Wednesday August 30 2017

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The Oracle SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

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Today Today

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Buhari sends army to SE

VOX POPULI SACRUM

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30, 2017

ISSN: 2545-5869

•Nigerians commend, criticise President’s ‘hardline’ speech •Nigeria’s unity is negotiable, say Dr. Egonte, others

‘...Will address infrastructure deficiency’

From TONY AILEMEN (Abuja), BONIFACE OKORO (Umuahia), NATH OMAME (PH), COLLINS UGHALAA (Owerri), JONATHAN AWANYAI (Asaba) and CHRISTIAN EZE (Yenagoa)

From TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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s if to make good his threat to deal ruthlessly with troublemakers undermining the “settled, non-negotiable” unity of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered troops to be moved to the South East and other “trouble spots” in the country.

The indication to this effect emerged on Tuesday when the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olorunishaki spoke with State House Correspondents shortly after the Service Chiefs met with the President in his official residence.

Speaking on security in the South East and the alleged secret army of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Nnamdi Kanu, the Army Chief said all identified security threats were treated one after the other--from terrorism to kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers clash, to secessionist agitations in the South East and any other part of the country.

The deployment of troops to the South East in peacetime Nigeria is coming barely two days after President Buhari, back in the country after a three-month medical vacation in Europe, made a national radio and television broadcast that was remarkable for its combativeness.

In the barely 5-minute broadcast, the President had declared: “In the course of my stay in the United Kingdom, I have been kept in daily touch with events at home. Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to no-

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•Vice President Osinbajo welcoming President Buhari from his medical vacation in London

resident Muhammadu Buhari will ensure that infrastructure deficiency in the South East is addressed before the end of his tenure, Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President has said.

Adesina stated this while receiving a coalition of southeast youths who stormed the Aso Rock Villa gate to declare support for Buhari, on Tuesday.

According to him: “The roads in the region will be fixed, the second Niger Bridge will be done, everything, infrastructure, positions, offices, all that the centre needs to do for the region, the South East region will get its own fair share.”

“On behalf of President Muhammadu Okechukwu Buhari, I receive this letter and I say thank you all,” Adesian added He stated that the fact that a coalition from the South East region has come to mount this solidarity rally for him is very significant because “some mischief makers always say that the South East region is not with the President; that is not true.”

He noted that South Easterners have always supported the President adding that “ in the South East region that he was given the name Okechukwu during the campaign, it was in the South East in Abia precisely that Eze Ikonne gave him a traditional title. So, we know that every part of this country approves the leadership of President Muhammadu Okechukwu Buhari”

Nnamdi Kanu visits Mbakwe’s grave

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

NEWS

Buhari

tice that some of the comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far.

“In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analysed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united.

“Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood.”

Referring obliquely to the quit notice given to the Igbo to leave the north on or before October 1 or face the consequences, the President said: “Every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.”

Speaking on mobilization of soldiers to the South East, Olorunishaki declared that the President had given the Military clear instructions, which must be carried out.

“Every security issue, like I said, has been treated and we are going to enhance are operations in all the areas we need to do that. Like I said, he has given the necessary directives which will be carried out by the military and the security agencies,” the Chief of Army Staff said.

He disclosed that the meeting, which lasted for three hours was used to update the President on all security issues around the country, “within the country and outside the country where our troops are” “Of course we have just updated him because he is aware of what’s been happening. He has been receiving regular briefings from the acting president and he has also been going through the print media and electronic media to follow the happenings in the country,” he added. n”After the meeting, he has directed on some areas we should look at so as to enhance our operations in the country.

“In his address, he talked about the unity of the nation which is non-negotiable. We have all been fully instructed to ensure that that directive is carried out to the letter.

“He also directed that we must ensure that the life and property of the citizens are protected and we must make sure that we secure the whole nation and also that troops that are outside carry out their jobs effectively.

“On the Boko Haram issue, you all know it is an asymmetric warfare. It is not that Boko Haram has stepped up their game; it is just the issue of suicide bombing that has been the problem and of course we also working with the security agencies and the intelligence agencies to make sure that we address that menace.”

Meanwhile Buhari’s hardline stance, in his broadcast, on calls for

... Health impacted speech

Continued from Pg 1 restructuring and even secession has drawn reactions from a cross section of the public.

In his reaction, the National Coordinator, Igbo Society Coalition (ICSCO) Mr. Obasi Igwe said: “It’s contradictory for him to maintain that Nigeria’s unity or political future is non-negotiable since it is only through negotiations and peaceful dialogue that those grievances can be properly addressed for the peace and development of the country,” adding: “Using the military in solving civilian/political problems is one of the issues that Nigerians are insisting should be discussed in view of notions of partiality or impartiality by those agencies or aspects thereof in the course of the discharge of their functions.”

Chief Mike Ahamba, Buhari’s former attorney said: “If he met with Ojukwu and something was said, then he is entitled to make reference to it when he wants to, and if you want to deny it you would have to call Ojukwu. If he has a duty to disclose it then it should be taken into consideration, but that is not to be taken as a decision made binding on behalf of the entire Igbo nation.

But it is a point to be taken into consideration in the course of a discussion or negotiation.”

On his part, Chief Nengi James, Chairman, Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, Bayelsa chapter said in as much as our union in Nigeria was not out of mutual consent, what is appropriate for Nigeria now is devolution of powers.

“Nigeria should remain as Nigeria, but we want integral powers to exist independently. Powers should shut down from the center, so the center should be left with less power so that we can move forward as a country.

“So negotiable or nonnegotiable, the Nigeria state should understand that the federating units need to work together with the centre,” he contended.

A university don, Dr. Samuel Egonte of the Department of Political Science in Delta State University disagreed with the President’s statement that Nigeria’s unity “is settled and not negotiable.”

The University lecturer who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Oracle Today added that Buhari and Ojukwu alone cannot decide the fate of 180 million Nigerians.

Egonte opined that the phrase “Nigeria’s Unity not negotiable is not new; it is an age-long and overused phrase by most political leaders in Nigeria.” He added that the slogan has failed the test of time.

“It is time for us therefore to go to the other side of the current bargain of “non-negotiable” in finding solution to the peculiar and perilous challenge that may likely put Nigeria asunder sooner than expected by exploring the benefits of “negotiating the unity” of this geographical enterprise called Nigeria,” he said.

In his own contribution, Ralph Egbu, a former Secretary to Abia State Government and an APC chieftain was unequivocal that the broadcast fell short of expectation, arguing that there was no need for

FAMILY CHANGE OF NAME We the family of JOSEPH IFEDUBA formerly known and addressed as (1) MR JOSEPH IFEDUBA (2) MRS CHINWE IFEDUBA (3) NONSO THANKGOD IFEDUBA now wish to be known and addressed as (1) MR JOSEPH IFECHUKWU (2) MRS CHINWE IFECHUKWU (3) NONSO THANKGOD IFECHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

From TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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•Kanu with Mrs. Mbakwe. Story on Page 41

a broadcast.

“It is heart-warming that he is back and we hope that God will heal him permanently so that he can face the challenges of his office.

“All he said is something his aides should have prepared him to say at the airport on arrival. This is not an issue for broadcast,” Egbu noted, saying the broadcast lacked depth.

“When you want to do a broadcast, you do a broadcast for the nation, when you are talking on Boko Haram issue, you have statistics of what they are doing and what you want and, in fact, issue a new authority as somebody who has been away,” he added.

Egbu said the President should have spoken on issues of economic direction, infrastructural turnaround and restructuring, stressing that the clamour for restructuring was “becoming louder.”

He said the President should not have used words like “irresponsible” when addressing citizens, whether they are deviants or not.

“You can acknowledge that there people who may not be flowing in the national mood; that you will work hard to bring them to see the need to tow the line of national cohesion,” he said.

Similarly, Barrister Pedro Azuogu, Abia State Chairman, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) queried if the President maintains that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable, “how come he cannot bring equity to the ground?”

“The opposite of non-negotiability is equity. So, in the absence of equity, I think that unity can be negotiated. So, I am not comfortable with that non-negotiability of unity of Nigeria. For me, it needs to be

discarded, it needs to be taken off our national dictionary,” Azuogu insisted.

With regard to restructuring, he said the President danced around the contentious issue.

“Restructuring, to the best of my knowledge, was inserted expressly in APC manifesto. So, for them to have come into power and lost touch with it is very, very disheartening,” he said.

