billion and that the Corporation has instituted Suit No: FHC/L/ CP/923/2016 to wind up the company over the inability of MRS to pay the alleged debt.

“MRS challenges in the strongest possible terms the false claim by AMCON that MRS is indebted to AMCON in the sum of N81 Billion or any sum at all. The correct position is that MRS obtained a loan from a consortium of banks in Nigeria for a viable project. AMCON took over the loans. However, it became clear to AMCON that MRS was paying down on the loan and agreed to restructure the loan on agreed terms of N74 billion. The said debt has since been fully settled.

The terms of settlement was entered as Judgment of Court on 29 June 2015, in Suit No FHC/L/CS/1365/2015.

“MRS is shocked that in spite of having

fully settled the debt, AMCON has decided to re-litigate an already concluded matter. MRS Holdings Limited understands AMCON’s statutory function to recover debts but by no stretch can this mean harassment of companies. AMCON has declared a new aggressive debt recovery drive. MRS has no problem with that but this does not give AMCON a licence to embarrass and harass companies. It is not a crime to obtain loans for viable projects. Execution of viable projects leads to job creation and growth of the economy. However, when companies obtain loans for legitimate businesses are being harassed and embarrassed in the name of aggressive debt recovery, it signals danger for economy growth.”

MRS said it had taken notice of AMCON’s frivolous recovery cases against many companies on similar issues to MRS, “Not surprisingly all the cases were dismissed by the courts.”

“MRS is taking legal advice to clear its good name and bring necessary actions to seek damages for the embarrassment and damage caused the company’s reputation and goodwill by AMCON’s publication

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) said even if an individual is not a customer of the bank; all travelers and holidaymakers can as well cash-in on these opportunities. Its cards are issued instantly when an account is opened.

The bank also has its prepaid card in all card types, MasterCard, Visa and Verve (used within Nigeria only) for customers who do not wish to open current or savings accounts with the bank. Holders receive SMS for alerts to signal customers’ confirmation of authorized or unauthorized transactions while backed with 24/7 support through a multi-lingual contact center.

FCMB has invested in the acquisition of a robust infrastructure and security to meet and exceed her customers’ expectations while maintaining stakeholders’ trust in the FCMB brand.

Ladi Balogun, MD, FCMB

Fitch reaffirms Stanbic IBTC’s triple A’ rating DESPITE the current economic headwinds confronting Nigeria, Fitch Ratings, the global leader in credit ratings and research, has re-affirmed the AAA(nga)’ ratings of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a testament to the financial institutions’ strong fundamentals and stability.

Stanbic IBTC was given a similar rating last year after a thorough examination of its credit process and financial results. The institution’s diversified loan portfolio was reviewed with its impact on various sectors of the economy taken into account. Among economic sectors impacted by the bank included agriculture, construction, real estate and infrastructure; electricity and other

utilities; consumer credit; manufacturing; oil and gas and general commerce.

Others were downstream oil and gas, transportation and communication, among others.

The national rating provides a relative measure of credit worthiness for rated institutions in Nigeria and the AAA national rating is assigned to an institution with the lowest relative risk. In the ratings release, Fitch also maintained a stable outlook for Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

In its report, the rating agency also reviewed the capital adequacy of Stanbic IBTC in compliance with regulations and concluded that it was adequately capitalised with capital adequacy ratio

and action.

“MRS assures all its customers and business associates that the newspaper report will not affect the company and its subsidiaries’ high quality services that it has always been known for and would seek redress for the damages caused by the publication. MRS further assures the general public that MRS Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries will continue to transact their businesses with the highest ethical standards and in accordance with the extant laws of the country, “it stated It is in light of the adverse implications on the image of M.R.S, that its management quickly moved to reassure its customers and bankers of AMCON’s spurious wind-down statement robustly debunking the claim of indebtedness and warning it to get its act together instead of stumbling from one defeat to another.

Beyond the reputational damage AMCON’s approach has inflicted on companies it claims are owing it, is the larger implication on the economy already heading into recession. This is the worry of many who are concerned that the agency is operating in isolation of its

above the regulatory requirement. The liquidity position of Stanbic IBTC was reviewed and its ability to meet foreign currency obligations as they fall due. The Group was certified as having adequate liquidity to meet both its short and long term obligations.

In arriving at the rating for Stanbic IBTC, Fitch took account of the strong parental support from Standard Bank Group, which has a majority stake in Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, as the group provides support in such areas as staff training, provision of information technology upgrades and best practice processes as well as strong corporate governance practices.

environment. According to an investment analyst who prefers not to be named, AMCON should adopt a new approach that takes note of the current economic realities of the country.

“I cannot understand the rush to wind down companies in the name of debt recovery when every business and government across the country is facing difficult times. Now if it winds down these businesses what will happen to the workers? Will AMCON employ them?

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, just released its forecast on Nigeria warning that the country is heading into recession. This is hardly surprising considering the fact that the price of oil, our main revenue earner, has slumped on the international market. At the moment many states can’t pay workers salaries while the federal government is grappling with a major financial crisis, that it now even borrows to pay its workers salaries.

So I think AMCON is being unreasonable by compounding the crises in the general economy,” he declared.

•Ibrahim wrote in from Abuja

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

with Akin Adewakun

m:08054683584 e:akadewakun@yahoo.co.uk

Our generation should not be averse to merger and acquisition —Lanre Adisa, CEO, Noah’s Ark

Chief Executive Officer, Noah’s Ark, Mr Lanre Adisa, in this interview with AKIN ADEWAKUN, bares his mind on issues trending in the industry and the reasons for the relocation of the creative agency to a new place at Ikeja GRA.

W

HY I ventured into advertising My personal story is that our generation must do something. The generation before us has done very well, the Shobanjos of this world. And if there is anything at all that dragged me to the complex world of running an agency, it’s just the fact that I needed to make a generational statement, with the hope of inspiring other people.

And, eight years down the line, it is beginning to happen, and it’s been a very modest story for me and the entire group. It’s just that the dream was bigger than where we started then and it’s even bigger than where we are today. We believe that the journey continues for us and I can assure you that our dream is beyond where we are now. We will like to play on the bigger stage, and, most importantly, represent Nigerian advertising, because we believe perfectly in that. Noah’s Ark is an evolving business, an evolving group for us. So whatever we do, we like to put in our very best, and see that we represent our industry and the nation in the best possible way.

The Alicia Virgin acquisition Let me put things in perspective, we had registered Noah’s Ark, we were set to go and Alicia Virgin was an opportunity of some sort. It might not sound sensible.

At the point of starting Noah’s Ark, it was an idea, but what Alicia Virgin did for me was to actually make that dream a reality. Truth be told, Noah’s Ark started on a shoestring budget. There was no money anywhere, there was no account, there was no finance, there was nothing. It was just an idea. Before we acquired Alicia Virgin then, the owner had died, and it was obvious that it was on its way down. The acquisition did two things for me: there was an office space and the agency was a member of the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN). So, when we took it on, within six months, it made us a member of AAAN. So I didn’t have to start from my living room. It made me believe this was possible. We inherited two or three people, two of them are still with us till date. It wasn’t that we needed them to start. It was an opportunity and we took it.

Mergers among agencies It’s a good idea, but every business will determine what is good for it. I think what needs to change for us, as a country, es-

so difficult for them to let go, perhaps our generation should start thinking in that respect. We should not be averse to it.

Poor outing of Nigerian agencies at 2016 Cannes Lions For me, of course we would like to win at Cannes Lions, it didn’t happen this time, but the thing is that, we will never relent.

