12th January 2016

NIGERIA’S MOST INFORMATIVE NEWSPAPER NO 16,412

TUESDAY, 12 JANUARY, 2016

CBN lifts ban on dollar deposits, others —P10

www.tribuneonlineng.com

Nigerian Tribune

My refinery will stop petrol importation —Dangote —P10

@nigeriantribune

Nigerian Tribune

N150

I will challenge Fresh $300m looted fund to be repatriated to Dickson's victory at Nigeria from Switzerland tribunal —Sylva —P2

—P38

$2.1bn arms deal: Why we've not arrested Jonathan —EFCC

•Jafaru Isa returns N100m, released •Metuh sues EFCC, AGF —Pgs2,39 ASUU to Buhari: Pay N660bn intervention fund to public varsities —P14

Gunmen kidnap ex-Ondo Speaker —P4

The demolished Ogunpa market in Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: ALOLADE GANIYU

Ekiti, Osun polls: Army panel recommends officers for retirement, prosecution —P4

2 news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

$2.1bn arms deal: Why we’ve not arrested Jonathan —EFCC Jafaru Isa returns N100m, released

A

CTING chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Monday, offered explanations on why former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has not been arrested over the controversial $2.1 billion arms deal.

The fund, which was managed by the Office of former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), had led to the arrest, detention, questioning and arraignment of many prominent Nigerians, with some wondering why Jonathan, believed to be the principal actor in the unfolding scenario, had not been arrested or summoned for questioning.

Offering reasons Jonathan was yet to be summoned by the EFCC, Magu, according to Eagle Online, said no document had been traced to Jonathan giving any approval for the disbursement of the money for any other purpose than arms purchase.

Magu told a gathering of online news publishers under the aegis of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, in Lagos, on Monday, that all those questioned so far in connection with the money were those who disbursed or collected it for reasons other than the purchase of arms and ammunition.

In a terse answer to the question, Magu said: “All approvals by former President Jonathan did not mention that it was for political purposes.

“All the memos approved by him was for the purchase of arms.”

Those indicted by Dasuki to have benefited from the fund included Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Bode George; former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili; former DAAR Communications chairman, Dr Raymond Dokpesi; former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir

Yuguda; ex-Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih; Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, Chief Olu Falae and a former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja.

Others were publisher, ThisDay Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena and President Buhari’s close associate and APC chieftain, Colonel Lawal Jafaru Isa. Magu, while reacting

to insinuations about alleged double standards in the treatment of Jafaru Isa and the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, said the two cases were quite different.

There had been allegations that the EFCC was not hard on Isa, by allowing him to go home about eight hours after his arrest, while Metuh has been held by the commission since Tuesday.

While Metuh was alleged to have collected N400 million out of the money meant for the purchase of arms to fight the Boko Haram insurgency from Dasuki, Isa received N170 million.

But explaining the rationale behind allowing Isa to go home to online publishers, Magu said when the retired army officer was interrogated by the operatives of the commission, he owned

money from him (Isa) does not mean he may not be prosecuted. But in the case of Metuh, he simply threatened to go on hunger strike.

That won’t change anything,” he said.

Magu also said the commission did not hold any suspect beyond the legally allowed time, adding that when it became necessary, an order of the court was sought.

2015 poll: How Anenih, Falae sealed PDP-SDP working cooperation N100m paid to facilitate working arrangement Taiwo Adisa - Abuja DETAILS emerged on Monday as to how the former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, facilitated a working arrangement with the Chief Olu Falae-led Social Democratic Party (SDP), leading to the payment of the sum of N100 million to the SDP. A letter dated January 26, 2015, which was signed by Anenih as chairman of PDP’s BoT, indicated that a working relationship between the PDP and the SDP necessitated the payment to Falae as leader of the SDP. The letter indicated that the agreement between the two parties was reached following the decision of the PDP to agree with all issues raised by the SDP. The letter further confirmed the claim credited to SDP national chairman, Chief Olu Falae, by an online publication to the effect that there was inter-party cooperation between the PDP and the SDP to support Jonathan’s presidential ambition.

Falae had also admitted that he received the sum of N100 million on behalf of his party and distributed same to all branches of the party.

Anenih’s letter clarified the six issues tabled by the SDP ahead the working arrangement to pave the way for its implementation.

The letter, entitled: “InterParty Co-operation,” read in part: “I write to sincerely thank you for your letter dated January 23, 2015, on the above subject matter.

“After due consultations with relevant stakeholders of our party, I am pleased to convey to you our decisions on the issues and to further inform you that the president and the leadership of our party have expressed delight and strong optimism to fully cooperate and work with the SDP in the circumstance...”

He assured the SDP of PDP’s readiness to implement the 2014 conferene report, adding that “please be assured that the report of the national confab will be implemented to the letter.

“We believe that having regards to the fact that the national conference was a baby of the president, he is in a better position to implement it. And this is what he is doing.”

On “zero tolerance to corruption,” the former BoT chair said: “There is no doubt that our party, the PDP and your party, the SDP, are on the same page on this issue.

Apart from the fact that this administration has done more arrests, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of corrupt cases, the president has continuously laid emphasis on the need to develop an appropriate technology to comprehensively

combat corruption and its vices.

“The approach, for example, has produced immense results in eliminating corruption that was associated with the distribution of fertilisers in Nigeria in the past.”

On “intensification of efforts to defeat insurgency,” Anenih wrote: “it is the primary duty of government to protect lives and property of its citizens and secure the territorial integrity of the nation... Terrorism has become a global phenomenon and fighting it requires the cooperation of not just the entire citizens, but the support of the international community. The president is working on this. In his recent visit to Borno and in a rally in Maiduguri a few days ago, he assured the people that every inch of Nigerian soil currently under the control of insurgents will be recovered in no distant time.”

On “combating unemployment,” Anenih stated: “This is certainly a primary focus of this administration, considering the various programmes designed and

quarters, where he is currently being interrogated.

Those familiar with the investigation said the commission had been investigating the NBC in the past one month.

Last week, some detectives stormed the headquarters of the NBC, ransacking computers and files in the

Finance and Account unit.

During the operation, some key accounts staff were taken away.

Sources said the arrested officials made confessional statements to the EFCC implicating Mr Mba and some top officials.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwu-

implemented since 2011; programmes such as SUREP, YouWin, Agricultural and Industrial transformation, including the railways that have generated massive employment opportunities for Nigerians. The president intends to sustain the tempo and improve on existing records.”

On “reduction of recurrent expenditure and increase in capital expenditure,” which is another demand of the SDP, Anenih explained thus: “This is an area that the president is not only ready to give a critical look at, but he is also prepared to welcome new ideas and positive contributions from leaders of the SDP.” The sixth issue, which the SDP raised before the PDP, was the “participation of SDP in the PDP government,” and Anenih responded thus: “Please, be assured that the SDP will be considered as worthy participant in the government and will be adequately consulted in this regards.”

The nature of the PDPSDP cooperation ahead the 2015 election became an is-

sue, following the probe by the Economic and Fonancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into funds that allegedly exchanged hands during the campaigns.

Besides the SDP, Anenih was also said to have given another N100 million to the leader of ACCORD, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and N63 million to a group headed by an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, for mobilisation and post-election peace advocacy.

Anenih had, in a letter to the chairman of EFCC, explained how he spent the N260 million said to have been paid to his account by the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd).

He was also said to have stated in the letter that he spent over N440 million of his personal money, which the N260 million paid into his account could not defray.

The trio of Falae, Yakassai and Ladoja had confirmed that they received N100 million, N63 million and N100 million respectively from Anenih.

Fresh $300m looted fund to be repatriated to Nigeria from Switzerland Christian Okeke - Abuja DISCUSSIONS involving the Federal Government and Swiss authorities are ongoing on repatriation of fresh $300 million looted funds

EFCC arrests NBC DG, Emeka Mba, over alleged N15bn fraud THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Emeka Mba, the Director-General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), over an alleged N15 billion fraud.

Mba was arrested on Monday morning in Abuja and taken to the EFCC’s head-

up to collecting the money and immediately returned N100 million out of it.

Magu said Isa had promised to refund the balance on an agreed date.

However, in the case of Metuh, Magu said he refused to agree to the refund of any part of the money, but rather, threatened to go on hunger strike.

“The fact that we have been able to retrieve some

jaren, said he was on an official assignment in Lagos and had not been briefed.

But a top official of the anti-graft agency said: “Yes, he (Mr Mba) is with us. We are investigating massive diversion of public funds and we’re making progress. Mba definitely has questions to answer.”

back to Nigeria.

So far, over $700 million have been repatriated from same country with negotiations ongoing on how the fund would be applied.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoferry Onyeama, dropped the hint in Abuja, after an inaugural ceremony of the 22nd regular course of Foreign Service Academy.

He said he met with Swiss representatives last week to work out the modalities for the repatriation of the funds.

“We are also working to recover another $300 million which the discussion is ongoing too to get it repatriated,” he said.

According to him, the goodwill generated by President Muhammadu Buhari had helped enormously in the ongoing process, as many countries were already cooperating with Nigeria in the process.

He confirmed that there were ongoing discussions with other countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of America to recover looted funds.

“Mr President had earlier visited the United States. There were discussions there. So, there are ongoing discussions with the government around the world to bring these funds back to Nigeria,” he said.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

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news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Oyo govt begins demolition of Ogunpa Market To erect 1,000 modern shops

By Tunde Ogunesan

O

YO State government, on Monday, began demolition of about 2,000 shops in the popular Ogunpa Market to pave way for modern market shops promised by the government.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the team arrived the Ogunpa Oyo Market 1 and 2 around 10.00 a.m. and left for another nearby market in Dugbe around 4.00 p.m.

The state government had informed that it had brokered truce with the traders earlier, before commencing the demolition exercise on Monday.

According to government source, the state government had planned to commence the redesign and redevelopment of the market through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement on Monday.

The project, according to the state government, was expected to accommodate more than 1000 shops, as well as modern social infrastructure.

It further informed that the development was reached after a meeting held

between the stakeholders and the state government at

the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Ibadan, last

GUNMEN, suspected to be kidnappers, Sunday evening, abducted the former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly and a governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Honourable Victor Olabimtan.

Olabimtan was said to have been kidnapped around Kwali area, on his way to Abuja by gunmen, who were dressed in military outfit.

Confirming the development, Director of Media and Publicity of Victor Olabimtan Initiatives and Cam-

expressed fears that since the project would be execut-

Chairman, Board of Inquiry into the Ekiti, Osun and 2015 elections and the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Major-General Adeniyi Oyebade, presenting the report of the Board to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, in Abuja, on Monday.

ed by a private developer, they might not be able to afford the cost of the shops, which they said might be exorbitant.

They were also worried that the original traders in the market might be shut out upon completion, while the completed shops might be allocated to influential people who presently had no stake in the market.

But a former Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr Segun Abolarinwa, who represented the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi at the meeting, assured the stakeholders that the interest of the traders would be adequately taken care of.

According to him, the government decided to adopt the PPP model for the development of the market following the current economic realities that had made such partnership inevitable.

Ekiti, Osun polls: Army panel recommends officers for retirement, prosecution F rom Chris Agbambu and S am N waoko THE Board of Inquiry on the review of allegations of unprofessional conduct by some officers and soldiers during the Ekiti and Osun

governorship elections has recommended compulsory retirement for two officers from the Nigerian Army, while three were recommended to lose their commands and one for pros-

Gunmen kidnap former Ondo Speaker Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

Friday.

Some of the traders had

paign Organisation, Mr Soji Alakuro, explained that the former Speaker was travelling with his driver when the ugly incident occurred.

Alakuro stated that the driver, who was spared, explained that the gunmen, who were in military uniforms, stopped their vehicle and pretended to be on a ‘stop and search’ mission, saying that immediately they sighted his boss, he was dragged into a waiting vehicle and whisked away.

The driver, however, reported the incident at a police station in the area and said security agents swung into action immediately to secure the release of the APC aspirant in the forth-

Adeboye holds special Holy Ghost Service in Ibadan THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E. A. Adeboye, will be in Ibadan tomorrow, January 13, 2016, for a special Holy Ghost Service. The service with the theme: “Divine Visitation,” will be held at the old Sports Complex, behind Faculties of Education and Arts, University of Ibadan at 4.00 p.m.

coming governorship election in the state.

It was gathered that the police also mounted a ‘stop and search’ operations on vehicles in different parts of the city, while men from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have commenced investigatin into the matter.

However, a source close the family informed Nigerian Tribune that the kidnappers had contacted the family, demanding N20 million as ransom to secure the freedom of the former Speaker.

The source said the kidnappers spoke with one of Olabimtan’s son, Damilola and instructed the family to make available the ransom before their father could be released.

The source said “ the kidnappers just called the family, demanding N20 million as ransom and did not give room for negotiation.”

The state chapter of the APC described the development as unfortunate and called on the security agents in the country to expedite action on the release of the former Speaker.

ecution over collection of financial gratification.

Chairman of the Board, the General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army, Major-General Adeniyi Oyebade, who made the recommendations while submitting his report to the Chief of Army Staff, LieutenantGeneral Tukur Buratai, in Abuja, on Monday, also recommended placing of 15 officers on watch list, while nine others were to be further investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations levelled against them.

He stated further that the Board placed advertorials in the media requesting for memoranda from the public before they commenced sitting. In all, he stated that 23 officers and over 100 soldiers appeared before it, as well as 62 civilians.

The Board of Inquiry also recommended six officers to face an audit committee and 62 officers, mostly of rank of Major and below were to be given letters of displeasure, as well as appear before their respective General Officers Commanding (GOCs) for counselling.

Oyebade noted that based on petitions and allegations of unprofessional and partisan conducts of some officers and men of the Nigerian Army during the 2015 general election, Ekiti and Osun states governorship

elections last year, the Nigerian Army set up a Board of Inquiry.

Oyebade thanked the Nigerian Army for the opportunity to serve and reiterated the Board members’ willingness to serve when called upon for any other such assignment.

He also acknowledged the support and cooperation the Board received from the Nigeria Police and other security agencies, as well as the general public.

In his remarks, while receiving the report, the Chief of Army Staff, LieutenantGeneral Buratai, thanked the Board for a thorough and dispassionate job, one devoid of influence from any quarter.

He expressed delight that the Board, knowing the weight and implication of its report on the career of officers and impact on the Nigerian Army, discharged its assignment diligently and professionally.

He assured them that the report would be reviewed accordingly, in line with Nigerian Army’s legal and administrative procedures.

The Chief of Army Staff also enjoined members of the Board to share knowledge acquired in the course of their assignment with their colleagues for the benefit of the Nigerian Army and the nation.

He further reiterated assurance that the Nigerian Army would continue to remain professional and apo-

litical in the discharge of its responsibilities.

Reacting, Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose said the report submitted by the Army panel set up to look into allegations of unprofessional conduct against soldiers during the Ekiti, Osun, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states governorship elections, saying; “For all intent and purposes, the report can only be useful to the army and one is not surprised, because the panel must do the biddings of those who set it up.”

The governor, who reiterated that he won the election fair and square, said Nigerians should also ask questions as to whether it was the military that assisted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the Presidential, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections last year.

According to a statement issued by the governor’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, “reacting to the panel report was just to put the records straight as all legal avenues regarding election into the office of a state governor had been explored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and judgments entered against the party by the Tribunal, Appeal Court and the Supreme Court, which is the final court on governorship election matters.”

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

PUBLIC NOTICE FAN MILK PLC

RC: 2761

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO THE SHAREHOLDRES OF FAN MILK PLC (THE “COMPANY”) THAT THE COMPANY IS CURRENTLY UPDATING ITS REGISTER OF MEMBERS. IN THIS REGARD, WE HEREBY REQUEST THAT ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY, PARTICULARLY THE UNDERLISTED SHAREHOLDERS (WHO HAVE UNCLAIMED DIVIDENDS WITH THE COMPANY), SHOULD SEND THEIR CURRENT CONTACT DETAILS (INCLUDING PHYSICAL ADDRESS/REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS AND MAILING ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND E MAIL ADDRESS) AND BANK DETAILS, TO THE COMPANY SECRETARY AT THE ADDRESS BELOW.

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ABAGBODI FELIX ABDULWAHAB M.A ABIODUN IBRAHIM M ABIOYE J.O ABIOYE J.O ADAJI SULEIMAN ADAMU M. ADEBAYO ARIYO ADEBAYO ARIYO ADEBOLA M.O MISS ADEDIRAN O ADEFEHINTI DAVID I ADEFOPE OLASUNKANMI ADEFUYE OLORUNTELE ADEJARE SAKA ADEJUMO A.O ADEKOYA M.O ADELEKAN D.B ADELOYE VITORIA ADENRELE RAIMOTY ADENRELE SHERIFAT A ADENUGA SURAJU ADESANYA C.O ADESHINA IMARAN T ADESHINA TAJUDEEN I ADETUMOLE MARTINS A ADEWALE ADEBAYO ADEYEMI J.A ADEYEYE O.O AGBARAJI INNOCENT AGBOINIFO M AGIOBUKEMME RSG AIYEWUNMI IYABO AJANI SABITU AJAYI A.A AJUMOBI JOSEPH O AKALU FRIDAY AKINGBADE M. AKINLABI SAMUEL AKINOLA ADEBAYO AKINWALE J AKINWALE YISAU AKPAN MICHAEL ALABI LUKMAN ALAKA RASAKI A ALAOFIN MOSES ALIFO ABDU AIH ALOHAN E.E ALUKO OLUFEMI AMAECHI F.N AMAO FATAI A.A AMAO JOEL AMAO SALIMOTU ABEJE ANYILOIBI A.A ASOMUYINDE G.A AUDU CECILIA AUDU SOKOTO

SHAREHOLDERS NAMES

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AYANWOMIDE JOSSIAH O AYO S.B BABALOLA SAMUEL BABATOPE E.S BADIRU BISOLA BAKARE Y BALOGUN SHAMSUDEEN O BAYERO M.K BECHI GODFREY BENYAZING PLUS BUSARI YINUSA CHRISTENSEN MARK EINAR CHUKWU JOHN COLE E.K MISS DARAMOLA T.A MISS DAVID ALBERT DAVIDS E.O ADAMU IDRISU DODO LAMIDO EBINUM SN CHIEF EBOMUCHE MRS EDET PAUL O EFFINOG A EGBE SUSAN ESTATE OF EGBUNA J.C EGHAREVBA S.U EHIZELE JULIANA EJANOKU PETER EKANEM HELEN MRS EKANEM JOHN EKPE YONG ENELI ALEXANDER C EZENNADILI CHRISTOPHER A FAGBAMIGBE GBENGA FAGBULE M.O PASTOR FIJABI KEHINDE FUMILAYO WILLIAMS AKIN GADAU ZUBAIDA GARBA MOHAMMED GEORGE IME GOGO ABITE A. HARIMAN HOPE CHIEF HARUNA AFUSAT IBE VITUS IBRAHIM IMORU IDEBUEMI PETER IDOWU JAMES A IDRISU HARUNA IGBASANMI BUKOLA IGBASANMI JOHN O. IGBINOSUN ISAAC IKAT MICHEAL.J ILORI VICTORIA IMAFOJIE S.O IMASEUN LAMBART ISA SALISU ISHOLA YISAU

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IZEKIEL JAMES JAIYEOLA SALMON JINADU MUSTAPHA JOHN ESSO JOHN TAIWO. JOSHUA OLUWOLE KOKUMO KOLAWOLE LADAN BAKI M. SADA LAWAL GBADAMOSI LAWAL SHITTU LAWAL TIJANI LONGE SOLOMON MADIS STANLESS MAKANJUOLA OLADAYO A. MAKANJUOLA SIKIRU A MASHI AMINU MEBUDE F.A MRS MEDUBE O.O ESTATE OF MOMOH FREDRICK. MOSES AYINKE MOSHOOD AGORO MPAMAUGO SAMUEL MUSTAPHA M.A NWAGHUKWU CHRISTOPHER NWACHUKWU PATRICIA NWANA N MRS NWANKO JONAH NWANKO L.O NWONYE E.E OBAZEE L.O OBI PATRICK O OBIDEYI LAKUNLE OBOR CHRISTOPHER ODELOLA T.A ODERINDE IDOWU ODEYEMI J.A ODITA EMMANUEL AZU ODOH JOHN C. ODUBANJO M.M ODUBELA M.O ODUMO MONDAY ODUNSI E.B OGBOLU GRACE OGUNLEYE C.O MISS OGUNJOBI F. OGUNDELE C. OGUNOWO SUNDAY OLUTAYO OHIMAI FRED OHIMAI SUNDAY OJO ADE OJO ADEJOKE OKAFOR CHRIS OKE KOLAWOLE O OKI FADEKE ABIKE OKOCHA INNOCENT OKOLI C.C OKON PETER KNIGHT OKORONKWO E. OKPOHO A.G OLABISI FAYOMBO OLAGUNJU PATRICK OLAJIDE SAMUEL OLUSANYA P OLUSOLA B.O EST. OF LATE OMAMOR C.O ONAKOYA C.O MRS ONI IRENE O

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6 news 72-year-old man arrested for vandalism in Ogun •45-year-old woman too Olayinka Olukoya-Abeokuta

T

he Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ogun State Command has arrested a 72-year-old man, Joseph Salako, and eight others for vandalism.

The suspects were apprehended while vandalising communication facilities belonging to the defunct Nigeria Telecommunication (NITEL) located at post office road in Ilaro, Yewa South area of Ogun State.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, Kareem Olanrewaju said his officers on a tip-off got wind of the activities of the vandals and mounted surveillance on the area before they arrested the suspects.

Items recovered from the suspects include different types of cables, three industrial fans, metre, four cylinder, big blower, tool box, hammer, hose, phones of different types, documents and other materials whose value runs into several millions of naira.

Also, a 45-year-old woman, Toyin Olatunbosun, was arrested for vandalism.

The suspect was reported to have been arrested in an early hour operation carried out by the officers of the corp following a tip-off from members of the public at Daramola Close, Oniyanrin area in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.

According to a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, the suspect was said to have been receiving petroleum products, especially Premium

Motor Spirit (PMS) from pipeline vandals.

The woman was said to have confessed that one Ajayi was a link between her and the vandals and that they do bring the products to her every morning.

He said the other accomplice now at large would be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

Items recovered from the suspect were 36kegs of 50litres and eight kegs of 25litres containing PMS, hose, phone and other materials.

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

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Nigerian Tribune

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Lagosmetro How mother, baby died of negligence at Alimosho hospital — Commissioner Chukwuma Okparaocha

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he Lagos State House of Assembly says it will conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged unabated deaths of pregnant women in the state, especially those associated with negligence of medical personnel.

Making this known, Chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, Olusegun Olulade, noted that to set the ball in motion, the committee would soon commence both scheduled and unscheduled tours of all general hospitals in the state.

Olulade, who represents Epe II, said this while addressing a petition brought before the committee by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), a human rights and non-governmental organisation whose area of interest is supporting women’s sexual and reproductive rights.

The three-page petition, which was signed by Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, identified poor infrastructure, ineffective health services, high user fees and deaths of pregnant women due to medical negligence, as some of the key problems facing health-care delivery in Lagos hospitals.

The petition also cited the case of a certain Mrs Omowunmi Shonuga who allegedly died with her baby after childbirth at the Rauf Aregbesola Health Center in Mosun-Okunola LCDA, Alimosho, as a result of inadequate medical care.

In his submission at the meeting, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, claimed that the state government had always remained committed to giving good healthcare delivery, particularly in the areas where high rates of maternal and child mortality were recorded.

Idris further stated that the case of the late Mrs Shonuga had been brought to him, assuring the committee that the affected personnel

would be dealt with accordingly. He however pointed out that the actual doctor who was supposed to be on duty on that fateful day

was not available when the unfortunate incident occurred.

However, Olulade expressed his bitterness over

the incident and promised to take swift actions in ensuring that such incidents became a thing of the past.

He therefore urged the

managements of all general hospitals in the state to leave no stone unturned in ensuring effective healthcare delivery.

A BRT bus stop with a shelter having its rooftop blown off at Maryland. PHOTO: SYLVESTER OKORUWA

Oshodi demolition: We were targeted —Igbo traders Chukwuma Okparaocha

Igbo traders in the demolished Owonifari Market, Oshodi, have continued to claim that the demolition of the market was part of the grand plan specifically targeted at getting rid of Igbos in Lagos.

In a chat with Tribune Metro, some of the traders failed to see any rationale behind the demolition in spite of the state government’s repeated claim that the exercise was carried out to give room for more infrastructural development on that axis.

The claim by the traders came barely 24 hours after traders under the Igbo Traders Congress demanded for 20 billion naira from the Lagos State government for properties and

•Claim new shops will cost N250,000 each goods lost to the demolition.

A trader, who made his identity known simply as Uchena, bemoaned the fact that in recent times the state government and other leaders in the state had been showing some signs it had something against the Igbos.

Another trader commented, “This is totally unfair. We all got our shops at the market without having any knowledge that we were moving into a ‘troubled’ spot.

Why are we always treated like a group of nobodies by the governments we vote into power,” she remarked.

As earlier mentioned, the claim by the traders came hours when a group of Igbos claimed that they were being

deliberately dealt with by the government.

Speaking on behalf of the traders, Chibuzor Onugha said the demolition was targeted at Igbo traders in the state.

“We are being punished because PDP won in this area; they alleged that we are holding Biafra meeting. It’s all false. They just want to punish the Igbo for political reasons,” Onugha said.

The traders said the state government breached the court Injunction against demolition, saying the body was heading to court to seek compensation.

He said the markets accommodated about 5,000 traders while the government only provided slots for 600 trad-

ers at the new Isopakodowo market.

They however still insisted that the government did not give them enough notice, especially at a time when many of them were yet to return from the Christmas and New Year holidays.

A trader, who simply identified himself as engineer told Lagos Metro that “We are really facing a difficult time now. We are looking for money to get new shops.

We are aware of the quit notice and there was a time we packed out of the market but they told us that it had been resolved. We returned our goods when we had been assured that the matter had been resolved with officials of the state government.”

Ambode appoints Aina AOCOED provost

Nigerian Tribune

Edited By Lanre Adewole

08037863902 | olanreade@yahoo.com Passengers struggle for space in a bus as traders display their wares at Ketu BRT bus stop. Photo: Sylvester Okoruwa.

Bola Badmus Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Monday approved the appointment of Dr. (Mrs.) Ladele Omolola Aina, as the 8th substantive provost of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Otto-Ijanikin.

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said the appointment of Aina followed the expiration of the tenure of Mr. Wasiu Olalekan Bashorun as the 7th substantive provost of the institution on 31st July, 2015.

Born on 16th May, 1963, Aina, who is a doctor of Mathematics, hails from Lagos Island of Lagos State.

She started her academic pursuits at the Yewande Memorial Nursery/Primary School, Surulere, Lagos and later enrolled at St. Anne’s School, Molete, Ibadan, Oyo State for her secondary education. She studied Mathematics at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The statement added that Aina obtained her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction Mathematics at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos and later bagged her doctorate degree in Mathematics education at Edith Cowan University Perth, Western Australia.

Aina has written so many books on Mathematics teaching and methodology. She is also a member of several academic and professional bodies.

It will be recalled that the Deputy Provost of the College, Mr. Ebenezer Oluwole Ajose, had assumed the position of acting provost effective 6th August, 2015, until Aina’s appointment.

Pastor duped in oil deal AyomideOwonibiOdekanyin A pastor, Dr. Oluwafemi Iroh, has narrated how he lost N11 million to suspected fraudsters.

Iroh alleged that the suspects told him that they were suppliers of petroleum product and wanted him to be involved in the business.

According to him, the suspects named Kayode Benjamin and Abraham Lot allegedly lured him into petrol supply business with a promise that he would make a huge profit from it.

They assured him of prompt supply and reduced the price of the product as dealers in business who knew where to get the product at cheaper price.

Unsuspecting Iroh believed them and gave them the money and waited in vain for the supply of the

product.

When he could not bear it any longer, he went to the police at Ejigbo division and reported the fraud and the police trailed the suspects and eventually arrested Kayode.

Kayode told the police that he had shared the money and as such there was no money to refund to Iroh.

Kayode was charged before an Isolo Magistrate Court with the alleged offence but he pleaded not guilty.

The presiding Magistrate, Mrs A. O. Adedayo granted Kayode bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties in like sum.

Kayode was remanded in prison custody pending when he would perfect his bail condition.

The matter was adjourned till 18 January 2016.

Arrested ex-convict gives 10-man gang away Olalekan Olabulo Eleven more suspects have been arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command in connection with the attack on fun seekers at the National Theatre and other parts of Ijora in the state.

The suspects were last Wednesday arrested by the RRS operatives, who responded to a distress call by a victim of a robbery attack.

Some members of the gang had reportedly just robbed a female victim of her handbag and other ac-

cessories when policemen attached to RRS raced to the scene and arrested him The arrested suspect, Onuwa Friday, 30, reportedly attacked the victim, identified as Adeola Suleiman and robbed her of her handbag, containing two hundred and fifty thousand naira, her mobile phones and other valuables .

The police said that the other members of the robbery gang escaped with the gun used by the gang to rob the victim and other unsuspecting members of the public.

“The suspects were pursued by the police and one

Suspects get N400,000 bail for N460,000 theft Olayinka Shehu Four young men, Oluwaseun Jide, 18; Oto Sunday, 22; Lateef Ajibade, 18 and Yinka Anifowoshe, 20, have been accused of stealing N460,000.

The suspects allegedly stole the money belonging to one Okonkwo Ejike, a businessman. The incident happened at No. 16 Salako Street, Dopemu Agege.

According to the police, the offence is punishable

under section 285 and 409 of the criminal law of Lagos State, 2011.

The four accused persons however pleaded not guilty to the two count charges of stealing when they were charged before an Ogba

Magistrate Court.

The presiding magistrate, Y.R. Pinhero, granted them bail to the sum of N100,000 each.

The case was subsequently adjourned to Januaryb 15, 2016.

Onuwa Friday was apprehended with the bag in question while two others escaped with the gun”, the police added On getting to the RRS’s headquarters in Alausa, the arrested suspect confessed to the crime, adding that he and other fleeing robbers truly robbed the victim of her valuables at gun point.

According to the suspect who hails from Delta State, “I have been living with my dad in Mushin area in Lagos. In 2013, I was jailed for one year as a result of an uprising that broke out in Ajah which I was involved in during an electioneering campaign. I regained my freedom in 2014.

“On this fateful day, I and my friends, Kowasibe and Tallest, went to Costain, opposite National Arts Theatre with the sole intention to rob. On reaching there, we saw a woman whom we robbed successfully. It was Kowasibe, who pointed gun at her before she could re-

lease her belongings to us.”

The police in the state said, “After the completion of our preliminary investigation, the suspect made a confessional statement which led to the raid at under bridge in Ijora where another ten more suspects and three handsets were recovered without the said sum and the bag has been released to the complainant”.

Suspects, who were arrested during a raid on the criminal hideout were Moses Okiso, Rashidi Olugbenjo, Olalekan Adebayo and Sheriff Sanusi. Others were Ganiu Sule, Michael Thompson, and Wale Akindujoye, Aderemi Adewale, Adeshina Adetolu, and Moshood Ajao.

The suspects have been transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad of the state police command for further investigation.

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Joe Offor confirmed the arrest of the suspects to Lagos Metro.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

CBN lifts ban on forex deposits in Nigeria •Discontinues forex sales to BDCs •$1 may exchange for N300 RuthOlurounbiAndChima Nwokoji

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially lifted the ban on operation of domiciliary accounts in Nigeria, and has, permitted commercial banks in the country to begin accepting cash deposits of foreign exchange from their customers.

This is coming barely four days after Managing Director of the International Monetary Funds, Ms Christine Lagarde, and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, called for a review of the policy.

The Senate President had repeatedly charged the apex bank to have another look at the policy for the sake of the nation’s business community.