Majority of the reactions from residents of Rivers State on the barely six minutes broadcast by President, Mohammadu Buhari, say they were disappointed that he did not specifically address the burning issues of restructuring of the country and the devolution of power to the state.

However, respondents commended the president for declaring that Nigerians can live in peace and earn legitimate incomes anywhere they choose to reside in the country. The respondents want the president to do more than the assurance he gave in his national broadcast by deploying men of the Nigerian Police, the army, and other security agencies to identified flash points to protect those perceived to be targets by other ethnic nationalities, or any group of people in the country.

Executive Director of Voters Network, Kingsley Adonis Pepple, stated that the president’s declaration that Nigerians can live in any part of the country that they choose to live was presidential: “President Buhari has calmed frayed nerves and the tension that has been building up in the country. The threat given to the Igbos in the North to quit the North by the Arewa Youths has been vigorously punctured by the president’s broadcast.”

he need for President Muhammadu Buhari to apply caution in his approach to work has been advanced as one of the reasons for the observed lapses in Monday’s presidential speech.

A Presidency source told The Oracle Today that the President has been advised not to overstress himself as he resumes duties.

Recall that the President had returned to the country on Saturday after over three-month medical trip to London.

It was observed that his first public broadcast to Nigerians was short and in some instances incomplete.

Some people also complained about the quality of its delivery, the range of issues the President discussed, the hardline, even combative, tone of the speech, which many had expected to be reconciliatory.

But, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina while reacting to questions about the speech, said the speech was one of the many actions Nigerians should expect from the President.

Speaking on what the President’s resumption will do to Nigerians, the presidential spokesman said, it means the president they voted into office, “who has been serving them and who was indisposed for some time and who came back on Saturday, is ready to continue with the work he has been doing.”

On Nigerians’ reaction to the President’s broadcast, which has been criticized for lacking in substance and quality delivery, Adesina said: “That broadcast was just one of many steps that are going to be taken in the days and weeks and months ahead so you can’t expect that everything will be said in one day.”

Another source who did not want his name in print, however, noted that it will be wrong to overload the President as he is still recuperating from his illness.

“Look, Nigerians should not over Labour this issue, this is a man who is just returning from medical treatments. We should give him time; there is no doubt that his ill-health may have impacted negatively on the speech,” he said.

Perhaps, also as part of the advice for caution, by his doctors, the President is currently operating from his residence instead of his official office.

His daily duties have also been scaled down as he needs to rest well, The Oracle Today also gathered at the Presidential Villa Tuesday.

Shortly after the broadcast on Monday, the President received briefing from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and on Tuesday, the President also met with Service Chiefs in his residence.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

NEWS ACROSS THE NATION Ambode tasks NBA on power devolution, fiscal federalism P

PDP wins Gombe bye-election

By VICTOR NZE

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AGOS State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has called on legal practitioners in the country to raise their voices in support of the demand for devolution of power to States and fiscal federalism, especially the review of the current revenue sharing formula.

By the current revenue allocation formula, the Federal Government takes as much as 52.68 per cent of centrally-collected revenues in the federation account, while States and Local Governments share 26.72 per cent and 20.60 per cent respectively.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 57th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held in Lagos, Governor Ambode tasked lawyers to utilize the golden opportunity of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution to lend their voices to the call for redress of all the aberrations that had stunted growth and inhibited capacity of States to harness their potentials.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on the Nigerian Bar Association as a body and members to raise your voices in support of the demand for devolution of power to States and fiscal

federalism, especially the review of the current revenue sharing formula.

“These, in my view, are fundamental and critical to creating an enabling environment that will accelerate development in all parts of the country. The ongoing process for the review of the 1999 Constitution presents a golden opportunity for us to redress all the aberrations created by the interjection of the military that have stunted growth and inhibited the capacity of States to harness the huge potentials of our nation.”

Speaking on the theme of the conference, “African Business: Penetrating

Through Institution Building,” Ambode identified weak institutions as a major factor inhibiting growth in Nigeria and Africa, saying that the development had constituted a major disincentive for investment in the continent, which in turn, was hampering efficient and effective harnessing of the huge resources in the continent.

He said in most cases, institutions are weak because their establishment is influenced by personal and short-term considerations, while in some other cases, institutions are deliberately weakened in order to make them subject to the whims

and caprices of the leadership.

As a way out, Governor Ambode said: “Building and sustaining strong institution requires our collective commitment to the rule of law. It entails building the capacity of such institutions to be able to discharge their responsibilities effectively and transparently while also being accountable to the people. It must create an atmosphere of confidence, mutual understanding and protection against arbitrariness.

The conference was attended by 11,935 delegates and 142 speakers from 15 countries.

ASUU’s demands unrealistic –Ezekwesili F ORMER Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has described demands by the striking members of

the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as ‘unrealistic in light of the current economic situation in Nige-

ria.’

Ezekwesili while reacting to the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the union,

said that lasting solution to the crisis bedeviling the education sector could only be found from strong analysis of the issues raised by ASUU and evidenced based policies.

“Money is not limitless and yet everyone must acknowledge that investment in education is crucial and it is key.

There are, however, some fundamental reforms that the sector needs in order to ensure that it is not about the size of the funding but about the productivity of the funding.

“You cannot simply express a desire, it must be founded on reality and that means you must know what can be achieved within a given period,” she said.

According to her, a structural and policy change which allows public and private investments should be integrated into the university system.

“If you remember, the ASUU negotiation started in 2007 when I was the Minister of Education and we constituted a government negotiation team, led by the late Gamaliel Onosode, “Even though that period was short, one of the major

issues for me was for us to make sure that we were being evidenced based in the way we were solving the problem.

We considered issues like the existing model in countries similar to us in emerging economies,’’ she said.

The former minister said the team also considered what could be done by the public and private sectors about university funding among others.

“Those are the kinds of evidence that we had and on the basis of which we hinged our negotiation at that time. It was a very short period and then we had to leave and the next government that took over had to continue.

“I do not know the basis of the final agreement they reached with ASSUU, but if it was not anchored on analytical evidence, I am not surprised that there has been inability to implement it.”

Ezekwesili urged both the Federal Government and ASUU to return to the negotiating table and work on the basis of analysis and evidence to find lasting solution to the dispute.

EOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Kawuwa Malala has been declared winner of Dukku North Constituency bye-election in to the Gombe State House of Assembly.

The Returning Officer, Prof.

Mohammed announced the results in Malala, Dukku Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.

He said Malala polled 7,060 votes to defeat his opponent of the APC, AlhajiAlhaji Inuwa, who scored 4,023 votes.

Said further said the candidate of ADPM, Yakubu Abubakar, scored 31 votes while Sirajo Mohammed of LP scored 29 votes.

The returning officer also disclosed that Mohammed Hashidu of GPN scored 29, Mohammed Mohammed of AA got 08 votes while Abubakar Hashidu of AP got 08 votes.

He said that PDP candidate, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored highest number of votes, was declared winner and returned elected.

Siadu said three polling units with 1,700 votes cast were affected by irregularities and had those votes cancelled.

According to him, the cancellation will not affect the election, based on the electoral law.

Malala expressed his happiness and assured his constituents of good representation at the Assembly.

He solicited for the maximum cooperation and advice of the people to enable him achieve his electoral promises for the development of the constituency.

The election was conducted in 103 polling units across the six political wards of the area. The wards are: Hashidu, Jamari, Lafiya, Malala, Wuro-Tale and Zaune.

Malala replaces late Alhaji Gambo Kabade of the People Democratic Party (PDP) who died in June 2017.

Oil soon to lose relevance –Borroh tells Ijaws

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PECIAL Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, has urged stakeholders from the South-South to think outside the box and find other means of economic sustenance outside oil.

Boroh, Coordinator, Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta, gave the advice in a keynote address at a seminar organised by the Ijaw Professional Association (IPA) at the Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos, Sunday.

The theme of the seminar was “Social Inclusion, a Strategy for Peaceful Co-Existence’’.

The News Agency of Nige-

ria (NAN) reports that IPA in a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is made up of groups of professionals that seek to fashion a development blueprint for the Niger Delta region.

Boroh restated that oil which had been the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy deposited in the South-South region of Nigeria might soon lose its relevance in the world market. He called for urgent diversification into the other areas of economic interest to shore up the country’s revenue.

“We are getting to the point of reality which we must tell ourselves. Oil was found in the southern region of Nige-

ria, but for how long will we depend on it for sustenance?

Very soon, in a space of two years, oil will lose its relevance because there are many researches going on now for a safer and better energy which has reduced the importance of oil.