If you recall, we were the first Nigerian agency to get the national diploma from Cannes, a few years ago. For us it was like a little opening in that door, and we keep pushing. We can also put it on record that this year, we remain the only Nigerian agency that did register for Cannes this year. And that would surprise you, and a lot of Nigerian agencies went there with a retinue of seven to ten people. We believe it is possible. Even if it doesn’t work now, we won’t give up, we will keep pushing, that I can assure you, it may take some time, but I know it will happen.

Noah’s Ark expansion at a time marketing communications industry is shrinking There are businesses that are still growing. There is really no magic to it. At a time like this, clients will keep demanding, and it doesn’t make serious clients to stop spending. But they may begin to ask questions: why am I spending this? Where am I spending it? Whom am I spending it with? It’s about how much value, you, as an agency, can deliver. So if there is anything, all the years of believing in creative output is making sense today. I think client is looking for who is the best partner I can have at a time like this. Yes it is tough, but business must go on.

pecially as an industry, is that this- ismy- own syndrome. We don’t always want to let go, even when it’s obvious that it is not working. But the fact remains that if it is not working, it’s not working. In case of Alicia Virgins, it was going to fold up anyway, and we saw the opportunities.

For any merger or acquisition to work, you need to see what the interests are.

Are there aligned interest? If I’m going to start an agency, what do I stand to gain?

Are they bringing in some business to me?

Are they bringing in some talents to me?

For instance, one of the things that led to the turn-around of Grey London, sometimes early 2000 or thereabout, was the fact that, Grey London was interested in a particular Creative Director called Tim Elliot, and what it did was to buy up Elliot’s small agency, because they needed Tim Elliot. And this worked because Elliot turned around the output of the agency. I think it might get to that level here. May be the generation that has gone, it’s been

The nation’s IMC industry in the next two quarters As you can see the economy is more demanding and more challenging now.

Clients are groaning, and there is no way that will not affect us as well. But we are hoping that if the government finally gets to do the necessary things such as pumping money into the economy, that will go a long way in catalysing the economy.

But we may not see the results as quickly as possible. In a third quarter like this, I think the year is gone. We can only hope that whatever they are able to achieve this year can be built on next year. Look at the last AAAN AGM, a couple of agencies were delisted. This is not good for the industry.

Pepsodent’s digital activation wins at 2016 World Oral Health Day challenge PEPSODENT Nigeria has been declared winner at this year’s edition of the World Oral Health Day challenge at the continental and global levels.

While the brand’s digital activation came first, ahead of nine other countries in Africa, it also topped the chart at the global level, ahead of 31 countries.

According to the organisers of the competition, the achievement was measured by the delivery of over one million pledges from a fully integrated campaign across multiple touch points with best-in-class in-market or store and digital activation executed by the Terragon Group.

Speaking about this feat, Brand Manager, Pepsodent Nigeria, Umoh George, described the achievement as a major milestone for Nigeria, since that would be the first time ever that an African country would emerge first in the global Oral Care Social Mission’s challenge with corresponding growth in market share and sales during the same period.

“This win has demonstrated that our social mission equals business mission, in line with Unilever’s mission of improving the oral health of ten million Nigerian children by 2020 through the Pepsodent Brush Day & Night schools programme,”

he stated.

The #BrushBrush campaign, which was the digital leg of the World Oral Health Day 2016 campaign, aimed at getting people to take their oral hygiene seriously by pledging to brush day and night. A key success to this campaign was the digital execution carried out by Terragon Group.

Congratulating the brand on the award, the Head of Business and Strategic partnership at Terragon Group, Anu Sanya, expressed the company’s delight at being a part of the success story, adding that it would continue to provide value for its numerous clients at different market segments.

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T

HE mobility and sophistication of bank customers in this modern era have predisposed the evolution of alternative service channels to cater to their every time and everywhere banking needs. Today’s customers conduct their transactions from their homes, offices and even on the road courtesy of the new service channels which are not only efficient, but fast and secure. This is a radical departure from the old mortal and brick service environment which imposes great limitation on service scope and efficiency.

Nigerian banks have been in the forefront of the adoption of technology to enthrone efficiency, speed, convenience and security in banking. With top line investments in information communication technology, Nigerian banks are high flyers in innovative customer service channel delivery functions.

Leading Nigerian banks like First Bank of Nigeria Plc., United Bank for Africa Plc., Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Skye Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have done very well in this regard, introducing new technology-based products and services to meet the changing needs of their customers.

These banks’ progress in internet banking, smart card banking and mobile banking has been revolutionary and breath-taking. Customers now perform basic banking transactions like account balance request, transfers and online payments from the comfort of their homes.

Skye Bank Plc., one of the leading banks in Nigeria which is also a pioneer in electronic banking, embraced technology in service delivery at inception and has consistently applied it to delight its customers. The bank provides convenient and innovative electronic banking products and services to drive customer satisfaction, business growth and seamless management of business processes.

It also ensures high level of security to ensure its customers are protected. The channels - ATM, PoS, web, mobile and internet banking-are efficient and top rate.

To ensure pleasant customer experience, for instance, the bank went into partnership with ChamsMobile and both launched Nigeria’s first Visa Virtual Card.

The Visa Virtual Card is an entirely digital payment card for online and mobile use, both locally and internationally. The card is unique in that cardholders get a full card image (the Virtual card) on their mobile device, PC, or tablet, with a plastic card offered as an option if customers prefer.

The new payment system was designed to expand financial inclusion to millions of Nigerians by offering a low cost bank-like mobile solution, as the card is issued free, linked to a broad range of financial services, and also offers an online payment alternative for e-Commerce savvy individuals, small businesses and corporate companies, membership associations etc.

Kegow is the program and card brand of ChamsMobile Ltd and the new Visa Virtual Card is available on www.kegow.com Deputy Managing Director of ChamsMobile, Mr. Gavin Young, said that he was excited to partner with Skye Bank and Visa on the unique and ‘First in Nigeria’ Visa Virtual Card payment solution, which was developed with the company’s international joint venture partners Bancore AS (as the Mobile financial services processor) and Global Technology Partners (as the Visa prepaid card processor).

“It is unique in that customers actually see an image of their card on their mobile phones, tablets and pcs, whereby all the essential features of a physical card, are shown in its ‘Virtual form’; card number,

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Skye Bank explores new grounds in electronic banking

Tokunbo Abiru, MD, Skye Bank expiry date and CVV number, for example. This, for many customers, negates the need for a physical plastic card, although we offer plastic cards as an option for customers requiring such.

“E-commerce savvy users can shop securely online by loading funds from a bank account or any other financial card, and those without a formal banking relationship will suddenly have the means to make their money work for them and move towards financial inclusion,” he said.

Speaking on this, Head, E-Channels, Skye Bank Plc., Mr Akinwale Ojo, said: “The bank chose to work with ChamsMobile, and its card processing partner GTP, based on careful consideration of the benefits all parties could bring to the table and in consideration of how the bank could best serve millions of Nigerians with this product, and particularly those who may be financially excluded, requiring a low cost yet fully inclusive financial services offering.”

On his part, Ade Ashay, Country Manager for Visa in West Africa, stated that “Our strategy of bringing world class innovation to Africa continues to make shopping online and via traditional channels much more convenient. Visa’s Virtual Card will make a real change to

Visa’s Virtual Card will make a real change to the lives of Nigerians by helping them to safely access the digital economy and participate in ecommerce. the lives of Nigerians by helping them to safely access the digital economy and participate in ecommerce.”

The two companies followed up with the introduction of a Visa eGift payment card. The eGift card is an online VISA card, which ChamsMobile Kegow subscribers can send by mobile phone. The eGift card follows the successful introduction of Kegow’s virtual VISA card.