As of the time of filing this report, however, there are no details on whether there are limits on the amount of deposits required.

It will be recalled that the CBN had on Wednesday, August 5, 2015, banned the payment of cash into domiciliary accounts.

The CBN also said it would, henceforth, discontinue its sales of foreign exchange to Bureaux De Changes (BDCs).

These are parts of the bank’s continuing efforts to preserve the nation’s external reserves, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele said at a press conference held in Abuja, on Monday.

Emefiele, who explained that directives were necessary due to the “financial burden” being placed on the bank and its limited foreign exchange; said the CBN sold $60,000 to each BDC per week, amount translating to $167 million per week, and about US$8.6 billion per year.

“In order to curtail this reserve depletion, we have reduced the amount of weekly sales to $10,000 per BDC, which translates into US$28.4 million depletion of the foreign reserve per week and US$1.476 billion per annum. This is a huge haemorrhage on our scarce foreign exchange reserves, and cannot continue especially because we are also concerned that BDCs have become a conduit for illicit trade and financial flows,” Emefiele said.

Emefiele said, however, that “operators in this segment of the market would now need to source their foreign exchange from autonomous source.”

He cautioned the BDCs that the “CBN would deploy more resources to

monitoring these sources to ensure that no operator is in violation of our antimoney laundering laws” of the country.

Meanwhile, following the announced stoppage of forex sales to bureaux de changes (BDCs), the forex operators have said the latest move by the apex bank will see the value of the naira hitting N300 to the dollar before the end of the week even as an estimated 12,000 jobs are at stake.

Reacting to the CBN announcement on Monday, the acting president of the Association of Bureau de

Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) Aminu Gwadabe, in a telephone interview with Nigerian Tribune said if the CBN decision is not well managed, “I see the dollar reaching N300 before the end of the week.

He noted that this would in turn lead to a “cost inflation” as the country is an import dependent economy, importing almost all its needs. Asides this, he said many BDCs will be forced out of business leading to job loss in the sector.

Noting that on the average, each BDC employs four persons, he said about

12,000 jobs could be lost.

He explained that BDCs have limited sources of foreign exchange and had to rely on the CBN window.

“In other climes BDCs don’t have access to the central bank window because they have other sources of forex to them which include banks but in Nigeria banks are being restricted from selling to BDCs, exporters can also patronize BDCs in other country’s but here it is being restricted. These are some of the issues,” he said.

He then urged the CBN

to review downwards the N35 million cautionary deposit mandated for BDCs as according to him, “this has tied down the capital of many BDCs and to get other sources of foreign exchange we need capital.”

Gwadabe also noted that the move by the CBN will further encourage activities of street hawkers and illegal foreign exchange operators “because most people will say why do I have licence since I don’t have access to the CBN window, so I better operate as an illegal operator.”

Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachukwu (left) with Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Modecai Ladan, during a press conference on petroleum pricing regulation modalities in Abuja, on Monday. photo: Sunday Osunrayi

NNPC warns marketers selling above PPPRA prices Ayodele Adesanmi-Abuja

The Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday, warned petrol marketers who were selling petrol above the official pump prices to immediately revert to the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) prices.

The minister also promised that the NNPC would establish more mega stations across the country.

Speaking during a press briefing disclosed that marketers who were in the habit of manipulating pump prices would not be spared.

“I have asked the Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR) to oil up their enforcement machine because they are not doing it as much as I want it to happen,” he said.

He added that the minis-

try would detail the security agencies to act, if any filling station was found to be selling products above the pump price, adding that “we are going to seal those stations. We are going to sell the products for free. We will seal the stations and we are not going to reopen the until three months.”

He admitted that the Federal Government had been lacking in the implementation of official petrol prices compliance in the hinterland, vowing that government would now intensify the compulsory compliance with pump prices in rural areas.

The minister informed that government needed to do more since consumers in the rural areas, who are relatively poor are mostly affected by high pump price.

“I completely agree that

we have not done enough in terms of hinterland protection. And I believe we need to do more because the frequency of these practices are more in the hinterland areas.

And unfortunately those are the ones who even lack the resources that they want to pay that kind of prices so we need to level up more work on that,” he said.

Nigerian Tribune

My refinery will stop petrol importation —Dangote Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, has assured Nigerians that when his refinery is ready, the country will no longer need to import petroleum products.

Speaking at the site of his refinery in Lekki, Dangote said his refinery would put an end to fertiliser importation in Nigeria, transforming the country into a net exporter of refined crude and fertiliser.

“Today, Nigeria imports 100 percent of its fertiliser, but when we finish, Nigeria will be the largest exporter of urea and ammonia in Africa.

“The refinery is the largest single line in Africa and it will meet our total domestic requirement and save foreign exchange.

“Thirty-eight per cent of CBN’s foreign exchange is spent on importation of petroleum products. But we can serve the whole West African market,” he said.

Dangote said he had been working with the government and the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) in diversifying the economy.

“We are going to serve the whole domestic market in the next 10 years and also export. We have actually been doing this for a very long time to diversify the economy.

“The government will lay down the policies. The CBN will assist in terms of long-term funding through the banks and even directly now because they have actually helped us quite a lot.

That is what we are now trying to do,” he said.

Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, who visited the Dangote free trade zone, said the CBN would provide the needed foreign exchange for the refinery.

Why we built $300m plant in Agbara —P&G Akin Adewakun - Lagos

The need to maintain standards and ensure that the offerings doled out by the company are in tune with global standards, has been identified by the management of Procter and Gamble as chief reason for siting its $300million plant in Agbara, the outskirts of Lagos.

Making this disclosure on Monday, at the unveiling of its #MomsKnowBest Campaign, an online platform designed for mothers to exchange ideas on motherhood, the company’s Brand Marketing Director, Ehis Eneka-

bor, stated that the Agbara plant of the company was built following feedbacks from customers that Pampers being produced at the Ibadan Plant of the company were too thick for babies and not absorbing well.

She added that with the inauguration of the plant, the company could now boast of Pampers products that would last for longer hours than the previous ones, following the availability of the state-of theart facilities in the new plant.

Enekabor explained that the new campaign would

provide mothers the opportunity to interact on the platform and share experiences about womanhood and how best to take care of babies.

“We always want the best for the baby; we wnat to create a platform for mothers to cross-fertilise ideas, share some tips and their experiences of motherhood. And with the commissioning of a multimillion dollar factory in Agbara, Pampers Baby Dry, mothers are sure of getting a quality diapers in the country at very affordable prices,” she explained.

businessnews SEC says there is N90bn unclaimed dividends 11

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

•Flags off campaign on e-dividend GbolaSubair-Abujawithagency Reports

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he Securities and ComExchange mission (SEC), on Monday, in Abuja said that there is N90 billion unclaimed dividends at the end of September, 2015.

The Head, Marketing Development, SEC, Henry Adekunle, made the fact known during a sensitisation road show by the commission on e-dividend registration.

Adekunle said the essence of the three-day sensitisation walk was to encourage investors to provide necessary information to enable them to claim their dividends electronically.

According to Adekunle, “e-dividend means electronic dividend, which is the profit an investor gets from the company which he has invested his money.

“All we are saying here is that our investors should go and register to collect your dividend electronically in their preferred bank.

“All that we expect from an investor is to go to the bank and fill a form, which will contain certain information.

“You will be required to give certain information like your passport, account number whether savings or current and then your BVN. “Your central securities clearing system number will be required if you are already dematerialised.

“But if you are not, you will go with your share certificate number after which you will be validated using the Nigeria Inter - Bank Settlement System portal where the e - dividend form is actually located,’’ Adekunle said.

He said that after a successful validation, the completed forms would be sent to the registrars of the various companies, who would consolidate all the investors’ dividends and commence payment accordingly.

Adekunle said, “the objective of this initiative is to make sure that the N90 billion unclaimed dividend is depleted within the next six months after the completion of this exercise.

“The exercise will be free for about three months and close in March. Six months from that date, we expect that these N90 billion would have fully depleted.’’

He said that the exercise would continue afterward but investors would be required to pay N100 which was not subject to review.

He said, “the investor does not need to bother because they will just debit your account and you will not even know you are paying anything.’’

Adekunle said that the

fee was necessary for the maintenance of the portal and for bank administrative processing charges.

IN a bid to further enlighten investors on the recently launched e-Dividend Platform, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has embarked on a four day robust enlightenment programme.

The programme which commenced on Monday with a road show, will culminate in a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday.

Speaking during the show, Head, Market Development Department, Henry Rowlands said investors into the

Nigerian capital market are entitled to their investments when they invest money, hence the need for the edividend portal and the enlightenment campaign.

“We discovered that when dividends are declared by the companies where they invest, they are sent by post which takes time and sometimes they do not even come at all. Because investors change addresses, some of the dividend warrants do not even get to them. Having looked at it as at 30th September 2015, the Commission realized that unclaimed dividends amounted to about N90bil-

lion. SEC determined we will address it once and for all and that is why the Commission launched the electronic dividend portal.

“Electronic dividend simply refers to an online system of paying dividends to inventors whereby when companies declare dividends which are the profits meant for investors, rather than send it by post, they will just wire it to the investor’s bank account and that is what informed this exercise.”

“The Commission desires that the money of investors hanging as unclaimed dividends get paid to them

with ease,” he said.

Head, Corporate Communication SEC, Naif Abdussalam, said the commission has “directed all registrars of public companies to return all unclaimed dividends, which have been in their custody for 15 months and above, to the paying companies.”

The SEC also notified the public that enrolment for e-Dividend payments could now be efficiently conducted at bank and registrar branches nationwide through the online platform launched on July 29, last year.

“We want to make sure

that we take the message down to the grassroots; we want every Nigerian investor within this period of 90 days which is free to get registered because immediately after the 90 days, a fee of N100 will be charged,” he said.

DMO to issue bonds worth N390bn in Q1

The Debt Management Office says it plans to issue between N260 billion and N390 billion in a five, 10 and 20-year bonds in the first quarter of the year.

The debt office, in its website, on Monday, said it would issue between N40 billion and N60 billion in bonds that would mature in 2020 in January and February respectively.

It says it will also issue about N30 billion of the same tenor bonds in March.

The DMO added that it would also issue between N40 billion and N60 billion bonds that would terminate in 2026 in the first three months of 2016.

According to the DMO, the first N40 billion and From left, World Bank Task Team Leader, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe; National FADAMA Project Coordinator, Mr. Tayo Adewunmi; and the Task Team Leader for World Bank in Liberia Dr. N60 billion bonds for 20 Abimbola Adubi, at the 4th Joint World Bank/FGN Implementation Support Mission to eight states on FADAMA III Additional Finance, on Monday, in Abuja. years that will terminate in 2036, will be issued in March.

Fashola unfolds 13-point agenda to revive power sector The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday unfolded a 13-point agenda to drive efforts towards enhancing power supply in the country.

Fashola said in Abuja during his maiden meeting with power generation, distribution and transmission companies, and other stakeholders that the agenda was drawn up to ensure effective monitoring of the sector.

The minister said the agenda involves continuous public engagement

on tariff collection, debts, power generation, maintenance, ancillary services, dispatch orders and discipline.

Others areas include gas requirement and constraints, transmission constraints, 33KV load offtake, imbalances-locations of excess, overload safety, service quality, new captive and embedded generation, franchising and other issues relevant to the growth of the sector.

According to Fashola, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that

all stakeholders in the sector should hold monthly meetings on issues concerning the industry.

He said that the meeting would be rotated among the various GENCOs, DISCOs, TCN and other stakeholders across the country.

Fashola said that all decisions reached in such meetings would be binding on all the stakeholders.

In this respect, the minister stated that the various companies and stakeholders would each be represented by a management member with authority to

take decision on behalf of their companies.

He explained that in order to minimise the cost of hosting the meetings, the companies were advised to jointly pull up resources required to hold the meetings.

The minister further said the meetings would also involve lawyers, engineers, planners and other stakeholders, adding that the ministry would issue a communiqué at the end of each meeting on steps taken to address challenges in the sector.

NSE: Market sheds N133.2bn KehindeAkinseinde-JayeobaLagos

The market begins the first day trade of the second week in 2016 with lull as the All Share Index fell back to 26 pointers having declined by 678.21 basis point or per cent to close at 26.350 compared with 27,028.39 basis point it closed with last week Friday.

Market capitalisation of the Nigerian bourse closed at N9.62 trillion as a total of N133.2 billion was lost from N9.06 trillion.

The NSE Industrial Index led the activity at the stock market with a sum total of 1,758,401 shares worth N58.4 million traded in 116 deals.

Ashaka Cement Plc led the gainers table with five per cent increase of N1.20 was added to N24 it entered the market with. Total Plc followed suit adding N7.42 kobo to N148.50 share price.

Wema Plc made an increase of three naira, as it made the only Banking Industry of the Financial

Sector on the Nigeria trading floor on Monday.

On the flip side, Wapco led 31 losers on the day’s chart as it lost N10.14 kobo or 9.66 per cent of its share price price to close at N10.14 kobo per share. Unity Bank Plc came second on the list having shaved 9.41 per cent to close at 77 koko per share.

Eterna Oil also closed bearish as it’s share price fell by 16 kobo, representing 9.04 per cent, to close at N1.61 as against the

N1.77 kobo per share it opened the day trade with.

The market closed, on Monday after staking 127,679,555 shares worth N1.4 billion in 2,474 deals.

As expected, the northward trend of trading at the Exchange is expected as it has been projected that the half year results will be bearish until the second half year when analyst projects profits from perseverance and doggedness of the Nigerian capital market.

NSE gets new president Gbola Subair-Abuja

Otis Anyaeji has emerged as the 30th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

In the traditional smooth succession practice of ascending the presidency of the society, Anyaeji stepped into office on January 1, 2016, having served as Deputy President for the past two years – 2014 and 2015. He will lead the Society as President and Chairman of Council for the tenured period of 2016 and 2017.

At the maiden meeting with stakeholders of NSE, Anyaeji expounded his vision for the society for the period of his presidency.

Citing the dire economic situation and dismal infrastructure stock status of the country, he declared that it was time for Engineers to “take full control of the engineering activities in all sectors of the Nigerian economy,” in order to make resonating impact in the collective quest of bringing the country back on the track of progress and prosperity. He vowed to pursue that undertaking with fervor.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

daily summary (equities) for MONday, 11 january, 2016

top 5 gainers

top 5 losers

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

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news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

700 members of our sect still missing —Shiite Muhammad Sabiu-Kaduna

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HE Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiite has said that 700 of their members are still missing, a month after the sect clashed with the Nigerian Army.

In a statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna, on Monday, and signed by the sect’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa noted that the sect members were either killed, burnt alive or in military detention facilities while some other victims were given mass burial by the Army.

The statement also noted that, “Contrary to the

statement credited to the Commander, 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade that the Army had handed over all our members to civil authorities. We wish to state categorically that there are members of the Islamic Movement still in military detention facilities.’

“There are no fewer than 700 members that have been declared missing by the Islamic Movement that are either killed, burnt alive or in military detention facilities and it is in this figure that some are victims of mass burials by the Army.

“There are still members

of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in Bassawa Barracks and Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria as well as in military cantonment, Jaji.

“Also so, no corpses have been handed over to the Movement by the Army as some of them are still being kept at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria.

“We hereby declare the statement by the GOC that they have handed everybody over to the police as false and mischievous because with the way the Army is acting and doing everything possible to cover up its sins in the massacre. We fear they might eliminate those with them

and claim that they are not with them.

“We therefore call for the release of all our members that are currently in detention and being denied legal services.

On the recent claim by some prominent Nigerians that the onslaught on the sect was a Jihad, the statement said, “We call the attention of those concerned to immediately dissociate themselves from such malicious utterances.

“This includes sermons delivered in mosques and other religious places including those of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who declared Nigeria only for Sunnis in public,

thereby displaying the peak of religious intolerance and marginalisation of a section of the society by a traditional ruler.

“The government is aware of the activities of these Saudi-Wahabbi scholars on radio and television, especially in Kaduna and newspapers where it is directly described as using state machinery to fight Jihad for the Sunnis against the minority Shiites of the Islamic Movement.

“We are all aware that there is no such thing as a state religion in Nigeria and every Nigerian has the constitutional right to practice any religion of his choice and belong to any sect of his choice.

“In as much as the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is a Movement for all irrespective of sect and religion with a majority Shiite membership, we are concerned about the sectarian sentiment being sponsored by the state with the intention of intimidating the members of the Movement.”

My cabinet members selected on merit

—Gov Ganduje Kola Oyelere-Kano

From left, Mrs Wemimo Anifowose and her son, Iyanuoluwa; Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; Mrs Yejide Badmus and her son, Olatunde, during the investiture of Ambassador (Dr) Awolowo Dosumu as patroness, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Remo chapter, held at Abraham’s Tabernacle (Baptist International Worship Centre), Sagamu, Ogun State, on Sunday. PHOTO: D’TOYIN

ASUU to Buhari: Pay N660bn intervention fund to public varsities

By Tunde Ogunesan

ZONAL Coordinator of Ibadan zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of the union, Professor Segun Ajiboye, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to pay close to N660 billion Needs Assessment Intervention Fund the Federal Government is owing public universities in the country.

Professor Ajiboye stated this on Monday, in an interview with journalists on 2016 budget as it affects education in the country.

The ASUU boss noted that though President Buhari’s N369.6 billion budgeted for the education sector was meant to cater for all levels of education in the country, the president failed to speak on any issue relating to how government would fulfill the agreement it reached with the union.

He also noted that the union had written several letters to the Federal Gov-

ernment on the need to renegotiate the 2009 agreement it reached with the union, which was due for review in 2012, to reflect modern and contemporary realities.

According to Professor Ajiboye, “the owed money

was part of the unpaid intervention fund for 2014 – N220 billion, 2015 – N220billion and 2016 – N220 billion, which was part of the N1.3 trillion intervention FGN/ASUU agreement signed in 2013.

“When you consider the

agreed intervention fund in 2013, it was N1.3 trillion but has the Federal Government kept to that promise? It only released N200 billion in 2013 after the six months strike and since then, nothing has been injected into the system.

I participated in five murder cases —Suspected cultist Olayinka Olukoya-Abeokuta

A suspected cultist, Kazeem (surname withheld), on Monday, confessed that he had personally taken part in no fewer than five murder cases.

The 23-year-old man until his arrest, was a member of the Aiye Confraternity, said his group had killed no fewer than 15 persons.

He said this while responding to questions from newsmen during the parade of suspects at the police command’s headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.

Tiamiyu, who claimed to be the butcher of the

cult group in Ijebu axis of the state said his parents withdrew him from school, following information that he was a member of a cult group.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, said the command had declared zero tolerance for cultism and would not deter in fishing out cultists in the length and breadth of the state.

The PPRO said exhibits such as one double barrelled cut-to-size gun, one single barrelled cut-to-size gun, four single barrelled short guns, seven rounds of live catridges, expend-

ed cartridge and assorted charms.

The suspect also said he had sold several guns to cult members in Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic in Ijebu Igbo and Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) in Ijagun.

“I was withdrawn from school after my parents got information of my involvement; I denied it and came back to Ijebu Ode to operate with my members.

I have so far taken part in five killings, the last one was in 2015 between Aiye and Eiye, but the group has killed 15 people since I joined.

KANO State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has disclosed that members of his cabinet were appointed on merit and with the conviction that they would work collectively towards achieving the goals of the administration.

He said while it is true that some appointments into some positions were for political expediency, his Commissioners were carefully selected so that they can propel the rapid development agenda of the administration.

Governor Ganduje, who stated this on Monday, while receiving a delegation from Gwarzo Local Government Area, which came to thank him over the appointment of Dr Kabiru Getso as the state Commissioner for Health, said before appointing the commissioners, he knew them by their reputation.

He expressed delight that the Commissioner for Health, Gerso, is doing well in his new position, pointing out that he had introduced innovations that would stand the test of time in the health sector.

Concerning water and electricity supply to Dr Getso town, the governor announced that the supplies would be restored soon.

He requested the cooperation and support of the people to forge ahead.

Group commends lawmaker on youth empowerment in Ekiti

By Yejide Gbenga-Ogudnare

A group, the Democratic Young Patriots (DYP) has commanded a Federal lawmaker, Segun Adekola, for giving priority to youth empowerment and other issues that affect youths in Ekiti State as part of his commitments to legislative governance, describing him as a man that has the future of the state at heart.

DYP added that Adekola, the lawmaker representing Ekiti South I in the House of Representatives and House Committee Chairman on Youth Developments, has shown ‘exceptional love’ towards his constituents, by embarking on constituency empowerment programmes within his first six months in office.

According to a statement signed by the DYP National Coordinator, Ariyo-Dare Atoye on Monday, “We wish to specially commend Chief Adekola for doing the unthinkable within six months as a first time lawmaker. At a time when his colleagues as seeking to recoup money spent for elections, he is further reaching out to the people.

Rivers: Bipi laments withdrawal of security Uduakabasi Patrick-Port Harcourt

MEMBER representing Ogu/Obolo Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Evans Bipi, who is also the Chief Whip of the House has lamented that his security has been withdrawn from him by the Police hierarchy, without explanation.

Bipi, who was also the leader of the anti-Amaechi lawmakers in the last administration, disclosed this to Nigerian Tribune, in Port Harcourt, on Monday.

He alleged that, he has been reliably informed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was behind the withdrawal and that the party was using ‘Federal Might’ to intimidate and threaten his peace and safety ahead of the rerun election.

“Now, my life and that of my family have been exposed to danger of insecurity. I want the entire state to know this,” he said, alleging further that, “they want to raid my house. That was the information I got.”

15 news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Aregbesola sacks more lecturers, non-academic staff of polytechnics •ASUP declares indefinite strike •As Speaker halts retrenchment Oluwole Ige - Osogbo

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HE gale of sack rocking Osun State tertiary institution continued on Monday, as more lecturers and non- academic staff of Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree and Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke, were relieved of their jobs.

It will be recalled that last Friday, about 141 academic and non-academic staff of Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun and the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, were sacked by the state government.

The development, Nigerian Tribune gathered was part of the fallout of plan by Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration to restructure tertiary institutions in the state.

But on Monday, more letters terminating the appointments of the affected staff of OSPOLY and Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke were distributed in the institutions by officials of the Ministry of Education.

Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune over the development, chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), OSPOLY branch, Comrade Dotun Omisore, said “we have instructed our members not to collect the sack letters.”

According to him, “23 lecturers were sacked, while 43 non-academic staff were also relieved of their jobs.

We have held congress at the level of ASUP and declared indefinite strike to protest the inhuman and obnoxious action of the Osun State government.”

Reacting to the issue in a letter addressed to Governor Aregbesola, copies of which were made available to journalists in Osogbo, on Monday, the Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI) decried the action of the state government, just as it directed its members to commence indefinite strike in all the state-owned tertiary institutions.

The letter signed by the CASUOSTI chairman and secretary, Comrade Lasisi A. Jimoh and Comrade Olusegun Lana, respectively, the body said “with due respect, we believe that Mr Governor will recall that we have written letters of pleas and ultimatum to government and held several talks with our respective managements on festering

issues prone to industrial action.

“In our last letter to Mr Governor, we issued a “Notice of Last Resort” in which we implored Mr Governor to avert looming industrial crisis by addressing the festering issues. Unfortunately, while we were expecting the response of government, letters of termination of appointment were suddenly issued to several members of staff to worsen the situation.

Meanwhile, the Osun State House of Assembly, on Monday, ordered the governing councils and the Ministry of Education to suspend action on the sack of tertiary institutions’ lecturers until the parliament was convinced about it.

Issuing the directive, the Speaker of the legislature, Honourable Najeem Salaam, while addressing the lawmakers and staff of the parliament in his New Year message, stressed that relieving workers of their jobs must not be treated with elusive reasons.

He subsequently directed that Permanent Secretary in charge of tertiary education, governing boards of the four tertiary institutions in the state, Rectors and Provosts of the two polytechnics and colleges of education must appear before the parliament today.

Salaam reiterated that the Assembly must be properly briefed by the concerned stakeholders and be convinced on why the exercise must be approved, saying that further action should be suspended forthwith.

He, however, admonished the critics of Governor Areg-

besola against playing politics with the development of the state, saying the state should not be brought to the ridicule because of its debt profile, noting that it was obvious that the debt was incurred to fast-track development of the state, not for selfish interest.

...backs down on threat to sack doctors Oluwole Ige - Osogbo OSUN State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, may have backed down on threat to sack striking doctors on Monday, Nigerian Tribune has gathered.

The governor, had last week, at the 75th birthday anniversary of the re-

nowned Labour leader, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, directed the state Head of Service, Mr Sunday Owoeye, to issue sack letters to striking doctors on Monday.

It was gathered that the strike was still effective on Monday, as no doctor reported for duty in state gov-

ernment-owned hospitals, including Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Osogbo.

Some of the doctors, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said they had not received any letter or memo terminating their appointments.

Similarly, when Nige-

From left, Oyo State deputy governor, Chief Alake Adeyemo; Governor Abiola Ajimobi; his wife, Florence; Chief Judge, Justice Munta Abimbola and the Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade, at the 2016 prayer for workers in Oyo State, held at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: ALOLADE GANIYU

rian Tribune contacted the Osun State chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Suraj Ogunyemi, over the development, he simply said “none of our members has received any sack letter.”

According to him, “as I speak to you now, no striking doctor had been issued letter of sack by anybody. I believe the governor would not go ahead to sack any doctor.

“We are only asking for our rights and there is no crime in that. He has been paying our members half salary since June and even stopped the half salary in October. We wanted to know when the balance of the half salary would be paid and when the our contributory pension being deducted from our salaries over the years would remitted into our accounts with the Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), among other demands,” Ogunyemi stated.

He continued that “but if he goes ahead to carry out the sack, we are absolutely ready for him and we would resist such unwarranted and illegal action.”

We will not retrench workers but... —Ajimobi

By Wale Akinselure OYO State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has intimated of an ongoing restructuring of the Civil Service to fish out ghost workers.

He gave this hint at an inter-religious service held on Monday, at the state secretariat, Ibadan, to herald the 2016 working year.

In his remarks, he noted, through the Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade, that government had identified underemployed and idle workers and would carry out appropriate action in due time.

While calling on civil servants to be more hardworking and committed to their duties, he assured that government would not retrench workers due to the current financial challenges.

He reiterated the commitment of the government to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the Labour Force to deploy 90 per cent of Federal Government allocation to the payment of workers’ salaries.

“When it is time to take hard decisions, you must not be afraid to take them.

When you are a leader and everybody likes you, you have a problem. You must take hard decisions. I have given the Head of Service an assignment to do and I am monitoring him. He is about to conclude this assignment. We must be courageous and prepared to do what is necessary.

“We have maintained that we won’t retrench any worker, but we don’t want ghost workers. “The organisational rearrangement

will lead to redeployment, redistribution and re-engagement. Workers must be productive. No retrenchment, but there will be repositioning,” he said.

Ajimobi, however, urged Nigerians to remain hopeful of the revival and transformation of the nation’s poor economic state.

He affirmed his commitment to good governance through respect for humanity and the rule of law.

Again, he decried that the dwindling allocation to states hampered payment of workers as at when due, but affirmed that the state government would continue to ensure prompt payment of salaries.

“The Federal Government owes our state three months allocation, but our state owes our workers for three months. I assure you

that once we implement certain measures, we will pay workers as at when due. It is criminal for us to have funds and refuse to pay workers. We have taken pragmatic steps to reduce dependence on Federal Government allocation through the reconstruction of the state Board of Internal Revenue for efficiency and effectiveness,” he said.

In his address, the Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade, commended the governor for the laudable measures he had taken to bring succour to civil servants, stressing that the kind gesture must be reciprocated by hard work, diligence, commitment and loyalty.

He warned that workers who violated government rules and regulations and were unethical in their conduct would be shown the

way out of the service and that those found guilty of any act of misconduct that were criminal in nature would be prosecuted.

Eniade also appreciated Labour leaders for their maturity, understanding and cooperation exhibited in 2015, expressing the hope that it would continue in 2016 for the sustenance of industrial peace and harmony.

Guests present at the event included wife of the governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi; deputy governor, Mr Moses Adeyemo; Chief Judge, Justice Munta Ladipo Abimbola; former Secretary to the State Government, Mr Olalekan Alli; state chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr Waheed Olojede and the state chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Akin Oke.

16

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Femi Ibirogba adefemi2007@yahoo.com 0811 695 4646

New H5Nx bird flu vaccine potential for mass protection of poultry

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team of researchers at Kansas State University, in collaboration with Garcia-Sastre of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has developed a vaccine that protects poultry from multiple strains of avian influenza found in the U.S., including H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8. The vaccine has the potential to be administered through water or into embryonated eggs, making it easier for poultry producers to vaccinate flocks around the world.

The vaccine, called NDV-H5Nx, protects chickens and likely other poultry against the three recently introduced U.S. avian influenza strains H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8, as well as against Newcastle disease virus, a virus that naturally affects poultry. Avian influenza killed millions of chickens and turkeys in the U.S. 2015, leading to billions in lost revenue for the poultry industry.

The NDV-H5Nx vaccine also has the potential to be administered to millions of birds at a time through water, said Jürgen Richt, Regents distinguished professor of veterinary medicine, Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases at Kansas State University and one of the researchers involved in the discovery.

“The vaccine we produced is a live vaccine, which means it replicates in birds,” Richt said. “Because it’s live, we believe that the vaccine could be sprayed into the air or put in the water supply so that when the chickens need a drink, they could be vaccinated.

A poultry farm could vaccinate all

of its birds in a single day because all living creatures need water to live.”

The vaccine also has potential to be administered to developing chicks in eggs, resulting in offspring being automatically vaccinated for the diseases, said Wenjun Ma, Kansas State University assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology and

one of the researchers involved.

H5 vaccines currently on the market require that each chicken be injected by hand. Many poultry operations have millions of birds and it would take many hours to vaccinate every chicken, Richt said.

Additionally, the NDV-H5Nx vaccine has the ability to differentiate infected from vaccinated ani-

mals, or DIVA. This compatibility is critical for the poultry industry because it provides evidence to trade partners that poultry have been vaccinated and is free of H5, Richt said.

Researchers developed the NDVH5Nx vaccine with a recombinant virus technique similar to the one used to make NDV-H5N1 and NDV-H7N9 vaccines in 2015. The

World Congress on root, tuber crops begins Jan 18

By Femi Ibirogba THE Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21) and the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) join forces with Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences (CATAS), and Guangxi Cassava Research Institute (GCRI) to organise the first World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops in Nanning, Guangxi, China, from January 18 to 22.

The congress will facilitate discourse amongst key root and tuber crops stakeholders – farmers, endusers, researchers, private sector and donor agencies; promote discussions around more than 24

topics, ranging from genomics to products; constitute a forum for an array of people belonging to science, technology, private sector and policy makers to debate about the best way to improve these crops and facilitate the identification of solutions for major bottlenecks in the production and will propose new technical solutions to resolve problems.

Root and tuber crops (RTCs), including cassava, sweet potato, yams, potato, cocoyam and other minor root crops are important to the agriculture and food security of many countries and overall are a component of the diet for 2.2 billion people, as well as contributing

to animals feeds and industry.

The annual world production of root and tuber crops is about 765 million tonnes (MT), consisting of potatoes (333mt), cassava (237mt), sweet potatoes (130mt), yams (53mt), and taro and other aroids (12mt).

The global consumption of tropical root and tuber crops is around 110kg/capita/year. As such, tropical root and tuber crops compare very favourably with the main staple grain crops such as wheat and rice.

Therefore, congress organisers said, advances in research and development in tropical root and tuber crops have a major direct impact on improving food security,

income generation and commercial development in the developing world, leading to improvement in the social and economic livelihoods of hundreds of millions of poor people.