“We need to wake up to the reality that Nigeria’s oil economic value is fast depreciating as our biggest buyer, U.S. are not buying from us again. They now buy from India. Then, should we ask about what we pride in as our resources are not being appreciated again, what should we then do? The answer is to diversify and think outside the box.’’

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

NEWS ACROSS THE NATION

Presidency orders IGP to activate community policing

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HE National Economic Council (NEC) has recommended the implementation of community policing and collaboration between security operatives and intelligence community for prompt response to crimes, especially terrorism.

This is contained in the highlights of the deliberations of its Security Summit issued by the Mr Laolu Akande, the Spokesman to the Vice President, Sunday.

The Summit, presided over by the chair of NEC and then Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, also urged prompt action in the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of terrorist acts, kidnapping and purveyors of hate speeches.

The presidential directive to the Inspector-General of Police initiating community policing is pursuant to provisions

Reps seeks FG’s intervention on Ghana killings

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he House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora has told the Federal Government to intervene urgently in the alleged killing of five Nigerians in Ghana.

Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Rita Orji, who made the call at a news conference in Abuja, did not however, provide the identities of the five Nigerians or the circumstances that led to their killing, but said the incident occurred in Sowutoum, Ghana on August 17.

Orji expressed worry that issues that concerned Nigerians with nationals of their host countries were often left to degenerate to the point of claiming lives, remarking that such incidents were frequent because the laws binding African countries together had often been segregated when Nigerians were involved.

She urged the Federal Government to insist on full autopsy report on any Nigerian killed extra-judicially outside the country to check unsubstantiated frequent claims of drug involvement by the Nigerians.

Orji appealed for proper funding of the “Stay Home and Build Project,” initiated with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisations.

She noted that the project was meant to help unemployed Nigerians in the Diaspora to learn trades and return home to establish their businesses.

The lawmaker advised unemployed Nigerians in the Diaspora to return home, instead of being subjected to inhumane treatments.

of section 215(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended and section 10(1) of the Police Act Cap. P19, LFN 2004.

He said the retreat highlighted the need for a more effective coordination between the security and intelligence agencies to build a security community that was well synergized.

He said the meeting noted that without the synergy, optimal performance of different security and intelligence agencies might be difficult.

“The retreat discussed concerns about the delay in the entire criminal justice system and NEC members concluded that prompt action by law enforcement agencies was imperative.

To facilitate this, NEC advocated the designation of special courts through collaboration of judicial and executive arms of the Federal and State Governments.

•Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello (r) with the Permanent Secretary, State House, Abuja, Mr. Jalal Arabi, during the official handover of the Presidential Lodge, Marina to the Lagos State Government, Friday

No zoning of Anambra Governorship ticket –APC

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he National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said that it has not zoned the Anambra Governorship ticket to any part of the state as being speculated.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

“The attention of the NWC of the APC has been drawn to a report that the party has zoned the governorship ticket in Anambra State to a particular part of the state. This report is false, the party has not taken any such decision,’’ Abdullahi said.

He added that the party was Onunkwo, Adaobi Uchegbu, Ada- had expressed optimism that the committed to providing equal op- obi Uchegbu and Uzoh Obinna. party would emerge victorious at portunity to all aspirants to comSen. Osita Izunaso, the party’s the Anambra Governorship elecpete freely and democratically at National Organising Secretary, tion slated for November 18. the primary.

The APC spokesman stressed that all aspirants cleared to contest in the coming primary should ignore the misleading report.

12 aspirants including 11 male ecuted for a period of 48 months and one female were cleared to By VICTOR NZE has a total financial allocation of contest in the primary later in the inister of State for Budget €54.5 million, with the EU conweek. and National Planning, tributing €37.0 million, while the The aspirants are Mr George Zainab Ahmed has inau- German Government through the Moghalu, Sen. Andy Uba, Mr Paul Chukwuma, Madu Nonso, Bart gurated the members of Project Ministry of Cooperation and DevelNwibe Bart and Mr Patrick Nwike. Steering Committee for the Euro- opment accounts for €17.5million.

Others are: Mr Tony Nwoye, pean Union Assisted Project on GIZ is also an EU implementing Mr Chike Obidigbo, Johnbosco Support to Strengthening Resil- agency, having signed a contribuience in the North East, Borno and tion agreement with the EU. Adamawa.

According the Minister, who was The Project which is being fund- represented by the Director Intered by the European Union (EU) and Each group will have access to the German Economic Cooperation national Cooperation, Mr. Samuel sprinkler irrigation from center piv- and Development (GIZ), has the Eloho, ‘the project has two comots. Farmers will pay for the water overall objective of contributing to ponents with the basic component they use with water meters, just the stabilization of the North-east having two specific objectives of reinforcing the resilience of IDPs like urban households do.

Nigeria through strengthening the Every cluster of 10 to 20 farmer resilience of Internally Displaced and strengthening the capacities groups will have a full-time, dedi- Persons (IDPs), host communities, of host communities to continue cated farm manager. The farm returning refugees and the local to offer hospitality to IDPs’ She manager will help the farmer population affected by insurgency. noted that the Boko Haram insurgents’ activities in the region have groups manage the production of A statement signed by Assistant caused untold hardship to millions three crops per year, using quality Director (Press), Salisu B. Haiba, seed and other inputs, providing quoeted the minister as saying of people, destroying their means tractor services, and applying con- that, the project which is to be ex- of livelihood and economic and social infrastructure. servation tillage practices.

FG raises steering committee for €54.5m N/East project

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CBN, others launch FAM-SMART initiative

By VICTOR NZE

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nited States-based international development nonprofit organization, ACDI / VOCA has launched its newest initiative in Nigeria tagged: Alliance Agriculture, a private sector-led partnership to pilot an integrated network of input supply, buyers, and smallholder farmers around shared use irrigation schemes.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), an agency of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, invited Alliance Agriculture to implement its FAM-SMART initiative.

According to the arrangement, the partnership will create opportunities for Nigerian smallholder farmers to become naira millionaires, climb out of poverty, and in so doing, increase Nigeria’s capacity to meet the food needs of its 180 million people.

“Alliance Agriculture will work with farmers who come together in groups of up to 25 members on 50 contiguous hectares of land.

FADAMA III trains 300 youths, women in Jigawa

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he FADAMA III Project in Jigawa has trained 300 youths and women in agricultural entrepreneurship, as part of efforts to boost food production in the state.

The state Project Coordinator, Alhaji Aminu Isa, who stated this in Dutse on Monday, said that the beneficiaries received the training under the FADAMA’s Graduates Unemployed Youth and Women Support Scheme (GUYS).

Isa said they were trained on

rice thrashing, poultry, fishery and other agricultural practices, adding further that the programme was being funded by the World Bank under FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF).

The project coordinator, who said 30 per cent of the beneficiaries were women, told NAN that 200 of the trainees would be assisted with grants to enable them set up their own agricultural ventures.

“Two hundred (200) of the beneficiaries, who prepare a fea-

sible business plan, will be given grants to set up businesses. Their information and business plans have been sent to our national office in Abuja for consideration.

The names of the remaining 100 graduates have also been sent to Abuja for linkages to financial institutions to enable them secure soft loans to start their businesses too,” Isa said.

He, therefore, urged them (beneficiaries) to set up their business outfits immediately the fund was given to them.

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IMT Enugu to be upgraded to full-fledged university From OZOR KAMSIYO, Nsukka

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he Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu will soon be upgraded to a full-fledged University of Management and Technology (UMT) to award degrees in various academic disciplines, Professor Augustine Nweze, Rector of the Institute has said.

Speaking at a retreat organised by the management and academic staff of the institute, the Rector said that free admission into the school for take-off as a university would commence

in October this year.

Prof. Nweze disclosed that the university, when finally established, would be affiliated to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, explaining that plans have reached advanced stage with the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the accreditation and smooth take-off of the proposed university in Enugu State.

The Rector expressed optimism that the Institute would meet the accreditation requirements for the university to commence as soon as possible, challenging the existing lecturers of the Institution to

upgrade themselves academically to avail themselves of the services of the Tetfund to see that they are not left behind.

Nweze warned both staff and students to desist from corrupt practices as management would no longer condone such acts, adding that he has been invited nine times by the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) over flimsy allegations in the institution while no other chief executive of any institution in the country has suffered such embarrassment.

“In recent time, I have been invited nine times by EFCC over

allegation of corruption in the school. ESUT Vice Chancellor and others have never suffered such embarrassment and I am yet going to answer another invitation from them,” he agonized He cited example with an alleged graduate of the Institute, a lady who could not explain the acronym, IMT, when she went for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, explaining that although the lady ran away from the orientation camp, the matter has generated a lot of tension within the IMT academic community.