The eGift card works exactly the same way, but is mainly for sending monetised

gifts to family, friends, business associates etc., in order to eliminate the stress and worry of what to buy for them on special occasions. It is an entirely digital payment card for online and mobile use, locally and internationally and is unique in that recipients get a full picture of the Virtual eGift Card on their mobile screen, PC, or tablet.

The reward for these innovations have been swift: Skye Bank Plc. and ChamsMobile jointly won the ‘Best Mobile money/Card combination in Nigeria’ award for their joint development and activation of the Kegow Visa virtual card.

The award was presented to the winning organisations at the Kalahari Awards 2016 during the 6th Remittance and Mobile Money Conference, which took place in Lagos.

The organisers of the awards, Kalahari Awards, commended both ChamsMobile and Skye Bank for partnering to develop an innovative and revolutionary virtual card to ease payment for transactions as well as facilitate e-commerce. The Kalahari Awards which brought together mobile money operators and card services providers from across Africa seeks to appreciate and honour operators that have distinguished themselves in the industry for their game-changing innovations.

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Monday, 25 July, 2016

Oba Sonariwo joins ancestors Olaynka Olukoya-Abeokuta

T

HE Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba (Dr) Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo, has joined his ancestors, on Saturday, in London.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the traditional ruler was ill and flown abroad for medical attention before he joined his ancestors.

Oba Sonariwo was the Chairman of the Ogun State Traditional Council before his passage.

The late monarch was born in 1936 at Ita-Eleye in Lagos State and attended St John School, Aroloya from 1941 to 1949.

The late monarch also attended Methodist Boys’ High School from 1950 till 1955.

He was installed on July 14, 1990; flown abroad on July 17 and died on Saturday morning in the United Kingdom.

The late monarch’s last official outing, was the conferment of the Iyalode of Remoland on Chief Folasade Ogunbiyi,

on June 11, in Sagamu.

When the Nigerian Tribune visited the ancient town on Sunday afternoon, residents were seen in groups discussing the incident.

At the Akarigbo’s palace at Ita-Oba area, a police pick-up van and another belonging to the local security group were strategically positioned at the entrance to the palace, while the gate to his private residence was locked.

A resident, Mrs Bintu Olowofela, described the death of the monarch as a great loss to the entire

Remoland. She said the late Oba Sonariwo’s reign brought about development to Sagamu.

When contacted, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Dayo Adeneye, said the state government had not been briefed officially about the passage of the first class monarch.

Some eminent personalities from Remoland said they could not talk on the incident until the news becomes official.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that traditional rites

From left, first military governor of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson; celebrant/first civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande; his wife, Abimbola and one time military governor of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubusi Kanu, at the 87th birthday anniversary prayer/party of Alhaji Jakande, held in Lagos, on Saturday.

Why I chained my 9-year-old son —Father As police arrest him Olaynka Olukoya-Abeokuta

THE Ogun State Police Command has arrested Pastor Francis Taiwo, who chained his son, Korede Taiwo, for allegedly displaying habits of stealing.

The man, aged 40, is said to be God’s servant at the Celestial Church of Christ (Key of Joy Parish), in Ajibawo area near Atan, Otta.

The boy was rescued on July 22 by security operatives in a room around the church after they got a tip-off from a member of the community.

Pastor Taiwo, according to the statement from the office of the command’s Public Relations Office, hails from Benin Republic, but born in Otta into the same church.

He was said to have been ordained as a pastor in the church in 2012.

The statement had it that Taiwo had two wives, while the mother of the victim is reported to be late.

He confirmed that he chained the boy because of his stealing habit and that he felt the young boy was possessed.

Man, 60, defiles 6-year-old girl in Ogun Olaynka Olukoya-Abeokuta

A 60-year-old man, Mayegun Alani, has been arrested for defiling a sixyear-old girl, last Thursday, in Sango area of Ogun State.

The incident, according to the Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, happened at No 3, Mayegun Street in AdoOdo/Ota Local Government Area.

The matter was reported to the police by the victim’s mother who noticed that the girl was in pain while

she was bathing her.

The victim upon interrogation was said to have opened up about what transpired between her and the old man, who happened to be the landlord of the house rented by her parents.

The suspect was said to have denied when arrested initially, but later confessed to the crime when interrogated, that he had been having carnal knowledge of the little girl for quite some time.

The PPRO said medical report confirmed that the

girl had been defiled and that the state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, had directed that the case be transferred to Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence of the command, Eleweran, Abeokuta for thorough investigation and prosecution.

Ali assured members of the public that the case would be thoroughly investigated and that the police command would not spare anyone caught in any criminal act or related offence.

The Command said the case had been transferred to the Anti Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit for necessary investigation and actions on the welfare of Korede.

Mama Ogunkeye for burial MAMA Caroline Ogunkeye is dead. She died on Wednesday, July 13, aged 90. Funeral ceremonies hold on Thursday and Friday in Ibadan. She is survived by many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mama Ogunkeye

for the passage of Oba Sonariwo would begin on Sunday night.

Another resident reliably informed that message had been passed across to everyone in the town about the development.

Ogun shut 26 private hospitals Olaynka Olukoya-Abeokuta

THE Ogun State government has closed down no fewer than 26 private hospitals in six different local government areas of the state.

The hospitals were shut following their defiance to government directive to register or revalidate their facilities, in accordance to the Private Hospitals and other Health Establishments Registration Edict of 1988.

The order for the closure was made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Nafiu Aigoro, when he led the monitoring team of the Department of Hospital Services to Odeda and Abeokuta South local government areas.

Aigoro, who represented Dr Solomon Sokunbi, said the closure of the hospitals was in the overall interest of the people.

He stated that record had it that maternal mortality death rate is on the increase in the state following the activities of quacks in the health sector.

While adding that the enforcement was not targeted at a particular set of people or facilities, but to ascertain the compliance level of the exercise and shut down those who refused to register or re-validate their facilities.

The monitoring team has shut down 19 private health facilities in Ijebu North, Ijebu Ode, Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Imeko Afon and the six recently shut down in Odeda Local Government. He said the exercise will continue until the 20 local governments across the state are well covered.”

Appreciating the Onimeko of Imeko Land, Oba Oyediran Olanite, for supporting the state government towards eradicating quacks’ activities in the state Health sector, Dr Aigoro said government would not hesitate to pursue any measure to enhance good and qualitative healthcare service delivery.

Hassan-Kukah to speak on Oputa panel in Ibadan tomorrow THE Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese in Sokoto, writer, civil activist and commentator on national affairs, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, would be in Ibadan, Oyo State, tomorrow.

Hassan-Kukah will be the guest of the book readers’ club of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) on Awolowo Road in the capital city.

According to the school, the respected clergy and social commentator will be reading from his book, “Witness to Justice: An Insider’s Account of Nigeria’s Truth Commission (2011),” a critical narrative of the Human Rights Violation Investigations Commission (otherwise known as the Oputa Panel), established by the Obasanjo administration to investigate the causes, nature and extent of human rights violations from 1966 to 1999.

The reading is the school’s second, having earlier hosted poet and gubernatorial candidate in Edo State, Odia Ofeimun, who read from his book, Taking Nigeria Seriously.

ISGPP said of HassanKukah, “he is a fiery and indefatigable patriot whose love for Nigeria is not in doubt. And not surprisingly, he will be reading from his book. This is a serious book that brings together, in over 500 pages, history, politics and violence within the framework of Nigeria’s tormented development in a beautiful narrative that is bold and sincere.”

Former army spokesman, Adewuyi, dies THE death has occurred of Lt Col Olabode Adewuyi (retd), who served as head of the Army Public Relations Unit, at 2 Mechanised Division, Ibadan, till 1984.