Godwin Atser, Communication & Knowledge Exchange Expert /Cassava Weed Management Project (www.cassavaweed.org), IITA and Exhibition Coordinator for the World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops revealed that five major world players in roots and tuber crops processing had indicated interest to participate in the exhibition.

The companies, Atser said, are ATCO China; Sino-Food Machinery Co. Ltd; CIAT; CIP and IITA.

extracellular domain of the H5 or H7 protein of the respective avian influenza viruses was transplanted into the Newcastle disease virus vaccine strain LaSota in order to make the vaccine constructs.

The three H5Nx strains are genetically similar, but cause different disease severity in birds. The H5N2 strain is most prominent in the U.S. and the deadliest. The original H5N8 avian influenza strain was first found in South Korea in 2014 and subsequently in other Asian countries, including China and Japan, before spreading to Europe. It came to North America as H5N8, where it mixed with other avian influenza viruses in the U.S. and Canada to form H5N2 and H5N1, Ma said.

“The H5 avian influenza strains affect poultry worldwide and have a 100 percent mortality rate in chickens within six days,” Ma said.

Kansas State University researchers developed and tested the NDV-H5Nx vaccine against H5N2, the deadliest strain, in the course of three months. The rapid vaccine development — which included vaccine production, H5Nx animal model development and continues pg17

17

agriculture

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

FG reaffirms commitment to support local production of agric products

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local production of food items due to the Free Trade Zone policy.

He commended the delegation for their efforts in wealth and job creation through the local production of palm oil in the coun-

Fairtrade set to take lead in agribusiness

The Director-General of IITA, Dr Nterayama Saginga presenting a souvenir to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, during a presentation on Youth Empowerment Initiative concept to the ministry.

N order to reduce the high demand for foreign exchange as a result of huge importation of food items to the country, the Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to support the sustainable local production of agricultural products in the country.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said this during a meeting with the management team of PZWilmar Company Limited, led by its chairman, Chief Kola Jamodu, in his office.

Ogbeh decried the high demand for foreign exchange in the country, which he put at 1.5 billion dollar per week, as a result of high importation of food items into the country. He said the present administration was working on reforms and initiatives in ensuring that the government at all levels supports local production of agricultural products.

The minister said the ministry would collaborate with the Ministries of Finance and Industry, Trade and Investments to brainstorm on the challenges militating against

By Victor Ogunyinka THE organisers, agrofood and plastprintpack exhibition, Fairtrade, is set to take the lead in exploring agribusiness in the country.

The German firm is putting in place its second agrofood convention later in the year with the aim of supporting the agricultural initiative of the Federal Government.

According to a release made available to Nigerian Tribune, it was revealed that Nigerian agrofood and plastprintpack sectors has become more attractive for international suppliers due to the efforts of Nigeria to strengthen domestic production with the support of foreign technology and know-how.

“It came as no surprise that many multinational market leaders already opened offices and run production sites in Nigeria.

Against this backdrop, the German trade fair specialists, fairtrade, organise the second edition of agrofood and plastprintpack Nigeria. Notable global players trust in this leading food-tech and packaging event and already booked spaces for exhibition.

“President Muhammadu Buhari stated that it is time to return to agriculture, it is obvious that he will continue the policy of the former government in terms of supporting agriculture and food production.

Fairtrade realised this great potential and successfully established the professional international industry gathering agrofood and plastprintpack Nigeria in 2015.

try. He charged them on the need to evolve measures that would expand the operations of out-growers in the industry.

The minister maintained that the focus of the present administration was to increase

IITA, FG partner over AfDB’s $300m youth agribusiness initiative MINISTER of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has suggested the need for Nigeria to re-invent its own economic strategy to revive the economy, while welcoming a $300 million youth agricultural scheme of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The minister stated this when he received representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present a concept note on the Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme to the ministry.

Ogbeh said the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us”. He promised to join hands with AfDB and IITA towards the success of the empowerment initiative.

Expressing his desire to ensure that the youth of the nation study agriculture and make a living out of it, the minister emphasised a need for the three universities of agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

He said the Enable Youth Empowerment

Programme would start from there.

He tasked the IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director of Agricultural and Agro-Allied Industries, (AfDB), Dr Chudi Ojukwu, explained that a total of

efficacy testing — is a testament to Kansas State University’s ability to quickly respond to emerging foreign animal diseases, Richt said.

“This was very much a team project and something that we couldn’t have done in this time frame if it wasn’t for teamwork,” Richt said. “For diseases it’s critical to have a multidisciplinary approach. Kansas State University has the expertise, resources and

environment necessary to do this work and make this multidisciplinary approach work.”

Richt and Ma presented the project along with the proof-of-concept vaccination methods at a recent meeting of stakeholders and leaders in the U.S. agricultural industry, including the chicken and turkey industries, which will be helpful in the further development and adoption of the NDV-H5Nx vaccine. Researchers are currently preparing to publish their findings

$300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project, which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.

According to him, the initiative would create 250,000 jobs, the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary of the project supported with about $75,000.

Why Nigerian rice farmers, millers threaten to quit production IT has been revealed that local rice growers and millers had threatened to quit production and processing of the product due to Federal Government’s failure to control the rate of importation to allow the lofty programmes embarked upon towards domestic rice production to succeed.

According to Audu Ogbeh, many of these local rice farmers and millers, who have since upped their production levels as their hopes were raised by the government’s promise to ensure that all that they produce and mill would be easily marketable in the Nigerian market, are now con-

New H5Nx bird flu vaccine’s potential for mass protection of poultry Continued from pg16

local production of agricultural products in order to achieve food sufficiency and boost the Nigerian economy. He thanked the delegation for their visit and assured them of the ministry’s support.

in a scientific journal.

The project was funded through the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility’s research project transitional funds and Avimex. NBAF, under construction adjacent to Kansas State University’s Manhattan campus, will be the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s foremost animal disease research facility and will study highconsequence animal diseases that affect the nation’s agriculture and bio-security. *Source: ThePoultrySite.com

vinced that the government was only playing to the gallery by vowing to encourage local production to discourage massive importation of the commodity.

“Rice farmers and millers are very frustrated since they cannot market their products because of massive importation.

We asked these farmers to grow grains in the sun and rain, only for them to mill it in facilities that the government assisted in making available, and eventually discover that they are stuck with their product,” the minister said.

He further revealed that many of the farmers, whom he had interacted with, are on the verge of calling it a day and moving on to other avenues to make a living.

“Many of these farmers and millers involved in rice production are already threatening to forget about this venture and facing their destiny in other ventures,” Ogbeh disclosed.

The minister emphasised that Nigerian farmers did not need experts from abroad to tell them what to do. He noted that the government support towards creating a market environment that would encourage domestic production and supporting the farmers in other ways was crucial in discouraging exportation.

18 LETTERS TO THE

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

editor

Letters to the editor should be sent to letterstribune@yahoo. com or by sms to 08055001747 or 08054005323.

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

2016: Setting agenda for CBN

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ERMIT me to use this opportunity to call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to bring together local and international economists to discuss how the Nigerian naira can stabilise against the United States dollar this year. The various policies of the CBN have done nothing to save the situation.

The CBN started by stopping the deposit of dollars into domiciliary accounts, before it stopped selling forex to importers of certain items.

The latest move of curbing the amount one can spend on one’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) while abroad is another measure the apex bank came up with, but despite all these, we have seen no improvement.

I am happy that Mr Emefiele had said it several times, and he keeps saying it that Nigerians should reduce their dependence on foreign products.

The problem with us is that we depend more on foreign-produced goods, rather than locally-made goods. As a result of this, we require more foreign exchange to buy these goods from international suppliers.

Hydrogen bomb: UN, take action against North Korea LAST week, North Korea tested a nuclear hydrogen bomb, making it the sixth bomb it is testing since 2006. The world needs to move now to curb the excesses of North Korea, as well as its eccentric leader, Kim Jong Un. If nothing is done on time, this young man might just ruin the earth.

I know that the United States and other world allies had proposed several sanctions against North Korea, but Russia and China have both been shielding the regime at the United Nations.

It is high time Russia and China came to term with the fact that the world is sitting on a keg of gun powder with the irrational behaviour of the North Korean leader.

Here is a 30-somethingyear-old man who fantasises waging wars across the world; he could one day wake up and order that a nuclear bomb be shot at one of its enemies. He has no one to curb his excesses in his country, and he could make this great mistake, which could cost hundreds of millions of people to lose their lives.

World leaders should, therefore, come together to take a strong stance against North Korea; we must forget international politics, and just look at the need to save mankind from the bombs of an eccentric leader like Jong Un. What is terrible about nuclear bomb is that it has no defences, and once shot, it will definitely wreak hav-

oc since it works with air.

Looking at the Nagasaki and Hiroshima nuclear bomb attack, one will notice that even after 75 years, these cities have never recovered. What will now happen if a nuclear bomb that has the finesse of today’s technology, is fired. Mankind may sim-

ply go into extinction, but for us to avoid this impending doom, we must act now against the evil leader in our midst.

•Silas Daniel, Jos, Plateau State.

In the past, we were getting enough forex from the sale of crude oil at competitive prices, but today, the price of crude has gone so low that it has resulted in us borrowing to meet our budget target.

Our major problem, however, is not that the price of crude has gone down; our problem is that we are not selling our local products to the international market.

We have other natural resources we can capitalise on other than crude oil; we have gold, copper, bauxite, iron ore, coal, among others. We also, agricultural produce like cocoa, cassava, yams, among others, which we can use to generate foreign exchange.

During the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, we were exporting cassava to China and some Asian countries, thereby earning us foreign exchange. Are we still do-

ing this?

We should explore other items which we can sell abroad, while also limiting what we buy from overseas.

I hope the CBN can convene a stakeholders’ meeting, invitees will be able to

discuss more on some of these things, while arriving at a workable solution.

•Dr Tajudeen Alalade, Ilorin, Kwara State.

El-Rufai, Shehu Sani, settle your differences THE change I am expecting from the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir elRufai and Senator Shehu Sani is for them to settle their differences and start working together for the good people of their state.

I am sure the people of Kaduna State are not happy seeing these two political heavyweights fighting, instead of working together to touch their lives.

I know Senator Sani as a human rights activist; he has been fighting the

cause of the poor for a long time, and while he was a columnist with the Nigerian Tribune, he tackled the anti-people policies of government.

Now, I don’t want Malam el-Rufai to see Senator Sani as his enemy; there may be policies which the government might have initiated, which the senator sees as anti-people, it is the responsibility of both leaders to sit together and discuss them, in order to find a common ground.

As a result of this, I want to call on prominent traditional and religious leaders in the North to settle the difference between the governor and the senator.

This will definitely have a negative impact on the people of the state if the fight continues. Both leaders should work towards raising the standard of the people in the state.

Apart from Governor elRufai and Senator Sani, there are many other political players across the country who are embroiled in superiority battles. I am using this opportunity to tell them that these battles will serve no one any good, particularly the people.

Our politicians should learn how to put their people above personal interests.

For Nigeria to truly develop, everybody needs to come together to work for it; fighting will only make the people suffer, and nothing more.

In this new political dispensation, I hope politicians can change for the better, for the good of their people.

•Jimoh Mumin, jimohmumin@yahoo.com

19

editorial Wobbling and fumbling to victory

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

B

Y this weekend the African Nations Championship (CHAN) meant for home-based national teams on the African continent will kick off in Rwanda. As usual, Nigerians expect nothing short of victory from the nation’s representatives. For the recently concluded U-23 African Championship tournament in Senegal which also served as the qualifying championship for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Nigerians also expected no less, but it was not surprisingly dogged by what now seems to be the maledict prophecy of Fanny Amun’s popular cliché, a statement made decades ago, about Nigeria’s football teams always wobbling and fumbling to victory. Apart from the poor preparation of the Nigerian U-23 team for the championships, the country also unfortunately presented a reproachful, ill-fitted, ragtag team for the tournament.

Those who called it the Dream Team must have a wry sense of humour as the U-23 team traded tackles with its opponents during the championships, fuelled purely on luck and happenstance, draped in drab jerseys that did horrendous damage to corporate Nigeria. The only thing dreamy about the Nigerian Dream Team was the inexplicable serial victories which trailed its efforts over its various opponents throughout the tournament.

Even the pundits were unanimous in their criticism and condemnation of the team on grounds of preparation and tactics. While Jonathan Akpoborie, a former Super Eagles player thought that the team lacked whatever it took to be a Dream Team, Samson Siasia, its coach spoke, tongue-inthe-cheek, of how the team lacked essential kits and tools including jerseys and how it was incredible that it was considered to be in contention to retain the championship.

He, however, wisely demurred from blaming the NFF entirely for the team’s fate saying the Federation was actually broke.

The eventual victory of the U-23 team in Senegal, however, is a poor comment on the state of the game in the continent because its emergence, at the state the team was, showed how badly the game of soccer had been afflicted by consistent decadence over the years since Fanny Amun made his famous statement. Incidentally, things were not as bad as this at that time except for the meddlesomeness of the government in the administration of football.

Arguably elsewhere in the world, football remains in private hands of investors and therefore merit still holds the aces for the most parts in terms of players and the management. Little wonder then that those countries have been able to leverage on the advantages of sports in

Nigerian Tribune

their societies, using it to drive patriotism, competition, employment, crime reduction and therefore social stability.

Nigeria and other African countries have only the recruitment of players into foreign leagues as the only discernible advantage from sports, especially soccer, as the local leagues have been so bedevilled by poverty and corruption to make the whole enterprise worthwhile.

While the players have lucrative engagements abroad, the local players are largely impoverished because their wages are always in abeyance as most of them play for sport clubs sponsored by the various state governments.

The U-23 Eagles that played in Senegal during the AFCON Championships had incredibly sad stories to tell of their allowances and match bonuses during the tournament and it is easy to tell that the opportunity to sell their skills abroad remained their only motivation or driving force after their hopes had been serially dashed.

It didn’t have to be this way if the economy and the polity were better structured. There was a time not in the too distant past when private football clubs flourished but since their life span was always tied to that of their patron, the clubs perished at the demise of their patrons. There are football clubs elsewhere that are in business because people buy their shares and these clubs own stadia, promote other businesses and share dividends at the end of their financial year.

This may still be a dream in many African countries outside Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, but it should not be impossible for them to manage national soccer competitions successfully. It is actually distressing that Nigeria has not been able to live down the shoddiness that rules the management of affairs in the public view. The victory garnered from the 2015 outing in Senegal could not even be rightly celebrated on account of the lacklustre performance of the team. It should be possible for the Sports Ministry to do a post-mortem on the Senegal outing in order to make the Rio Olympics Games a much better outing for the country.

It is even interesting to note that such experiences as lack of financial and material support have come to characterise Coach Samson Siasia’s outings from the distant past when he had to personally sponsor the young men to other similar championships.

The impending 2016 CHAN tournament is an opportunity to shed the garb of opprobrium and live down the shameful image of an ill-prepared ragtag team. It is expected that the mantra of change will be extended to the country’s sports.

And why not?

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opinion

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Snakes, sticks, healing and death

T

O lay the substratum for today’s discourse, we might have to re-enact some quaint tales of times long before we emerged on earth. I could place a wager that at one point or the other in our lives, we have found ourselves asking this question, after visiting a hospital or seeing an ambulance: “what do snakes and sticks have to do with doctors?”

Now, you will need to follow me closely because the subsequent paragraphs in this column intend to do one thing – throw a beacon of enlightenment onto that long standing conundrum and another – expose some salient facts that will throw you into a fresh bout of deliberations.

In 1961, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), a professional association, was established and registered for Nigerian doctors and Physicians. Its symbol, like the symbol of medicine in several other countries of the world, was a snake wrapped around a stick. The NMA today has more than 35,000 members from 36 state branches and the branch from the Federal Capital Territory, including those registered in the diaspora with membership spanning all six major specialties of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health and Laboratory Medicine/Pathology.

Members of this association, whose symbol still remains a snake wrapped around a stick, are highly revered in the society as they as seen are avatars representing God on earth. As a matter of fact, in remote times, people with such rare gifts were regarded as healers superiorly gifted by the Supreme Being to snatch back lives tottering on the brink of Hades’ fury. Mortals looked up to them with awe but only one of such great men walked the earth in quaint times. His name was Asclepius and his story is the decryption of the mystery surrounding the world’s totem for medicine – a snake wrapped around a stick.

In ancient Greek mythology, he was referred to as the god of medicine, healing, rejuvenation and physicians but before all of that, he was simply the son of Apollos, one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities and a mortal woman, Coronis.

His mother, for being adulterous, was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed as penalty for her unfaithfulness while carrying Asclepius but he was ripped from his mother’s womb by his father, hence the derivation of his name which means ‘to cut open’.

Apollo carried the baby to the centaur Chiron, the notable Greek youth nurturer, who raised Asclepius and instructed him in the art of medicine. Asclepius was legendarily

tender-hearted that in return for some kindness rendered

by Asclepius, a snake licked Asclepius’ ears clean and taught him secret knowledge (to the Greeks, snakes were sacred beings of wisdom, healing, and resurrection).

Asclepius became so inexplicably proficient as a healer that he surpassed both Chiron and his father, Apollo. He was able to evade death and to bring others back to life from the brink of death and beyond and to honour the giver of his secret talent, he made a rod wreathed with a snake and was seen carrying a serpent entwined staff until the day Apollo’s thunder struck him.

His staff became associated with healing and was adapted internationally as the totem to symbolise the practice and profession of medicine.

The NMA is not exempted from this adaptation, but can we say that the NMA has measured up to the standard of great Asclepius, who defied Hades and brought back people from death?

In Nigeria today, the medical profession is more sadly synonymous to the Grimm’s sickle than the healing and rejuvenation Asclepius’ snake entwined rod symbolised.

How did it degenerate so? Stories of patients being cut down in their prime in the most horrific manner as a result of doctors’ negligence or misdiagnosis no longer make the headlines of national papers. As a matter of fact, they have become so rampant that Nigerians, unconsciously, have been negatively conformed to regard them as ‘normalcy’!

In September last year, media outlets nationwide went agog with the pathetic news of the untimely death of a potential first class graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Miss Oluchi Anekwe. Sympathetic Nigerians rained fire and brimstone on EKEDC as it filtered

veracity with Vera Onana

veraonana@gmail.com 08054680688 into the national atmospheric that the rare national asset died after an unfortunate accident involving electric cables.

However, explosions in forms of protests erupted when the perplexing actions of the school’s medical team came to the limelight.

Anekwe was not a lone victim, for I am certain we have not obliterated from our subconsious, the tragic wastage of Miss Kelechi Precious of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT); Mayowa Alaran of the University of Ibadan (UI), Kolawole Fatai Morenikeji of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomosho as well as several other Nigerians.

Harrowingly, however, Nigeria is not the only country on the face of the earth grappling with the eyesore of avoidable deaths due to negligence and misdiagnosis. This scourge happens to be a worldwide phenomenon. In 2014, our nation lost an Amazon to misdiagnosis, not perpetrated

by Nigerian doctors, but by their supposedly superior counterparts in the U.S. When Dora Akunyili of blessed memory was the Zonal Secretary (South-east) of the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund in 1998, Nigerian doctors gave her what many considered to be a death sentence. They said she had a growth and needed surgery. Akunyili, then 44, decided to travel to the United States, first to get a second opinion and then undergo the prescribed surgery. During pre-surgery check-up in the US, the doctors told her the Nigerian doctors had made a wrong diagnosis and that she did not need any surgery. It was said to be a minor issue that medication would solve but Akunyili died on June 7, 2014, of cancer. It turned out the Nigerian doctors were right. As a matter of fact, the American health care system is considered the third leading cause of death in America. In fact, around 440,000 Americans are killed annually by physician, hospital or nurse errors!

This reiterates the scary fact that death due to negligence and misdiagnosis is a worldwide scourge and for those that love to run out of the country at the slightest feel of a migraine, there will soon be no medical haven.

I would like therefore, to end today’s discourse with the following wishes – I wish that the NMA would in this leap year, take the bull by its horns and create a better medical situation for my fellow countrymen. I wish with all my heart that the NMA would mitigate, if not unequivocally, eradicate deaths by medical errors and I hope above all that the sterling reputation of the ancient snake wrapped around a stick, with which Asclepius brought back many from Hades and beyond, is no longer sullied by these devastating deaths.

Africans and New Year celebration

By Owolabi Salis

ALL the major religions claim to take directions from one God who is consistent, but they all have different calendars including their new year and have different rules and so on. One gets the nod to eat pork; another will not get the go-ahead. One God will direct that “you should not work on Sunday,” another will direct that “you should work on Sunday.” The right one, we do not know and the religious adherents all claim to come from one God who is consistent. One religion uses solar calendar, others use lunar calendar.

As said earlier, the different religions all have different New Year, with one celebrating January 1 as its own new year. If it is true that January was named after Janus, a Roman god of beginning and doorways, then celebrating January 1 means celebrating the birth of that Roman god. Many other religions have said no to January 1 but have different dates. None of them can say with certainty, using the solar calendar, when the earth starts revolving around the sun.

The chance that it is January 1 is ratio 1:365.25 because we have 365.25 days in a year.

What we are all sure of is our individual new years, that is, our birthdays. All these inconsistencies are what I will call religious racing; every religion is selling its idea to gain more membership. Racing here means competition that can be constructive or destructive. If it is a constructive competition, it can also mean creativity, development, checks and balances and other positive values. We may then talk briefly about RACING ECONOMICS. If you are a political leader and you make economic policies that do not embrace racing, it would probably fail. Constructive racing is important for our existence. In the same vein, we have RACING DEMOCRACY. A democracy that does not embrace

constructive racing will fail, leading to conflicts.

Mostly, all religions set positive beliefs and rules. For example, do not steal, do not commit adultery, respect your elders, give charity and so on. These positive beliefs and rules are constructive racing to build a positive society. Unfortunately, the fanatics in the various religions have been engaging in destructive racing promoting conflicts and other vices.

I think we should all pay attention to our birthdays which is more spiritual. We should know the time and place. If you are born 2 am on January 30, in Nigeria and if on your birthday you are in New York, USA, your birthday should begin by 8 am on January 29 because there is 6 hours difference between New York, USA and Nigeria during the month of January. Even this time zone is challengeable because the time zone differences are set by human beings.

If we Africans need a group new year, we should formulate one for ourselves. Africans are of a very old race and it is time we started defining a pride for ourselves and stop consuming foreign race practices. The DNA has proved our pride of place as a long existing race. You do not even need DNA to know this.

Mere observation will tell because the longer you exist in this world, the more the diversity that you will experience.

If you have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great, great, grandchildren and so on, these children will migrate and develop diversities in terms of culture change, dialect, language and so on. It is on record that the most diverse continent is Africa. In Nigeria alone, we have about 250 ethnic groups. Yet, we are made to think we are an inferior race because we embrace foreign race practices.

We are made to believe everything in Africa is bad, including our religion and tradition only to embrace foreign religions and traditions that have similar practices; but to us theirs are okay.

Nobody has well-documented history of Black Africans 5000 years back before Jesus or in the days of Adam, Abraham and other prophets of the Bible and Quran. I doubt if our African spiritual leaders even know what they called 100 years of history, talk less of 5000 years. In 25 years, you can change the world, talk less of 100 years. United States of America with all her achievements is about 500 years of history of the settlers.

There is no doubt that Africans were marginalised by the wellknown documented religious histories; there is no adequate mention of the events and people of Africans. God will rescue us from this miseducation and misunderstanding.

Salis, a lawyer, sent this piece from Brooklyn, New York United States.

21

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Femi Olukunle Coordinating Editor 08158610216,

Residents want infrastructure at satellite towns Christian Okeke-Abuja RESIDENTS of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who live in satellite towns, have pleaded for more infrastructure to be provided in their areas.

They said that such an action was necessary so as to give them a sense of belonging in the territory.

The residents, who spoke with Abuja Xtra, lamented the poor state of roads, inadequate healthcare facilities and schools as well as other social amenities in their areas.

Some of them lamented poor state of markets in their areas, and said that the decayed and in certain cases, obvious lack of infrastructure was taking negative toll on the people.

While some of them, who spoke to Abuja Xtra, alleged marginalisation by government, others said most villages in the satellite towns were yet to witness any functional infrastructure.

A resident, Caro Onawisi, who lives in Bwari Area Council, told Abuja Xtra that most residents, especially in Abaji and Kwali area councils, had not seen modern infrastructures in their life time, especially the aged ones.

She said same story applied to some residents in remotest parts of Gwagwalada and Bwari area councils.

She said: “You cannot believe this, but I went to a village called Dobi in Gwagwalada area council and you cannot believe what they have there in the name of government presence.

“In fact, on a day that a non-governmental organisation visited the village for a free medical care, almost the entire villagers trooped out. It was as if all of them were sick, yet the health centre there was in comatose “I myself could not stay there beyond an hour because tse-tse fly was all over the place so I took off. Who talks about fumigation where there are bushes every where?

“Do you remember there was an incident of infanticide here recently? That was associated with lack of civilisation in the affected villages, of course. This minister of FCT will need to visit some of these places and I am sure he will cry when he sees the condition under which people live in the territory he administers”.

Unbranded cars still used as taxis —Investigation

Students loitering around an unfenced school in FCT

Insecurity: Concerns as most schools remain without perimeter fence Christian Okeke-Abuja

M

ANY schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are yet to get perimeter fence to boost security of lives of pupils and students, thus raising fresh anxiety among stakeholders.

The situation remains even with concerns over security challenges being witnessed currently across the country.

Checks by Abuja Xtra revealed that

ties at FCT administration.

However, it did appear that the current administration at FCT was already working on ways to improve security at the schools with emphasis on erecting such perimeter fences.

Abuja Xtra gathered that the administration has already resolved to use direct labour option to provide fence for the schools as a way of cutting cost and also enabling the administration to fence as many schools as possible this fiscal year.

Crew 1. Christian Okeke chidiabujatribune@ yahoo.com 08030947856 2. Clement Idoko idokoajiga@yahoo. co.uk 08034412281

—Pg.22

FCTA staff in trouble for constant lateness —Pg.22

some of the schools in question have large population of students and pupils.

The schools are left porous despite stakeholders’ meetings held in the life of the previous government between the FCT administration, parents, schools’ authorities and security agencies where farreaching decisions were taken.

Both parents and teachers, who spoke on the situation, expressed worry and urged the intervention of present authori-

3. Kolawole Daniel kolawoledaniels@yahoo.co.uk 08030763782 4. Adetola Bademosi gloriaadetola@ gmail.com 08182214290 5. Collins Nnabuife chideraacollins@yahoo.com 08039521408

Students of a school in Abuja receiving lecture

Abuja Xtra email & GSM: abujaxtra@ gmail.com 08054501406

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abujaxtra

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Unbranded cars still used as taxis —Investigation

Adetola Bademosi-Abuja T is no longer news that the menace of ‘one chance’ robbery and other related crimes has become a source of worry to residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT.) What is, however, giving the residents some sort of concern is the fact that despite efforts put in place by security agencies and the various road transport unions to eradicate it, the menace continues to thrive.

Most worrisome is the fact that the ‘one chance’ syndicate defy all measures and freely operate with unbranded taxis.

Severally, FCT administration has worked to clamp down on operators of unpainted taxis in the territory. Part of the measures is the introduction of safety nets like mandatory biometrics capturing of all commercial taxi drivers as well as mounting of tracking system on some of the taxis. The measures were put in place to safeguard the residents.

Towards realising the goal, operators of branded taxis were mandated to register with relevant government agency and the various road transport unions. This enabled the unions to put a check on the activities of their members.

With the measures, the residents of Abuja became confident and opted for the branded taxis. But due to the lingering

I

transportation challenges in the territory, most residents cannot do without patronising the unbranded taxis and it is in the process that they fall prey to the robbery syndicate.

Checks by Abuja Xtra revealed that most taxi operators in the capital territory refused to brand their taxis for various reasons. While some said that doing so demeaned them as persons, others said that operating brand taxis came with certain limitations, as brand taxis were disallowed entry into certain places.

Unfortunately, syndicates seize the opportunity to perpetrate criminal activities.

They pick up passengers at any bus-stop and rob them in the course of the journey.

As such bus stops like the popular Berger roundabout, touts popularly called ‘agberos’ assist to scout passengers for the syndicates, all for a pay ranging from N30 to N50.

The checks by Abuja Xtra further revealed that some private car owners, at the close of the day’s work, also pick passengers on their way home. The practice further makes it difficult to nab real syndicate.

Speaking with Abuja Xtra, the national president of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Chief Abubakar Sadiq, lamented the use of unbranded taxis for criminal activities in the

territory. He recalled that there had been efforts to curtail the menace through the FCT transport secretariat which banned the operations of unbranded taxis in the territory.

According to him, much has not been done recently concerning unpainted vehicles. He said, “Majority of the branded vehicles are the ones responsible because we cannot go into a vehicle that is not branded and say we want to check such vehicle when sometimes some of the owners are retired officers.”

Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police for FCT, CP Wilson Inalegwu, said although highway robberies had drastically reduced Abuja, there was still the need to totally eradicate all crimes associated with transportation sector. He said that would not, however, be achieved without the collaboration of all stakeholders including vehicle operators.

He said: “You cannot say because you are the commissioner of police, you know what is going on in your neighbourhood, but if we mobilise the public on our side,

they can become our eyes and ears because in managing crimes, you have to address the crimes of concern and in being able to manage that, you have to get a lot of stakeholders into your policing efforts.”

He went further to say: “We are paying particular attention to some spots and we have been able to take over these places.

When we talk about crimes in the FCT, we are not talking about highway armed robberies; it has seriously gone down.

“Most crimes cannot occur without transportation. The armed robber requires a vehicle to convey him to a place.

No matter what, he must take a vehicle to a place and when he has robbed, he requires a vehicle to carry the things he has robbed.

“If he is going to attack an ATM machine, he needs a vehicle to take him there and so most crimes touch on transportation.

After brainstorming, we agreed to meet with all transport unions and then FCT transportation secretariat. We need to collaborate.”

The logo of a typically branded Abuja cab

FCTA staff in trouble for constant lateness Christian Okeke-Abuja

A branded Abuja taxi

Robbers snatch car in Lagos, arrested in FCT Christian Okeke-Abuja TWO occupants of a car said to have been snatched in Lagos have been arrested in Abuja.

They were alleged to have snatched a 2014 model silver colour Toyota Corolla with registration number BDG 783 DF in Lagos.

Abuja Xtra gathered that the suspects headed to Abuja after the incident.

However unknown to them, the robbery was swiftly reported to the police after it was happened.

Abuja Xtra gathered that following the distress call received from Lagos by the FCT Police Command Control Room that the car was stolen in Lagos and that the suspects were heading towards Abuja, the FCT Police Command immediately alerted all its safer highways team.

According to the information, the team, which was on the look-out for the said car, ended up arresting the two occupants.

They were said to have been arrested

along Dei-Dei-Zuba axis on Kubwa expressway.

Also following a discreet operation, Police operatives attached to Wuse Division arrested one Thompson Chinonso who allegedly specialised in breaking into houses at night and carting away cash and other valuables.

He was said to have been arrested after he allegedly broke into a house at Nouakchott Street Wuse Zone 1 and stole a bag that contained one Apple Laptop, one Ipad, one Iphone, different ATM cards and different denominations of Turkish currencies.

With his arrest, Commissioner of Police for FCT, Wilson Inalegwu, directed that the suspect and the exhibits be transferred to the Command Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department for proper investigation.

He also reiterated the need for members of the public to always call the Command 24/7 emergency helplines when in distress, assuring that the response would be prompt.

A list of habitual late comers at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been compiled while appropriate punishment is being planned against the affected staff.

Recently, FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Bello, took the staff by surprise when he went round the building housing his office to ascertain how punctually they reported to duties.

As a follow-up, the Permanent Secretary in the territory, Dr Babatope Ajakaiye, last week, also embarked on same assessment. He toured the various offices at about 10.00am on that fateful day when most of the offices were still under lock and key.