He disclosed that the staffer

who facilitated her mobilization is cooling his heels in a police cell while his accomplices have also been picked up by the police.

Nweze lamented that corruption in the school has reached an embarrassing stage, lamenting that some staff even boast that they are capable of mobilising someone who has not attended even a secondary school, to pass off as a graduate of the institution.

He noted that examination malpractices have eaten deep into marrows of IMT, assuring that all the bad eggs of the Institute would be flushed out

to pave way for the university system, in tandem with the academic curriculum of the country.

The Rector challenged the academic staff to rise and stamp out examination leakages, which have been the bedrock of the ills of the institution, accusing some of them of deliberately withholding some semester results for gratification, among other overtures at the detriment of the image of the institution.

He challenged lecturers to publish books and sell to students rather than engage in recycling handouts, which had long been outlawed in the school.

APC not really a political party —Senator Ogba From RICHARD KELECHI, Abuja

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he Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Ogba has declared that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) requires a special tutelage before it could function as a political party.

Senator Ogba who spoke in an interview with The Oracle Today in Abuja further said the APC government has plunged the country into untold hardship and confusion through their “systemic maladministration”.

Ogba who represents the Ebonyi Central Senatorial District in the Senate gave thumbs down to the APC government insisting that there is no one sector one can point to as an area where the government has recorded any achievement.

According to him, the ruling party as a matter of urgency needs to organize a special seminar where they will be tutored on the fundamentals of governance.

“I have said this severally that there is an urgent need to organize a workshop for the APC government, where experts should come and lec-

ture them on the rudiments of governance. This is the simple truth. Things are really getting out of hand and we must not pretend as if we do not know.

Frankly speaking, Nigerians deserve a better deal.

“For instance, some people were doing a peaceful demonstration and the police went there to spray them with tear gas. Is that democracy?

Does it now mean that people no longer have the right to peaceful demonstration in this regime?” he asked.

The federal lawmaker also bared his mind on the burning issue of the restructuring of the country, stating that he believes that such is the only thing that can truly calm the frayed nerves in parts of the country, as well as make it possible for states to wear their thinking caps on how best to enhance their revenue base.

“I support power devaluation because it will help the states to do more and development will follow suit. If you look at the federal government roads that cut across states, it is the state governments that are doing them but the federal government has not been able to refund them,” he lamented.

• President Muhammadu Buhari presides over Security Meeting with service chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, Lt General Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt General TY Buratai, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar Sadique, National Security Adviser to the President NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno, Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari during the Security Meeting at the State House, Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE/STATE HOUSE. From COLLINS UGHALAA, Owerri

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he Minister of State for Education and in-law to Governor Rochas Okorocha, Prof A.G. Anwuka has disagreed with the choice of governorship candidate in Imo State and how the candidate would emerge.

Anwuka, who was Secretary to Imo State Government from 2011 to 2015, made this known during a meeting with his loyalists and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at his country home in Egbuoma, Oguta LGA, saying that the governorship

2019: Okorocha cannot handpick governorship candidate - Minister candidate of the party would emerge through a credible process and not be picked by the governor.

He said: “A credible gubernatorial candidate for Imo State APC chapter come 2019 must emerge through a free and fairly contested party primaries and not by show us the man and go to sleep.

“Such a candidate must have a good track record that will attract Imo votes in the general

elections.”

Some loyalists of the governor in Oguta LGA had floated the “Show Us The Man and Go to Sleep” campaign, through which they urge the governor to go ahead and pick his successor, assuring him they would deliver his choice at the polls.

But, the Minister said such a campaign would not work as a credible and transparent primary election would produce the gov-

ernorship candidate of the APC for 2019.

It has been rumoured that the governor wants his son-in-law and Chief of Staff to the Government House, Hon. Uche Nwosu who married his first daughter, to be his successor.

The governor has also faced stiff opposition from Senator Ifeanyi Araraume who is said to be interested in the governorship ticket of the APC for 2019.

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6

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

NEWS Anambra election must hold, insists Obiano From CHUKS COLLINS, Awka

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ov Willie Obiano has assured Ndi Anambra especially and Nigerians in general that the state’s governorship election scheduled to hold on Nov 18,2017 must go on as planned.

The governor made this declaration at the Prof Dora Akunyili Women Development Center, Awka while addressing a cross-section of Ndi Anambra when he handed out cheques for the continued upgrade of mission hospitals in the State.

He described the call for the boycott of the upcoming guber election as ill-advised, which would have very dire implications for the state, its present security and socio-economic development.

Regretting that 90 per-cent of the promoters of the “election boycott in Anambra” are not from the State, Gov Obiano warned Ndi Anambra against wilfully putting their destiny in the hands of others when they are the ones who would suffer whatever negative turn it takes.

The governor advised traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations as well as other stakeholders in the State to take the message down to their localities and ensure that their childre children who are being used, to refrain from such.

According to him, enough is enough and Ndi Anambra must take their destiny in their hands.

Rats invade Buhari’s office –Presidency From TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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he real reason why President Muhammadu Buhari chose to work from home rather than his office has come to light as rats were said to have taken advantage of his three-month absence to wreak havoc in the office.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja.

Mallam Garba attributed the issue to the long absence of the President from office, adding that rats destroyed the office while the President was away in London.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been operating from a make shift office in his official residence since his arrival.

Also corroborating the story, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina declared that there was nothing unusual about the President working from home as the President has a well-furnished office in his residence.

He disclosed that the official office of the President is currently undergoing renovation following his over three-month stay in London for medical treatment.

Police nab 15 cultists at Burial, 22 others at initiation ground

By THEO RAYS, Onitsha

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o fewer than 15 cultists who, under the cover of mourning the late Mr Amaechi Onwe, brother to their member, Mr Christian Onwe, at a wake-keep in Awada, Onitsha, Anambra State suburb, robbed, extorted and assaulted unsuspecting members of the public, have been arrested by the police while another 22 were reportedly rounded up at an initiation ground in Ajali, Orumba North Council Area of the State.

Making this disclosure to newsmen in his office at Enugu-Ukwu, the Commander of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SPACS, of the State Police Command, Mr. Christopher Bassey, ( CSP ) stated that the cultists who were of the Junior Vikings Confraternity with one member of Baga confraternity, shot into the air as they robbed their victims at the venue of the wake keep and environs .

He added that with the combined efforts of the SPACS and the Awada Police led by the DPO, Mr Babalola Adewuyi, (CSP) they

were arrested and would soon be arraigned in court.

According to him, “initially we arrested 37 of them but after separating the wheat from the chaff, we found out that the cultists were 15 and had to release others who were not members and those arrested confessed to the crime and that they were members of Junior Vikings Confraternity.”

“The burial proper will take place at Abakaliki in Ebonyi State but the brother to the deceased who is a cultist invited his members in his house for the wake-keep be-

fore proceeding to Abakaliki for the burial and in the process, they started their evil act,” Bassey said.

“The member of the gang that was shooting into the air escaped and is now at large” Bassey added.

Among items recovered from them included axes, cutlasses and regalia while their leaders who came from other states to initiate them escaped before the arrival of SPACS. He lamented the spate of cultism in the society, especially among teenagers, saying that his men arrest them on a daily basis.

• L-R the Chieftaincy title Awardees, Barr Franca Amadi, Chief Agukwe, Chief Eddy Eburuaja, Barr Luke Anele and others during the 2017 Owerri Nkwoji New Yam festival

One killed, vehicles damaged in town union crisis in Anambra

By THEO RAYS

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kpoko community in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra State is on the boil, no thanks to a leadership crisis that has rocked the town for years and which has now resulted in the killing of a local vigilance operative, Emma Nwankwo, and damage of two vehicles and property worth about N8million damaged.

The crisis, according to investigation, was sparked by a disagreement between elected members of the executive in the community led

by Hon Godwin Emesinwa, and the caretaker committee members led

by Hon Linus Ezenwamma, The ugly situation came to the fore when the state government removed the elected executive before they completed their tenure and replaced them with a caretaker committee, which has been in office for upward of nine years without conduct of election to elect substantive executive.

Consequently, the elected executive went to an Onitsha High court for a consequential order to allow them to complete their tenure and got one, leading to the sack of the caretaker committee.