He was appointed Chairman, Ogbomoso North Local Government and a prominent member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Ogbomoso Community Foundation during his lifetime.

He was an English graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University set of 1967 and died at the ripe age of 80. Funeral service comes up at the Agodi Baptist Church, Old Ife Road, Ibadan, on Friday, July 29, 2016. He is survived by a wife, Mrs Mabel Feyisara Adewuyi, children and grand children.

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$1.5m Dubai property: Allegation against Buratai diversionary—Groups Back Buhari on anti-graft war Clement Idoko - Abuja

A

Coalition of Civil Society Groups, on Sunday, described the alleged act of corruption against the Chief of Army Staff, LieutenantGeneral Tukur Buratai, in connection with the ownership of two Dubai mansions, as diversionary and politically-motivated.

The groups, while expressing their support to President Muhammadu Buhari's fight against corruption, however, denounced the attempt to rope in the army chief and slow down his efforts to annihilate Boko Haram insurgency President of the coalition of civil society groups, Mr Etuk Bassey Williams, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, revealed that independent investigation by the civil society coalition, indicated that General Buratai declared his assets in strict compliance with the Code of Conduct Bureau ( CCB)Act, which made it mandatory that all public officers must delare their assets.

According to him, the said Dubai property was discovered to have been declared in the name of his wife in his CCB form submitted in August 2015.

Williams further said investigation also revealed that

the said property, which has generated much furore, is a single room property in Dubai bought as an investment for the purpose of generating income from rent as against the false impression of two mansions bought for pleasure.

He said that the Dubai property was also discovered to have been bought from savings from his salaries and allowances spanning over two decades as a military officer, adding that the cost of the property was less than one quarter of the sum of $1.5 million being speculated in the media.

He added that the property was discovered to have been purchased in 2013, long before his appointment as the

Chief of Army Staff.

"The fight against corruption has taken a new dimension in Nigeria since the emergence of President Buhari, whose zero tolerance for corruption has never been in doubt.

"Despite the wheel of justice grinding slowly in the pros-

ised by irregularities leading to cancelation of the results.

Agbogu explained that the exercise was cancelled in 15 polling units with a total of 13,000 registered voters.

Meanwhile, the chairman, caretaker committee of the

the many security challenges facing the country such as the ongoing war against terrorism, the Niger-Delta militancy, the recent rumour of coup and the clash between the military and Shiite sect, to mention but a few, with the military at the centre of it all.

As IGP commends officers on Kogi, Imo reruns Chris Agbambu - Abuja with Agency Report A former Chief of Air Staff and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Air Vice-Marshal Isaac Alfa (retd), has been declared the winner of Kogi East senatorial re-run held on Saturday.

Announcing the result in Idah, on Sunday, the returning officer for the election, Professor Lucky Ovwhasa, said Alfa, the PDP candidate, scored 57, 575 votes to defeat five other candidates.

He said that the candidates of Mega People Political Party (MPPP), United

Commonwealth education chief delivers NOUN public lecture Wednesday PRESIDENT of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Professor Asha Kanwar, will, on Wednesday, deliver the first public lecture of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

The lecture, tagged "Can ODL reach the unreached? Lessons from the Commonwealth", will be delivered at the auditorium of the National Universities

ruption should be total, not isolating any individual irrespective of party affiliation, religion or ethnicity.

"However, our restrain in not hastily making a public statement was predicated on the sensitivity of the office concerned, in the light of

PDP wins Kogi East senatorial election

Commission(NUC), Abuja.

The lecturer is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the COL, an inter-governmental organisation, created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to promote the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies.

Professor Kanwar be-

INEC declares Imo North rerun inconclusive THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the result of Imo North senatorial district rerun inconclusive.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the poll was conducted on Saturday.

Also declared inconclusive were the results of Oru East and Isiala Mbano state constituencies following reported cases of shot out which characterised the exercise in some communities in the two affected areas.

The shootings were reported at Okata and Amiri in Oru East, while skirmishes and snatching of ballot boxes characterised the election in some communities in Isiala Mbano area.

Professor Arinze Agbogu, the Indepenent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer for Imo North senatorial district, who announced the result on Sunday, however, said that Mr Ben Uwajumogu, the All Progressive Congress (APC’s) senatorial candidate, polled 48,921.

Agbogu also announced that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Athan Achonu scored 40,142 votes to emerge second in the already declared result.

He explained that results of several polling units in Isiala Mbano area were character-

ecution of corruption cases, the resolute will of the government under the current leadership to aggressively tackle corruption, irrespective of whose ox is gored, is highly commendable.

"It is our firm conviction that the war against cor-

PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, on his Twitter handle on Sunday, said "the attempt to rig our party in the Imo North re-run is unacceptable. INEC and the security agencies must respect the wishes of the people."

came the head of the institution on June 1, 2012 and had served it for 12 years.

Before joining COL, she was a consultant in open and distance learning at UNESCO’s regional office for education in Africa (BREDA) in Dakar, Senegal.

She has over 30 years of experience in teaching, research and administration.

Progressives Party (UPP), KOWA, ACPN and Labour Party, scored 1,793, 888, 498, 349 and 11,908 votes, respectively, in the election.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) did not participate in the exercise due to an Appeal Court judgment which prohibited it from fielding a candidate.

The senatorial election, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), held in 236 out of the 1,080 policing units in the area.

The returning officer announced that only 140, 297 voters out of the 643,559 registered voters in the area participated in the election.

Mr Haruna Idoko of the APC, had, on Saturday night, been declared winner of Idah state constituency re-run.

According to the returning

officer of the election, ProfessorFemi Ajayi, Idoko polled 8,346 votes to beat his closest rival, James Ukwubile of PDP, who scored 8,274 votes.

The result of Ofu state constituency re-run is still being awaited.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has expressed satisfaction with the impressive performance of police officers in the re-run in Kogi and Imo states on Saturday and commended the officers for their unalloyed service to the nation.

He commended them for their personal and collective demonstration of patriotism, professionalism and commitment in ensuring that the re-run were conducted in an atmosphere of peace devoid of any breach of public security.

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Monday, 25 July, 2016 CHANGE OF NAME

Nigeria records 2-year without polio Buhari, UNICEF commend stakeholders

By Leon Usigbe and Clement Idoko

N

IGERIA will today mark two years without polio case.

This is an important milestone for the polio eradication initiative and a major step towards polio-free certification for the country in 2017.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative, Jean Gough, has accordingly commended Nigeria for the feat.

Gough said “achieving a polio-free Africa will bring us closer than ever to a polio-free world,” warning that the success should not be taken for granted.

He said: “We must continue to work together with all partners, particularly with the traditional institutions at all levels, to ensure we reach every child so that we can relegate this paralysing disease to history forever.”

Nigeria will be officially declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after three years without a case of polio.

Communication Special-

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ist, Media and Advocacy, UNICEF Nigeria Country Office, Mr Akin Jimoh, said “as long as polio exists anywhere, it poses a threat everywhere.”

In a statement he issued on Sunday, in Abuja, Jimoh said it was essential that Nigeria and the global community continue to vaccinate children against polio, adding that intensive efforts to vaccinate every child, particularly across Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and any high-risk or insecure areas are critical.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari who led the country’s Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication, has congratulated stakeholders on the second anniversary of the last reported case of wild polio virus in Nigeria, vowing to ensure timely release of funds meant for the eradication of the disease.

In a statement released in Abuja on Sunday to mark the occasion, he observed that the stakeholders worked tirelessly to maintain the effort and permanently halt new polio cases in the country.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Susan Ohuru now MRS. OLARETAN SUZAN. All former documents remain valid. Kogi State College of Education (Technical), Kabba and general public take note.