It was gathered that the permanent secretary was obviously shocked that many civil servants were yet to report to work as at the time he embarked on the tour.

A source told Abuja Xtra that Ajakaiye did not, however, make public statement on the situation he met during the tour.

He was said to have quietly walked back into his office.

When the minister embarked on same tour earlier, he did not also utter a word publicly on his findings but Abuja Xtra, however, gathered that queries would soon be sent to those who were absent at duty post.

It was not clear as at the time of filing

this report, when the affected staff would start receiving the queries.

A source confided in Abuja Xtra that appropriate memo could be sent to the office of the Head of Service by this week for a disciplinary action to be taken against the staff. The measure to be eventually adopted was not confirmed to the Abuja Xtra as at the time of filing this report.

It will be recalled that the minister, Bello, had met with the chairman of the Joint Unions Action Committee, an umbrella organisation of all affiliate unions under the FCT administration in his office, Comrade Titus Okoro, in December when he called on staff of the administration to change their attitude towards service delivery in line with the change mantra of the Federal Government.

He used the occasion to solicit the support of officials of the unions as well as the entire staff of the administration to achieve the tasks of repositioning the administration, assuring that his administration would do its best to promote the welfare of staff within the context of the overall national policy.

During the meeting, the chairman of the committee, Comrade Titus Okoro, appealed to the minister to look into the 100 per cent payment of staff rent supplement in line with extant rules as the amount now being paid, according to him, is not sufficient to secure accommodation for staff of the administration.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Nigerian Tribune

leadership &

management with Sulaimon Olanrewaju

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

How leaders handle conflicts

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju

C

ONFLICT is a fact of life. Human interactions at every level usually result in conflict because of the difference in human beings. Since no two persons are exactly the same, people think and act in ways that may not meet the approval of others. How the disapproval is conveyed and received, if not properly handled, could degenerate into a conflict.

When not well-managed, conflict has the propensity to precipitate crisis; it can alienate members of a group and hinder an organization from achieving its core objectives. When allowed to get to a head, conflict can lead to the balkanization or disintegration of an organization.

The bifurcation of CAC The Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C.) is one of the earliest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. The church started as a movement when, in 1918, a group of men, comprising people like Joseph Sadare, David Odubanjo, E. Olukoya, D. Oduga and E. Onabanjo, who were members of the Christian Missionary Society (CMS), held regular prayer meetings for spiritual revival in the country during which they also shared the word of God. The prayer meeting gradually developed into the Aladura Movement, which was later called the Precious Stone, and later metamorphosed into the Faith Tabernacle.

Continues on pg24

The 60-second

business coach Leaders’

forum

Oladele Amoda, CEO, Eko Electricity Distribution Plc

Quote LEADERSHIP

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new — Albert Einstein

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

leadership&management THE 60-SECOND business coach

guides the operation of the organization. He points out what should be done as stated in the code in a reconciliatory manner. The leader must avoid apportioning blame but must not refrain from underscoring the actions that are right and those that are wrong (not who is right or wrong).

Common leadership and management mistakes It’s often said that mistakes provide great learning opportunities.

However, it’s much better not to make mistakes in the first place!

We’re looking at 10 of the most common leadership and management errors, and highlighting what you can do to avoid them.

1. Not Providing Feedback According to 1,400 executives polled by The Ken Blanchard Companies, failing to provide feedback is the most common mistake that leaders make. When you don’t provide prompt feedback to your people, you’re depriving them of the opportunity to improve their performance.

To avoid this mistake, learn how to provide regular feedback to your team.

2. Not Making Time for Your Team When you’re a manager or leader, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in your own workload that you don’t make yourself available to your team.

Yes, you have projects that you need to deliver. But your people must come first – without you being available when they need you, your people won’t know what to do, and they won’t have the support and guidance that they need to meet their objectives.

Avoid this mistake by blocking out time in your schedule specifically for your people, and by learning how to listen actively to your team. Develop your emotional intelligence so that you can be more aware of your team and their needs, and have a regular time when “your door is always open”, so that your people know when they can get your help.

Once you’re in a leadership or management role, your team should always come first - this is, at heart, what good leadership is all about!

3. Being Too “Hands-Off” One of your team members has just completed an important project. The problem is that he misunderstood the project’s specification, and you didn’t stay in touch with him as he was working on it. Now, he’s completed

L&M

the project in the wrong way, and you’re faced with explaining this to an angry client.

Many leaders want to avoid micromanagement. But going to the opposite extreme (with a hand-offs management style) isn’t a good idea either – you need to get the balance right.

4. Being Too Friendly Most of us want to be seen as friendly and approachable to people in our team. After all, people are happier working for a manager that they get on with. However, you’ll sometimes have to make tough decisions regarding people in your team, and some people will be tempted to take advantage of your relationship if you’re too friendly with them.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t socialize with your people. But, you do need to get the balance right between being a friend and being the boss.

Make sure that you set clear boundaries, so that team members aren’t tempted to take advantage of you.

5. Failing to Define Goals When your people don’t have clear goals, they muddle through their day. They can’t be productive if they have no idea what they’re working for, or what their work means. They also can’t prioritize their workload effectively, meaning that projects and tasks get completed in the wrong order.

Avoid this mistake by learning how to set SMART goals for your team.

6. Misunderstanding Motivation Do you know what truly motivates your team? Here’s a hint: chances are, it’s not just money!

Many leaders make the mistake of assuming that their team is only working for monetary reward.

However, it’s unlikely that this will be the only thing that motivates them.

For example, people seeking a greater work/life balance might be motivated by telecommuting days or flexible working. Others will be motivated by factors such as achievement, extra responsibility, praise, or a sense of camaraderie.

mindblower

Reading calms frayed nerves

Albert Essien, CEO, Ecobank Group

Adewale Raji, GMD, Odu’a Group

Babatunde Fowler, Chairman, FIRS

Michael Ade-Ojo, Chairman, Toyota Nigeria

Debola Osibogun, President, CIBN

Leaders and conflict management Continues on pg23

In the 1930s, Apostle Ayo Babalola joined the group and with that came the transformation of the movement to C.A.C. A highly anointed man of God, Babalola had a passion for organizing revivals in various towns and communities across the country. The revivals, which were marked by unprecedented signs and wonders with the dead being raised, blind eyes being opened and the dumb speaking, resulted in the fame of the church spreading far and wide and a consequent increase in membership. The church became known for holiness, prayer and miraculous occurrences.

This continued till the 1980s. The church continued to grow but as it grew so did rivalry among the leaders. With rivalry came clash of interests as different camps strived for the control of the church. This was allowed to go unchecked until several groups within the church declared their independence and branched out to run their own shows. Till date, the dust of the crisis generated by that conflict has yet to settle in spite of several court cases and several moves by well-meaning church leaders to bring the different camps under one umbrella.

Causes of conflict A number of factors are responsible for causing conflicts. Some of them are discussed here.

Different interests In any team, there will be a number of interests. Sometimes, the interests in a group are as many

Did you know that reading calms frayed nerves better and faster than any other method?

According to a research carried out on a group of volunteers by Mindlab International, a consultancy outfit at the University of Sussex, reading is superior to listening to music, going for a walk or settling down with a cup of tea as far as reducing stress is concerned.

and varied as the number of people in the group. Sometimes, members of the team form clusters with each group having different agenda.

Since individuals and groups that make up a team have different interests, conflicts become inevitable. Harmony is assured in a team when everybody is working towards the same goal. But when different people are pushing for different things and pulling the organization in different directions, there would be a clash of interests which will unfailingly result in conflicts.

Poor communication Where there is a dearth of information, there will be suspicion, where there is suspicion, there will be mistrust, where there is mistrust, there will be conflict and confrontation. Clear communication facilitates peace in organizations.

When communication is unambiguous, organizations run unhindered. But when communication is unclear or haphazard, tension builds up, leading to conflict. Communication breaks down because oftentimes what is intended is contrary to what is transmitted or perceived. If a party says something which is not properly interpreted by the other person, there will be a gap between what is expected and what will be delivered. This will eventually result in conflict.

Hence, communication experts counsel that leaders should not just assume that what they intend to pass across is what is transmitted to the other party; they counsel that leaders should go a step further by checking with their team members to ensure that they are on the same

The volunteers’ stress levels and heart rate were increased through a range of tests and exercises before they were then tested with a variety of traditional methods of relaxation.

While reading reduced stress levels by 68 per cent, listening to music reduced the levels by 61 per cent, having a cup of tea or coffee lowered them by 54 per cent and taking a walk by 42

page. This is done by going over the kernel of a communication exercise at least one more time after the initial exercise.

the authority. Conflicts cause distraction and distracted people are not given to acquitting themselves excellently.

Resources One of the major causes of conflict is resources. Struggle over resources usually heralds conflicts. Resources are often in short supply and this causes individuals or groups to struggle over available resources. The outcome of this is that one group’s gain is the other group’s loss. So, the struggle continues in a vicious cycle as the group that is outwitted at a time waits for an auspicious time to have it back on the group that had the upper hand at the first encounter.

Opportunity cost of wasted time When conflicts are allowed to take root, uprooting them takes time. Quality time that could have been put to more constructive and rewarding activities is expended on addressing the issues and restoring confidence. According to a study, between 30 and 40 per cent of supervisors’ and managers’ daily activities are devoted to dealing with conflicts in the workplace. So, rather than spending their time on how to improve productivity and increase value to various stakeholders, leaders spend time to calm frayed nerves and ensure harmony in the workplace.

Failed expectations Unmet expectations also result in conflicts. Expectations raise hopes.

But when these are unmet, the result is dashed hopes. Dashed hopes raise tension and when tension rises conflict becomes imminent.

Cost of conflicts Conflicts in organizations come at a great cost. Great leaders devote their energies to nipping conflicts in the bud because they know that the longer a conflict lasts the more difficult it becomes to resolve it. Here are some of the costs of conflicts.

Lowered productivity Where conflict thrives, productivity ebbs. There is no way employees can give their best to their duties when they are embroiled in conflict either with their colleagues or with

per cent. Playing video games brought them down by 21 per cent from their highest level but still left the volunteers with heart rates above their starting point.

Cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis, who conducted the test, said subjects only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles. In

Trust is affected One of the casualties of conflict is trust. Trust is earned over a period of time but can be lost in a jiffy when there is a conflict. When a leader or an organization is trusted, the people will go the extra mile to achieve corporate objective. But when trust is lost, the people are zapped of the energy to run the extra mile.

How leaders handle conflicts One of a leader’s most challenging tasks is managing conflicts.

The existence of a conflict suggests that the team is already divided into subgroups with each of the subgroups having a position which it strongly holds to. Persuading the

fact it got subjects to stress levels lower than before they started.

Dr Lewis said, “Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation.

“This is particularly poignant in uncertain economic times when we are all craving a certain amount of escapism.

“It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can

subgroup to ditch that position for a new one requires wisdom, tact and determination.

Bring the matter to the table The first step for the leader is to encourage a discussion of the matter causing disaffection among the people. Tension may rise while this is on but the leader must ensure that he manages the situation well to prevent further degeneration.

The leader must avoid the temptation to underrate the issues raised by the aggrieved parties no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be. If it is important enough for them to raise it at the meeting, the leader cannot afford to make light of it.

Create atmosphere of trust through unbiased disposition At his inauguration on May 29, 2015 in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari, gave his famous line, “I belong to everyone, I don’t belong to anyone.” That should be the attitude of a great leader. While a leader may not be able to stop members of his team from joining one group or the other, he should not covertly or overtly support any of the groups. He should come across to everyone as being the leader of all, not the leader of a group. This will build trust and it is only when the leader is trusted by all concerned that he can effectively address the cause of the conflict.

Address the issues raised by all parties The leader then has to address the issues raised by the groups in accordance with the code that

escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.

“This is more than merely a distraction but an active engaging of the imagination as the words on the printed page stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness.”

Bring all parties to the centre This is probably the most difficult part of the process but a leader who is seen as being fair to all will get it done. The leader must ensure that all members drop their personal, departmental or clannish interests to embrace the corporate interest.

This will not just happen, the leader must show leadership by being as straight as a nail, dispassionate as humanly possible and unbiased as much as he can be to rally his people round the common interest. The common interest must encompass all the personal and departmental interests to make it attractive to all.

People seek a shield in clannish or group interests if they feel that the corporate interests do not incorporate their own interests. If they are convinced that their interests are guaranteed and well-protected in the corporate interests, they will not be swayed into advocating or defending group interests. If the corporate interests are convincing and encompassing enough, persuading people to jettison subgroup interests becomes easy.

ASUU/NASU and NMA/JOHESU crises For a long time, crises have dogged the nation’s university system and the health sector because of the style adopted by the leadership of the country in tackling issues affecting groups with conflicting interests in each of the systems. When university lecturers go on strike, the government will hold meetings with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and reach an agreement with the body without taking into consideration the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU). Irked by the concession given ASUU by the government, NASU will also embark on strike, asking the government to meet certain demands. The same things go on in the health sector between the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU). Since these are groups with conflicting interests operating within the same system, the government needs to move away from piecemeal agreements with each of the groups into having a mutual agreement with all the parties.

This will enable the parties to sort out all the thorny issues at once. The government should endeavour to move the groups away from fighting for the interest of a group to fighting for the interest of the system. That is how sustainable institutions are built.

BOOK DECONSTRUCTING what makes a successful leader is nearly impossible. As Joseph Badarracco points out, we rarely have enough true insight into leaders to understand them, though it’s not for lack of trying; we can find a surplus of biographies of history’s most impressive leaders, both good and bad. He therefore turns to fictional characters. As readers, we are omniscient; we can understand a character inside and out and we can therefore observe the reasons behind their successes and failures.

In his book Badaracco uses different pieces of serious fiction to explore eight umbrella questions pertinent to leadership. These questions serve as a concentrated, chronological outline that Badaracco has pieced together after years of experience being a leader, observing other leaders and teaching aspiring leaders.

The main character of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, helps us understand the first question, “Do I have a good dream?” Leadership begins with a dream – it is the seed from which the passion and drive grows – but one can fall prey to that very dream. Willy is the case in point of a man who wastes his life because of the twisted disillusion that his society-driven dreams will come true even though it is clear that they never will. A good dream must have its roots in pragmatism and we must be self-critical enough to distinguish realistic dreams from foolish fantasies.

Through the novel Things Fall Apart, the question “How flexible is my moral code?” is discussed in the context of African tribal leader Okonkwo’s downfall because his fixed moral code lacked the flexibility the changing times demanded.

A dynamic moral code is crucial.

Badaracco presents a great analogy to the perfect moral code, comparing it to a fully-grown tree. Like a tree, a moral code has deep-seated and resilient roots that are shaped by our upbringing (influence from parents and community alike), our beliefs and our principles.

Blessed Assurance tells the story of Jerry, a very successful and philanthropic businessman who, at fifty-nine, reflects on an experience he had during his first job as a teenager where he befriended and, against job policy, helped Vesta, a poor older black woman. The chapter asks the question, “Are my role models unsettling?” but Badaracco argues that valuable role models are not necessarily meant to set an example, as traditionally defined. Rather, the most important characteristic of a leader is selfknowledge, and Vesta elicits new perspectives, feelings and a sense of

determination in Jerry. Their relationship is uncomfortable and filled with guilt on Jerry’s part, but his feelings from that time compel him.

They have a direct impact on his decisions later on by allowing him to discover what he really wanted from life and the kind of person he wanted to be.

Badaracco’s next five questions, “Do I really care?” “Am I ready to take responsibility?” “Can I resist the flow of success?” “How well do I combine principles and pragmatism?” and “What is sound reflection?” continue to analyze some of literature’s leaders, adding to his successful leader checklist.

Badaracco finishes by emphasizing his most important point: a good leader must have a balance of internal self-consciousness and external comparisons. Solipsism, which is the belief that one’s own mind – and all that goes with it – is all that exists, will be the downfall of any promising leader; one must always remember to look outward.

Nonetheless, Badaracco’s ultimate claim is that “good leaders know who they are. Others sense this and gain a sense of confidence and purpose.”

Badaracco will speak to anyone who can appreciate an abstract analysis of some of life’s bigger questions. He only answers the questions he poses in relation to the characters from the literature, confirming his overlying point that to be a good leader we must understand ourselves with a self-awareness few manage to attain, we must be open to multiple interpretations and we must be capable of flexibility over time. In essence, we each have our individual answers to these questions, but it is our ability to heed to their presence and take them seriously that will keep us afloat. He never professes to have the magic formula, but Badaracco’s outline may keep you on the right path.

Reviewed by Kate Mischaikow

26

leadership&management

Tuesday, 12 January, 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

Purposology as the springboard of success - 3

THE sordid revelations about the never-ending reach of the spread of the Dasuki largesse continue to boggle one’s mind. One thing stands out for me in all of these revelations.

From the one who delivered only $30,000 to the one he was to give N100m, to the one who collected N100m (because, according to him, PDP is a very rich party!) and declared only N5m to his party, our so-called elders and leaders have soiled their hands and proven once again that their personal interests supersede those of the collective. With the admissions of culpability, even if the courts of law set them free, it will only show clearly that there is a world of difference between judgment and justice! Legalese may swing the case in their favour, but moral law will hold them culpable. It is indeed a sad chapter in our nation’s history. And to think that the Dasukigate is only one of the several platforms of “yam” sharing in our polity. These times indeed call for sober reflection! Nigeria, nonetheless, will not only survive but will rise again! Back to our discourse.

For so long, I have listened to motivational speakers harp on the issue of passion as the driver of achievement. I agree.

Except for the fact that more often than not, the statement is made in a way that puts the cart before the horse. Passion is a very essential ingredient in the success mix but it must never precede purposology. As I said last week, purpose is a product of redemptive anger about a status quo that we intend to change. Passion only makes sense when that anger is focused and sustained in the coded answer to the question “WHY?”. The WHY of a man is a reinforcement that pulls the veneer off the anonymity of identity. When purpose is known, anonymity loses its mask. A man on purpose is like goldfish. He has no hiding place! You cannot be indifferent to a man who has found his essence. You either love him passionately or hate him passionately! Jesus was an innocuous son of a carpenter who was in no way different from every other young man in the community until the day he showed up in the synagogue at the age of thirty and found the place in the Torah where Isaiah 60:1-3 gave a vivid summary of His life assignment. From then, he began to attract attention, some positive and some negative.

It is practically impossible to live a disciplined life without a strong consciousness of a life essence. A man’s discovery of his WHY will also ultimately determine the disciplines of his life. With a driving WHY, disciplines actually become pleasure. Over time, our WHY becomes the compass of our habits, relationships, actions, priorities, goals and aspirations.

These help us to define boundaries and streamline priorities.

No structure, no matter how well thought out can stand without a foundation. Purposology begins with an individual before it is expressed in a collective. Microsoft is an expression of Bill Gates. Steve Jobs has the signature of his dream indelibly stamped on Apple products. The Virgin Group is a corporate expression of the WHY of Richard Branson. When the translation from individual WHY to a collective essence is well done, a community is borne. This community expresses itself in various formats viz; family, social club, nation, or corporate business organization. The common WHY of the collective also, over time, evolves into a culture that defines parameters of conduct and relational dynamics in the collective. In time, when the collective finds cohesive expression, it operates as an individual! Once you meet an integral member of that community, it is as if you have met every member of the community.

Individuals and organizations that intend to succeed sustainably must seek to function in the answers they are able to get to seven critical life questions. It begins with the question, “WHO are we?” This is the identity question. This is reflected not just in the name that we bear. It is reflected in our nuances (for individuals), our colours, our logo and what we vaguely refer to as our brand. The answer we get to this is the precursor to the next question, “WHY do we do what we do?” This is the purposology question. It defines the problem we aim to solve. This is where most people have challenges. When problems arise in the pursuit of purpose, it is vital to have a recourse to the original problem we set out to solve. This is our number one motivation for success.

Following on the heels of the WHY is the question, “WHAT do we do?” This gives a specific definition to the solution we intend to bring to the problem we have identified or the value proposition we bring to the table or the market. It is the cod-

ification of our brand promise. Every true WHY must result in a WHAT for it to make sense and a necessary connection with the society or market. Until it is made specific, it cannot be dynamic. No one knows how relevant we are to them until we can present a specific solution to definite problems that affect them.

The fifth question has to do with timing. It is the issue of “WHEN do we do what we do?” As the scriptures instruct us, there is a time for everything under the sun. More often than not, every assignment in life has a time of relevance. There is hardly any product or service that is for all seasons. Warm clothing is only relevant in cold weather. A light cotton or polyester shirt may look very fitting and fashionable in summer but putting it on as the only clothing item in winter is akin to committing suicide!

No assignment finds relevance everywhere. A store that sets out to clothe people of style will not make the mistake of being located in a village. One of the time-tested aphorisms of sustainable business is “Location, location, location!” It does not take extreme intelligence to know that you cannot sell skiing or diving equipment in the desert. For this reason, it is necessary to answer the “WHERE?” question. It is trite wisdom to know where you or your products/solutions are needed and connect appropriately. Very simple - almost simplistic - proposition but very profound.

The last question for which an answer needs to be found is “WHO WITH?” This helps the individual or organization to define the parameters of relationship. Every individual must understand those who need him and those that he needs to fulfill his life mission. Every organization must know its stakeholders and the role that each stakeholder plays in the execution of the corporate mandate. This entails knowing who can work with the organization and the required skills sets required from management level to the most junior staff, the potential and active customers, suppliers or providers of services ancillary to the execution of its own mandate, the government and how its regulations affect the organization..continued Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

Service isn’t the alleyway to greatness ABOUT three weeks ago, I began to share with the good people of Nigeria some non-negotiable principles that can deliver success and greatness to them. Today, I am going to take it a little further and deeper by sharing a subterranean principle that you cannot do without on the condition that you want to become great as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the days to come, and if you desire and yearn to make more money in your business this year.

Remember, it is what you do with what I coach and educate you on here that can revolutionize and transform your life and leadership.

To underscore the point I am making today, let me pass on to you a true life story. Many years ago, a customer spoke about his experience at Nordstrom. He said and I quote: “after I checked into my hotel room, I realized I forgot my shaving cream. Yes, I could have gotten the complimentary stuff at the hotel, but I am a Diva when it comes to shaving, I use Art of shaving—the oil, the shaving cream, moisturizer. I just couldn’t do without it. So, I called Nordstrom and explained the situation—and here is what happened: ‘I am here on business and I need an Art of shave travel kit. The problem is that I have no way to get there. Are you able to deliver it to my hotel?’ A ridiculous request, I know. Department stores do not hand deliver items to hotel rooms. ‘Hold on one second, let me get my manager,’ said the employee.

‘Hi Derek, this is Aundria Spears. I get off work at 6pm, and I live near your hotel. I will drop it off at the front desk for you.’

“Aundria, the manager at Nordstrom, delivered the shaving kit to my hotel and saved the day {and my face}. This got me thinking…Nordstrom is known for being quite expensive, but more than that, they are known for their great service.”

The manager at Nordstrom demonstrated greatness by delivering the shaving kit to the client’s hotel. This is what greatness is all about. Greatness is service and service is greatness.

The African man has been deceived that the client who was on the inside of the hotel is the great one, while the manager who brought the shaving kit is a mere man. This is why the Continent of Africa is still where it is today. There are too many mere men and women in the corridors of power, who are masquerading as great men and women. Most of those in the corridors of power in Africa do not know anything about service. They are only in power to be served, not to serve. Until Africa is being led by great people, we are going to remain where we are for a very long time. For the umpteenth time, greatness is service and service is greatness.

Over the years, in my field of purpose as a conference speaker and corporate trainer, I have been asked by many people of the true definition of greatness. You know greatness has been wrongly defined in Nigeria. This has always been my stance on this hot issue: greatness is service and service is greatness. Only great people serve others. In Nigeria, many people have wrongly believed that those who are served are the great ones. No! Those who serve are the great ones. Greatness is not for selfish people!

Let me go off on a tangent a little and share an unusual secret with you on how you can triple your income this year and experience a startling and astounding turn around in your business. This is it: you can use the power of convenience to achieve that. People will contentedly and gleefully pay more money for convenience. Infact, you can use the power of convenience to triple your revenue in the next few months in your company. All you have to do is up your expediency and convenience factor and people will happily pay

more for what you do. On the condition that you can work this clandestine idea out in shoe leather, you are going to triple your income in business this year.

Back to the subject before us today. Over the years, most Nigerians have been taught that the pathway to greatness is service, but the truth is this, service is not the pathway to greatness, but service is greatness itself. If it is void of superior service, then it is not greatness. And if you are searching for great people, when you see those who are rendering selfless services, let your search come to an end. Great people are servants and servants are great people. For the umpteenth time, each time you selflessly serve others, you are actually demonstrating greatness.

We can make true greatness common in this nation and on this continent by raising men and women, who truly understand what greatness is all about and live as true great people. The truth is: only great people can transform Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Great people do not only think about what they can get, but what they can give. Great people do not steal what does not belong to them as we have been witnessing in Nigeria. Great people are very scarce in the corridors of power in Nigeria. What we have are men and women—who are very far from greatness as the East is far from the West.

Lastly, true great people will need to step into the dirty water of our politics and clean it up. What I am saying publicly today is the future of Nigeria. And you know the best time to declare the future is right now. True great people are emerging in Nigeria and on this continent, and you cannot afford not to be a part of them. It is your destiny to be great and the best time to start living your destiny is this moment. It is high time you started to demonstrate greatness by selflessly and excellently serving others.

27

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

brands& marketing

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Akin Adewakun

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

Lotteries, promos as ‘game changers’ for consumers in 2015 a trader at Iyana-Iba market; Mr Fashola Peter, a civil servant in Lagos, who all won cash prizes of N1 million each through the promo, expressed appreciation to the company.

Stories By Akin Adewakun - Lagos

W

ith competitions in the nation’s business environment getting keener for different brands in the various segments of the nation’s market, one of the ways brands and brand custodians have devised of late, to push their products to the Nigerian consuming public, has remained consumer promotions.

Interestingly, while consumer promotions have continued to thrive, same cannot be said of many traditional channels of advertising, a development market watchers and experts have attributed to the ‘impatience and reluctance’ of today’s brand owners to go the whole hog of advertising.

“Nowadays, very few brand managers go for long-term marketing plans for their brands, due to the dwindling economic fortunes. They prefer to use short-term marketing plans to push those brands, and one of those short-term plans is why we are having consumer promotions here and there,” explained Mr Joseph Casmir, a marketing communications expert.

The Beer Market Interestingly, the harvest of consumer promotions witnessed last year in this market segment, served as a game changer for many consumers, who took advantage of what some of the promotions had to offer.

For instance, for 23-year-old Benjamin Chigozie, an undergraduate of Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), 2015 was a year he would relish for some time to come.

Chigozie was one of the lucky winners of the star prize of brand new Hyundai Cars, at the Gulder Ultimate Chase, organised by Nigerian Breweries Plc., to push the Gulder Lager brand in its stables, last year.

Chigozie, who won the star prize at the Owerri leg of the competition, believed that the car would go a long way in bringing dignity to the family.

“I told my parents before coming to this place today to compete that I was going to present them with a car; since the family car we were using was no longer in good condition.

“Though, I could see some scepticism in their faces in the morning when I said this, but I was sure all that would change when they see the vehicle I won. This is a moment I would love to cherish for some time to come,” stated Chigozie, who eventually handed over the vehicle to his parents, at a wedding reception in Owerri.

Telecoms Sector Brands in the nation’s telecommunications market did not fail to leverage on consumer promotions too to enhance their fortunes.

Recently, the winners of the all-expense paid trip for four to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) courtesy of the Airtel Red Hot Promo Season 3, returned to Nigeria with pleasant tales to tell of the brand and experience garnered during the trip.

Besides providing some of the winners the

Banking Sector The nation’s banking sector was not left out either, as it was also a life-changing year for some customers of Diamond Bank too.

Melvin Onyekwelu, a lucky customer of the bank, who won the bank’s ‘Salary for Life’ package said the prize would see him collecting N100,000 on a monthly basis for 20 years from the bank. He described the promo as a life changer for him.

“What this means is that with just N5,000, your life can change for the better. I never believed this was possible, but I am a living evidence,” he stated.

Anne Okegbu, one of the N1 million winners at the promo described this as a financial liberation. Okegbu, who is a shop owner at Balogun Market, on Lagos Island, sees the win as one of those rare events that defined Year 2015 for her.

Kelechi Nwosu, President, Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN) opportunity of travelling out of the country for the first time, the consumer promotion which kicked off on the December 4 and which is expected to close by the February 1, also doles out N1 million on a daily basis to lucky winners, among other prizes.

Recounting their experiences during the trip, the latest batch of winners noted that the trip gave them the opportunity to visit exciting places in Dubai such as Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in Dubai, Dubai Mall, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi and the Safari Desert for the cruise.

Eight of them admitted that the all-expense paid trip to Dubai was their first trip ever to the UAE. Mrs Victoria commended Airtel Nigeria for giving her and the children the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas holiday in a

special way.

“The Airtel Red Hot Promo 3 came at the right time; my children were so excited to go on the wonderful trip to Dubai. It was not an easy decision for me to pick just three family members for the trip, but my husband willingly suggested that our three children should go. We really appreciate Airtel for the trip. We thank the network for rewarding their customers with this programme,” she stated.

Mr Habeeb Adepoju, a student in Ijebu, Ogun State, who won N1 million, said: “I appreciate the company for making me a proud customer on the network. I commend Airtel for rewarding their customers with the promo.”

Others like Mr Eze Sonlove, a driver with a hospital in Lagos; Mr Nwankwo Ferdinand,

FMCG Interestingly, the kids were not left out of the harvest of promos, especially the ones organised by the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) segment of the market. For instance, Indomie Tazomania Consumer promotion, organised by Dufil Foods, makers of Indomie Noodles, also provided a platform for children to win scholarships worth N6 million and recharge cards worth N24 million.

According to the company’s Public Relations Manager, Mr Tope Ashiwaju, “We want consumers to always believe and trust us completely. A lot of consumers have experienced the negative side of promotional events, but with Indomie, we are determined to give our consumers the very best of the promotional trust experience which may have been eroded from their mind in one way or the other.”

But beyond engendering trust in consumer promo, Tazomania and some others in the out gone year actually succeeded in boosting the economic fortunes of many, thereby taking the ‘game’ to a higher pedestal for them.

BOSCH, UNIDO hold stakeholders’ consultative forum In a bid to reduce food loss, occasioned by poor transportation and little to no storage, the biggest producers of cassava worldwide, BOSCH, and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), recently organised a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Lagos to discuss the prospect, challenges and marketing windows of cassava production in the country.

According to Mr Ghislain Noumbessy, Managing Director of Robert Bosch West Africa, “it is imperative for farmers to take advantage of the technological tools and services that could help them proffer solutions to their food loss and perk up their profit.

Noumbessy stated that Bosch was motivated by the search for ever-better technological solutions and fresh approaches that would help tackle the challenges of today and deliver benefits to her customers.

“At Bosch, our work is guided and motivated to find solutions to even the most complex technological challenges, while at the same time preserving natural resources and making a positive contribution to the society. And that is why we decided to create a stakeholders’ consultative meeting to discuss about the market prospects, challenges and opportunities of agriculture, especially in cassava farming,” he said.

A representative of UNIDO from Austria, Dr Yvonne Lokko, explained that the organisation decided to pitch its tents with Bosch in line with the United Nations’ agenda to reduce poverty, facilitate trade capacity building, agri-business and agro-industry development in Nigeria.

Speaking on the Bank of Industry’s role in Agric-Business development in Nigeria, its Managing Director, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, stated that agriculture is one of the cardinal agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, and the bank will continue to give adequate necessary supports and loans to farmers to grow their business.

28

brands&marketing

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

HP Nigeria flags off Star Wars campaign Stories By Akin Adewakun - Lagos

I

n a bid to strengthen its market proposition across the globe, device manufacturing company, HP, has partnered with Star Wars, the American epic space opera franchise, to create exceptional experience for its customers across the segment.