According to the Secretary General of the community, Chief Raphael Agu: “A few days after the execution of the court order and take-over of the secretariat by us, the caretaker committee with the support of an Hon. member in the

State House of Assembly, including an aide to the State governor.

“As a result of this, the President General, Hon Emesinwa went to Abuja and reported the sacking of the elected executive to the Police since the court was in recess.

“Based on that, the police from Abuja came to effect the arrest of the caretaker committee members but could not because they ran away

when they got wind of the arrival of the Abuja police and we heard that somebody close to police told them to run away because they also oil his palm.”

“When the Abuja police left, the caretaker committee mobilized and in the wee hours of the fateful day stormed the homes of each of the vigilance operatives of the elected executive, beating them to pulp and

in that process beat Emma Nwankwo to death,” Agu further alleged.

Contacted, the DPO, Mr. Elaigwu Gabriel Oyilo, confirmed the incident.

He disclosed that “the suspects have gone into hiding,” adding that “no arrest has been made as a result but we are closing in on them. When we were telling them to make peace they refused.”

Embrace internal democracy – rights activist

By IBE NWACHUKWU

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uman Rights Cum public Affairs analyst based at Onitsha, Anambra state, Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme has reiterated his earlier call on political parties to embrace internal democracies and conduct transparent primary elections that would be rancour-free.

He also called on Anambra State Commissioner of Police to investigate purported fracas that erupted during United Progressives Party (UPP) primary election in Awka Anambra State at the weekend during which a party member was feared dead.

In a press statement issued to newsmen in Onitsha, during the week, Ezekwueme who is also Anambra State Chairman of Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), condemned in strong terms what he described as despicable and horrendous crisis that erupted during the UPP primary

election that ought to be peaceful as a family affair.

According to him, “if gold can be rotten, what will happen to the iron, adding, if leadership is an avenue to serve, why do people kill in order to attain political offices?”

He urged Nigerian politicians to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan who opened political space and allowed people’s votes to count, despite the fact that as an incumbent, he has the wherewithal to manipulate the election in his own favour, adding: “Jonathan’s assertion that his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian must be applauded and emulated.”

“The desideratum or panacea towards desperation for political offices is for Revenue Allocation Mobilization and Fiscal Commission to reduce drastically flamboyant salaries and allowances of political office holders in the country. Despite abject poverty in the midst of plenty in Nigeria, political office holders in

Nigeria still receive highest pay globally,” he added.

“It is of prime importance to note that if political offices are made less attractive desperation for such offices will be reduced to the lowest minimum, he further stated, adding, significantly, politicians and political class must respect the sanctity of human lives as they are not only inalienable rights but sacrosanct”.

“INEC should stipulate stringent penalty for candidates and political parties that violated electoral laws and bar them from contesting future elections”.

He urged the State police commissioner to invite all governorship aspirants in the state and compel them to write an undertaken to play the game, according to the rules, abhor thuggery and casting of aspersions on their opponents, as well as destruction of opponents’ billboards and posters in view of recent fracas that erupted during UPP primaries.

42

The Oracle Today Wednesday August30, 2017

News

Quit notice: Oba women give returnees loans From UZO UGWUNZE, Ojoto

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s part of the activities to mark their August meeting, the Oba Women Patriotic Union (OWPU) a.k.a Inyom Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra state has given out loans to scores of fellow women that relocated from the North to enable them settle down in their new business environment in the South East.

The union also preaches oneness of all the women in the various communities in the South East irrespective of religious or denominational affiliations.

Speaking during the 2017 Home & Abroad General Oba Women conference held at Oba Civic Centre, recently, the President general (OWPU), Dame Janet Okeke revealed the various achievements of the present administration which include: giving out non-interest/non collateral loans to returnees from the Northern part of Nigeria who came back to settle in the South East; building of town hall, creating and grading an access road from Oba new road/Oba women conference town hall to

Restructuring: Nigerians take agitation to UK From CHUKS COLLINS, Awka

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outhern Nigerian groups have resolved to take their agitation for the restructuring of the country to the United Kingdom by way of an international summit.

The inaugural meeting which held during the week involved South East /South South Network, Afenifere Renewal Group UK, Bendel Foundation and Igbo Ekunie Initiative.

In a statement by the Coordinator, Dr Philip Idaehor, the Southern groups would use the medium to draw the attention of the international community to the need for restructuring the country for better performance.

According to the groups, the meeting will be first in a series of round-table consultations to deliberate on the way forward for Nigeria, following the defeat of constitutional amendments aimed to restructure the federation in the National Assembly.

“The round-table series will be a platform to ponder on various problems bedevilling the country since attaining independence and fashion out ways out of the country’s age-long crisis,” the statement said.

“Planned to be a quarterly event in the Diaspora, the summit will address various issues facing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and at the end of the meeting, the groups will come up with a memorandum that will be submitted to the National Assembly,” the statement concluded.

•Preach oneness of women in all the South East communities the Oba water works; establishing a nursery, primary and secondary school, equipping an ICT room for the secondary section of the Oba women project.

“Inyom Oba loves and cares for themselves. Especially those who ran back from the North empty-handed because of the quit notice threat by the Arewa youths, we have a programme for them.

We have been giving loans of N100,000 naira per annum without interest. Another member who has a foundation in USA also gives N50,000 per annum through Inyom Oba. As they come back, we tell them to register with their village women leader so that as soon as people given previously return their loans we give to the others, that is if we run out of fund. Most of them that returned earlier have been doing well. Some of them came with their ladies motorcycle to this conference because we pray over the loan before giving it to them and it has been useful to them”, Dame Okeke said.

Dame Okeke further revealed that oneness of the women in Oba irrespective of their Christian denomination has been the secret of the successes and achievements of the union.

“Inyom Oba comprises of all denomination both orthodox, new generation, white garment, charismatic churches as far as you are a Christian. Even pagans are being converted on daily basis to join us.

It baffles other women from other towns when they came here and see us sit together and brainstorm on how to move both our women, children and entire town forward.

They say they do their august meeting in their separate churches and return without embarking on projects that will affect the entire town collectively. Right now, the women in this town are building a town hall which is at the verge of completion, we’ve build a road from the town hall to Oba Water works, we have built both nursery, primary and secondary school with equipped ICT room or library.

This is different from the empowerment centre for different crafts we built many years ago. All these were possible not as a denomination but as different denomina-

tions believing in the same goal.

I urge my fellow women in all the communities in the south east to emulate us” she said.

Earlier in her address, the 2nd Vice president, Lady Prof. Nduka Obiezue reminded the women to be exemplary mothers as they raise their children in the fear of God. She further thanked His Royal Majesty, Igwe P.C Ezenwa, Eze Okpoko I of Oba and HRM, Lolo (Ogbueshi) Ifeoma Ezenwa (Mmiliaku) for the successful Oba Mass Return, which took place in 2016.

By IBE NWACHUKWU

ship election in Anambra state, members of APGA working committee and the executive in Ogbaru area council have expressed their unflinching support and unalloyed loyalty to Gov. Willie Obiano and Chief Victor Oye-led national leadership of the party.

Making the pledge in a meeting

which was convened by the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Willie Obiano on Political Matters, Hon. Arinzechukwu Awogu at the party’s local government secretariat, Atani, yesterday, the Committee and Executive which comprised Ward Chairmen, Secretaries, Women leaders and Youth leaders, among others said they would work towards returning Obiano for a second tenure.

The meeting, according to the convener, Awogu, was intended to form the skeletal framework for a well co-ordinated process towards charting a course in preparation for the election proper governorship election in the state.

Addressing the party loyalists, Awogu noted that he was aware that some of them were still confused about the tussle between Chief Martin Agbaso and Victor Oye, over who is the national chairman of the party, he was reassuring them that the party under the leadership of Dr. Victor Oye as the national chairman is very much on a sound footing.

The meeting also identified those collaborating with Chief Martins Agbaso and some other individuals in the local government to cause disquiet but sounded a very strong warning note to them as their actions were viewed as acts of ignorance and that they were probably misled but they must now retrace their steps.

The meeting fire up the spirit of commitment towards Gov. Willie Obiano’s winning the forthcoming Anambra state governorship election in Ogbaru local government area.

The new leadership of Okpoko community led by the President General of the community, Hon. Eddy Emesinwa, stormed the meeting with multitude of people from Okpoko to register their loyalty and readiness to work for the re-election of His Excellency Gov. Willie Obiano in Okpoko.