I, formerly Dorothy Laruba Onoja now DOROTHY LARUBA EGBUNU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Adeniji Israel am the same person as Adeniji Israel Alaba.

Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ADENIJI ISRAEL. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Union Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and general public take note.

I, former Miss Osisanya Adedoyin Adurayemi now MRS ADEMOLA ADEDOYIN JUMAI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Oladeji Tirimisiyu Adegboyega now OLADEJI TIRIMISIYU AKANNI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Jayeola Adetoye Quadri now ADESANYA ADETOYE QUADRI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, Hafisi Aderibigbe Bisiriyu am the same person as Aderibigbe Bisiriyu Ayinla and Bisiriyu Hafees Aderibigbe.

Now, I wish to be known and addressed as HAFISI ADERIBIGBE BISIRIYU. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ogunwuyi Florence Alaba now MRS OLADOSU FUNMILAYO FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Olubodun Kehinde Ayomide now OLUBODUN KEHINDE OMOTAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Sanni Funmilayo now ADELEYE FUNMILAYO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Olaniran Esther Temitayo now MRS ALALADE ESTHER TEMITAYO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Azeez Kafilat now TAOFEEK KAFAYAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Adesina Bosede Christinah now MRS GBOYEGA BOSEDE CHRISTIANAH. All former documents remain valid.

Heritage Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Omolara Mary Eyetan am the same person as Omolara Mary.

Now, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS FAKOREDE OMOLARA MARY. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Oladele Mary Oluwasunmisayo now MRS ONI OLUWASUNMISAYO MARY. All former documents remain valid.

LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State and general public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

I, formerly Anyadioha Obison Cleophas now ANYADIOHA OBINOZIE PAUL CLEOPHAS. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, hereby declare that my full name are Mukaila Atanda Olaniyan not Mukaila Olaniyan. Now, I wish to be known as MUKAILA ATANDA OLANIYAN and my correct date of birth is 23/05/1960. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Ayinde Oluwatoyin Alabi now AYINDE TOYEEN ALABI. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., Iwo Branch and general public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME I, Muideen Qayyum Raheem now wish to be known and addressed as MUIDEEN ADEWALE RAHEEM. All former documents remain valid. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTB), and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly Onibiyo Olawumi now MRS. OGUNWANDE VICTORIA OLAWUMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Ajike Alaba Olajumoke now ADEGBITE ALABA OLAJUMOKE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Olorunfemi, Bolanle Olubunmi now MRS. KUTU, BOLANLE OLUBUNMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

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I, Yusuf Ibrahim Isola am the same person bearing Yusuf Abayomi Isola. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as YUSUF ABAYOMI ISOLA. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

UBA Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Abiodun Mosunmola Oluwakemi now MRS. BADA MOSUNMOLA OLUWAKEMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Oluwakemi Olaseinde now OLUWAKEMI O. OJO. All former documents remain valid. SkyeBank Plc., Access Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Awolola Majekobajeoluwa Anjolaoluwa now LAWAL M A J E K O B A J E O L U WA ANJOLAOLUWA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Happy Stella now SUNDAY HAPPY. All former documents remain valid. Heritage Bank Plc., and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Opeloyeru Alliu am the same person as Abdullahi Opeloyeru Alliu. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as ABDULLAHI OPELOYERU ALLIU. All documents bearing these names remain valid. EcoBank Plc., and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Mrs. Sangogade Esther Bolanle now MRS. SANGOGADE ESTHER BOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Rafiu Zainab Motunrayo now MRS. ALANI ZAINAB MOTUNRAYO. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc., Wema Bank Plc., Stanbic IBTC., NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Miss Ajayi Ibilola Esther now MRS. AKINLUWA IBILOLA ESTHER. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Government and general public take note.

I, formerly Miss Ezekiel Florence Omolara now MRS. OMOREMI FLORENCE OMOLARA. All former documents remain valid. Oyo State Ministry of Justice and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

Nwudilimpka Okwadili in my First Bank current account and also called Nwudilimkpa Okwudili Chukwu in my First Bank saving account respectively. That I wish to be known and addressed as NWADILIMKPA OKWUDILI CHUKWU BASIL. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., and general public take note.

I, formerly Ann (Anastasia) Isioma Ekwusama now MRS. ANN ISIOMA CHUKWULOAKUBUEZE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Olujobade Funmilayo now OLADAPO MOROMOKE MARIAM. All former documents remain valid. Wema Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Adewale Biliaminu Akinjide now OSUNWO BILIAMINU JIDE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Akanji Aderemi am the same person as Akanji Lukman Aderemi. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as AKANJI LUKMAN ADEREMI and my correct date of birth is 24/11/1964.

All documents bearing these names remain valid. GTBank Plc, First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Miss Akapo Olubunmi Funmilayo now MRS AKINDELE BUNMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME

I, OLUJOKE VICTORIA OLATUBOSUN confirm this is my correct name instead of Joke Olatunbosun. All former documents remain valid.

First Bank of Nigeria Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ojikutu Olubunmi Olukemi now AFOLABI OLUBUNMI OLUKEMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Adamu Shehu now ADAMS SEUN JOHN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Ridwan Ismaila Adisa now AKINKUNMI RIDWAN ISMAILA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Zakariyau Alfa Yahaya now ZAKARIYAU MOHAMMED. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly Helen Onyinye Obichere now MRS AFOLABI HELEN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME I, Kuti Olatunbosun Olaitan, my name was wrongly written as Kuti Olatunbosun Baliki in my BVN. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as KUTI OLATUNBOSUN OLAITAN. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Azeez Ridwan Lekan now AZEEZ OLAMILEKAN MONTANA. All former documents remain valid. Skye Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Miss Ojo Fadekemi Idowu Lydia am the same person as Miss Ojo Fadekemi Lydia. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as MRS ADEGBITE FADEKEMI LYDIA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Akeem Rafiat Abidemi am the same person as Akande Rafiat Folasade. Now, I wish to be known and addressed as AKANDE RAFIAT FOLASADE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. UBA Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly Okorie Blessing Chiamaka now EZIEDOZIE BLESSING CHIAMAKA and my date of birth is 27th November, 1988. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

I, formerly Sally Solomon Akong now TAKIM SARAH AKONG. All former documents remain valid.

EcoBank Plc and general public take note.

I, formerly Akintobi Yetunde now ODONI YETUNDE FUNKE. All former documents remain valid.

Access Bank Plc, First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Raji Adijat Ibiroke am the same person as Adijat Ibrahim.

Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as RAJI ADIJAT IBIROKE. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Iyke Anayanasor Joseph now ANAYANASOR IKECHUKWU POLY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, formerly Shiyanbola Oseni Abiodun and Shiyanbola Oseni now SHIYANBOLA OKE KAJOGBOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Abodunrin Margaret Funmike am the same person as Aroyehun Funmi Margaret. Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as ABODUNRIN MARGARET FUNMIKE. All documents bearing these names remain valid.