Recently, the HP Star Wars campaign broke online, and recently, selected HP customers across Lagos, were hosted at the private screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens VII. At the screening, customers had the rare opportunity of experiencing the new HP Star WarsTM Special Edition Notebook, loaded with customised Star Wars images and movies.

The new campaign, which is global, is being run in Nigeria and Kenya simultaneously for the African market, with a con-

sumer promotion built into it to ensure customers get full value for their money.

Speaking on the essence of the campaign, the Marketing Manager for HP West, East and North Africa, Tolulope Lawani,

described the campaign as the brand’s way of further supporting its drive to reach the young and mature.

According to him, as a way of localising the campaign, HP will be partnering with Nigerian artiste,

Ice Prince, to engage with their consumers and teeming fans in the ‘Awaken Your Force Competition,’ where fans with the most creative entries and most likes are entered to win amazing HPdevices.

Dell launches new offering for business professionals Dell has announced an expanded portfolio of award-winning Latitude commercial devices that combine industry-leading security, manageability and reliability features, with stunning design, infinity edge display and premium materials.

Adapted from the company’s successful line of XPS consumer devices, the new additions, across the Latitude and UltraSharp display lines, represent the most comprehensive commercial products-redesign in the company history Unveiling the new product range at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Client Solutions at Dell, Kirk Schell, observed that “For more than 20 years, Latitude products have been a leading choice among commercial customers worldwide for their unmatched security, manageability, reliability and support.

“With the new Latitude line, we are delivering commercial devices employees will desire for being thinner, lighter and more capable than many of the most popular consumer products without compromising on the security and manageability requirements of IT,” Schell added.

Dell also unveiled a new collection of CES Innovation Award-winning monitors, including a stunning OLED monitor, two new Infinity Edge monitors that offer a wireless monitor that allow mobile users to connect directly to the display without cables.

Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communication

Matthew Willsher, Etisalat MD

Etisalat, Traffina applauded over maternal health scheme Commendation messages have continued to pour in the way of one of the nation’s telecommunications operators, Etisalat, and a frontline NGO, Traffina Foundation for Maternal Health, following the successful implementation of the maternal health initiative in 16 communities across six states in the South-East and South-South regions of the country.

Expressing his delight at the immediate impact of the scheme on his community, Eze Ebube Dike of Ulakwo Autonomous Community, Owerri North in Imo State, HRH, Raphael Nnana Oparaochaekwe, whose community benefitted from the scheme, noted that the initiative would go a long way in reducing maternal deaths in the area.

“I am very happy to witness this in my community. It might sound strange, but this is the first time I have seen a company come to do such a thing here. I am happy that they also noticed that the rate at which pregnant women die in this community has been alarming, and with this kind of education, it will be minimised,” he said.

While speaking on the import of the initiative, the chairman of An-

iocha Local Government Council, Delta State, Hon. Chuks Oseme, commended the team for picking a very good cause to promote and also for the useful insights offered on maternal health.

“I am very happy and proud of the organisers for the good they are doing to our community and other communities. I will say I am really captivated by this programme. I can see they picked a very good cause to promote.

There is a lot of value in doing this. The talks have also shown that rich or poor, you can survive if you have the right information and work with such,” he said.

The Chairman of Calabar South Local Government Council, Mrs Majorie Eyo Asuquo, commended the organisers for focusing on pregnant women, which was never the case.

‘This is very good indeed and laudable. We have always focused on health workers and facilities, but have never really touched the pregnant women themselves, those carrying the babies and Etisalat is doing this, for the first time.

“We already have well-equipped Health Centres as well as birth attendants, but no specific attention

on the pregnant women themselves. Now, we have everything complete; patients, facilities and personnel,” she said.

In a 2014 Report, Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 – 2013, released by World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, and the UN Population Division, about 289,000 women worldwide died in 2013 during pregnancy or childbirth, and 62 per cent of those deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. In the same 2013, the maternal mortality ratio in developing countries was 230 women per 100,000 births to 16 women per 100,000 in developed countries.

Over 600 women, mainly pregnant mothers drawn from six states of Edo, Delta, Cross River, Imo, Anambra and Enugu, benefitted from the Maternal Healthcare Delivery programme.

The Etisalat Maternal Health platform was undertaken under the auspices of Etisalat Community Support Initiative, which is part of the company’s multi-faceted CSR programme that focuses on giving value to its host communities through various intervention programmes.

Nigerian Tribune

Finalists emerge in Power Oil cooking competition Mr Dapo Lambo, Mrs Edna Ojuma and Miss Tobechi Ogu have emerged the top three finalists out of the 20 candidates that were selected from the audition stage of the ongoing Season 2 of ‘Making of the Chef’ cooking competition, organised by Rhodium Global Chef LLC, in partnership with Anchor Digital Media and sponsored by Nigeria’s leading vegetable oil brand, Power Oil. While Lambo from Lagos, holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Ambrose Ali University and works with Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos; Ojuma, a legal practitioner is from Edo State. Ogu, who is from Imo State, is a HND holder in Business Administration, and currently runs a private catering business.

Presenting the trio to the project sponsor, Power Oil, at a ceremony held recently, at the head office of Tolaram Group in Surulere, Lagos, the creator of the project and the Creative Director, Rhodium Global Chef LLC, Mrs Idono Gbenro, explained that the finalists earned their place through commitment and real passion for cooking, as exhibited from the audition stage through the camping period.

Gbenro announced that the finalists would be travelling to the United States of America with the Master Chef, where they will go through further trainings in different international cuisines at Stratford University, in battle for the ultimate title of ‘Top Chef.’

She disclosed that the eventual winner, who will emerge as Top Chef, would win up to 30,000 dollars, including receiving a membership from the prestigious American Culinary Federation.

In his own remarks, the Head of Public Relations & Event, Tolaram Group, Mr Temitope Ashiwaju, commended the organisers for the journey so far in the Season 2 of the competition, while assuring them of a more robust sponsorship of the subsequent editions of the project.

Ashiwaju, also revealed during the ceremony that Power Oil has concluded plans to foot all travelling expenses of the top 3 finalists and the crew to the United States of America, while urging them to take full advantage of the opportunity offered to them by the competition to become a world-class chef.

29

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

infotech

Nigerian Tribune

anchor Bode Adewumi

m:08055001765 e:bodekafi@yahoo.com

We are committed to a safer payment system in Nigeria —Regha, E-PPAN boss Mrs Onajite Regha is the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN). In this interview with Bode Adewumi, she speaks on the need to develop the electronic payment platform and for stakeholders to tackle electronic fraud in the system, among other issues. Excerpts:

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LECTRONIC fraud remains a major threat to the uptake of electronic transactions in the country, are there ongoing initiatives to tackle this?

All around the globe, electronic fraud is a major challenge because we know that criminals follow the money. So, now that money has moved online, we found criminals there. But the fact is that industry stakeholders are not relenting and saying, it’s a global trend. No. We are committed to a safer payment system in Nigeria. We understand that payment is the nerve centre of the economy and we are ready to protect our turf.

In the industry, we have realised that fraud is not a basis for competition. We can compete on several other areas, but certainly not on fraud. So, we have seen increased collaborations within the industry in recent times. The industry has come up with many joint projects all to protect our users and the system. Funny enough, the fraudsters work together. They are organised and if we have to check them, we have to be organised too.

You know technology evolves very fast and these fraudsters are usually very current with trends, payment providers are also trying to keep up with this speed to ensure that our systems are safe.

Recently, there have been so many initiatives to mitigate and control the incidences of electronic fraud in Nigeria, among other things. The Chip and PIN was introduced by the CBN to eliminate the weaknesses of the mag stripe cards. The CBN also mandated the Two Factor Authentication for Internal Banking Process. Recently, there was a circular on Card Present Fraud in Non-EMV environment. The Operations of Instant Payments was also reviewed.

The Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NEFF) has not rested on its oars since its formation. In 2015, NEFF recorded a lot of successes including commitments from the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Inspector General of Police. The IG, in his response to one of the prayers of NEFF set up Dedicated Payment and Card Crime Unit (DPCCU). Also, all banks now have a 24-hour fraud desk. The BVN project is a major achievement and very soon we will all begin to enjoy the benefits of the BVN. The industry is also on the verge of establishing a Banking Risk Information Centre.

among other things to capture the market.

I can categorically say that there has been major improvement in the general index of electronic transactions in Nigeria compared to the previous years. People are becoming more comfortable and are therefore using the channels more.

But, as you know, we still have a lot to do.

A significant proportion of the population still remains unbanked and that is a worry for us at the Electronic Payment Providers Association. We have pencilled down mobile payment as a solution to this challenge, but we have not seen the impact we crave yet.

2015 has been, a rather languorous year, with the elections and the change of government, naturally things were a bit slow in the year, but as we begin to understand the policies of the new government better, then investors will begin to align strategies and introduce more aggressive marketing and this will yield better results in 2016. The President Buhari’s administration is preaching anti-corruption, transparency and accountability. When we talk of payments there is no better way to achieve these ideals better than using electronic payment.

How would you assess the Nigeria’s e-payment industry growth in the last one year? Will you say we have done well in terms of more people embracing the electronic transactions?

Certainly, the Nigeria e-payment industry has recorded a significant growth, especially in this out gone year. It is a highly competitive market, so providers are introducing new innovations, new market strategies and improved service delivery

Do you think there is adequate collaboration among industry players across the e-payment value-chain strong enough to address the issue of e-fraud?

Like I explained earlier, there is no other route to take. Let me put it this way. There are three steps in achieving safe payments.

Step 1 is collaboration, step 2 is collaboration and step 3 is collaboration. Fraud is not an issue for competition and given the importance of providing secure payment

Mrs Onajite Regha

systems, while ensuring public confidence in electronic means of payment, the role of proactive fraud management cannot be over-emphasised.

The collaborative effort among stakeholders in the industry has always been the major advocacy of E-PPAN. No organisation can achieve or single handedly defeat the magnitude of threat posed by electronic fraudsters. There is need to team up with the regulatory agencies, the law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and every single stakeholder in the payment chain. So, E-PPAN will continue to advocate for information sharing among the industry players, as this will go a long way to compliment the ongoing efforts of the regulatory agencies in the industry.

Tell us the major roles expected from the regulator, the players and the consumers towards ensuring that e-fraud reduces drastically?

We can say we have seen the regulators have been very bold in taking the lead in the fight against fraud. We have seen other players take active roles in the fight against fraud. But I believe that our weakest link still remains the consumers. This is where I want the game to be enhanced.

As an industry, we need to increase awareness creation for the users of electronic payment. We need to get the users to be familiar with the tricks of the fraudsters.

This is as important as installing world class technology and hiring world class experts. Commonsense can go a long way in protecting every one of us.

NeFF is chaired by the CBN and for some time now, NeFF has examined the idea of having a full week dedicated to anti-fraud with

plans to work with the Bankers Committee.

This is not the point where we now say this is your role, or that is your role. We are facing a monster called fraud. So, we all roll up our sleeves and fight the battle. There is no limited role assigned in fighting e-fraud. The fraudsters never limit their tactics of fraud. They are ruthless in their activities. They take the advantage of our security loopholes to strike. So, why should we limit ourselves to certain roles in combating e-fraud?

We now have the Cyber Crime Act of 2015.

We have seen a few loopholes in the Act, but as it is, it is sufficient to prosecute criminals. Of urgency is the need to create the Banking Risk information Centre for the coordinated efforts in fighting crime.

E-PPAN has been at the forefront of Nigeria having an industry-neutral body to coordinate all e-fraud related cases in the country, as it is done in South Africa. Tell us what informed this advocacy and the benefits of its creation for the industry?

As part of efforts aimed at fighting the battle and winning the war on cybercrimes, E-PPAN has advocated for a Banking Risk Information Centre as a channel to fight fraud. Based on this, the association in 2013, signed a partnership agreement with South Africa Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), to work with it in achieving this dream in Nigeria.

The proposed Risk Information Centre for Nigeria, will act in the interest of the entire industry in the following capacity to maintaining a comprehensive banking fraud database; it will serve as a nodal point for information analysis dissemination on bank fraud. The centre will provide relevant support to law enforcement agencies and drive industry awareness programmes for the general public. It will also drive institutional local and international collaboration to fight fraud. The centre will support the banking industry in designing and implementing collaborative programs to fight fraud and contribute to making the banking sector safer, while instilling customer confidence.

A lot of people have fallen victims of scam emails, and studies have shown that this may continue to be on the rise if much education is not embarked upon; will you say banks have being doing well in the area of public enlightenment?

Honestly, banks are investing so much in the fight against e-fraud, because most of bank transactions now are done electronically. They are doing their best in consumer education through the use of social media, in-banking information, emails, short messaging service and adverts (print and media), for increased awareness of the antics of scammers in the electronic payment region, but due to the ignorance of customers, they still fall prey to these fraudsters.

But like we have seen, such individual effort might not hold sway because we are fighting a strong and united force of cyber criminals. There is the need for more collaboration among banks to winning this war.

Hopefully, we will see the difference after we have an anti-fraud week where everyone is targeted with the same security message.

30

infotech

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Facebook Messenger app grows by over 800 million users Stories By Bode Adewumi

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ACEBOOK has announced that the number of people using its Messenger application monthly has shot past 800 million, with more features on the way to win even more fans.

“The messenger team’s mission is to make messenger the best place to communicate with all the people and businesses in the world,” Facebook head of messaging products, Mr Dave Marcus said in an online post.

“I’m happy to report that we’ve made a good step in that direction, and toward the end of 2015, we crossed the milestone of 800 million people using Messenger every month,” he added.

He maintained that while the number was impressive, it was still “early days” for Messenger.

Improvements to the smartphone messaging application last year included ramping up speed, making it easier to send photos, adding video calling, letting businesses use it for customer service and adding the ability to send money to friends.

Facebook also began testing on weaving its “M” digital virtual assistant into Messenger. The test of enhancing Messenger with artificial intelligence is going well, according to Marcus.

Facebook, last month announced an alliance with Uber that lets people in the United States summon cars from the ride-sharing service using the Messenger application.

The partnership was a major move for both California, Unite States firms, further expanding Facebook’s stand-alone messaging service beyond simply communicating and putting Uber in touch with a huge user base.

Uber was described as the first partner in the launch of “transportation on Messenger,” leaving the door open to add Uber rivals as options for users of the smartphone messaging service.

“You can expect us to keep trying new things, too,” Marcus said.

“There will be more innovative developments to come from Messenger this year.”

view here.

He said that people appreciate being able to easily interact with companies in conversational manners on Messenger.

Messenger is also keen to play a role in e-commerce globally, considering it, a natural fit for the service, but noting that international payments systems face “complications.”

From left, Mr Folorunso Steve, Sales Manager, Nigeria; Mr Alvin Huang, Director, South Africa and English Speaking African Countries; Mr Simplice Zaongo, Nigeria Country Product Manager and Mr Lawrence Lin, Nigeria Product Manager (Phones & Tablets), all of ASUS, at the ZenFone family launch, organised by ASUS in Lagos, recently.

ASUS reinforces Selfie experience with ZenFone WITH top-of-its-class 13 megapixel front and rear cameras, Toshiba sensor and an 88-degree wide angle lens, leading digital company, ASUS, has invaded the tecnology industry with the most detailed selfie phone in the market, with the ZenFoneSelfie.

ASUS’s ZenFoneSelfie is built

Etisalat donates computers to school in Zaria AS a further demonstration of its commitment to the development of the education sector, Etisalat Nigeria has donated 30 desktop computers to boost Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education at the Nuhu Bamali Primary School, Fadi Sanka community in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Etisalat presented the computers to the school management, led by the Headmistress, Hajia Asmau Mohammed Lawan, during a recent commissioning of facilities, which also include blocks of renovated school buildings.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Vice President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, said the intervention was in line with the company’s commitment to improve the quality of education in Nigeria through quality partnership with the relevant tiers of government to develop the sector.

“It has always been a very exciting experience, and an eye-opening opportunity for us at Etisalat, to create an improved and conducive learning environment for Nigerian children. We applaud the Kaduna State government for encouraging this

Plans for this year include, doing more to enable businesses and services to connect with people using Messenger, according to Facebook.

Messenger is working with players in e-commerce, travel, aviation and other industries to test modes of interacting with people on the service, Marcus told AFP in an inter-

type of public-private partnership that has given birth to a new, Nuhu Bamali Primary School,” he said.

Dikko, who also noted that ICT education has become a basic component of learning because of its attendant benefits, added that the nation will benefit most, if students in primary and secondary schools are exposed early to it.

In her remarks, the Headmistress of the school, Hajia Lawan, commended Etisalat Nigeria for the computers and hoped that it use, will go a long way in giving the pupils the education edge, needed to prepare them for their individual career. She also encouraged the pupils of the school to take advantage of the facilities to improve themselves and become better individuals in the future.

Dignitaries at the commissioning included the Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Shehu Usman Adamu; Chairman, Kaduna State Basic Education Board, Shuaibu Dabo; Chairman Zaria Local Government Area, Jafaru Abbas, Magajin Garu Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamali and members of the Zaria Emirate council.

to provide amazing performance, fantastic hardware and customisable software to fit every quirk of the imagination. It is an innovative blend of fashion, technology and craftsmanship, captured in a 5.5inch smartphone that fits in the body of a traditional five-inch.

According to Mr Simplice Zaongo, “Nigeria Country Product Manager, ASUS, “Taking good photos is now an essential part of every smartphone experience, but most devices deliver better results on the rear camera than the front.

Because of this, selfies are often grainy, noisy and underwhelming. The ZenFoneSelfie is bringing ASUS’s high-end imaging performance, known as PixelMaster 2.0, to both sides of the phone with a killer combination of top-notch hardware and software to give users amazing images every time, no matter what.”

The front camera boasts a top-ofits-class 13 megapixel Toshiba sensor with an 88-degree wide angle Largan lens, providing the most detailed selfies of any phone on the market. With Super HDR technology, Real Tone dual-LED flash and an aperture of f/2.2, users are also able to improve light balance by

400 per cent and get clear shots in poor light conditions.

As photo opportunities often come in the blink of an eye, selfie lovers can gain quick access to the camera’s front-facing picture mode by drawing an ‘S’ on the display when the phone screen is turned off. If they would rather use a different gesture, they can easily create one of their own in the settings.

On the rear side, the back camera is also fitted with a 13-megapixel resolution and virtually no shutter lag. It comes with ultrafast 0.2 second laser auto-focus and macro shot up to 6cm for incredible detail in close-up shots. Throw in f/2.0 aperture for low-light capture, 1080p video recording and manual controls, selfie lovers will never have to worry about taking a horrible picture again.

Laser auto focus is one of the standard features on the Selfie. It uses a laser beam to measure the distance between the individual and their subject so quickly that it takes virtually no time at all to get in focus. It even accelerates closeup photography, compensating for the extra distance created by the lens receding during framing.

Nigerian Tribune

New book on Nigeria’s telecoms sector for unveiling TELECOMS industry in Nigeria, in the last 15 years, has witnessed successes, countered challenges and continued to exude tremendous prospects for economic development.

Chronicling these milestones forms the key contents of a new book to be unveiled later this year in the nation’s telecoms sector.

The book, titled ‘Our Nigerian Story’, written by a multiple award-winning journalist Mrs Olabisi Olaleye, recounts the experiences of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) operators in Nigeria, since the sector’s liberalisation in 2001.

‘Our Nigerian Story’ , is the first of its kind in the nation’s sector, that catalogues the development of the telecoms industry, starting from 2001, when the various companies came into the country to invest, even when the Nigeria’s business climate was adjudged ‘a war zone and porous’ by the international communities.

The book highlights how the demographic dividend or the large population in Nigeria then (which is still growing), served as a critical factor that attracted telecoms investment into the country, with the sector now boasting of over $32 billion from about $500 million in 2001.

“In this book, the various telcos, agencies, retail phone dealers share their experiences, the NCC’s involvement, the Ministry of Communication Technology or Ministry of Communications support and the numerous challenges faced in a system that is not too conducive for business, while leveraging on their strengths for more improvement in the sector,” Olaleye said, while providing insight into the contents of the soon-to-be-launched book.

In addition, other providers, such as the Value-Added Services (VAS) provider, which ride on the networks of the main telecoms networks, also tell their stories.

Visafone, the ‘last man standing’ in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) segment of the telecoms industry, also tells its story.

Olaleye hails from Ake, Abeokuta South of Ogun State and a 1998 graduate of Mass Communication from the Ogun State Polytechnic, now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic. She has undergone several local and international trainings to enhance her career.She currently writes and reports ICT matters for The SUN Newspapers.

We shipped over 100 million smartphones in 2015 —Huawei HUAWEI has said it shipped more than 100 million smartphones during 2015, making it the first Chinese vendor to break the landmark.

The company said that sales rose by 44 per cent in 2015, compared

to a year before to reach 108 million. Huawei cited strong sales in China and Western Europe as it moved up market.

The company is however still lagging behind the two market leaders.

Huawei is estimated to have a mar-

ket share of 7.5 per cent, behind Apple’s 13.5 per cent and Samsung’s 23.8 percent.

Huawei said revenue for the devices division rose by 70 per cent, year-on-year to $20 billion in 2015.

31

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

property

anchor Chukwuma Okparaocha

m:08038984495 e:chukscop2005@yahoo.co.uk

Investment in infrastructure vital to solving housing shortage —Expert

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HE Executive Director, IPC Homes Limited, Adewale Oluwamomi Owomoyela, has said significant investment in infrastructure is imperative, if the housing challenge must be surmounted.

According to the real estate expert, infrastructure deficit remains the biggest problem in the real estate environment, stressing that major fertile lands and undeveloped roads which could have been put to good use were wasted because they were not accessible.

According to him, infrastructure remains the biggest challenge and not finance, saying that “a lot of people think it is finance. For instance, there is a part of Ogun State that is just being developed. It is a huge real estate development, and it is around Sagamu-Ibadan interchange. All that is required for that place to develop very fast is for a resident to access Lagos and all that is needed is a train that takes anyone from that point to Obalende in about 30 minutes.

If we can have that, this new city

will blows up. All we need is infrastructure. We need financing, where real estate companies want to embark on projects that

Nigerian Tribune

are complex or expensive,” he maintained.

He added that housing in Nigeria will cease to be a problem,

saying that it has to be tackled with multiplicity of solutions, some from the government partnerships between the private

sector and others purely from the initiative of the private sector. “If we have a very nice blend of solutions, we will make much more progress, but with the way we are going, the housing challenges may not be solved in reasonable time.”

He charged the government on stepping up its effort on enforcement in the construction industry, particularly, in the building sector. He noted that one of the challenges bedevilling the sector was getting quality artisans, while also decrying that the country had skeletal provision for it.

According to him, “there are vocational schools that are being run across the country that could turn out quality artisans, for instance bricklaying. “Virtually anywhere else in the world, you need to go to a school to learn bricklaying before you go out there and get involved in laying of blocks. In Nigeria, there is nothing like that, a young man just gets up and start watching an old bricklayer and after a while, he just believes that he is old enough to start laying bricks.

“We should have vocational school systems where anybody that is going to do anything must pass through. In Dubai, for example, if you want to roast corn by the road side, you must operate under a licence. Even to a restaurant. You don’t just go into a bush, gather corn and start roasting. We need a system whereby everybody that is involved in the building space have required qualification and that is why we have incessant cases of building collapse. We need to professionalise every single aspect in this industry.”

Developer urges easy access to NHF loans MANAGING Director, Realty Point Limited, Mr Debo Adejana, has urged government to make the National Housing Fund easily accessible to Nigerians to alleviate their sufferings.

In a recent discussion with the Nigerian Tribune, he called for intervention in providing housing for the lower stratum of the society, whom according to him, may never be able to afford housing without any intervention.

Adejana, specifically tasked the Buhari administration to make housing provision for the common people a priority to bridge the over 17 million deficit and avoid a crisis situation According to him, easy access to the NHF would help developers meet the housing needs and demands of Nigerians. “Government is not helping and makes this task a herculean one by not

providing enabling environment where developers can adequately function to full capacity.

“As a developer, you are in business to make profit so that you can sustain the business. If you have people who invested in your business, you need to make good returns to them, otherwise business will not be profitable.

So, it is not a Father Christmas venture. What this means is that the forces of the market will dictate what you do so if there is ineffective demand, which is what happens in the lower end of the market. The demand is latent, but it is ineffective because it is not backed with economic power. There is shortfall, but people don’t have money to but if you create the property.

You will have to go to where there is economic power backing

the demand that is where supply will come in, so what we are seeing is that people are providing housing to people that can afford it, that is simple and so what the government needs to do is to create an enabling environment for people to be able to provide housing for the lower sector.

They tried to do that for the NHF or the Federal Mortgage Bank and that is what they are trying to do with the MNMRC, if it succeeds and it is consistent, well, it has to be addressed in a multi-headed way. It cannot be a singular approach to solving this problem. There has to be multiple of ways, because we did not get here in a day, so we will not just get out of it. We have projects cutting across lower and upper income and our experience has not been funny.

According to him, his company has applied for NHF now in the last four years; Estate Developers Loan and have not gotten it.” What is the reason, at a time, they said they stopped it because some people got money and are not paying back and some government are not contributing to the fund so they don’t even have enough money, and so it is not managed properly and if you look at it, corruption will be part of what is the problem. So we could not continue to provide housing in that sector and we had to change direction because we have to sustain the business.

We have to provide housing for the people that can afford it. We will continue to draw the atten-

tion of government to the plight of this people so that it can be solved.”

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016 Group Politics Editor Taiwo Adisa - 08072000046 tai_adis@yahoo.com

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI examines the scramble for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State ahead of the party’s primaries.

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HEAD of the 2016 governorship election in Ondo state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state is set to witness the scenario that played out in Lagos State during the 2015 party primaries. At least 20 aspirants have indicated interest to fly the flag of the party in the race to Alagbaka House this year.

Considering the array of aspirants battling for the sole ticket, there were indications that the battle might be fierce. A number of them have commenced serious mobilisation, with various political caucuses springing up within the APC in the state, Each camp is involved in varying permutations.

Though the camp of the governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state seems to be quiet over who picks its governorship ticket, many believe the incumbent governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko holds the ace. The studied silence in the PDP is seen as part of the party’s strategy of consolidation. Thus, political observers have noted that it would be naïve for the APC to assume that the unusual calmness in PDP camp was a sign of being clueless in retaining power through the next election.

The list of APC members that have either shown interest in the race and/or have publicly declared their intention include the lawmaker representing Owo/ Ose federal constituency at the House of Representatives, Honourable Bode Ayorinde; former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Victor Olabimtan; member of the APC Board of Trustee (BoT), Jamiu Ekungba and Segun Abraham.

The senator representing Northern Senatorial Districts of the state, Senator Ajayi Birrofice; candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the last governorship poll in the state, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN); lawmaker representing Ondo Central districts, Senator Tayo Alasoadura and former chairman of the party in the state and daughter of the first governor of the state, late Adekunle Ajasin, Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, as well as Derin Adesida, Ademola Adegoroye and Foluso Adefemi are in the rcae.

Others include the PDP governorship candidate in the 2012 governorship election in the state, Chief Olusola Oke; Awodeyi Akinola; Niran-Sule Adesuyi; Bukola Adetula; Pius Osunyinkami; son of a former Secretary to the State Government, late Chief Wumi Adegbonmire, Adeniyi Adegbonmire; Tunji Ariyomo; Dapo Adelegan; Ganny Dauda; Muyiwa Ogunleye; Wale Akingbade, among others.

Out of the all the aspirants, at least 10 hail from the Northern Senatorial districts of the state, while seven are from the ancient city of Owo, which some regard as the cradle of democracy in the SouthWest, just as three aspirants are of the Akoko extraction.

Akeredolu

Boroffice

Oke

Ondo 2016: APC and its many aspirants The large number of aspirants from these districts is believed to be because of the principle of zoning, which is gradually becoming a norm in the state. Accordingly, a number of analysts posited that power could shift to the North at the expiration of Mimiko’s tenure. This argument was based on the fact that each of the three zones in the state has had its turn in the corridors of power since the beginning of the present dispensation. It is reasoned that power should return to the North, where it started when late Chief Adebayo Adefarati governed the state between 1999 and 2003. And since then, power has gone round all the other districts in the state.

The chairman of APC in the state, Honourable Isaacs Kekemeke declared that the party had not zoned its governorship slot to any area in particular. He spoke through the state publicity director of the

party, Steve Otaloro, urging all interested APC member across the zones to embark on their campaign. Otaloro said: “Let me say with all sense of responsibility that APC has not in any way zoned its gubernatorial ticket in Ondo State to any area in particular. The party leadership has however been advising whoever wants to be governor to go round the state and campaign vigorously for the primary election that has not yet been fix.

“However, it is incumbent on the leadership of the party in the state under the leadership of Honourable Isaac Kekemeke to receive whoever is vying for this position at the party secretariat as a way of encouraging them and to trigger political activities within the party in the state so as to drive publicity for the party towards the coming governorship election next year.”

One important factor that may play out

The large number of aspirants will help to develop the party in the state because we are all working towards a common goal, and this has become a threat to the ruling PDP in the state.

during the party primaries is the issue of perceived marginalisation of the PDP defectors by the old members, who are said to see them as newcomers. Already, some old members of the party seeking the APC ticket are said to dropping names and claiming to have been anointed by national leaders of the party. But a member of the APC State Executive informed Nigerian Tribune that there would be no anointed candidate. “This is a new APC, where imposition is alien to our system.

We embrace internal democracy and since the merger of leading opposition parties in the country to form a mega party, our candidates usually emerge through free and fair primary elections. We are not gpoing to deviate from that position and principle,” the leader stated.

However, three of the aspirants who are defectors from the PDP, Victor Olabimtan, Oke and Osunyikanmi have also shown keen interest in the APC ticket.

While Olabimtan hails from the Northern Senatorial district, Oke and Osunyikanmi are from the South.

Chief Oke is also not a green horn as far as the state and national politics is concerned. The former legal Adviser of the PDP and candidate of the party in the 2012 governorship election in the state, is regarded as a major contender for the APC ticket. He dumped PDP after the last presidential election for APC.

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A member of the House of Representatives, representing Ibadan South West/North-West Federal Constituency Area of Oyo State, Honourable Saheed Akinade-Fijabi, in this interview with OLAWALE OLANIYAN, speaks on why Nigerians should be patient with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and other related issues. Excerpts:

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

I didn’t frustrate S’West agenda in House —Fijabi public.

Many assert that it is a big shame for national lawmakers in the last dispensation over gross impunity and corruption as oversight function activities were self-serving and conduits. Why was that trend then?

Let me tell you, there is little we can do on oversight, although we have done a lot.

When they show us during oversight visit something that they have bought with public funds as contained in the budget, such an item is removed after we have left and is taken elsewhere to be shown to other committee members on oversight, bringing the same product for different money, there is little we can do as lawmakers. We will always do our own oversight. Let other public officials cooperate with us.

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OW would you rationalise the socio-economic problems facing Nigerians today and why?

The socio-economic problems confronting Nigerians were foisted on them by the successive government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But I am happy that with the ‘change budget’ submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the socio-economic conditions of Nigerians will improve tremendously. If the immediate past PDP government had deployed the enormous resources at its disposal for the wellbeing of the citizenry, President Buhari would not need to stand the reconstruction of the country from ground zero as he is doing at the moment. I was shocked when revelations as to how the $2.1 billion arms funds were shared among many people and organisations. Now, this government is already giving corruption a bloody nose and Nigerians can rest assured that positive change will be experienced in the country in all sectors.

Why are you so confident about the 2016 budget bringing so much change and improvement for Nigerians?