Emesinwa who was on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 restored as the President- General of Okpoko community by an Onitsha high court which sacked the former Caretaker Committee led by Hon. Linus Ezenwanma, gave an assurance that Obiano would definitely win the election and do his second tenure, because Obiano is someone who believes in the rule of law.

Emesinwa and the Okpoko community thanked the governor for all his care for Okpoko people and said that they will only reward him by ensuring that he wins landslide in Okpoko wards.

Ogbaru APGA supports Obiano for 2017

ith last Wednesday’s sucW cessful primaries conducted by the All Progressives Grand

Alliance (APGA) which ended in favour of Governor Willie Obiano as the standard bearer of the party for the November 18 governor-

8

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

NEWS Okowa urges IG to deploy more police officers to states

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ov.Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has called on the InspectorGeneral of Police to deploy adequate police personnel to states in order to effectively tackle insecurity across the country.

He spoke on Monday in Asaba, Delta State capital, while decorating his orderly, Mr David Ebute, with his new rank of inspector.

The governor said that there was need to deploy more manpower to states in order to beef-up security in the country.

“The police in Delta are doing very well given the shortage of manpower.

“It is my hope that with the recent recruitment into the Police Force, more manpower will be deployed to the state.

“They will cover the various identified black spots and improve on the security situation in the country.

“A nation with a growing population like Nigeria needs to improve on the manpower and equip the police so as to fight crime and maintain peace and order’’, he said.

The governor also called for the strengthening and regulation of neighbourhood watch and vigilante groups, as they provide vital information about their communities to the police.

“There is the need to look at the community policing and neighbourhood watch.

“We are working with the House of Assembly to pass the Neighbourhood Watch and Vigilante Bill so as to give the police more intelligence and information in our communities.

“The neighbourhood watch will help the police to handle various security issues in these communities,” Okowa said.

He commended the security agencies, adding that the synergy amongst security agencies in the state had reduced crime drastically.

He also commended Ebute, for his discipline and hard work which he said, earned him the promotion and urged him to see his promotion as a call to greater duty and service.

Responding, Ebute thanked the governor and the Police Force for the opportunity they gave him to serve and promised that he would continue to be diligent in his duties.

(NAN)

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total of 222 girls have been offered scholarship to study in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Female Special Scholarship Awards, the Federal Ministry of Education has said.

The Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Adamu Hussaini, stated this on Monday in Abuja in a statement by the ministry’s Press Officer, Mr Agidike Onu. Hussaini said that 338 candidates participated in the selection process.

He said that the award was the effort by the Federal Government to-

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wards achieving Goals 4 of the SDGs tagged ” Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women” by the year 2030 and beyond.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Education will continue to build on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015 which made gender equality a top priority.

Hussaini also assured that the ministry would not relent in its efforts to end the discrimination

against women and girls.

He urged states and local governments in the country to key into the program to afford Nigerian girls the opportunity of quality education.

Earlier, the Deputy Director, Nigerian Award, Federal Scholarship Board, Mr Prinzo Nwanyadimo, said that the awardees were nominated through an Inter-Ministerial Committee in February, 2017.

He said the nominations were based on the performances of the

candidates in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Nwanyadimo explained that awardees must be in public tertiary institutions, with emphasis on nursing, medicine, laboratory science, law, technical and vocational education courses.

“Each state was awarded two slots for university while GEP states got four slots each in Polytechnic and Colleges of Education,” he said.

(NAN)

Nigeria, China to check product standards

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From left The Regional Manager FUG Chukwuma Ewii, AGM IT Egbujor Chidi, Head Operations Uloma Nkemakolam, Emeka Chukwu, Zonal Head Pencom Eneh Michael and Mrs Pamela Ikem during the presentation of gift and plaque.

Photo: Modestus Igudobi

UNICEF partners Sokoto Govt to improve school enrollment, nutrition

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he United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, and Sokoto State government have reiterated commitments toward ensuring maximum success in the fight against malnutrition among children, improving community hygiene and primary schools enrollment in the state.

UNICEF Deputy Country Representative in Nigeria, Pernille Ironside, made this known on Monday while inspecting ongoing projects at different communities across the state.

Ironside expressed appreciation over the progress made on various projects, adding that the achievements had impacted positively on the lives of benefiting communities.

According to her, the projects are on right track.

She said that UNICEF aimed at

Varsity dismisses 3 staff, 9 students he Federal University Dutsinma in Katsina State, has dismissed three staff and expelled nine students for engaging in examination malpractices, the Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Armuyau Bichi, has disclosed.

Bichi, who made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on Monday in Dutsinma, said the students and staff were `caught red handed’ during the semester examinations.

“The university anti-malpractice committee has investigated the cheating by the students before taking the decision to dismiss them.

“The committee also investigated the role played by the staff; they were found wanting and the management of the university dismissed them.

“The university relied on the evidence against the students and the

222 girls get SDGs’ scholarship

staff before they were dismissed,” the VC said.

Bicihi said the university had given the students, academic and non academic staff the right to report any wrong doing to Servicom office within the university campus.

“We have also empowered the servicom office with the means to protect both the students and staff from harassment.

“To achieve the desired goal, we have established cordial working relations with the academic, non-academic staff and students,’’ he added.

The Vice Chancellor commended Katsina State Government for investing in the provision of infrastructure in the university.

He promised that the institution would continue to promote the interest of both students and staff, especially in welfare-related issues. (NAN)

More news stories on pages 41, 42

improving people living standards through facilitating access to community water supply, preventing open defecation, hand washing campaigns and other environmental protection systems to ensure good health.

According to her, children and mothers health are also targeted through Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme in addition to facilitating child immunisations, antenatal care, safe child delivery and others health programmes.

The representative said that increase in child enrollments to modern schools was also part of the UNICEF interventions in Sokoto State, stressing that effort to facilitate integrated model Islamic schools with modern education system of teaching were fully on course.

She pointed out that UNICEF had signed another five years intervention programme in Nigeria and urged communities to sustain the achievements so far recorded to support the upcoming projects in order to achieve the desired results.

On the CMAM project centre in Arkilla Primary Health Care Centre, State Commissioner for Health, Dr Balarabe Kakale, said mothers were encouraged on exclusive breastfeeding of their babies and were educated on local preparation of children diets.

Kakale said that the efforts was to complement UNICEF supports on malnutrition supplements, noting that food items were readily available in the communities and urged families to live up to the expectation of their responsibilities.

He led the team to Child Delivery Rooms and other sections in the facility upgraded by the present administration of Aminu Tambuwal in accordance with his mission of One Functional PHC per ward approach.

In Adare Model Primary School in

Tangaza Local Government Area, the State Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Arzika Tureta, said the state government had paid its N400 million counterparts funding on SHAWN projects.

The commissioner also led the team to renovated toilets and hand washing instruments provided for the children.

Tureta said that community members were mobilized to take care of the solar powered boreholes and schools facilities as measure to ensure projects sustainability of the items through community involvements.

He commended Tambuwal for the supports that ensured the success of the programmes, noting that the governor made access to joint UNICEF/State government funds readily to execute programmes.

Speaking at Integrated Qur’anic model school in Takatuku community in Bodinga Local Government Area, the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary School, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, said 4,000 Qur’anic schools were targeted to be incorporate in the integrated school systems designed by the present administration.

Kilgori said that the inaugurated committee of traditional rulers under the leadership of Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar was to facilitate the programme and ensure high enrollments in recognition of social, traditional norms and beliefs on the side of most parents.

He expressed optimism that enrollments into normal primary and Qur’anic integrated schools would be enhanced.

He said that scheme to employ teachers within community of the host schools was also designed to prevent cases of teachers’ absence that were usually a source of worry for teachers recruited from afar.

(NAN)

he China Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (CCCN) on Monday said that China and Nigeria had put in place measures to address importation of substandard products to Nigeria.

The President of CCCN, Mr Ye Shuijin, said this while talking with newsmen in Abuja.

He, however, said that most of the imported fake products in Nigeria were not made in China.

He said that the chamber and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) had some agreements to check influx of substandard products into Nigeria.

“Most of the substandard products that came to Nigeria were not from China because Chinese Government has well structured standards in place for its products.

“Products from China are of high quality, nonetheless, Chinese government is already cooperating with the Nigerian government to promote importation of quality products to Nigeria,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that imported substandard products are common among iron rods, electronics, electrical consumables and fittings, among others.

SON raised an alarm in 2016 that 40 per cent of electrical and electronic appliances imported into Nigeria “are substandard and have caused disasters with destruction to lives and property.”

It is also observed that all manners of uncertified food items are being dumped in the country.