General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Ugwu Anny Aniebonam, Aniebonam Ugwu, Ugwunnam Anny Friday now FRIDAY UGWUNNAM. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME/CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly Aneke Amaka Eucharia now ANEKE EUCHARIA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly Oyewale Olaoluwa now OSUNTOLA FOLAKE RISIKAT. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CORRECTION OF NAME

I, Hamzat, Ismaila Gbolahan am the same person that my name was mistakenly written as Amusat Ismail Gbolahan. Henceforth, my correct name is HAMZAT, ISMAILA GBOLAHAN. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly Miss Oladipo Funmilola Omowumi now MRS ADENIYI FUNMILOLA OMOWUMI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I formerly Miss Onwunzo Amarachukwu Ozioma now MRS EJIANYA A M A R AC H U K W U OZIOMA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I formerly Shaibu Adams now SHUAIBU ADAMU. My correct date of birth is 8/3/1991 and not 3/3/91 as wrongly stated in my bank account. All documents remain valid. Banks and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Nigerian Tribune

I formerly Taiwo Olude now HENRY TAIWO AKANJI OLUDE. All former documents remain valid. Bank authorities and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OMISSION OF NAME/CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH

I, Lori Johnbull Palmer, own voter’s card bearing Lori Johnbull. That Palmer was omitted from the voter’s card. My full name is Lori Johnbull Palmer, not Lori Johnbull.

My correct date of birth is 13/7/1970, not 12/9/1970. All documents bearing these names remain valid. General public take note.

NAME HARMONISATION

I, Helen Ekpe am the person bearing Helen Effiom Ekpe.

All documents bearing these names remain valid.

Access Bank Plc and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Miss Fadipe Adenike Gbemisola now MRS OGUNMOLA ENIOLA GBEMISOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, Tadese Suliyat Omowumi am the same person as Tadese Suliyat.

Henceforth, I want to be known and addressed as TADESE SULIYAT OMOWUMI. All documents bearing these names remain valid. Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly Oyelude Christiana Abosede now OLADUNNI CHRISTIANA ABOSEDE TITILAYO. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly Babalola Bosede Sayo Sidikat now MRS HASSAN SAYO SIDIKAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, Olubisi Anike Adesina am the same person as Olubisi Anike Abosede Adesina. Henceforth, I wish to be known and addressed as OLUBISI ANIKE ADESINA. All documents bearing these names remain valid. UBA Plc., SkyeBank Plc., and general public take note.

news FG to address national infrastructure imbalance 37

Sanya Adejokun - Abuja

T

HE Federal Government has commenced collation of data towards addressing infrastructure imbalance in all zones of the country, with a view to stemming the tide of restiveness, corruption and poverty.

Already, the Federal Character Commission (FCC) is

Monday, 25 July, 2016

looking into data banks and soliciting information from appropriate quarters in a bid to properly establish the spread of basic infrastructure, as well as identify and confirm areas of real and perceived lopsidedness.

According to a statement

by Akpandem James, Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo

Udoma, the acting chairman of FCC, Dr Shettima Abubakar Abba, said when he led a team from the Commission on a visit to Udoma, he explained that the exercise was intended to draw the attention of government to areas with genuine lapses, as well as suggest measures to address them.

This, he said, was to give every segment of the country

a genuine sense of belonging.

Abba, who told the Minister that his team would require the assistance of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in the course of its assignment, advised Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to deliberately ensure equitable distribution of amenities across states and

Burnt office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, after unknown persons set it on fire on Friday.

zones of the country, while considering projects for execution.

He pointed out, however, that the exercise was not to look out for equality, but equity in the distribution and provision of amenities, saying this was the reason the Commission is emphasising conscious consideration of every state or zone in the provision of basic infrastructure.

Senator Udoma confirmed government’s resolve to ensure fairness to all the zones in the provision of infrastructural facilities, recalling that it started with the 2016 Budget where conscious effort was made to spread critical infrastructure across the six political zones.

He told the FCC team that Federal Government already has an infrastructure master plan backed up with a strategic implementation plan to ensure that every state and zone is adequately catered for, pointing out that the thrust of the 2016 Budget was on the provision of road and rail infrastructure.

Separation of AGF’s office from Minister of Justice still possible —Ekweremadu Ayodele Adesanmi - Abuja

THE Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said the separation of the Office of the the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) from that of the Minister of Justice is still possible, if Nigerians still desire it as a way to strengthen justice delivery in the country.

Ekweremadu while speaking with newsmen at the weekend, at the construction site of the National headquarters of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), in Abuja, commended the Bar leadership, under Mr Augustine Alegeh, for continuing with the project started by his predecessor.

He revealed that the proposal to separate the two offices actually sailed through during the last amendment exercise, but noted that it

could not see the light of the day since the Forth Alteration Bill was not assented to by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He added that although he personally believed in the idea, it was a decision for the majority of Nigerians and lawmakers to make.

The lawmaker, however, maintained that the separation of the two offices would make whoever is appointed the AGF to work for the people, and not necessarily the government in power as a cabinet minister, saying it would ensure access to justice by citizens, devoid of any external influence.

According to him “I believe in the separation of the two offices. I go for it anytime, any day. This is because it will guarantee financial independence, security of tenure, and make the holder of the Office of the Attorney-

General at the state and federal levels to be autonomous in thinking and approach to the idea of justice.

“It will ensure that citizens would have access to justice, since the Officer will not be

test-running the train service by moving people free of charge from Abuja to Kaduna and back since June 15, 2016.

The Abuja-Kaduna train service is part of the on-going efforts and commitment of President Muhammadu

Buhari-led administration to providing modern, safe and affordable means of transportation in the country and will serve as a vehicle for delivering sustainable socioeconomic development, social harmony and political stability.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow kick off the newly completed Abuja (ldu)-Kaduna (Rigasa) Train Service for commercial operation.

A statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Transportation, Yetunde Shonaike, stated that the event, which would take off by 10.00a.m at the Idu Railway Terminal would be attended by important diginitaries in the society, including state governors, captains of industries and stakeholders in the transportation sector.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has been

Continued from pg7

“Some people are also saying I kept quiet while it was good and now I am talking because things have gone sour. Many members of the House and Nigerians will be shocked to know that there has never been good times between myself and Speaker Dogara. It took few weeks after his election as Speaker for me to realise I never really knew him well. I was hasty to judge him by his innocent looking personality.

We practically disagree on everything.

OOU lecturer speaks on ‘Nigerian Girl Child’ tomorrow SENIOR Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr Bayo Aina, will be guest speaker at this year’s “July 24 Dialogue Series” of The Grace Pastures Int’l Foundation, tomorrow.

National Assembly) recommend it to our colleagues, based on inputs from Nigerians, and they graciously adopted it. Unfortunately, the last President did not sign it,” he said.

Budget padding: Jibrin makes fresh allegations

Buhari kicks off Abuja-Kaduna train service tomorrow Sanya Adejokun-Abuja

dictated to by any external interest or influence.

“During the last constitution amendment exercise, we (members Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in the 7th

The event scheduled for Dr Lucy Newman’s Hall, The Grace Pastures House, Okesisan, Erunwon, Ijebu-Ode, by 11.00 a.m; will see Aina speak on “The Nigerian Girl Child: The Reality of An Abused Absurdity.”

“All these forced me to stay away from him except on official assignment. I can count how times I have been to his office or home. I stayed away completely. It was such a frustrating and depressing period for me.

Who will I complain to?

How do I face the world and say I got it wrong after playing such a lead role in his emergence? When you see a house you sacrificed everything to build is falling apart and the driver believes he is firmly in charge because he has eight votes advantage, you are left with no choice but to tie your seat belt for obvious eventuality.

“I must admit I made an error of judgment. I don’t know to whom and from where I will start apologising for not heeding to wise counsel. There is nothing I am saying now that I have not discussed or warned speaker Dogara on the few occasions that I sorted and got private audience with him. But he has been hijacked and has surrounded himself with a small cabal.

“All I am asking for is my right to be heard by my colleagues which they denied me. I am calling on my colleagues to plead with Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Ogor to stop

obstructing justice and allow me my right to be heard by the House.

“It is the House that will institute a special investigation on this matter to allow me testify and provide evidence before any other external action,” he said.