Obviously, the budget is basically targeted at employment generation, development of infrastructure because when there is a lot of construction going on in the economy. you will see a lot of people been employed, the new budget is targeted towards new employment and you can see welfarism package, for example, the 5000 they promised to give to unemployed youth and the free meal for the pupils in schools. They are targeted at improving our social economic ways of living in the country which I think there is light at the end of the tunnel, all we need to do as a Nigerian is just for us to cooperate with the government of the day.

Many say there is no difference in APC, PDP, going by characters of defections over time, such that the style of leadership and governance remain the same. Why is it so and how can Nigerians effect change?

We will not go to Togo or Benin Republic or United States or United Kingdom to go and bring people who will be ruling or directing the affairs of our nation. We will definitely pick within ourselves the people who will lead. After this, we come down to the level of the policy and programme of each of the parties. APC is obviously open to newcomers from all other parties, but such people must be ready to imbibe and demonstrate the progressive ethos and principles of the APC. Our party is distinguishable from the rest as a party founded on the principle of welfarism. Everybody is looking for a new Nigeria, which brought about the change sloganeering. APC is progressive in nature and character, while the PDP’s DNA is calibrated for conservatism. We are known for putting enduring infrastructure in place, while the PDP is notorious for ‘sharing’

Fijabi

If an item that is already shown to us is taken elsewhere to be shown to other committee members on oversight, bringing the same product for different money, there is little we can do as lawmakers.

our patrimony and frittering it away, as the Dansuki saga has clearly shown.

in the ability of Buhari to lead the country out of recession into prosperity for all.

But do you think we can see the change promised by your party within the two years?

Without any shadow of doubt, it is doable within the timeframe you stated. Nigerians were complaining that President Buhari is slow and they seem to have forgotten the English idiom that says slow and steady wins the race. Mr President himself has come out to say that he is slow to avoid making fatal errors. When people were saying he was slow, he was actually planning so that he won’t fail. He is aware of the weight of expectation from the people and he cannot afford to let them down. I recall that during the first tenure of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, people were saying he was slow but he did tremendously work at the end of his first tenure. It took him about six months to plan. After two years in the saddle, Nigerians will marvel at the amount of transformation they will have witnessed under the Buhari administration. It is far better to be slow at the beginning to plan well and achieve concrete results than to rush and run into a hitch. Nigerians should keep faith

You mention corruption earlier, but how would you explain the scale of monumental fraud among public officials and lawmakers?

We are used to everybody accusing those of us who are lawmakers of corruption. The irony is that it is the same set of people that will be texting us morning and night, calling morning and evening asking you for one thing or the other. Some of the requests we receive almost on daily basis range from school fee payment, financial assistance for burial and other social engagements, among others. Yet, these same people will be saying politicians are corrupt. Since the inception of this government, you can see that corruption war is going on and nobody wantsto be the scapegoat of the anti-corruption drive.

So, everybody is sitting up; things are not the same anymore.We must account for everything. As lawmakers, we are supporting the anti-corruption drive of the president 100 per cent. The media should be able to investigate more before they react or come up with any form of story or information for the consumption of the members of the

What is the assurance that the ugly trend will not subsist now, as NASS is placing premium on welfare of members?

When you are saying premium on welfare, anywhere you are working you need to be taken care of because welfare is paramount.

For example, the utility cars that everybody is clamouring about, is one of the instrument we need todo our job. When you are going for oversight, you have something to move you all about and that is what we use for it and if they are telling us that we should not do our job. We are practising federalism. We have 360 members and 109 Senators. Let’s look at the executive arm of the government; a minister has five to six vehicles, while a NASS member has only one. And the only one we have, we pay for it through part of our severance package or leave the car when we are don with our term. If you are working in an organisation, there is no way you won’t be entitled to certain benefit and privileges.

Our job is more than sitting in chamber or in the plenary; we have committees, which are the micro chambers where you resolve issues and attend to tasks. People should stop complaining about our welfare. What I expect from people is that they should ask how productive we are rather than nosing into our welfare package.

You have been accused of compromising APC South-West agenda at the House by supporting a northern caucus. So are you not worried that your action had put Yoruba in a onechance bus? Why? What is the main reason we are fighting Biafra? Is it not because we believe in one Nigeria? So, if you now say somebody has gone against South-West agenda, when what we all agreed about is that we should look for somebody with quality. In the last presidential election, you will see that the APC had the highest number of votes from Oyo State among the six states in the zone.

So, when we are talking about one Nigeria, is Honourable Speaker Dogara from Togo?

Is a Nigerian, is he from PDP? The answer is No. Those who accuse me of frustrating South-West agenda in the House of Representatives are merely making a mockery of democracy. I am a Yoruba man and nobody is more Yoruba than I am. I believe in Yoruba agenda but when you see what they were asking you to do would not work out and you saw quality in other people, won’t you support quality? I am for general interest and not parochial interest.

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Mohammed

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Magu

Metuh

Opposition politics and the war against graft LEON USIGBE writes on the anxiety in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Federal Government continues its attempt to recover monies it said were diverted into private pockets from arms procurement funds.

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HESE are trying times for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former ruling party thinks it has come under siege with its key members hounded and clamped in detention on suspicion of being beneficiaries of $2.1billion arms procurement fund allegedly diverted in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The party says, the ordeal of its members has nothing to do with any diverted fund but a carefully orchestrated plan by its successor in power, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ground the it as part of a grand design to achieve a one-party state.

But, the Federal Government and the APC say this is bunkum; that the PDP is paying for its years of impunity in power.

What the PDP regards as persecution of its members started with the arrest and detention of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), NSA under former President Goodluck Jonathan. On President Muhammadu Buhari’s assumption of office, Dasuki had offered to resign but Buhari rejected it.

And therefore, he helped the new administration to settle in office. Once that was achieved, Buhari sacked him and the DSS thereafter laid siege on his house and kept him under house arrest initially on charg-

es of gun running. But it quickly emerged that government had discovered an apparent diversion of money meant for arms procurement to other illegal purposes under his supervision.

Further investigation of the charges against Dasuki has led to the discovery of an unprecedented sharing of public funds among politicians and officials of the former administration. While the Buhari administration is insisting that the money was meant for arms procurement to fight the Boko Haram insurgents in the NorthEast, former President Jonathan had come out to say he did not approve that kind of money for such purpose. Former acting national chairman of the PDP, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed, his son, Abba as well as chairman emeritus of DAAR Communications, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who is a strong member of the PDP, were arrested and detained before being charged to court. The PDP was strident in its condemnation of those arrests and the fact that despite being granted bail by competent courts, the authorities were reluctant to release them from detention.

Leading the calls for their release was Chief Olisa Metuh, the national publicity

secretary who the PDP says, kept the ruling party on its toes and drawing its indignation.

Metuh himself got wind of his possible arrest on allegedly trumped up charges and raised the alarm over it. The party believes that it was not a mere coincidence that its spokesman was picked up by the EFCC days after he referred to President Buhari as a tyrant. His arrest and detention without charge was meant to silence him, the PDP reasons. On the contrary, Brig-Gen. Lawal Ja’afaru Isa, an APC chieftain who is a former military administrator of Kaduna State and bosom ally of President Buhari, was arrested also in connection with N100 million collected from the ONSA but was released 24 hours later.

Many prominent PDP members, who may have one misdemeanour or the other against their names, have left the party to the APC in search of refuge from persecution or prosecution. Former governor and founding member of PDP, Chief Jim Nwobodo, has defected to the APC only after being named as a beneficiary of N100 million from the ONSA. Some observers are insinuating that he joined the ruling party

This government is not micro-managing any of the anti-graft agencies, no functionary in government directs the EFCC or ICPC on who to arrest and who not to arrest.

so that he could escape the fate of other PDP members.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, is of the opinion that the present government is trampling on the opposition and engaging in total disregard for the rule of law in the guise of anti-corruption war. Even though he expresses PDP’s support for a genuine anti-graft crusade, he cannot fathom a situation where such crusade has become a calculated attempt to silence the opposition, while members of the ruling party with serious corruption allegations go about their businesses.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) too are beginning to express fears about the anti-graft. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) for instance, sees the development as undemocratic. Speaking in particular about the “abduction and illegal detention” of Metuh by the EFCC, the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, recently maintained that it was unacceptable and a serious threat to civil democracy.

However, the Federal Government has continued to deny that it is using the EFCC to hound political opponents. Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had stressed that it was not correct to say the President Buhari was intimidating the opposition with the anti-graft agencies.

In denying the claim, the minister said recently: “This government is not micromanaging any of the anti-graft agencies” in the ongoing anti-corruption war. “I can assure you that this government, no functionary in government micro-manages or directs the EFCC or ICPC on who to arrest and who not to arrest.”

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

tribunelaw

For enquiries, Lanre Adewole - 0811 695 4647 olanreade@yahoo.com

Women’s rights: The long walk to equality African women have been at the receiving end of rights violations for ages, this is in spite of diverse laws and advocacy to stop every form of violation and Nigerian women are not left out of this as they are subjected to the whims and caprices of custom and tradition. And the end of the journey to equality still seems a long way off. YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports

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VER the years, women have fought to achieve equal rights in many parts of the world but in Africa, the battle is still fierce and the situation in Nigeria seems to be part of the extreme cases as time and various advocacy projects are yet to give the womenfolk the desired results. This is however not surprising as a woman’s status or opportunities varies based on their country or religion as well as the tradition of the region in which she finds herself among many other issues. Though it is taking so long for women in Nigeria and some other parts of Africa to attain a respectable level of rights considering few African countries have been independent for more than 60 years, it was not easy attaining equal rights for their counterparts in the developed countries.

It was indeed a long and difficult walk for women to attain equal rights the world over; it took 703 years for the UK to progress from the Magna Carta in 1215 to the first votes for women in 1918 and a further 57 years elapsed before the sexual discrimination act of 1975. The fiercest battle for women was between the years 1848 to 1920; this period witnessed the popular women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association as well as the passage of the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote. As a result of these efforts, between 1960 to the early 1970s, the influx of married women workers accounted for almost half of the increase in the total labor force and working wives started staying on their jobs longer before starting families But, these developments didn’t find its way into the African culture.

Consequently, it is not strange that in many African countries especially Nigeria, women are yet to be equal in law and in situations that demand equality with men, it is common for decisions to be taken by male heads of households or male local chiefs and leaders. Indeed, in Nigeria, by tradition, women have fewer or no rights in the family especially when it involves inheritance or family properties; accessing land or finance or even making decisions that affect the whole family. In Nigeria and some other places, women are regarded as being the equals of men, but their roles are nevertheless different. So, women end up having a high amount of work; keeping the household, holding a paid job or running a business and supplementing the family income if not taking over the heaviest financial responsibility but being overlooked as a lesser being by their male

counterparts.

Also when it comes to education, though governments are committed to providing equal education for girls but in poor families, priority is given to boys based on the belief that males are seen as potential breadwinners and money spent on girls is seen as a waste since she will soon be given out in marriage into other families. Over time, there had been great changes for women in terms of employment in the past decades; many women have moved into paid employments outside the home in ways that their grandmothers and even their mothers could not imagine but their experience is not the same as that of their male counterpart as it is obvious to many that they are limited in the heights they can attain while they face derogatory situations when they fight for their rights as often their actions are termed as the emotional ranting of a feeble being looking for sympathy.

This contradiction is a common phenomenon as despite the fact that a higher number of women are working, they are often poorly paid, in part-time jobs or various tedious informal jobs that offers no protection or rights in a bid to fill the necessity of having two wages to make ends meet in a poor economy while in established industries and government establishment, the top

These rights are just theoretical postulations without any practical bearing on the realities of the lives and condition of Nigerian women. In reality, the Nigerian society is full of anti humanist ideals.

is adamantly and continually filled with males.

And in Nigeria, the live of a middle class woman is quite different from that of her counterpart in the western world. Nigerian women had since time immemorial held many economic responsibilities within the social system; farming, fishing, herding, and commerce alongside their men, they had economic freedom and this tradition still exists in modern Nigeria. But these economic rights has in no way made life better for the Nigerian woman or dovetailed into other fundamental rights.

It had been established long ago that Nigerian men do not value the economic contributions of their wives nor do they consider the woman’s job and household work as especially tedious or important.

They habitually take their wives for granted and deprive them many rights.

This is attributed as a factor why many men do not have any legal responsibility for their offspring and abandon women with the expectation that they must carry the financial burden of the family if they want to keep their home.

The root of this could be traced to the unconventional marriage system practiced in Nigeria which allows the traditional and Islamic systems of polygamy to flourish across every social class forcing women to have few expectations from their men in terms of companionship, personal care, and fidelity and causing many relationships to exist without the emotional ingredients. In fact, a Nigerian woman’s position changes greatly once she marries as she becomes a possession, with little or no rights in her home and her husband’s family. Most family members wield more power than the wife in the Nigerian home and have more influence over the husband than his own wife has over him.

And most wives resent this lack of control or even respect within their marriage but must not talk as dictated by tradition if she wants to keep her home.

The system of inheritance in Nigeria also reflects the lack of male responsibility to his wife and children as when husbands die; the woman often receives nothing and even loses her personal possessions

to in-laws though the law entitles her to a share and if she has no children or only female children, the situation is worse since property can only pass between the same sexes and women can never inherit from their fathers. In Nigerian marriages, women have an obligation to have children and society holds the woman responsible for a marriage without children as well as unmarried and divorced women.

When it comes to politics in Nigeria today, women play a minimal role though the 1979 Constitution guarantees their rights to participation; this is unlike the pre-colonial era where women had a much larger position in politics. Now, political parties give few opportunities to women and most political parties do not look favorably on women as key candidates.

In spite of civilization and education, Nigerian women find it difficult to rise in their male dominated society that is driven solely by patriarchy and their continuous call for equality as well as demands that their rights be respected have continued to yield little results To determine if the rights of Nigerian women are really being violated, there needs to be a clear definition of what constitute such rights and provisions for this under the law especially in terms of equality in similar situations. And what are the factors responsible for violation of such rights especially since culture and tradition play a huge role in how women are treated. There is the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women signed by many United Nations member states which defines discrimination as any exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It addresses eliminating prejudice in public education, full political rights to vote and to run for and to serve in public office, rights to change nationality equal to men’s rights, marriage and divorce rights to be equal to men’s, elimination of child marriage and equality in criminal punishment The 1966 Statement of Purpose of the National Organization for Women (NOW) summarizes key women’s rights issues based on the idea of equality as an opportunity for women to develop their fullest human potentials and to put women into the mainstream of American political, economic and social life. The marriage protest of 1855 by advocates, Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell refused to give assent to laws which interfered in rights of married women including; control over the wife’s person and her legal existence as a person, custody of children, inheritance and ownership of real estate, the right to her own wages, equal rights to inherit a survivor’s portion upon death of one of the spouses, choice of a place of residence, ability to make contracts including wills and the ability to sue in court in her own Continues pg36

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The long walk to equality continued pg35

name and choosing her own name as well as the 1848 Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention and the 18th Century Calls for Women’s Rights Women rights fall under four major categories; Economic, Civil, Social and cultural as well as Political rights and there are many modern laws to protect these rights. In 2011, Rwanda made a leap in the fight for equality among other African nations when it had a high number of women outnumbering its men in parliament and this facilitated the passing of certain laws especially in terms of stricter punishments for those committing violence against women.

African governments are beginning to include more female politicians in governance and nations like Rwanda and Tanzania have created a constitutional requirement for the government to include a certain number of women.

Even in Nigeria, more women are getting involved in politics and governance. Indeed, things are changing and African women are increasingly able to choose their own course in life. But this seems to be the only area where women are enjoying their rights, in every other area; there is huge violation of women rights. For example, there was a Ugandan minister that defended raping girls as “natural”, aligning with the attitude of some Nigerian lawmakers.

Though an Afrobarometer research survey result published recently stated that in 15 countries where it asked about equal rights since 2002, support for equality has increased, from 68% in 2002 to 73% in 2012.

The increase however seems not to reflect in any area except orientation as customs carries too much weight than constitutional laws. Though about three-quarters of women believes they should have the same rights as men; they are being subdued by traditional laws. Across Africa, experiences take different forms and Nigeria is not excluded from this but there is a common denominator; most countries in Africa in spite of fight for equal rights retain colonial-era laws that legally define men as head of the household.

Nigerian lawyers that spoke with Tribune law were very emphatic that rights violation is a way of life in Nigeria and had been for a long time. According to a lawyer and activist, Barrister Ikechukwu Ikeji, not only women rights are violated in Nigeria but almost all human rights. “Human right in Nigeria today is observed more in disobedience than obedience. It is in a pathetic condition. Women rights are part of the rights that are being trampled upon, it is not in isolation. When you isolate it, it becomes even more pathetic. We need justice sector and prison reforms” Also speaking, Barrister Gbenga Makinde said, “Human rights are ecclesiastical laws of nature which is basically about freedom and freedom of rights. These laws are entrenched in the constitution of Nigeria which safeguards these God’s given right to live and to be free. Human rights abuse is common everywhere but one needs to succinctly take a look to recognize this. The abuse known generally to people is when it involves the law officers and other law enforcement agents in the abuse of their powers. Most common is police brutality, unlawful arrest/detention, unlawful raids or acting in the excess of powers given also constitute an abuse hence the enforcement of rights laws to check mate these violations.

“As regards the women, the lack of protection and shield from the various abuses they face is as a result of culture, norm(s) and conventions that govern the society where women’s rights are not recognized. For example, freedom of expression, most women in the Northern parts of Nigeria can only be seen but not heard. How would such women be allowed to express their God given opinion on any issue when the custom forbids it? In some areas, a woman does not even have the right of choice to choose her husband.

The marriages are arranged. Also, another abuse is when 12-13 year olds are married off to 56-‎57 years and above old men. In as much as the constitution recognizes that such choices can only be made only at the attainment of age eighteen years yet some areas are violating the law with impunity simply because such practices are permitted by either their own culture or by religion.

“Women are not recognized as equals in this part of the world hence the unequal treatment between sexes. In some jobs, women are maligned. Some even say that a woman cannot be a Chief of Army or the Inspector general of police or even the president of the country. Such maligned thoughts can even trigger abuse of potential women close to such positions. It is unfortunate that our ways of life as a people conflicts with the provisions of the law which seems

to put customary norms and beliefs above the constitution.

Here, it is believed that a married woman has no right to even allege the husband of rape. But frankly speaking, how does the woman establish it even though it is an abuse.

Customs and tradition often times makes it very difficult to establish abuse of rights of the woman.”

Tribune Law also spoke to a female lawyer and rights activist, Abiade Olanwale Abiola and she was very blunt too that all human rights and not only women right suffers violations in Nigeria but all human rights. “Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the 1999 constitution in which a lot of improvement was made in comparison to the previous Nigerian constitutions. However, there is need for a lot of improvement especially in the area of abuse by Boko Haram, lack of social equality, issues with freedom of speech, government corruption and its continual undermining of human right status. It is a great concern to many that women are deprived of their human rights in Nigeria. Majority of our people think that the issue of women’s human rights is a propaganda blown out of proportion and this is because of religious or cultural inclinations.

“The life of Nigerian women is yet to attain the level of dignity and respect their human rights accord them, women rank lower than men in all indices of development in this country despite the fact that the rights of women are spelt out in the Nigerian constitution, these rights

are just theoretical postulations without any practical bearing on the realities of the lives and condition of Nigerian women. In reality, the Nigerian society is full of anti humanist ideals. Women are systematically relegated to inferior positions. The suffer violations of their human rights through violence in the home, sexual harassment at school and work, rape and defilement, harsh and punitive widowhood rites, enforcement of gender biased laws, discrimination against the girl child, disinheritance of wives and daughters, harmful traditional practices, forced childhood marriages and female genital mutilation.

“The patriarchal structure of the Nigerian society, religion, culture and traditional practices, domestic violence/abuse, double standards placed by the society in relation to men and women, ignorance of their human rights on the part of women all contribute to violation of women rights” What then is the way forward? “Integration of women human rights issues and gender education in to the school curriculum, adequate government budgetary allocations to issues that promote women rights and bridge gender gaps, domesticating all protocols, charters and conventions relevant to women and their rights and everybody in our little way creating awareness for women human rights and emphatically standing against all dehumanizing elements in the society which women are made to endure right from birth,” Abiade said.

legal clinic

By Olatunde Femi Abegunde Esq.ACOArb

m: +234-0803 967 7683; +234-0809 401 7911 e: pinnacle.chambers@yahoo.com, femabed2007@gmail.com f: Olatunde Abegunde & Associates-Pinnacle Chambers

The Anti-Corruption War: Non-justiciability of chapter two of the Constitution as clog IT has pleased the Almighty God to place lawyers in a privileged position in the society from time immemorial.

Sometimes, lawyers are accused of abusing their positions in the society. Some of the criticisms against lawyers are borne out of little or no understanding about how the law operates, some are indeed true as they border on ethical consideration of abuse of trust and some criticisms are made as a result of the expectations of the people from lawyers. Lawyers can sometimes be in an unenviable position.

I had a baptism of criticisms last week. A reader opined that the lawyers are making the anti-corruption difficult by resorting to the mantra ‘rule of law’ to defend those who run afoul of the law.I honestly could not offer much resistance because I am equally pissed off by revelations of the impunities perpetrated by those who think leadership confers on them the legitimacy of milking our treasury dry.

Apart from the issue of locus standi which is an impediment to anyone, including lawyers, fromapproaching a court of law in some instances, and which, if he does, he would have the case thrown out of court,the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended makes the whole of its Chapter Two non-justiciable.Before I make an attempt at explaining what is meant by non-justiciability, it is pertinent to discuss the contents of the Chapter Two. The whole of Chapter two of the Constitution running from Section 13 through Section 24 provides for the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. Section 14 provides that sovereignty belongs to the people and further states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary duty of government and that participation of the people in their government shall be ensured. Section 15 provides for the political objectives of the country. The provisions are elaborate but of particular note is subsection 5 of the section which states that the State shall abolish all forms of corrupt practices and abuse of power.

Section 16 provides for what the Economic Objectives of the State shall be while Section 17 talks about the Social Objectives of the State.Section 18 sets out the Educational Objectives while Section 19 provides for Foreign Policy Objectives. Environmental Objectives are stated in Section 20 while Sections 21,22,23 and 24 provide Directive on Nigerian Cultures, Obligation of the Media, National Ethics and duties of citizens respectively.

As beautiful as these provisions are, the same constitution provides that all matters stated therein are not justiciable. In plain words, you would be wasting your time to sue the government for not providing security and welfare for the people, for not abolishing corrupt practices and for not carrying out all the obligations of government to the people.

Interestingly, emphasis is usually placed on the duties of citizens to the people without demanding from those in government to fulfill their obligations. When the Jonathan Administration made us to believe that it was seriously waging wars against the insurgents, little did many of us know that our common heritage had been looted blind.

Our leaders in government usually require us to show patriotism but they encourage and participate in corrupt practices and abuse of office. While it pays to pay your tax and carry out other civic responsibilities, it would be irresponsible of government to hide under the nonjusticiability of Chapter Two to continue to oppress the people.

It is in the light of the above that we must welcome the new vista brought to be bear on the anti-corruption war by the present government of President MohammaduBuhari.

There is the need to take another look at the whole of Chapter Two of the Constitution with a view to making many of the provisions justiciable. This would encourage public interest litigations in this regard. We equally call on the Parliament to make specific legislations that would remove the hurdle of locus standi .The Canadian model on locus standi is really worthy of emulation in this clime.

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features

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016 Editor: Kehinde Oyetimi featuresdesk@yahoo.com 081 118 450 48

features The couple with the quadruplets

Mixed blessing as couple gets quadruplets after 8 yrs of wedlock ByKehindeOyetimiandVictorOgunyinka

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heir story resonates loudly of how much faith in human existence could work. Married in 2007, Mr and Mrs Ololade Samson Olusola never knew that they would wait for eight years before having children from their loins. The fruit of the womb in many climes remarkably is the high point of any marital union. While some are wont to adopt children, a good number of couples prefer to have their own children. Both in pristine and modern African settings, barrenness is frowned at. The stigma, the frustration and the societal victimization are in themselves worrying for those who are yet to have children.

It is therefore against this backdrop that one can appreciate the repeated dissatisfaction that attended the union of the Olusolas. The children were not forthcoming.

Yet, for them, they had no other choice but to trust entirely in God. In an interaction with Nigerian Tribune, the father of the newborns stated that “We got married on March 10, 2007. I am a civil servant and so also is my wife. We never expected that we would wait this long to have children. We tried all we could both medically and spiritually. It is disturbing that here in Africa, a marriage that does not produce children is seen as unsuccessful.

“After the first few years without any child, people said all kinds of things. But my wife was very resolute that God would take charge of our situation. We kept taking the different medications that we were

given. The year 2015 became significant because that was the year that my wife got pregnant. When we went for the scan and were told that she was carrying four babies, I was shocked. But there was nothing that I could do but to pray that my wife and children are fine after the delivery. I was advised that considering the number of babies to be expected, it would be safe to register for ante-natal treatment at OSUTH. We were told by the doctors that it was possible that just two or three could survive. But we prayed that none of them would die.

“When the babies came in November last

Well, the use of fertility drugs is a possible predisposing factor but it is by no means a reason why such women give birth to more than one after a long wait. Age is the most determining factor here; the older the woman, the more likely the occurrence of such.

year, we knew that the implication of their birth would be financial. Whatever we buy must be in fourfold. I can’t query God for this. But we need all the financial support that we can get in raising the children.”

Speaking on the various forms of assistance that the family had gotten since the birth of the babies, he stated that “Friends, family members have been tremendous in assisting us. We understand that things are difficult but we are very grateful for what people have been giving us. We do realize that the entire world is going through economic recession but people have been wonderful to us. We are grateful to the Methodist Church in Nigeria. We are grateful to Winners Church. They have assisted us in no great measure. We are also grateful to Obafemi Owode Local Government Area in Ogun State for helping us. The health sector there also sent us money. Even the health sector in Ikenne Local Government Area also assisted us in no small measure.”

He also added that the reason that they did not initially call for help was because the mother of the children was still undergoing treatment at the hospital. “We couldn’t go public at the initial stage when the children were born because my wife was re-admitted at the hospital for about a month because she needed to get well properly. But she is well now which is why we decided to make the birth of the children public and ask for help. They were born on November 6, 2015. We want people to come and assist us in the area of the children’s education and in their upkeep.

The firstborn is Ifeoluwa, the second is Oluwapemisire, the third is Anuoluwa and

the fourth is Temiotan. They were all born on the same day through a C-section. They are two boys and two girls. The first is a girl; the second a boy; the third is a girl and the last is a boy,” he said.

Looking quite exhausted when she spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, the mother of the babies, Mrs Samson Olusola stated that while she didn’t expect the number of the children to be four, she was however grateful to God for the safe delivery, noting that the challenge before them was how to raise the four of them.

According to her, “When we got married and we could not have babies, people said all kinds of things but my husband and family stood by me. I was introduced to all kinds of drugs and even prayers. Eight years can be described as long when waiting to get pregnant and give birth to a baby.

They are four of them. We thank God. I am grateful to God for the delivery. All we are saying is seeking the help of good Nigerians in taking care of the children. I know that God gave them to us and he will send help in taking care of them.”

The elder sister to the father of the children, Mrs Akinwale Omotola who was with the family when Nigerian Tribune visited, appealed for support for the family, just as she added that for those who are yet to have children in their marriages, there is a big possibility that the miraculous could still happen.

“I am the elder sister to the father of the quadruplets. It is wonderful what God did for the family. But the challenge is to take care of the children. I am yet to have a child after marriage but I am using this medium to tell everyone who is expecting that God can still do the impossible. We need all the help in taking care of the children,” she said.

In an interaction with a medical expert on the likelihood of such multiple births and the reasons, Dr Stephen Ayodele Adewole, senior lecturer at the Ondo State University of Medical Science stated that the use of fertility drugs could be a pre-disposing factor.

According to him, “Well, the use of fertility drugs is a possible pre-disposing factor but it is by no means a reason why such women give birth to more than one after a long wait. Age is the most determining factor here; the older the woman, the more likely the occurrence of such.”

For Dr Moses Rotimi, a fellow of the West African College of Surgeon, consultant of Obstetrics and gynaecology and the Medical Director of Delight Hospital and Fertility Centre, Challenge, Ibadan, “If they’ve been using drugs, that is to say they’ve gone for IVF. Some eggs are selected for fertilisation and in most cases, it could be an average of three. But sometimes, the patient could say the number she wishes to have. If eventually all the eggs are fertilised, it becomes what you see, which could be the woman having two or more babies at once. Again, because of the age in consideration, when a woman that has waited for 10 or more years after marriage eventually conceive, age may not be on her side to get more children and the moment they successfully conceive about three at a time, then, it’s once and for all.”

NB: The parents of the children can be reached on 08034017425, 08058869237 or 08028211694.

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news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Bayelsa election: APC’ll explore legal means to challenge cancellation of votes —Sylva •Guber candidates call on Sylva to accept results •He will lose again —PDP Austin Ebipade- Yenagoa

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he All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, has rejected the outcome of the rerun election conducted, particularly the cancellation of ward 17 and ward 4 where 52, 000 votes that could have given him victory were cancelled, and noted that the party would explore legal means to challenge the systemic rigging of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

This, Sylva said at a media briefing in Yenagoa.

The APC governorship candidate, who regretted the violence that greeted the election in communities in the state, said all violence and mayhem should be traced to the doorstep of the PDP. Sylva said victims that suffered all forms of attack from machete to bullet wounds should before, during and after the election hold the PDP accountable.

He noted that after the election, APC members were attacked and all sorts of injuries were inflicted on them at Okipiri community in Brass Local Government Area, and noted that the senseless killings must stop and that the sanctity of life must be respected.

The APC candidate reiterated that the PDP procured the election, and that was why their agent, Chief Fred Agbedi, at the collation centre argued that APC’s complaint was unacceptable in order for their candidate to be declared, and said that they were prepared to meet the APC at the tribunal.

Sylva pointed out that in Yenagoa polling unit, the younger sister of the Bayelsa Restoration Campaign Organisation (BRYCO), Mr Jonathan Obuebite served as returning officer; and as such it was impossible for APC to win in her unit, as all materials were taken to undisclosed area and filled in favour of PDP. When asked about the cancelled 39, 000 votes in Southern Ijaw, he said the PDP and their cronies in INEC never wanted those votes to come in favour of the APC, hence they deliberately sent materials to wards 17 and 4 late, which is the farthest wards in Southern Ijaw where our deputy governorship candidate, Mr Wilberforce Igiri and party chairman, Tiwei Orunimighe, hail from.

Continuing, Sylva noted that they further delayed the election by distributing it from community to community instead of sending it on Friday, 8th, in line with electoral guidelines.

He noted that sadly when the material got there very late, election was conducted but the result that was won by the APC at the different polling units were cancelled at the ward headquarters.

To this end, Sylva vehemently rejected the results and reiterated that legal means would be explored

to challenge the decision because it is not a proper reflection of the supplementary election in Southern Ijaw council.

In another development, chairmen and governorship candidates of nine political parties that contested the January 9 rerun governorship election in the state have

called on the APC governorship candidate, Chief Sylva, to accept the results and join forces to move the state forward.

In a statement signed by UPP, ADC, PPN, PPA, DPP, NNPP, SDP, ID and APA, they regretted the machete wounds inflicted on the former speaker of the state as-

sembly, Rt Hon Boyelayefa Debekeme and other victims that are still in critical condition in the hospital.

They recalled how the different parties’ supporters were chased out of the state to disenfranchise them, kidnapping of INEC staffs and ad hoc staffs that led to the cancellation of Southern Ijaw

From left, Inko Namatibi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Tary Eduwin of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Prince Eleman of Independent Democrats’ Party, at a news conference by chairmen and governorship candidates of political parties that contested the December 5, 2015 and January 9, 2016, Bayelsa governorship election, in Yenagoa, on Monday. PHOTO: Nan

APC, PDP leaders responsible for Bayelsa crisis —TMG Adetola Bademosi-Abuja

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has blamed leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State for the violence that marred the supplementary gubernatorial elections in the state.