The CCCG boss stressed the need to guide importers to do the right things by not to importing substandard products to Nigeria.

Shuijin urged the importers and consumers to be vigilant and reject observed substandard products for the development of the economy.

The CCCG president said that the chamber and the Chinese government always encouraged investors from China to invest in the manufacturing sector to help in the development of Nigerian economy.

He said that Nigeria because of its huge population had the market, which he said, was an added advantage to attract investors into the country.

Shuijin gave assurances that more Chinese investors would be willing to invest in Nigeria. (NAN)

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

POLITICS

Buhari return: Why many Ezeja: Why regular payment of issues may yet be workers’ salaries is Ugwuanyi’s unaddressed N0 1 priority in Enugu Pg 13 Pg 10 & 11

Predictors of Buhari’s wellness, return Special Correspondent EHICHIOYA EZOMON, who has been monitoring the President Buhari health saga writes on the return of the President from a threemonth medical vacation in London, focusing on what he calls ‘predictors of Buhari’s wellness and eventual return’.

Archbishop Welby Next, President Buhari had in audience on August 4, a foreign dignitary and acclaimed close friend, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the second time he would be visiting, the first being last March at the same Abuja House in London.

Buhari’s spokesman, Mr. Adesina, said the Archbishop and the president “share deep respect for each other.”

Summing up his visit, Welby expressed delight over the rapid recovery of Buhari, noting that it was “a testimony to the healing powers of God, and answer to prayers of millions of people round the world.”

•Buhari and Osibanjo upon his return

U

nlike previous journeys earlier in the year that were few and far between, the deluge of visits within 38 days to the United Kingdom, to see ailing President Muhammadu Buhari, was enough telltale that he was actually “recovering fast,” and that his return to Nigeria was imminent.

There were seven of such visits between Tuesday, July 11 and Friday, August 18, with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo kicking off what polity watchers had termed the “Pilgrimages to London” or “Pilgrimages to Buhari.”

All the visits were sequel to the president’s reported expressed desire and longing “to return home but was constrained by his doctor’s advice... to stay back in London.”

“I’ve learnt to obey my doctor’s orders, rather than be the one issuing the orders.

Here, the doctor is absolutely in charge,” Femi Adesina, Senior Adviser, Media and Publicity, quoted Buhari as saying.

Like in past meetings, the president was shown in group photographs with the visitors sitting either in the lounge, at the dinning table or standing discussing at the foyer.

But there were two noticeable exceptions: No pictures of Prof. Osinbajo’s visit, while Buhari was photographed and videoed on the lawns of the Abuja House in company with the Presidential Media aides at their turn of visiting.

the delegation, with the rest as Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Kashim Shettima ((Borno), Dave Nweze Umahi (Ebonyi), Danjuma Ganduje (Kano) and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo State).

After the meeting, Governors Yari, Shettima, Umahi and Ganduje addressed the media from London.

Yari said: “Sincerely speaking, I am happy.

All the governors that are here on behalf of the Governors’ Forum have seen for themselves. My advice to Nigerians, and those that are criticising President Buhari and banking on the president’s health and making noise, is that they should stop.”

Shettima said: “We met the president in very high spirit, cracking jokes. We are quite impressed. And this will finally lay to rest all those negative media speculations and innuendoes by people who ought to know better.

“He (Buhari) has made so much sacrifice for this nation. He deserves commendation, not condemnation. Nigerians are solidly with him; Nigerians are solidly behind him, and I believe personally that the prayers of Nigerians have been answered.”

Umahi, said: “It (Buhari’s renewed health) has reinforced my convictions and opinion about what kind of media we have. I think we are being fed with a lot of false information.

“We met Mr. President and the way we saw Mr. President is far from what has been circulating in the social media. We are so happy and grateful to God and to all Nigerians who have been praying for Mr. President. I am excited because this is a miracle I believe God did for the entire Nigerians.”

Ganduje said: “They say, ‘seeing is believing.’ We came, we saw, and found out that Mr. President has improved greatly. His health has improved.

“And we believe Mr. President will come back to Nigeria healthy and hearty and continue the good work that he was doing for our country.”

Acting President Osinbajo Prof. Osinbajo’s stopover at the Abuja House was a brief encounter at night, and “returning to Abuja immediately afterward,” according to his media spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, without further details.

But the next day, August 12, ahead of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the acting president told the press that he made the visit to ascertain the president’s wellness level, which he said had “improved significantly.”

His words: “I went to check on him (Buhari) and found out he was doing well. I had, of course, been speaking to him on the phone and I thought it would be a good thing to go and see him and also to brief him on developments back at home.

“We had a very good conversation on wide-ranging issues. He is in very good spirits and recuperating very quickly.”

APC Leaders It was the turn, on July 23, of the top shots of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Governors Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna) and Yahaya Bello (Kogi), and Transportation Minister and former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

In a telephone chat, Okorocha, who’s

Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, said from their hour-long lunch with President Buhari, “he was very cheerful, had not lost any bit of his sense of humour,” and “it was very clear from the discussions that he followed developments at home very closely.”

Informing that the president was delighted to receive the delegation and asked each governor about affairs in his state, and Mr. Amaechi about the state of the railways, Okorocha said Buhari just laughed off “the cocktail of lies” written about him, and instead, sent his best wishes to Nigerians.

He added: “By our visit to London today (July 23), the merchants of lies have been put out of business and Nigerians will not buy the garbage they have been selling. All those who look up to fake news can find better use for their time.”

Governors’ Forum On July 26, Nigeria’s constitutionally-endorsed ‘Principle of Federal Character’ was on full display when the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, comprising of members of the APC, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), chose six among themselves, one from each of the geopolitical zones, to visit President Buhari.

A seventh governor, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State and Chair of the forum, led

Saraki and Dogara Two other appointments came in quick sequence on August 17 and 18 respectively, consisting of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and the Worldwide General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

These visits were symbolic. Dr. Saraki and Mr. Dogara are the Number 3 and 4, in that order, in the hierarchy of governance of the country, and heads of the two chambers of the legislative arm of the Government of Nigeria. Any wonder they discussed both national and international issues with the president!

Saraki, a medical doctor by training, stated his impressions of the Buhari health in tweets, thus: “We must give thanks to God for this highly welcomed recovery. It is clear that Mr. President’s insistence on following his doctors’ advice has yielded the desired result.

“Mr. President exhibited remarkable recovery and was very conversant with all the political happenings back at home and across the continent.

“In particular, we talked about the virement request by the Presidency, which is before the National Assembly... We then considered the steps to be taken in the prepara-

Cont’d on page 12

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Bold ‘n’ Blunt A FTER several months of intense speculations about his state of health, President Muhammadu Buhari finally returned to Nigeria on Saturday to a rousing welcome by his political associates, admirers and wellwishers.

This development was a big relief for the country as it brought to end, several months of speculations about the future of the country following the way the President’s health challenge has been managed Before his return last Saturday, Nigeria had gradually become a semblance of William Sydney Porter’s ‘Banana Republic’ with its unstable political economy that was dovetailing into an unstable polity.

On his arrival, the President, in line with the constitutional requirements, quickly transmitted a letter to National Assembly, notifying the legislature of his return, and his intention to resume office, immediately.

The President’s address to the nation in the early hours of Monday also revealed that he was kept abreast of developments in the country while he was away.

Despite the good performance of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo who effectively stood in for the President, there are several urgent issues requiring his attention which he must address immediately The President’s resumption letter stated in part: “In compliance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I write to intimate that I have resumed my functions as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with effect from Monday, 21st August, 2017, after my medical follow-up in the United Kingdom.”

President Buhari had left for London on May 7, this year, and handed the reins of government to the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who functioned as the Acting President.

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters in charge of House of Representatives, Hon. Sumaila Kawu, was summoned to the Presidential Villa Abuja to covey the letter to the National Assembly.

On his arrival, Buhari quickly settled down to face the duties he had eagerly looked forward to, since May 7th, 2017 when he left the shores of Nigeria for medical treatment.

He had spent a total of 103 days outside Nigeria during his sojourn for medical treatments, making it the very first time any Nigerian leader would abandon his duty post for that long.

President’s health…

Despite his apparent display of fitness and willingness to work, many believe that not much should be expected from the President, considering the many months he stayed away and his old age.

The President had in line with constitutional requirements, written and transmitted a letter to the National Assembly, notifying the legislature of his return to office, after returning from medical vacation in London.

In the letter which he addressed to both the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, the President said he is back to the country and was resuming office.