The speaker, Dogara, on his Twitter handle on Thursday, while reacting to tweets on the issue, said Jibrin had “threatened the heavens will come down if he is removed and we thought to ourselves it will be fun watching it happen. We’re waiting for the heavens to come down first.That will be a lifetime experience.Until that happens, it’s all jokes.”

When contacted on phone, special adviser to the speaker on media and public affairs, Turaki Hassan, said they were not ready to join issues with Jibrin, adding that there was no comment on his allegations.

Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Honourable Abdulrasak Namdas, had, last week, said “most of the allegations made by Jibrin on the 2016 budget process and his opposition to immunity of presiding officers are nonissues and mre afterthought manufactured simply because the House relieved him of his position.”

Max Air to airlift 30,112 pilgrims to holy land Kola Oyelere Kano

Max Air has said the National Hajj Commission (NHC) has allocated about 30,112 pilgrims to the corporation for this year’s holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, saying it has put modalities in place to ensure a hitch-free airlift of the intending pilgrims to the holy Land Speaking with pressmen on Sunday, the Public Relations Officer of the airline, Dahiru Ibrahim, said Max Air had acquired two new aircrafts HL 747-400 series, with a capacity for 503 passengers including the cabin crews and five Boeing 747 Jumbo jets aircrafts that would complement the hajj operation.

He, however, disclosed that Max Air would come up with new ideas that would ensure the safety of pilgrims and a hitch-free journey to and fro Saudi Arabia.

According to him, the airline would airlift pilgrims from Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kebbi and partly Benue and Nasarrawa states.

Proprietor tasks govt, teachers on resolution of unrest in Oyo public schools

By Kahinde Adio

THE Proprietor of Mount Zion International School, Ring Road, Ibadan , Oyo, State, Mrs Joy Adeniji, has appealed to the state government and other education stakeholders in the state, to find a lasting solution to education unrest in the state, especially at the public primary and secondary school levels She made the appeal on Wednesday, during the school’s 2016 valedictory service and prize-giving day, on the college’s premises.

According to her, the state government, teachers, parents and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) state chapter, should make haste to resolve the issue in the interest of the innocent children being deprived of the their right to education She lamented that many of the public school students were roaming the streets, and engaging themselves in hawking and other immoralities “It has become obvious that government alone cannot fund education. In view of this development, parents should endeavour to support the education of their wards in public schools in kind and cash,” she stated.

38

Monday, 25 July, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Russia may participate in Rio Olympics

General Secretary, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Mohammed Sanusi (L); FIFA President, Gianni Infantino (2nd-L); NFF President, Amaju Pinnick and other NFF officials at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to welcome the FIFA President in Abuja on Sunday.

PHOTO: NAN

Heartland fans attack referee

R

EFEREE Olawale Fawole was beaten black and blue and FC IfeanyiUbah team bus smashed after rival Heartland fans went on rampage in a revenge attack on Saturday in Owerri after a league match involving both eastern Nigerian clubs.

Fawole is a serving Nigerian army officer.

According to Africanfootball. com, Fc IfeanyiUbah’s owner attacked Heartland goalkeeper Ebele Obi and some Heartland fans were also attacked in the ensuing mayhem.

Both the billionaire owner of IfenayiUbah and Obi were sanctioned for their conduct in that episode.

Saturday’s rematch in Owerri ended in a draw before the Heartland fans decided to take the laws into their hands.

An official report is being awaited from the League Management Company (LMC).

The incidence of violence at Nigeria league venues has been on the rise as the championship nears the home stretch.

South-West SWAN appoints Ogunleye as zonal secretary

By Nurudeen Alimi THE Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), South-West zone, has appointed Mr. Dele Ogunleye of the Ogun State chapter of the association as its zonal secretary.

The decision to appoint Ogunleye was taken at the South-West zonal meeting of the association which had the chairmen and secretaries from the six states which comprises the zone in attendance and held in Lagos over the weekend.

According to a communique issued at the end of the meeting:”After a successful deliberations on how to move the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria to enviable heights, the South-West zone of SWAN appointed Mr Dele Ogunleye of the Ogun State chapter of our dear association as zonal secretary.

“We also call on the South-West zonal officers to come up with a blueprint of activities which are capable of making the zone a pace-setter. We also charge state chapters in the zone to be more proactive by engaging

members through constant and reasonable activities”.

The meeting which was presided over by the SWAN VicePresident (South-West), Mr. Boye Ajayi, also decided to make the South-West zonal office of SWAN functional, while calling on state chapters to try

as much as they could to generate revenue through various projects.

Ajayi, however, commended the host state, the Lagos State chpater of SWAN under the leadership of Mr. Fred Edoreh for a hitch-free deleberation and the hospitality accorded those in at-

tendance at the meeting.

He also expressed gratitude to the first Vice-President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi and the President, Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) Tade Azeez for their support towards the successful hosting of the meeting.

5th Ochei Wheelchair Int’l B/ball Championship: We are ready for the continent —Olopade

By Niyi Alebiosu THEWheelchairBasketballFederation Of Nigeria (WBFN) has announced its readiness to host a hitch free championship just as it confirmed a new date for the event scheduled to hold at the Sir Molade Okoya Indoor Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

The championship which is expected to have countries like Cameroon, Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana in attendance was earlier fixed for September but will now hold between 3rd -8th October at the same venue.

Bukola Olopade, President, Wheelchair Basketball Federation of Nigeria who just re-

turned from the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation meeting in Morocco told Tribunesport in Lagos Saturday that the new date was arrived at after the Africa Wheelchair basketball qualifier for U23 world cup earlier scheduled to hold in Durban, South Africa in September has been shifted till 7th-16th December at the same venue. The U23 world cup holds in Canada at a later date.

The WBFN boss who expressed appreciation to the Chairman, Lagos State Sport Commission Deji Tinubu for their support towards the hosting of the championship disclosed that the federation is bringing experts from South Africa to train the

coaches and classifiers as a way improving the lots of the games “I can state categorically that we are ready for the 5th edition of the Sir Victor Ochei Wheelchair International Basketball Championship because all necessary arrangement to host a hitch free championship has been put in place. The medals, trophies are all ready, we are just waiting for the day to come”, he said.

The vice president of the federation in Africa however commended the sponsor, Sir Victor Ochei, former Speaker, Delta State house of Assembly for his continue sponsorship of the games despite not in government describing the feat as a rare one that should be applauded.

RUSSIA will not receive a blanket ban from Rio 2016 following the country’s doping scandal.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will leave it up to individual sports’ governing bodies to decide if Russian competitors are clean and should be allowed to take part.

The decision follows a report in which Canadian law professor Richard McLaren said Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme from 2011 to 2015.

The Rio Games start on 5 August.

Competitors from Russia who want to take part in the Games will have to meet strict criteria laid down by the IOC. And any Russian athlete who has served a doping ban will not be eligible for next month’s Olympics.

IOC president Thomas Bach said: “We have set the bar to the limit by establishing a number of very strict criteria which every Russian athlete will have to fulfil if he or she wants to participate in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

U-17 Qualifier-Garba denies invitation of foreign players GOLDEN Eaglets’ Head Coach, Manu Garba (OON), has for the umpteenth time warned impostors to steer clear of the Nigeria U-17 camp, even as he commended his wards for keeping their record intact after five trial matches.

The 2013 World Cup-winning coach said his magnanimity must not be misconstrued following spurious reports in the social media that he has extended invitations to some foreign-based Nigerian youngsters, including a certain goalkeeper Edward Onaiwu allegedly attached to English club Charlton Athletic.