The group, in its election observation reports, presented to newsmen in Abuja, on Monday, expressed disappointments that the violence that marred the election was fuelled by leaders of the political parties.

Chairman of the group, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, who presented the report, noted that;”for Nigeria’s elections to become credible, political parties must become democratic, transparent and accountable.

According to him, both parties acted contrary to the spirit of the Yenagoa Peace Accord, thus, called on both parties to abide by the terms of this in future polls.

Also, he condemned the high level of insecurity, harassment and intimidation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, voters and observers which led to massive irregularities throughout the electoral process.

While questioning the

credibility of the election from which the PDP’s candidate, Honourable Seriake Dickson was declared winner, he said; “all of these grave infractions clearly show that the Bayelsa governorship grossly falls be-

low the global standards for elections as enunciated in international instruments on human rights and credible elections.”

The most critical incidents reported, he said, include; ballot box snatching, in-

timidation and harassment of voters, poll officials, observers and political party poll agents, stealing of ballot papers, vote buying and bribery, not posting results, partisan poll officials and not counting ballot papers.

Pdp hails Bayelsa people’s courage, gallantry Dickson’s victory hard earned — Mimiko From Leon Usigbe And Jacob Segun OlatunjiAbuja

THE national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has praised the people of Bayelsa State for standing against intimidation, rigging and violence to ensure that their will as a people prevailed in Saturday’s supplementary election.

The acting national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, said in a statement issued in Abuja, on Monday, that the steadfastness and resilience shown by the people, particularly in Southern Ijaw would go down in history as one of the many sacrifices made to defend democracy in the land.

The statement said: “Rising from what happened in Bayelsa State on Saturday, it is very clear that the APC-led Federal Government under

the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari is not disposed to free, fair and credible electoral process in the country despite being a huge beneficiary of PDP’s electoral reform.

“However, by standing against intimidation and remaining resilient, the people have greatly contributed in deepening democracy in the country and by so doing ensuring that their own destiny is right in their own hands.

“Bayelsa is a core PDP state and one wonders how APC thought it could win in this gubernatorial election with its discredited candidate, knowing the strength and popularity of our great party in the state, in addition to the record of achievements of our candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson.”

Meanwhile, the Ondo State governor, Dr Oluse-

gun Mimiko, has applauded the re-election of his Bayelsa State counterpart, Seriake Dickson for a second term in office, following his declaration by the National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the recently concluded gubernatorial election in the state.

Governor Mimiko in his congratulatory message through his Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, said it was not for fun that the election process had to extend to a supplementary level, adding that God eventually manifested Himself because “one with God is majority.”

He said though there were no easy elections, but submitted however that, when man erected obstacles were involved, only God’s intervention could justify His chosen.

council poll on December 5 and 6 last year.

The statement commended the efforts of politicians that saved the state from political strangulation by a particular party for personal interest and desperate quest for power. They averred that the election was relatively peaceful amidst minor incidents in few polling units, even as they lauded Bayelsans for upholding democracy and INEC’s effort for distributing materials to remote areas of the state, as well as a level field for all to cast their votes.

Also, the Restoration Campaign Organisation has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the just concluded election in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, would still lose at the tribunal if he decides to contest the outcome of the election because he has no case.

In a statement yesterday and made available to the press, Director of Publicity of the PDP camapaign organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, reckoned that the election was already won and lost going by what he regarded as “overwhelmimg support and voting trend in favour of PDP” by the electorate across the state.

IYC congratulates Dickson, calls for justice over cases of death Austin Ebipade- Yenagoa

The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC) congratulated Governor Seriake Dickson on his hard fought electoral victory in the just concluded Bayelsa State governorship election.

The IYC, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Comrade Eric Omare, commended all the contestants and Bayelsans for their contribution to deepening democracy by insisting that only their votes determine who emerges victorious.

The group expressed sadness over so many lives lost during the electoral process, adding that election of a governor ought not to be a do or die affair, especially in a state such as Bayelsa that is homogenous.

The IYC called on the relevant security agencies to carry out a detailed and transparent investigation into the cases of death and violence during the election and bring perpetrators to justice to serve as deterrent to others.

39 news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Metuh sues EFCC, AGF, seeks release from detention FromYejideGbenga-Ogundare and Ayomide Owonibi

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he spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, on Monday, filed a suit before the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to demand the enforcement of his fundamental rights in a matter filed pursuant Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure rules 2009 made by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, pursuant to the 1999 Constitution.

The matter filed for Metuh by Lagos-based lawyer and activist, EbunOlu Adegboruwa, which is delineated FHC/L/ CS/21/2016 and has not been assigned to a judge for hearing, joined as defendant alongside EFCC, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), is pursuant to Section 46(1) of the 1999 constitution and Order 2, Rules 2 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009.

Metuh is asking the court through Adegboruwa, to order his immediate release from custody following his arrest by the operatives of EFCC on January 5, 2016, at his house in Abuja, adding that since, he has been in custody without access to his family and lawyers or doctors and arguing that under section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, the EFCC has exceeded the maximum time allowed by law for the detention of a citizen, without trial in any court.

Adegboruwa asked the court for some declaration and reliefs which include, a declaration that EFCC and the AGF are not entitled to arrest, detain or in any other manner restrict Metuh’s liberty without charge in flagrant violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 38, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12

and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He is also asking for a declaration that Metuh’s arrest by EFCC on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at his home, at No.14, Drive 1, Prince and Princess Estate, Abuja, constitutes a flagrant violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is ultra vires, null and void and unconstitutional and that his deten-

tion at an unknown location, without access to his lawyers, family and doctors, constitutes a flagrant violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is ultra vires, null and void and unconstitutional.

He, then, asked for a court injunction restraining the respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise, from further violating the fundamental rights of the applicants through unlawful arrest and detention, ex-

cept and in a manner permitted and sanctioned by law and restraining them whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise from further constituting a threat or hindrance to the applicant’s lives, their property and investments in any manner whatsoever.

The rights activist also asked for an injunction restraining them whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise, however, from further arresting, detaining, persecuting, trailing or in any other manner taking steps that may jeopardise the liberty, freedom and life of the applicant except, and in a manner permitted and sanctioned by law and from further constituting a threat to the life, liberty and freedom of the applicant either through arrest

The Supreme Court, on Monday, slated Friday, to deliver judgment in the appeal brought before it by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the April 11 governorship election in Benue State, Dr Terhemen Tarzoor, against the decision of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his appeal in November, 2015.

The seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, presided over by Justice Wal-

Stolen vehicle A car belonging to Mrs Opakunle Bosede Wumi, a staff of African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, was snatched at gun point at Liberty Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.

Some of the items inside the car as at the time were: hand bag, Nigerian Tribune ID card, ATM, drivers’ licence, android phone, techno phone, Holy Bible, necklace, ball fire extinguisher, guarapad products among others.

The make of the vehicle is Toyota Camry (pencil), with registration No: JJ 110 EKY, Chassis No: 4T1BG22K3VU169004, Engine No: 556327375, colour: grey. If found, please, contact the nearest police station, Nigerian Tribune office or call mobile phone no: 08056073943.

NAF builds regional helicopter maintenance hangar in Niger Chris Agbambu – Abuja

Suspected child kidnappers paraded by the Oyo State command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), in Ibadan, on Monday. PHOTO: Nan

2 in court over attempt to defraud Fayose Sam Nwaoko - Ado Ekiti Two suspects, Benedict Odiga and Abdusalam Hassan, who allegedly attempted to dupe Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Sunday, have been paraded by the police in Ekiti State.

The police, who also arraigned Odiga, 38 and Hassan, 30, before an Ado Ekiti magistrate’s court, accused them of conspiracy and forgery.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Etop James, who paraded the two men before their ar-

raignment in court on Monday, said a document with the letterhead ‘Nigerian Army Force’ and a 57page document supposedly from the office of Special Adviser, Ethics and Values, were obtained under false pretext with intention to obtain money from Gov-

Benue guber: Supreme Court to decide Ortom, Tarzoor’s fate Friday Sunday Ejike - Abuja

or by physical abuse or violence either generally or for the purpose of preventing or disturbing their free movement in any part of Nigeria.

He finally asked for an order directing the respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or otherwise to forthwith release the application from unlawful custody.

The motion was supported by a 19-paragraph affidavit deposed by Adegboruwa himself to chronicle the events leading to the arrest of Olisa Metuh is his house at No.14, Drive 1, Prince and Princess Estate, Abuja, by the operatives of the EFCC and maintained that the arrest of the main voice of the opposition in Nigeria is part of the dictatorial tendencies of the General Buhari administration to silence all voices of dissent.

Nigerian Tribune

ter Onnoghen, fixed the date after parties in the matter adopted their written addresses when the matter came up on Monday.

It will be recalled that Tarzoor had appealed against an earlier judgment of the Benue State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Makurdi, which had, on September 21, 2015, dismissed his petition against Governor Samiel Ortom’s election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP governorship candidate in Benue State in the election, had presented a petition before the tribunal challenging the qualification of APC from presenting a candidate in the election.

He claimed, in his petition that the party did not hold any primary election known to law for the selection of its candidate for the governorship election.

Following the dismissal of his appeal by the Court of Appeal, Makurdi division, Tarzoor, had, late last month, filed a notice,

containing 18 grounds of appeal before the Supreme Court, indicating specific areas where the appellate court erred in its decision, which ultimately led to the dismissal of his appeal and requested the apex court to uphold the appeal.

When the case was mentioned at the Supreme Court, Counsel to Mr Tarzoor, Joy Adesina, told the court that parties had not concluded the exchange of processes, saying filing of processes before the court shall close on December 21.

ernor Fayose under false pretence.

James said: “They confessed that they intended to defraud the governor.

They confessed to have formerly been employed as private security guards by one Abdullahi Maikano and were attached with the Muhammadu Buhari campaign team during the political rally.

“The investigations about their activities are still ongoing, while being tried in court to be able to get more evidence.”

The presiding magistrate, Idowu Ayenimo, ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody until the next adjourned date.

Benedict told newsmen while being paraded by the police, that they never attempted to dupe Governor Fayose, saying he was in Ekiti only with a mission to see the governor, which he said, was successful.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has completed a massive maintenance hangar for the Nigerian military helicopters and others within the West African countries.

The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Abubakar Sadique made the disclosure when he received Governor Abubakar Bello, of Niger State, in his office at the NAF Headquarters, Abuja on Monday.

Sadique said that hanger, which is located in Minna, the capital of Niger State, is aimed to become a regional hub for helicopter maintenance in partnership with the state government and other critical stakeholders.

He said that the NAF is doing its possible best to ensure that security is maintained and sustained in the state through the presence of personnels, facilities and formations.

Governor Bello said that his administration is looking forward to partner with the Air Force in the area of capacity building and security, particularly, around the Minna airport.

He said that they are looking at how we can collaborate with the NAF to build capacity and look at how we can collaborate around the airport area.

news FUTA workers shut Staff School over sack of teachers

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Hakeem Gbadamosi - Akure

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EMBERS of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Staff Union (NASU) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) chapter, on Monday, staged a peaceful demonstration over the sack of some of the staff of the FUTA Staff School.

The two unions called for the removal of the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, for allegedly taking unilateral decision to sack 45 workers of the staff school and employ new

ones without following due process.

The protesting workers, armed with posters of various inscription such as ‘No to privatisation of federal universities primary schools,’ ‘No to dis-

Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode (left), congratulating the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Professor Olarenwaju Fagbohun, after taking his oath of office, at the Conference Room, Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday.

Ambode inaugurates 8th LASU VC Bola Badmus - Lagos GOVERNOR Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has said that the priority of his administration for educational institutions at the tertiary level is for them to nurture students to become wealth creators and innovators.

The governor said this on Tuesday while inaugurating Professor Olanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun as the eighth substantive vice chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU).

Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja, said the state government was not just passionate about academic excellence, but equally committed to raising the standards and providing the necessary infrastructure for tertiary institutions in the state to deliver outstanding results.

The governor, while insisting that he was not oblivious of the unique position that LASU occupies, charged the new leadership of the institution to re-focus on intellectual engagement, show leadership and brace up to the developmental and academic challenges of an emerging globally competitive citadel of learning.

In providing the roadmap for LASU, Governor

Ambode recalled that the journey towards the actualisation of his vision for the institution began on September 22, 2015 when the Governing Council was inaugurated.

The governor said he equally assented to a bill amending the enabling law setting up the institution.

The amendment, according to him, was fundamental, saying it would address pertinent issues that had for long created discord

within the academic community.

Governor Ambode also recalled the protracted crisis in LASU which was recently resolved, saying Professor Fagbohun was appointed to put things right in the institution after a thorough screening and selection process by the Governing Council.

“Over the past few years, LASU has had her fair share of successes and challenges. As a result, there

is a lot of work required to propel the university to a world-class status.

Fagbohun, in his acceptance speech, said “My strategic imperatives are to restore peace, foster high level scholarship, make gains on previous gains, create an environment that can attract funds and make the institution a valued partner to the Lagos State, the Nigerian nation and the international community. “

Kogi tribunal starts sitting, grants Wada leave to inspect INEC materials Yinka Oladoyinbo - Lokoja THE Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Monday commenced sitting in Lokoja, the state capital, and granted leave for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, Governor Idris Wada, to inspect the electoral materials used in the conduct of the governorship election in the state.

The three-member tribunal panel, headed by Justice Halima Mohammed, granted the exparte motion following an application by counsel to the PDP’s candidate, Chief Chris Uche.

Supported by Justice Patricia Ajoku and Justice

Ogbogo Ejembi, the tribunal chairman also issued a consequential order that all the respondents in the petition be served the tribunal’s order for them to be present during the inspection at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Lokoja.

Uche, who is leading two other Senior Advocates of Nigeria and about 10 other legal practitioners for the PDP, had filed the application on January 9, seeking an order of the tribunal to inspect materials used in the conduct of the governorship election that is in the custody of INEC. Uche said the motion, supported by a 17-para-

graph affidavit and deposed to by one S.M. John-Mark, was in line with Section 151 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended).

The tribunal also granted six exparte motions for substituted service of petitions and other court processes on the Kogi State governorelect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who is a respondent in all the petitions.

In their separate motions seeking the leave of the tribunal, Uche of PDP, Jibrin Okwutepa of APC; Reuben Egwaba of Labour Party (LP) and I.K. Idota of Progressive Peoples’ Alliance (PPA) sought an order of the tribunal for substituted service on the governorelect.

engagement,’ ‘We say no to appointment of teachers,’ ‘Don’t kill FUTA Staff School,’ prevented the pupils of the staff school from gaining access into the school while parents were urged to return their children home.

Speaking with journalists on the development, the FUTA Chairman of NASU, Comrade Adebayo Aladerotohun, fingered the interest of the vice chancellor in the sack of the teachers, noting that all other federal universities across the country have not implemented the sacking order as contained in a circular from the Federal Government.

Aladerotohun disclosed that the institution had begun recruitment of another set of teachers in the school, alleging that Professor Daramola is not following due process in the recruitment exercise.

He maintained that the Federal Government decision over the sack of the teachers was wrong saying the Federal Government failed to observe the rule of law.

He said, “We are saying no to privatisation of staff schools at this point in time because it is not only federal universities that maintain staff schools, Navy, Army, police and others have their own schools they maintained.

“We also condemn the callousness on the part of the FUTA management to sack the teachers. It is apparent that Professor Daramola has ulterior motive in the matter beyond what the Federal Government asked him to do because it is only FUTA that has taken this matter to the extreme.”

However, the Public Relations Officer of FUTA, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, dissociated the management of the institution from the sacking of the teachers, saying that the directives came from the Federal Ministry of Education in December, 2015 and that it affected staff schools in all federal universities in the country.

He said the new recruitment was in order with the directive from the Federal Government and said the institution had announced the recruitment of another set of teachers for the school which the affected teachers could also apply.

Nigerian Tribune

Gov Yari orders closure of govt accounts Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna GOVERNOR Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State has directed that all government accounts in the state be closed until the Treasury Single Account (TSA) becomes effective.

This was made known on Monday in Gusau by the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Umar Jibo Bukkuyum, while speaking with newsmen in his office.

To this end, he disclosed that a seven-man committee to be headed by the state governor had been constituted to ensure the full implementation of TSA. Advancing reason why the state government decided to introduce the account, he said the state government had discovered over 1,000 accounts being operated by government agencies.

Already, he said the committee had met with all the bank managers and had directed them to close all government accounts.

Niger APC councillorship candidate promises better representation THE All Progressives Congress (APC) councillorship candidate for Tudun Wada North Constituency of Chichaga Local Government Area of Niger State, Mr Ismaila Musa, has promised quality representation if voted into office.

According to Musa, the people of his constituency would feel the presence of the local government and also promised to attract foreign and local investors.

He promised to support reasonable bills, assist artisans, farmers, market men and women.

He also called on the people to continue to support the All Progressives Congress-led government in the state.

He stressed that the APC is the only party that can take them to the promise land.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Arms fraud: DPC expresses shock

It is shameful that political parties collected money to endorse Jonathan —UPN scribe FromBolaBadmusandRotimiIge

D

e mocratic People’s Congress (DPC) has expressed shock by the revelation and confession of some public officeholders and their political associates of having partaken in the sharing of $2.1 billion arms funds during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, while thousands of soldiers and innocent civilians were killed, wounded and abducted in the North- East and other parts of Nigeria.

The DPC gave this reaction on Tuesday, in a release issued by its national chairman, Rev Olusegun Peters, saying he was shell-shocked by the revelation and confession by those involved as the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government commenced probe of the funds.

According to the party, there is no moral justification for the sharing of this ‘blood money’ by the former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Mohammed

Dasuki (Rtd), and his collaborators, saying it was sad that eminent Nigerians entrusted with the security and welfare of the citizenry could be so heartless to divert, misappropriate and embezzle $2.1 billion dollars for procurement of weapons to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

The DPC said this sad development even took place at a time some of the country’s gallant soldiers protested that they were not well equipped and were court marshalled for refusing to fight the insurgents.

“While some of the soldiers and their commanders were

dismissed from the Army, others were imprisoned and some sentenced to death.

“Irked by government’s lukewarm attitude in the war against Boko Haram, many foreign countries, including the United States of America withdrew their support which spurred the insurgents to ravage, ravish and plunder the North-East in particular and neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger,” DPC said.

The party urged President Muhammadu Buhari to dig deeper into the arms deal with a view to identifying and prosecuting the culprits to serve as a deterrent to all

those who would attempt this heinous crime against their fatherland.

Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Alhaji Bari Salau, has declared that the recent revelations regarding how certain political parties collected money to endorse former President Jonathan is one political scandal that has brought shame to the democratic process.

Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, Alhaji Salau stated that the ‘bribe’ was morally unethical and goes against the statutes of the founding fathers of de-

mocracy.

“Now that it has been established that some political parties without presidential candidates, collected money to endorse the candidature of former President Jonathan in the last election, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) would want to declare categorically that under the chairmanship of Professor Bankole Okuwa, since the March 6, 2015 congress of the party, did not authorise anybody to collect money on his behalf and therefore did not collect any money to support any presidential candidate during the last election.”

Buhari meets APC NWC Leon Usigbe -Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday night, met with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The NWC members, led by the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, arrived at the First Lady Wing of the Villa, venue of the meeting, at about 8.00 p.m.

The meeting began at about 8.30 p.m. with VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo also in attendance.

Party chieftains in the meeting included Lawani Shuaibu, Chief Segun Oni, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, among others.

The meeting was ongoing at the time of writing this report.

Rotary, US medical team provide free surgery for 100 cleft patients in Kwara

Niger LG election campaign turns bloody

Biola Azeez - Ilorin

Adelowo Oladipo - Minna

The clash between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, led to the infliction of injuries on the supporters of the opposing side while several cars belonging to the opposition PDP stalwarts were smashed as articles of sales inside some shops at the scene of the bloody face off were also looted by suspected hoodlums.

The Nigerian Tribune further gathered that when information got to the youths of Suleja that an influential former governor in the state, Mr Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure, an engineer, was leading the PDP campaign, they quickly mobilised to check his perceived excesses by blocking Kwamba road with the view to disallow him and party supporters from gaining access to the venue of the campaign in Suleja town.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Niger State Command, Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident, saying that PDP got approval for their campaign on Monday while a stalwart of the APC, (names withheld) allegedly mobilised thugs for campaign unofficially which led to open confrontation between supporters of the two parties as Kwamba road was blocked for several hours illegally by the hoodlums.

Nigerian Tribune

President Muhammadu Buhari receiving GLO CAF Platinum Award for Good Leadership from Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalong. With them is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Chinyeaka Ohaa, at the State House, Abuja, on Monday.

We want upward review of minimum wage, Kaduna NLC, TUC tell govt Muhammad Sabiu - Kaduna

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kaduna councils, have said they are perfecting plans to present a new minimum wage to the state government for approval.

Speaking on behalf of labour, the state chairman of TUC, Comrade Shehu Mohammed, remarked that both organs of labour in the state would want an upward review of the minimum wage.

“Even before the present brouhaha (confusion) emanating from some state governors over the minimum wage, in Kaduna we have entered into agreement with the state government that there will always be an upward review in every four years.”

He said, “it is now four years and we are strategising to see how we can present our demands to the state government.’

He noted that the dwindling revenue facing the country and states had nothing to do with the wages as it was introduced to improve the welfare of workers and not based on the price of the barrel of petrol.

“If it were on the prices of barrel, then, the minimum wage would have been more than N18, 000 if you consider the price of barrel at the time the minimum wage was introduced.”

He said it was unfortunate

for some state governors to come out now to say they could not afford the wage.

However, he commended the state governor, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, for saying that he would not tamper with the wage.

IPC launches Media & Transparency Watch Project The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria, will today, Tuesday, launch the one-year Media and Transparency Watch project designed to ensure that the Nigerian media serves as effective catalysts of transparency and good governance.

The project is being supported by the US Consulate-General, LagosNigeria, to enhance the reporting of transparency issues through regular sensitisation and exchange of ideas with media professionals.

To realise these objec-

tives, IPC will hold the first in a series tweet conference (or Media tweet-a-thon) with theme: International Best Practices in Media Role in Transparency at 11.00 a.m. today, at IPC Conference Hall, House 11, Dideolu Court, Dideolu Estate, Ogba.

The lead speaker will be Frank Sellin, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Lagos while the lead discussants include Mr Martins Oloja, the Editor of The Guardian and Jessica Tesoriero, Second Secretary for Political and Economic Affairs of

the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos.

The event will be attended by leading media professionals including editors and reporters, journalism and communication scholars as well as representatives of civil society groups, media professional bodies and media support groups.

The event will be streamed live via twitter, facebook and other social media channels to allow for the participation of as many interested individuals and groups as possible.

One hundred children and adults will benefit from free cleft and palate surgery sponsored by the Rotary International in collaboration with a US based organisation, Alliance for Smiles, and the Kwara State government.

Speaking during the commencement of the 10-day programme at the General Hospital, Ilorin, on Monday, the district governor 9125 of Rotary International, Dr Mike Omotosho, said that among the aim of the club was to provide qualitative healthcare and put smile on faces of the cleft patients against social stigmatisation.

Dr Omotosho, who said that screening of patients in preparation for the surgery had commenced, added that cleft and palate disease is a genetic birth defect or deformity borne with some children, stressing that patients are no victims of spiritual attack.

He also said that postsurgery treatment would be provided to the patients by the local medical personnel at the General Hospital.

Dr Omotosho said that the club embarked on the free surgery because parents of most victims of the disease are poor and thus, unable to offset an average cost of $1,000 for the corrective cosmetic surgery.

The Rotary district governor, who said the free surgery programme had taken place in Ogun and Lagos states, tasked patients in the North Central zone to benefit from the programme.

42 news

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Lassa fever claims 1 in Edo Suspected cases in Imo From Banji Aluko and Joe Nwachukwu

C

OMMISSIONER for Health in Edo State, Dr Heregie Aihanuwa, has confirmed that one life has been lost to Lassa fever in the state.

She added further that doctors at the Irrua Specialist Hospital in the state, were battling to save the life of another person, who was also diagnosed of the disease.

The commissioner, who stated this on Monday, said the dead person was among the five persons that were brought to the Irrua Specialist Hospital, for showing symptoms of the Lassa fever.

Dr Aihanuwa said three out of the five persons were treated and discharged at the hospital, adding that the dead person succumbed to the disease because the person did not report for early treatment.

She said the state government had started sensitisation programme on Lassa fever in the rural areas and how to prevent and control its spread.

She stated that health workers in the state have been cautioned to look out for symptoms of Lassa fever and refer suspected cases to approved hospitals “All cases of Lassa fever are treated in isolation wards in specialised centres such as the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control at the Irrua Specialist Hospital.

We are putting measures in place to stop the further spread of this current outbreak,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the Edo State government has confirmed recording six cases of Lassa fever in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Eregie, told newsmen in Benin, on Monday, that the cases were confirmed at the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State.

“Among the six cases, one is from Plateau, while the remaining five cases are from Edo. “Among the five cases from Edo, four are from Estako-West Local Government Area, while the remaining case is from Uhumwonde area of the state,” Eregie stated.

Eregie said the disease was a serious threat to residents of the state, adding that Edo State harbours most of the cases of the disease diagnosed in Nigeria.

“Lassa fever is a haemorrhagic viral disease caused by Lassa virus, which is transmitted from rats, of the family called Mastomys, to humans.

“The symptoms of the disease include severe illness with fever and at least one of the following signs: bloody stool, vomiting blood or unexplained bleeding from the gums, nose, vagina, skin or eyes.

“Lassa fever initially presents like other forms of fever in our community.

“It is important to report all cases of febrile illnesses that are not responding to

common treatment measures to the nearest facility for proper diagnosis.

“Edo government is already putting measures in place to stop the further spread of the disease.

“The measures include health education and sensitisation of clinicians and other health workers, intensification of surveillance for Lassa fever and other diseases,” she said.

In a related development, reported spread of Lassa fever in about 10 states of the country, has allegedly spread to Imo State with four persons said to be receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owerri.

This was disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune in Owerri, the Imo State capital, by a medical personnel and a member of staff of the FMC, Owerri, on condition of anonymity.

The medical doctor, however, cautioned the people living in Imo State to avoid hugging one another and handshaking while exchanging pleasantries.

According to him, the virus that causes Lassa fever might be incubating in a person’s body without the person being aware of it.

He pointed out that rats are the major vectors of the disease, saying that it could also be transmitted

from person to person.

He, therefore, called for good family and personal hygiene to prevent the said disease.

According to him, the disease has similar symptoms like those of malaria, typhoid fever and other aliment prevalent in the country.

When contacted on the issue, the Imo State chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Hyacinth Emele, said that there was a similar case of a mother and her baby, who were brought and hospitalised at the FMC, Owerri, on Friday.

“The disease is carried by rats and other rodents.

It is experts’ opinion and indeed, common sense that simple basic hygienic procedures such as covering soups, foods, keeping pots and plates clean and out of reach of rats will prevent the spread of the disease.

“Most of the residents are not aware of this simple preventive measures and the sensitisation will help in stopping the spread of the disease and help in giving the environment a befitting look,” he said.

Enugu ready for outbreak —Govt Alphonsus Agborh -Asaba

DELTA State government, on Monday, clarified that there was no case of Lassa fever outbreak in the state.

According to the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Azinge, all public hospitals, however, have been placed on red alert to keep surveillance in case of symptoms of the deadly disease.

The commissioner, who briefed the press along with his information counterpart, Mr Patrick Ukah, said the last outbreak of

Lassa in the state was in 2011, at a clinic in Warri, adding that the patient died.

Dr Azinge said government had taken proactive measures to monitor its borders with neighbouring states, especially on the local government bordering Edo and Rivers states where the disease was reported.

Also, a public health official in Enugu State, Dr Okechukwu Ossai, said the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent the outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.

Ossai, who is the Director of Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday, in Enugu.

The state government’s commitment is coming just after the Federal Government, on Friday, confirmed the death of 40 people out of the 86 reported cases of Lassa fever outbreak in 10 states of the federation.

The states are Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo.

Expert advises govt on quarantine facilities CONSULTANT Physician and Geriatrician, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Ogugua Osi-Ogbu, has advised governments to provide quarantine facilities in public hospitals to avoid rejection of patients

with suspected Lassa fever cases.

Dr Osi-Ogbu, who also doubles as the Coordinator, Lassa fever Prevention Control in the hospital, gave the advice in an interview with the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, on Monday.

The expert noted that the absence of quarantine facilities in public hospitals increased the risk of others getting infected by

Red alert in Yobe FOLLOWING the recent outbreak of Lassa fever in some parts of the country, the Jigawa State Ministry of Health has organised a special training for health workers at all levels in the state.

The state director of Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Kabiru Ibrahim while speaking to the Nigerian Tribune in Dutse, on Monday, said “up-to-date, there is no report of any case of the disease in this state.”

Dr Ibrahim explained “the Ministry of Health

AS part of measures to contain Lassa fever outbreak in Taraba State, the Ministry of Urban Development, on Monday, commenced house- to- house sensitisation of residents in Jalingo on personal hygiene and environmental sanitation.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Major Abba said the aim of the exercise was to stop the spread of the disease, which he said, had so far killed three persons in the state, with over 40 across the country within the last two weeks.

No case in Delta —Govt

Health workers receive special training in Jigawa Adamu Amadu - Dutse

Taraba govt sensitises residents on cleanliness

became proactive immediately it received reports of the outbreak of the disease in some parts of the country.”

The primary health care director stated further that “the ministry organised a special training for medical personnel on how to handle the case to avoid the spread of the disease.”

He also said his department embarked on a massive public enlightenment on the prevention and symptoms of the disease and what to do before arriving at health post.

According to him, “we sponsored a lot of jingles

on enlightenment and awareness campaign on the outbreak of the disease, preventive measures and its symptoms on the radio and television stations in the state for the general public, especially the rural dwellers.”

In a related development, health workers in Yobe have been put on red alert for patients with high grade fever and other symptoms of Lassa fever.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Bello Kawuwa, stated this on Monday, in Damaturu, at the inauguration of the Task Force on Immunisation and Pri-

mary Healthcare.

He charged members of the public and medical practitioners to observe universal precautions in handling excreta, vomits and other fluids of patients.

The commissioner assured that Yobe government would liaise with other stakeholders in handling any possible outbreak “like we partnered during the Ebola threat.”

Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, said the reconstituted task force headed by his deputy, Abubakar Aliyu, would coordinate immunisation activities in the state.

the virus.

She said those not infected by the virus were at risk, through direct contact with body fluid, blood, urine and vomitus of infected persons, hence the need to quarantine suspected cases.

“Humans can infect other humans when we touch directly any of the body fluid of an infected person, the blood, the urine, the vomitus of an infected person, it contaminate the skin and transmits the virus.

“It could also be acquired when infected rats contaminate our food, drinking water, cooking utensils with both their excreta and urine.

“Also a bite from infected rats and those who eat rats as food are at high risk,’’ she said.

Osi-Ogbu explained that Lassa fever was in a group of diseases called viral haemorrhagic fevers, acquired from animals with zoonotic infection, such as rats with multiple breast tissues, a very long snout,

long tail and hairless which could be found in bushes.

She said Lassa fever presents similar symptoms like malaria and typhoid, adding that when acquired the virus has an incubation period of six to 21 days before its manifestation.

She noted that about 20 per cent of persons who acquire the virus manifest the features of the infection whereas 80 per cent might have the virus and have no symptoms.

The coordinator described the features had a high grade fever of 38 degrees centigrade, headaches, body pains, which usually manifest in the first week of the illness.

She added that subsequently patients develop sore throat, cough, bleeding from the skin, develop seizures, also go into comma.

She stated that the late stage of the diseases, which could lead to death when a patient develops multiorganic failure could affect the liver and kidney, among others tissues.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Communal clash: Tsaragi community rejects commission of inquiry

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saragi community in Kwara State has rejected the Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government to look into the bloody clash between the community and Share community.

The spokesman of the community, Dr Abdullahi Idris, made this known at the weekend in Ilorin at a news conference.

He said the community has no confidence in the commission.

“We wish to reiterate that the Nupes of Tsaragi have no confidence and trust in the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up

by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

“We have, therefore, instituted an action in court to challenge the governor’s action.

“The Nupes in Tsaragi community and Nupes in general are law-abiding. We in Tsaragi are committed to peaceful coexistence with our Share Igbomina speaking neighbours,” Idris added.

According to Idris, there had been four commissions/panels on Share/Tsaragi boundary dispute since the Justice Mamman Nasir report of 1976; all of which were rejected by Share community.

He alleged that having failed to achieve their mission through lawful means, Share community resorted to the use of

force, sometimes invading Nupe villages with armed youths.

Idris said the invaders

have all along been ordering Nupe villagers to leave their abode or admit to being part of Share

ness on the part of Share youths were what led to the outbreak of the communal clash of December

Landlords and landladies in Olonde Estate, Anwo community, Ologuneru, Ibadan, Oyo State, during their second fund-raising, on Saturday.

19/20, 2015.

Idris accused Governor Ahmed, who is an indigene of Share, of being behind the latest crisis.

But in a swift reaction to the Tsaragi community’s press briefing, Governor Ahmed absolved himself of any partisanship or partiality in the crisis.

In a release by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, the governor maintained that his intervention and appeal to stakeholders was to ensure that both sides learnt to cohabit peacefully.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Ahmed swore to an oath of office as the governor of the state to be impartial to all, irrespective of ethnic, religious beliefs and other persuasions.’’

He added that the panel was set up to find lasting solution to the crisis in order to sustain Kwara as State of Harmony.

Olonde Alatare solicits assistance for infrastructural development

By Gbenga Olumide

RESIDENTS of Olonde Alatare Community at Ologun-Eru, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, have solicited the support of well-meaning Nigerians on infrastructural development of the area.

The appeal was made by the Chairman of Olonde

Alatare Community Landlords Association, Pa Samson Alonge, at a fund raising/get-together organised by members of the community at the weekend.

In his address on the occasion, Pa Alonge said the community had written series of letter to both

Edo communities lament 5-year blackout Ten communities in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State have lamented the absence of electricity in their area in the last five years.

The communities: Egbetta, Utese, Uhen, Ogbese, Olumoye, Ugbuwe, Aghanokpe, Okodo, and Ugbodo said despite the numerous representations made to the federal and state governments on the matter their condition had remained unchanged.

The youth president of Utese communities, Mr. Terry Ebose, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists.

According to him, the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) systematically denied the communities electricity, a

District in Ifelodun Local Government Area.

He submitted that the alleged acts of lawless-

situation that had not been rectified by the successor company, the Benin Electricity Distributor Company (BEDC).

“Some years back, PHCN had complained that their installation that supplied electricity to the communities from Okada was having challenges.

“We started experiencing epileptic power supply after which we were completely cut off from electricity supply.

“We have made efforts to contact the distribution company to come to our aid but all our efforts have not yielded result,’’ he said.

According to him, BEDC has refused to restore electricity to them based on the claim that they owed the company over N900,000.

‘’When we heard this, we were astounded and we went head to do our own calculation. We discovered that we were owing only N349,000, which we agreed to pay after being connected, despite the estimated billings because we made use of bulk bill meters.’’

Also commenting, the Chairman, Egetta, Community Development Association, Mr Austin Ediae, said that there was no basis for the ordeal the communities have been subjected to.

He, however, called on the state government to come to their rescue as it had become very difficult for community members to carry out most of their businesses without elec-

the state and local governments about the condition of their roads and a bridge that links Alatare with Olonde Estate, adding that “this has not yielded positive result.”

He continued: “We have been abandoned by the authorities concerned which prompted our action to embark on some projects that will improve our standard of living like rehabilitation of roads, pro-

curement of electric poles and cables, transformer, among others.

“I am appealing to you, particularly those of you who are well-to-do, to come and assist us. We have a lot of ongoing projects. We cannot do them alone, that is why we are soliciting your support.”

Pa Alonge also used the occasion to advise members of the community who are always absent at col-

lective assignments, especially during environmental sanitation exercises to have a change of heart.

Speaking on behalf of the Anwo family, the Baale Eleyele, Chief Y.Y. Balogun, assured of their support to members of the community, adding that they are ready to contribute to any project that will bring development to the area.

Oluwo advocates use of locally made products The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akande Telu I, has said it was imperative for Nigerians to start promoting locally produced commodities to boost the nation’s economy, adding that the development would create more job opportunities and increase internally generated revenue (IGR) across the states.

The monarch made the assertion while addressing journalists at a press conference in his palace, Iwo, Osun State.

Oba Akande observed that it was unfortunate that Nigerians have forgotten their origin, adding that it was high time

“we recognised where we started from, before the exploration of oil in the country.”

He contended that the nation’s economy would improve, if the Nigerian pilgrimage boards ensure that the over five million Nigerians who undertake the annual religious exercise wear locally made fabrics.

According to him: “If over 70 million Nigerians can settle for Nigeria-made fabrics yearly, I believe it would boost the nation’s IGR and promote our culture. Our nation is rich despite our dependence on oil to the detriment of other mineral and natural

resources.

“I implore both Christian and Muslim pilgrims’ boards to effect changes by promoting our culture outside the country. For example, if Nigerians can use our Adire to make hijab, jalamia and the plain white for scarfs, no doubt, this will go a long way in boosting the nation’s economy.”

The royal father also urged the Federal Government to fund textile production, agriculture and human development programmes, adding that the effort of local dyers and weavers are being discouraged by youths who prefer foreign fashion and styles.

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Nigeria loses N78bn annually to cyber crime —Minister Clement Idoko - Abuja

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HE Minister of Communications, Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, on Monday disclosed that Nigeria loses about N78 billion yearly to activities of cyber criminals.

This is even as the minister revealed that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) currently contributes up to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the sector has created over 10 million jobs in the past 10 years.

Shittu spoke in Abuja at the opening of a capacity enhancement and sustainability workshop for 10 Nigerian Centres of Excellence held at the National Universities Commission (NUC).

He challenged universities in Nigeria to research more in the area of ICT in order to come up with enduring solution to the menace of cyber crime that has given the country negative image.

He said: “It is worthy of note to mention here that Nigeria currently loses about N78 billion yearly to activities of cyber criminals whose major targets are financial institutions and government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as affiliates.

“I would want to use this forum to appeal to all the universities present to take this as one of their major challenges to breed talents who can design software and programme to check the activities of these cyber hoodlums.”

He implored the universities to utilise ICT to enhance the quality of research to improve the quality of life and sustain the well-being of the people.

“ICT remains a veritable tool for any economic growth, social emancipation, health, agriculture, educational and tourism development, as well as globalisation initiatives.

“As at today, the Nigerian youth accounts for about 43 per cent of the estimated population figure of 178.5 million. Sadly, about 25 per cent are either unemployed or underemployed because their education and skill training are inadequate to meet the demands of modern time work place challenges,” he said.

The minister said that

President Muhammadu Buhari was planning to lay the foundation for

sustainable growth of the sector by improving on the quality of educa-

tion in Nigeria universities.

He said this was evident

from the percentage that he earmarked for education in the 2016 budget.

From left, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie; Director, Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Ngozi Azodoh; Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and others, at a workshop for African Centres of Excellence, in Abuja, on Monday. PHOTO: NAN.

You can’t approve NCC budget, Senator Adeola tells finance minister THE Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Solomon Adeola, has faulted the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on her submission that Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), among other revenue generating agencies, are to submit their “budgets for approval.”

Reacting to the briefing of the minister after the first Federal Executive Council

meeting in the year, Senator Adeola said under the NCC Act, only the National Assembly is empowered to consider and approve its budget, stressing that any attempt by the minister to approve the budget of NCC in particular would amount to a breach of the law and an encroachment on the functions of the National Assembly.

“I am surprised that the minister was quoted as in-

cluding NCC among other agencies it would require to submit budgets for her and other supervising ministers to approve. As well intentioned as this may seem in the effort to generate revenue and block leakages, it is a flagrant contravention of the NCC Act as well as usurping the power of the National Assembly to approve the budget of NCC,” he stated in a statement signed by his Me-

World Bank assisted ACE project in Nigeria varsities won’t fail—FG Clement Idoko - Abuja

THE Federal Government has assured the World Bank and other participating African countries that the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) project established in 10 universities in Nigeria will not fail to realise its objectives.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who gave the assurance while declaring open a workshop on capacity and sustainability of the ACE project, on Monday, in Abuja, said with the majority of the centres in Nigeria, it would be obvious that if Nigeria’s ACEs fail, the entire ACE project would crumble.

It will be recalled that Nigeria universities had in 2013, won 10 Centres of Excellence out of the total number of 22 ACEs approved by the World Bank

for the West and Central African sub-region, which attracted over $70 million into Nigerian university system.

Adamu, said the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education would continue to work hard to ensure the sustainability of the project beyond the initial cycle that ends in 2018.

He, however, called on the stakeholders to use the advantage to turn around the nation’s university system, particularly in the area of research towards addressing multiple challenges that continue to confront the nation.

He also called on the universities to explore and exploit new sources of funding to finance the search for excellence.

Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Pro-

fessor Julius Okojie, in his remark, said the ACE project was designed to promote regional specialisation among universities in the participating countries, to address common regional development challenges and strengthen their capacities to deliver high quality training and applied research.

Okojie also disclosed that the commission would soon commence enforcement that all Nigerian universities be linked to the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), which is hosted at NUC as part of initiative to reduce spending of the universities on bandwidth.

“For instance, Nigerian universities are spending an average of N60 million for 155mbps of bandwidth when the NgREN offers the same services at less then N26 million,” he said.

dia Adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro.

The Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications referred the minister to Sections 17-21 of the NCC Act that dwell on the financial provisions for NCC, adding that the only fund NCC is mandated to pay to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation is “all monies accruing from the sale of spectrum” as contained in Section 17(3).

While asserting that NCC is a semi-autonomous commission in carrying out its functions, Senator Adeola said the finance minister only comes in if the NCC wants to borrow money, adding that Section 25(2) of the Act expressly forbids even the supervising minister from undue interference thus: “In execution of his functions and relationship with the Commission, the minister shall at all times ensure that the independence of the Commission, in regard to the discharge of its functions and operations under this Act, is protected and not compromised in any manner whatsoever.”

The APC senator said the proposal of the minister to vet the income and expenditure of NCC was a breach of Section 25(2).

However, Senator Adeola who was the Chairman of the House of Representative Public Accounts Committee in the Seventh National Assembly supported the need to audit all revenue generating agencies.

Ogun govt denies shift in education system THE Ogun State government said on Monday that it had no plan to revert to its old shift system to decongest some schools across the state.

Mrs Modupe Mujota, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, made the clarification in Abeokuta during inspection of schools on the first day of resumption for another academic term.

Mujota said however that a number of measures and opportunities were being considered to ensure effective teaching and learning.

“As academic activities begins, I want to assure the students and teachers that measures have been put in place to ensure a hitch free academic activities,” she said.

During the tour, she also presented a wheelchair to 20-year-old physically challenged, Oluwaseun Adebiyi, a JSS 1 student of Ikija Grammar School, Abeokuta.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that schools across the state resumed for the second term after long Christmas and New Year break.

Akwa Ibom House extends LG tenure AKWA Ibom State House of Assembly, on Monday, passed a resolution extending the tenure of local government transition councils in the state by six months.

The extension, according to the resolution, will be effective from January 12, 2016.

The resolution followed a motion by the Leader of the House, Mr Udo Kerien (PDP), which was seconded

by Mr Asuquo Archbong (APC).

The motion called for the adoption of the report on the transition of the councils, submitted by the Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The House had dissolved into the Committee of the Whole to consider the report of the committee.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the present local government transition councils were inaugurated on July 12, 2015, by Governor Udom Emmanuel and their six months tenure would end on Tuesday.

After the adoption of the motion, the Speaker of the assembly, Mr Onofiok Luke, directed the Clerk of the House, Mrs Mandu Umoren, to communicate the resolution to the governor “for necessary action.”

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

foreig naffairs with seyi gesinde

08116954632 foreignnewseditor@gmail.com

Niger presidential candidate denied release from prison

H

AMA Amadou, a major opposition figure approved to stand in Niger’s February elections just two days ago, failed on Monday in an attempt to gain release from prison in a plea to the country’s appeals court, Reuters reported.

President Mahamadou Is-

Niger’s former Prime Minister Hama Amadou

Al-Qaeda threatens Saudis, US over execution of militants THE expert bomb-maker from al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, Ibrahim bin Hassan al-Asiri, has threatened Saudi Arabia and the United States, vowing revenge for the Saudi execution of several militants earlier this month in an audio recording released on Monday.

The Associated Press reported that al-Asiri said in a recording released by the group’s official media arm that the militants were executed because they fought “Crusaders” occupying the Arabian Peninsula. He vowed to continue battling America and said the Saudis will be dealt with in a “different way,” without elaborating.

“By God, we will not let you go as long as there is a pulsing vein in our body,” he said, addressing the Americans.

Al-Asiri is believed to have built the sophisticated bombs used in a failed attempt to bring down a U.S. passenger plane and a failed assassination attempt on Saudi Arabia’s then-deputy interior minister in 2009.

Saudi Arabia executed 47 people earlier this month, including several al-Qaida militants, in its largest mass execution since 1980.

A tourist boat is seen next to a group of 45 migrants intercepted aboard a makeshift boat around 60 miles off the coast as their rescue boat arrives at Arguineguin port in the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, Spain. PHOTO: REUTERS.

the president, was jailed in November for alleged participation in a baby trafficking ring upon return from a year-long exile. He has publicly denied the charges, which he says are politically motivated.

The opposition figure was among 15 candidates that Niger’s constitutional court

One dead, up to 5 missing from migrant boat — Italy coastguard THE body of a drowned woman was recovered and as many as five other migrants were missing after people smugglers threw them into the sea off the coast of southern Italy on Monday, a coastguard official said.

Thirty-seven Somali migrants who were aboard the boat either made it to shore safely or were scooped out of the water alive by rescuers, the coastguard said.

Reuters reported that the body of a woman in her 30s was recovered from the rocks along

the coast and a search was underway for five others who went missing after the smugglers threw them into the sea, the coastguard said.

The smugglers who had accompanied the migrants in the wooden vessel from Greece then escaped on a second boat, the official said.

The 37 survivors are all Somalis and include 35 women and two males, one of them a 10-year-old boy who was among five people hospitalised for hypothermia, the coastguard said.

approved on Saturday to stand in presidential elections in the uranium-producing West African country.

“With this rejection of conditional release, the regime succeeded with its first knock-out blow,” said Souley Oumara, his lawyer.

The appeals court did not give a reason for its decision, and Amadou can appeal to the supreme court. The government was not immediately available for comment.

Amadou’s lawyers were not present in court on Monday because Niger’s bar association called a one-day strike on Monday against what it sees as arbitrary detentions by the president’s secret service that have denied lawyers access to clients.

The country’s secret service, the General Directorate of the Documentation and Security of the State, had interrogated Amadou, as well as members of his party and other opposition figures.

“The DGDSE (secret service) cannot arrest and deny the right to a defence,” said Samna Daouda, the head of Niger’s bar association. “We must defend liberty and rights.”

Pistorius seeks to appeal against murder conviction THE South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is to seek an appeal against his conviction for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, BBC hs reported.

Pistorius killed Ms Steenkamp in February 2013 after firing four times through a locked toilet door.

A manslaughter verdict was overturned last month and a murder verdict introduced in its place.

The athlete’s defence has lodged

Oscar Pistorius

papers at the Constitutional Court, urging a review of his murder conviction.

otherNEWS

Mexico opens extradition proceedings of El Chapo to US MEXICO is starting the process to extradite the notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States, where he faces an array of charges linked to the hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin and other drugs he has shipped across the border.

According to VOA, the Mexican government had

soufou, a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in the fragile Sahara region, is expected to win a second term; but critics accuse him of becoming increasingly authoritarian, especially after uncovering what he described as an aborted coup in December.

Amadou, a one-time ally to

in the past rejected U.S. requests to turn over Guzman, but changed its stance after the drug kingpin escaped six months ago from one of its prisons for a second time before being recaptured in a shootout with authorities last Friday.

Interpol agents in Mexico went Sunday to the prison near Mexico City where he

El Chapo

is being held to deliver two extradition warrants.

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original fiveyear sentence in jail.

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in December that the lower court had not applied cor-

rectly the rule of dolus eventualis - whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

Last month, Justice Eric Leach said that having armed himself with a highcalibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die, especially given his firearms training.

Pistorius has always maintained he believed he was shooting at an intruder.

British rock icon, David Bowie, dies at 69 BRITISH rock music legend David Bowie is dead, VOA has reported.

On Friday, the iconic musician turned 69 and released Blackstar, his 25th album.

Inventive to the end, Bowie mixed rock and jazz on the album, which critics hailed as his best work in years.

His Facebook and Twitter accounts say he died peacefully Sunday “surrounded by

his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer.”

Bowie was known for his gender-bending dress and for his refusal to be pigeon-holed in any one musical genre, experimenting with glam rock, hard rock, dance, pop, soul and punk.

He shot to fame with 1969’s Space Oddity, the lyrics of which summed up the loneliness of the Cold War space

David Bowie

race and coincided with the Apollo landing on the moon: “Ground Control to Major Tom.

46

Tuesday, 12 January, 2016 Editor: Ganiyu Salman tribunesporteditor@yahoo.com 08053789060

Nwakali, Chukwueze

Avalon FC targets NNL slot

to sign Arsenal deal

C

APTAIN of the Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets which won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Kelechi Nwakali and his team-mate, Samuel Chukwueze will sign long-term contracts with English Premier League club Arsenal this month.

A top source informed africafootball.com: “The players’ visas to England are being processed and a party of seven including their legal guardians are expected this month in London to finalise their transfer to Arsenal.”

Both teenagers are expected to later be given professional contracts by The Gunners when they have clocked 18 years.

Their transfers are being handled by the powerful Stellar Group, who manage such top stars like Gareth Bale of Real Madrid.

Midfielder Nwakali, it will be recalled, also clinched the adidas Golden Ball as the Most Valuable Player of the U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Last year, he underwent trials at another EPL club Manchester city, who already has elder brother, Chidiebere Nwakali on their books.

Nwakali has since declared Arsenal re-

Nwakali

mains his dream club because he believes in its attractive passing game will suit his own style of play.

However, negotiations between City and the youngster’s agents broke down over the transfer fee.

Right winger Chukwueze was one of the outstanding players as Nigeria won a record fifth U-17 World Cup last November.

Women’s U-17 W-Cup elimination:

Flamingoes not super —Namibia coach Return leg is mere formality —Nikyu NAMIBIA’S head coach, Mervin Mbakera has declared that Nigeria’s Flamingoes are in for a tough time when they visit Windhoek next week for the return leg tie of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup qualifiers.

Rasheedat Ajibade’s brace and a goal each from Cynthia Aku and Peace Efih ensured that the Flamigoes eased past the Baby Gladiators last weekend in Abuja.

Mbakera stated that the Abuja game has served as an eye opener for her girls to know how to hold the Flamingoes at home, adding that flaws noticed will be corrected before the decider.

“I will praise my team because they fought well, even though their

efforts could not yield them a good result. But, we will not lose in the second leg.

“We have seen our mistakes, and we will go back home to correct them and prevent the Flamingoes from beating us in the second leg.

The Nigerian team is not super.

“The goals we conceded were due to minor mistake caused by my players,” he said.

Meanwhile, Flamingoes’ head coach, Bala Nkiyu believes the January 22 tie is as good as a formality game.

“The Namibians came to play defensive and I believe it worked perfectly well as they did not concede many goals.

“However, as their coach has

promised to open up the game in Namibia aimed at achieving a reversal in fortune we are going to daze them with basketful of goals.

“I think in summary they are now outsiders as far as the 2016 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Jordan is concerned.

“The Namibian coach should learn to admit superiority where one exists and be man enough to own up to overwhelming defeat.

“I learnt he is still an active player back home in Nambia, that is excusable as he does not talk like a core professional.

“Talk is quite cheap but I assure him that we will beat his side right there at his backyard to prove once more that we are superior,” the for-

mer Niger Tornadoes coach told supersport.com.

Nkiyu stated that his counterpart, Mbakera was not fair to say Nigeria paraded overage players.

AVALON Football Club of Offa is planning to take the 2015/2016 Nationwide League Division One by storm as it desperately seek a National League place.

The Coordinator of the Offa Local Government-based side, Azeez Omoluabi said that the team is banking on the support of the owner, Alhaji Tajudeen Owoyemi, the people of Offa and Kwara State at large, to make the Division One campaign a fruitful one.

Avalon FC spent one season in each of the divisions the participated in, from a non-league side, up to the Division One cadre, which it secured last season against all odds.

The team, which was launched in 2011 entered Division III in the 2012/13 season, Division II in the 2013/2014 season, and Division One in the 2014/2015 season.

Omoluabi commended the owner of the team for displaying total commitment to the cause of the team, and by extension, the youth of the state who are using the team as a platform to stardom.

He said that the team, which is seen as a replacement for teams that had previously placed the name of Offa on football map in the country, like Okin Biscuit FC, Offa United and Agbaakin FC, is being used to reduce crime, encourage and empower the youth in the community.

Omoluabi expressed optimism that the team will gain promotion to the National League at the end of the forthcoming season.

He added that the home ground of the team, Oloffa stadium, is receiving the needed attention ahead of the season.

NBBF’s stakeholders forum holds Feb 3 THIS year’s Annual Stakeholders Consultative forum of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) would hold on Wednesday, February 3, at the National Institute for Sport Auditorium, National Stadium, Abuja.

According to a statement from the NBBF secretariat, delegates which include corporate spon-

sors, team owners, club chairmen, club secretaries as well players, coaches, technical officials are expected to attend the forum billed to begin at 9am.

The stakeholders forum will also feature the pre-season seminar for all basketball officials that is, referees, table officials and technical (match) commissioners.

47

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Tuesday, 12 January, 2016

Sanchez can’t play against Liverpool

Messi has no rival

—Wenger

ARSENAL boss, Arsene Wenger will not risk Alexis Sanchez against Liverpool tomorrow in a Premier League fixture, but says the winger is “very close” to a return to action.

The Chile international has not featured since November’s 1-1 draw at Norwich City due to a hamstring problem.

In his absence Arsenal has moved top of the Premier League and progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup and his imminent return is sure to give its title hopes a huge boost.

Wenger confirmed that Sanchez will not be ready in time for the trip to Anfield, but the Frenchman hopes to have him back for Sunday’s meeting with Stoke City.

“We should have [Mesut] Ozil and [Mathieu] Flamini available [for Liverpool].

[David] Ospina will be tested and for Sanchez I think the Liverpool game will come too soon,” Wenger told reporters.

“He has a chance for Stoke and he is going very well. [Tomas] Rosicky is back in full training so the situation is getting better. “[Sanchez] has always asked me to play but if you listen to him he can always play even when he’s injured.

“We try to be cautious but with a muscle injury you never know exactly how big the risk is. What is for sure, he’s very close,” Wenger stated.

—Stoichkov F

Messi

GARETH Bale insists he is happy at Real Madrid “for the moment”.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a return to the Premier League, with Manchester United reportedly leading the race.

“I’m happy at the moment,” Bale told The Daily Telegraph.

“You can never predict what happens in the future, but I’m enjoying my football at the moment so I’ll keep going.”

Bale admits it was “disappointing” to see Rafa Benitez sacked last Mon-

The Bulgarian scored 118 goals in 254 appearances for Barcelona, and 38 in 84 appearances for his country.

“Messi no longer competes with anyone, he is a myth,” Stoichkov told Barca TV. “No one can doubt that Messi should win the Ballon d’Or. I think it’s impossible that someone can overcome him.

“I doubt there will be another player like Messi.”

Stoichkov said that the only issue with this year’s awards was that Messi’s team-mate Luis Suarez was not among the final three which comprised Neymar and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside Messi.

Messi, it will be recalled, before Monday night’s victory had clinched the Ballon d’or between 2009 and 2012.

Buhari receives Glo-CAF Platinum Award Leon Usigbe -Abuja

I’m happy at Real —Bale

ORMER FC Barcelona forward and twotime FIFA World Player of the Year runner-up, Hristo Stoichkov believes there is no one capable of competing with Lionel Messi.

The Argentinean forward has enjoyed another stellar 12 months with Barcelona, helping the Spanish side to La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles before his emergence as the Ballon d’Or winner for the record fifth time on Monday night.

Stoichkov played for Barcelona in two separate stints and took out the European Footballer of the Year award in 1994, while he also finished second in what is now known as the Ballon d’Or to Marco van Basten in 1992 and Romario in 1994.

Bale day but the forward, who scored a hat-trick in Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge - a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna - is buoyed by his new manager’s pledge to show “the same affection” to him as Benitez did.

“Obviously that was nice of him to say,” said the Wales international.

“We had a chat when he first came in. And no matter what, I’ll give 100 per cent on the football pitch.

“He’s [Zidane] a legend, not just of the club but world football.”

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in his office, received the Glo/CAF Platinum Award for Good Leadership which was conferred on him last week in Abuja, in recognition of his support for football which helped Nigeria to win two major international tournaments last year.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, he noted a love relationship between him and the game of football, recalling that Nigeria first won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 in China, when

he was military head of state.

“Thirty years after the first victory, Nigeria won again last year. What a fabulous coincidence. I think football loves me,” the President said.

He thanked the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for honouring him with the award.

Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung who had last week at the 2015 Glo-CAF Awards gala in Abuja, received the award on behalf of the President, presented it to him at the Presidential Villa.

Pre-CHAN friendly: Eagles beat

Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 NIGERIA’S Super Eagles will be at this year’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda, with an unbeaten record after they defeated the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 on Monday in Pretoria, South Africa in a final warm-up match.

The match hero turned out to be El-Kanemi Warriors midfielder, Ifeanyi Matthew, whose solitary strike in the 45th minute gave the home-based Eagles victory.

Last year, the Nigeria ‘B’ team beat Burkina Faso 2-0, before they held their West African rivals to a

goalless draw in Ouagadougou to qualify for their second CHAN. It will be recalled that the Eagles last week were held to a 1-1 draw by another CHAN-bound team, Palancas Negras of Angola.

The Sunday Oliseh boys will fly out to Kigali on Friday while they will open their 2016 CHAN campaign against the Menas of Niger Republic in Kigali on January 18.

Nigeria will also battle with Tunisia and Guinea in the group phase of the competition, which kicks off on Saturday.

Matthew

In his remarks, Dalung observed: “Under your administration, we won the FIFA U-17 World Cup and we also won the U-23 African Cup of Nations.

“We have had very good fortune in football since you came to office and the sports family is very happy,” the Minister of Sports told President Buhari while presenting the award to him.

The Glo/CAF Awards are held annually to reward deserving players, coaches, managers and supporters of African football.

SIDELINES

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TUESDAY, 12 JANUARY, 2016

A suspect, Johnson Ede with handcuffs jumped off the car conveying him and five others to a Magistrates court in Lagos. His comrades in 'crime' who summoned courage to appear have since been granted bail. Perhaps, even if Ede is free of vandalism and stealing charges, will his car drama not lead him back to prison?

Wenger tips Ozil for next Ballon d'Or

Messi wins fifth Ballon d'Or

By Ganiyu Salman

F

C Barcelona star, Lionel Messi on Monday night clinched the 2015 Ballon d'Or. The Argentina captain became the first player to have won the prestigious award meant for the FIFA Men's World Player of the Year five times.

Messi had won the award in 2009 through 2012 before he reclaimed the crown won by arch rival, Cristiano Ronaldo in the last two years.

He had 41.33 per cent of the vote as Ronaldo finished second with 27.76 per cent, while Neymar had 7.86 per cent.

"It's a very special moment for me. It's incredible that it's my fifth. It's more than anything I dreamed of as a kid. I want to thank those that voted for me and my team-mates as without them nothing would be possible. Finally I want to thank football and what it's brought me - the bad and the good as

it's made me grow as a person," said Messi after receiving the award on Monday night.

Interestingly, his manager at Barcelona, Luis Enrique emerged the FIFA's Men's Football Coach of the Year at the expense of Pep Guardiola and Jorge Sampaoli.

Enrique who enjoyed eight successful years at Nou Camp as a player, guided Barca to a memorable treble last season.

Enrique had coached Celta Vigo before taking charge of Barca and he led

to club to the La Liga title, Copa del Rey success and Champions League glory. The 45-year-old tactician later added the UEFA Super Cup with victory over Sevilla as well as the FIFA Club World Cup. American Carli Lloyd claimed the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award after starring for the United States in last year's World Cup triumph.

Lloyd's 13-minute hat trick in the final - including a shot from the halfway line in the 5-2 rout of

Japan - saw USA secure its third FIFA Women's World Cup title in Canada.

The 33-year-old player beat Aya Miyama of Japan and Germany's Celia Sasic to the award.

Another American, Jill Ellis was named FIFA Women's Football Coach of the Year.

Ellis, it will be recalled, led the American team to success at Canada 2015.

Atletico Goianiense's Wendell Lira won the goal of the year award (Puskas award) for a spectacular overhead kick in Brazil's

Goiano state league game against Goianesia.

Four-time African Player of the Year, Samuel Eto'o was also honoured at the colourful gala as he presented each member of the FIFA FIFPro World XI named with awards.

The World XI has goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer, defenders: Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, Marcelo, midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Paul Pogba, Luka Modric and forwards: Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.

ARSENAL Manager, Arsene Wenger admits he would like to see Mesut Ozil win the Ballon d’Or next year, but feels individual awards in football are “not logical”.

The Arsenal boss had tipped Lionel Messi to win the 2015 award following his stellar year with Barcelona, which has come to pass.

Though, Wenger has previously criticised the award, insisting that a player could damage his career by focusing on individual prizes, and reiterated his stance ahead of the 2015 ceremony.

Asked if Ozil could win the award next year, Wenger replied: “I wish, as I told you I am not a big fan of that [award].

"What is important is we are a team sport, and it’s not logical to me to just encourage individual effort.

"We live already in a society where it’s all about individualism.

Coming from a team sport going to that as well is to me a little bit contradictory to what is the route of our sport."

... As Argentina coach rules him out of Rio Olympics ARGENTINA star, Lionel Messi will not play at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, national team head coach, Gerardo Martino has confirmed.

The Barcelona forward, who on Monday night , won a fifth Ballon d'Or crown will focus on the Copa America in June before getting a break ahead of the 2016-17 season, rather than

turn out at Rio Olympics which take place in August.

Messi was part of the Argentina team that won a gold medal in Beijing in 2008, but Martino does not feel it would be wise to select him as one of the country's three over-23 players later this year.

"Exposing Leo by using him in another competition after all the football he has

played would be overkill, in my opinion," the former Barcelona boss told Clarin.

"It would come back to haunt us in terms of what we have in store in the second half of the year.

"Common sense dictates that he and other players in his position should only feature in the Copa America.

"Considering the amount of football in their legs, because many of our most important players reach the latter stages of international competitions having played a lot of games, I think it is only logical to take the weight of having to play in both the Copa America and the Olympics off their shoulders."

Ozil PREMIERSHIP FIXTURES Tuesday, January 12 Aston Villa vs C/Palace 8:45pm B/mouth vs West Ham 8:45pm Newcastle vs Man Utd 8:45pm Wednesday, January 13 Chelsea vs West Brom Man City vs Everton S/pton vs Watford Stoke City vs Norwich Swansea vs Sunderland Liverpool vs Arsenal Tottenham vs Leicester

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. 12/1/2016.

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