“I have not invited anybody from outside Nigeria for our screening and assessment,” Garba told thenff.com. “Of course, I allowed some of the boys who came without invitation to train with us after repeated appeals by their parents and guardians about their desire to play for Nigeria. But none of them has the quality we are looking for and they are not in our plans and henceforth, we are not going to allow any uninvited players to train with us,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets over the weekend played two friendly matches at the NFF\FIFA Goal Project pitch in Abuja as part of their preparations towards next month’s CAF U-17 qualifying matches against Niger Republic.

39

Monday, 25 July, 2016

SIDELINES

NO 16,552

MONDAY, 25 JULY, 2016

I

am beginning today’s writing with a substantial quotation of the very first paragraph of last Monday’s column: “Many of us who are familiar with literature or who follow books with pleasure as ants suck sugar... endlessly and patiently, cannot but always remember the intellectual honesty of George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair (19031950), British journalist, novelist and essayist, who wrote 1984, the novel about Orwell’s terrifying prophecy for mankind. This 1949 novel which many of its readers will forever remember, among other concerns, for its “basic language of newspeak in which ‘thought crime is death,’” will always bear in our minds the ideas of a ruthless and pity-less political system such as ours.”

A reader who read the above words and the entire writing in this column last week, wondered why I jettisoned the political import of Orwell’s extraordinary novel with regard to its 1984 political relevance to Nigeria our Nigeria and to the current political atmosphere and mood of Nigeria your Nigeria. But let me confess urgently and openly that the reader in question did not phrase his observation in exactly the terms I have just employed. Far from it. The point is that his observation enabled me to go back in time to 1984 of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first coming to us as a military Head of State, and to his second coming to power as a civilian politician and president after several tries and failures.

Thus a kind of comparison between Buhari’s military dictatorship in 1984 and his present civilian presidential overlord-ship of your country that is a nation that is not a nation is not out of place.

In 1984 of Buhari’s military adventure into political governance, he was excitingly ruthless and pity-less.

I use the term “excitingly” to convey a picture of his military adventurism then because the majority of the masses at that time applauded the discipline he introduced to public life, institutions as well as private lives. Of course, 1984 was a reflection of the Shagari era when a leading acolyte of President Shehu Shagari said Nigeria our Nigeria was a happy, blissful land because no-one as at that time had eaten or fed from the dustbin – even when there was indescribable hunger

N150

A pastor was, at the weekend, arrested in Atan Ota, Ogun State, for putting his nine-year-old son in chains for weeks over alleged theft of food. He defied the boy’s pleadings and reduced him to a mere skeleton. What a father! If a so-called man of God can be this cruel to his own flesh, turning a church to prison, what is the fate of his congregation? And why does he even have one?

in&out with Tony Afejuku

08055213059

Another 1984 of patriotism worse than 1984 of national loyalty in the land and evidence that those who wanted to feed from the dustbin could not even get remnants from dustbins. The ruling political class then especially at the national level was that bad. How many of them did not have imported drinks and different items such as hats and spectacles named after them? There were several political and economic crimes committed against Nigeria. And when Buhari and Idiagbon (may Allah bless his patriotically patriotic soul) and other military dare-devils struck, Nigerians were happy and more than happy. True military patriots had come to deliver Nigeria, our Nigeria, to sound life and to the state of humanism Jackboot justice meant nothing to us because of the excesses of many politicians.

But no sooner than later the patriotism of the military heroes was skewed in favour of ethnic and regional ethos. But there were still many persons who were positively overwhelmed by patriotism of the jackboot. After all, our politicians then over-reached themselves as corrupt over-reachers. The Shagari men were no men: they gave us not the right values.

Yet those who bore the brunt of the times of our ruthless plunder and of our economic doom, candidly speaking, were those in opposition.

Now we are back to that era of reckless plunder and doom. But this time things are far worse than what happened then.

Hardly any person of economic value keeps dustbins for food remnants anymore because of his stifling economic stiffness

Our no nonsense president demands total, national loyalty from us as he descends on the economic wreckers of Nigeria. He is mightily determined to cut off the head, tug off the eyes, slice and cut off the limbs, and arrest the ears of corruption in this land.

But this honest mission of palatable moral and spiritual value is being hindered by what many watchers of our political affairs call our president’s systemic partiality.

In fact, several persons, within and outside his orbit of politics, brand him an Orwellian of the school of 1984. They say that for this president, a graduate of 1984 military authoritarianism, some animals are certainly more equal than others. They say further that this is no

more our Nigeria but his Nigeria. If he was demonstrably patriotic, despite his foibles when he first came, this time he is something else despite his steadfastness to wipe out completely the great disease of doomful corruption everywhere about us. The detractors ask: what can be more criminal than the president’s ethnic and regional appointments so far? All those occupying key posts, sensitive and not sensitive, are they not from the same geo-political or geo-ethnic zone?

Yet he wants us to overwhelm him with our mighty strength of national loyalty.

What he did unwell in 1984 of Orwell’s nineteen eighty-four he is now perfecting or trying to perfect on this new coming I endorsed at the time I did without a specimen of regret floating in my flawless river of foresight. Our president must admit the sense in this and make amends urgently. He must be intellectual enough to admit this.

I offer what I offer here candidly with sentiments of candour. Now he must ditch his deceivers and flatterers. I offer this delicious tuwo chinkafa candidly with sentiments of candour.

By the way, is the president aware that as I write, hardly any person of economic value keeps dustbins for food remnants anymore because of his stifling economic stiffness? People are going to hell by suicide’s premises. This must not be part of his legacy to Nigeria, our Nigeria, your Nigeria.

FlFA President, Secretary General arrive Nigeria PRESIDENT of world football –governing body, Mr. Gianni Infantino and the Secretary General, Ms Fatma Samoura arrived in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, on Sunday and were accompanied by executive assistants Mattias Grafstrom and Veron Mosengo-Omba.

The world football governors were received on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by NFF President Amaju Pinnick and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, vice presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko, and other members of the NFF Executive Committee and Management.

A 10 –year old girl handed the 46 –year old multi –lingual Infantino a bouquet

of flowers as the train emerged from the arrival hall, and a cultural troupe entertained in the foreground as Infantino and Samoura walked on the red carpet to waiting cars.

At the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Pinnick accompanied FIFA boss to the presidential suite, and meetings between the FIFA President and the NFF Board and with the visiting FA presidents from other African countries, as well as a cocktail dinner were on the programme for the night.

A total of 17 FA presidents from other African countries arrived in Nigeria on Saturday to join the NFF in receiving Infantino. These are; Kwesi Nyantakyi

(Ghana), Lamin Kaba Bajo (The Gambia), Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone), Musa Bility (Liberia), Juneidi Basha Tilmo (Ethiopia), Nicholas Kithuku (Kenya), Andrew Chamanga (Zambia), Philip Chiyangwa (Zimbabwe), Frans Mbidi (Namibia), Chabur Goc Alei (South Sudan), Walter Nyamilandu (Malawi), Abdiqani Said Arab (Somalia), Vincent Nzamwita (Rwanda), Moses Magogo (Uganda), Jamal Malinzi (Tanzania), Augustin Senghor (Senegal) and Souleman Waberi (Djibouti).

Infantino and Samoura, alongside Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, NFF President Pinnick, chairmen of the Senate and House sports committees, NFF General Secretary and other NFF Board members, and the

visiting FA presidents from other African countries, will today pay a courtesy call on His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

Also on the programme for today is an U13 exhibition football match at the National Stadium, visit to the new NFF headquarters and a business dinner with Nigeria’s political heavyweights and captains of industry.

NPFL RESULTS Warri Wolves 3

Akwa Utd

Ikorodu Utd 2

Nasarawa Utd 2

Plateau Utd 2

Enyimba

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. 25/7/2016.

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