The letter read in part: “In compliance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I write to intimate that I have resumed my functions as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with effect from Monday, 21st

Buhari’s return: issues may yet be Against the backdrop of President Muhammadu Buhari’s return from a three-month medical holiday abroad, TONY AILEMEN, in Abuja, writes that while many are happy, even relieved at the President’s return hale and hearty, there are still fears about what how much the 74-year old President at his age and in his state of health.

August, 2017, after my medical followup in the United Kingdom.”

Recall that since the President left for London on May 7, 2017, he had handed the reins of government to the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who functioned as the Acting President.

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters in charge of House of Representatives, Hon. Sumaila Kawu, was appropriately summoned to the Presidential Villa, on Monday to personally collect and deliver the letter to the two Chambers of the National Assembly as required by law.

Despite these Arrangements however, the President, it was revealed, would be operating from a makeshift office prepared for him within his official residence. In other words, the President would be operating from his residence as against the official office he operated

from within the presidential Villa, prior to his sojourn to London for medical treatment.

This has raised the fears about the fitness of the President as it was not officially stated what informed the decision neither was the time frame within which the arrangement would last, disclosed.

Urgent issues needing attention Nigerians had waited patiently for the results of the panel headed by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to look into the alleged violation of procurement laws with regard to the grass-cutting contract, which led to the suspension of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal and the case of $43 million Osborn House discovery involving the suspended Director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Oke. It was reported

that the Osinbajo committee had long concluded its investigations into the matter, but could not submit its report because of the absence of the President.

The development has led to a vacuum in the office of the SGF, easily the engine room of government.

This is just as the insistence by the National Assembly not to clear Ibrahim Magu for the position of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC has continued to create frosty relationships between the Legislature and the Executive arm of government, a development the President is expected to address as soon as possible to promote the smooth running of government.

Implications for 2019 By 2019, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will be facing Nigerians with its scorecard. The President’s health issues

11

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Bold ‘n’ Blunt

Why many unaddressed The President, it was revealed, would be operating from a makeshift office prepared for him within his official residence.

In other words, the President would be operating from his residence as against the official office he operated from within the presidential Villa, prior to his sojourn to London for medical treatment.

This has raised the fears about the fitness of the President as it was not officially stated what informed the decision ...

”

will certainly play an important role in determining whether President Muhammadu Buhari will return or not.

Recent developments within the APC and opinions in public domain show that the party is no longer as homogeneous as it was in 2015 when the party defeated the incumbent People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which had ruled the country for close to 16 years.

The direct result of this is that the health issue has succeeded in polarizing not only the party but also the entire North, which views the current dispensation as the “chance” of the North.

Recall that following the eight years reign by former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007, the unwritten political arrangement, which guided the political parties had polarized the

country into North and South, especially for purposes of selecting their presidential candidates.

The North was unhappy that it could not immediately replace former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, after his unfortunate demise in 2010, which paved the way for the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency.

Many Nigerians believe that this, more than any other thing, led to the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.

Thus, during the 2014 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Presidential Screening Committee was careful in selecting a “strong and credible “ flag bearer, which led to the clearing of former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as the former Governor of Kano State Rabiu Kwankwaso to contest for the party’s presidential slot.

Although, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and the Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah were also cleared, many had concluded and correctly too, that any of the first three would emerge as APC’s presidential candidate.

To further consolidate the position of the APC, the five aspirants were made

to sign an undertaking before the final outcome of the results not to decamp to any other party if they failed to get the party ticket.

They were to support whoever emerged as candidate at the end of the primaries, which they faithfully adhered to.

About three years down the line, many members of the APC appear to have lost faith in the political party, citing its performance in government, the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, amongst others.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also openly criticized the absence of internal democracy in the party, which he said may derail the party’s chances ahead of 2019 general election. According to Atiku, APC is more of a bullying party now than a democratic party where the voices of the people count.

Speaking at the 2nd Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) annual conference in Abuja, the former Vice President drew the attention of the APC to the problem, adding that the party must address the issue to remain relevant.

“For a number of years now, we have had political parties, even governing ones, which hardly hold meetings of their important organs, including those meant for the democratic selection of their leadership, or even constitute institutions prescribed in their Constitution,” he said.

“In the absence of those meetings and elections, their existing leadership, often under the direction of the Executive at the state or federal level, fill the void. That’s not party building but party bullying. And it’s certainly not a way to democratise parties and aggregate their members’ opinions, interests and aspirations.”

Atiku’s open criticisms of his party have given credence to speculations that things may not remain the same in the party come the 2019 general election.

According to elder statesman Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, “Nigeria’s political space is very fluid and anyone can jump into any other since there are no clearcut ideological differences” “As the late Nnamdi Azikiwe would say, in politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent political enemies.

What you have is permanent political interest. So, politicians are allowed to migrate to places where their interest will better be protected,” he said.

Similarly, a top-notch of the All Progressives Congress and former Governor of Adamawa State, Ambassador James Barka declared that the APC would need to work harder in 2019 if it hopes to win at the centre.

“The truth is that for many of us who had to abandon the PDP to work for the party in 2015, the level of disappointment is beyond what we can take for granted,” Barka said. “You will not believe that even I was side-lined during the last party congresses. I did not know how most of the delegates even from my ward emerged. We only saw names of people published at the party offices and in newspapers. There was no congress to elect anyone,” he agonised. “ l am also afraid for my country. Many of us cannot go home for fear of being kidnapped. This is the new trend now, from Abuja to Kaduna and even Adamawa. There are many cases of kidnapping that are not being reported.”

He attributed the increase in insecurity to youth unemployment which he said has assumed high proportions under the current regime.

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

POLITICS

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• President Buhari being received by his cabinet

Cont’d from page 9 tion of the 2018 budget to ensure its early passage.”

Also in tweets, Mr. Dogara noted the president’s rate of recovery, saying: “Today, we visited His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari. I am glad that he is doing well.

“His health has improved tremendously. I urge all Nigerians to continue to pray and offer thanks to God for answered prayers and for the safe return of Mr. President.”

Predictors of Buhari’s wellness, return

Pastor Adeboye As for Pastor Adeboye, he was photographed during the visit sitting on a sofa beside President Buhari, who was perusing what looked like a scriptural book.

The words of Mr. Adesina captured the essence of the visit by the leader of millions of Christian faithful across the world.

“His (Adeboye’s) visit to Buhari is also significant because the man (Buhari) had been erroneously tagged a religious bigot. This visit shows Buhari’s acceptability across all faith,” Adesina said.

The eloquence of the visit was also not lost on the president who, later that day, tweeted: •Pastor Adeboye and President Buhari during a visit “I thank Pastor Adeboye for visiting today and for his prayers and good wishes. May God continue to bless him and his work.”

Interestingly, media reports at the weekend literally credited Pastor Adeboye as appearing at the Abuja House to pray for President Buhari, and prepare him, spiritually, as he was about embarking on his return journey to Nigeria after spending 103 days on his medical leave in the British capital.

Presidential Media team Then, there was the visit of the Media aides to President Buhari on August 12, led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed.

The delegation included Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu; Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike DabiriErewa; and Senior Special Assistant on Social Media, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie.

This visit was unique in several respects, as the team did what other visitors did not do: Making the president to leave the cosy living room and venture into the grounds of the Abuja House. It was also the first time in months that he would be seen in print and on video of a few seconds playing time.

Out on the lawns of the expansive com-

•Archbishop Welby and President Buhari

pound, the Media aides presented to Buhari a large “GET WELL SOON” greeting card that they ostensibly brought along from Nigeria.

You could see the “ear-to-ear” smile of Buhari, holding the card with both hands and reading the contents admiringly!

That President Buhari “public” appearance helped greatly to calm the rumour of his being incapacitated, vegetative, on a life-support or even dead.

lar shape and tenor as the denouncement

by Senator Shehu Sani, who referenced a rumoured power play in the government, while the “Lion King” (President Buhari) was ill in London.

Mrs. Buhari wrote: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker animals. The hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom (the government or Nigeria, which critics have derisively described as “the Zoo”).

“We strongly believe in the prayers and support of the weaker animals. Long live the weaker animals, long live Nigeria.”

Well, the first arm of her proclamation has been fulfilled: President Buhari has returned to the country. Will the other notification - a possible rejigging in the government - come to pass?

Last line (Governor Fayose) From the foregoing timelines of predictors of the return of President Buhari from London, all the visitors were happy with the state of his health, and prayed to God for its sustenance so that the president could arrive in Nigeria soon and safely.

However, one notable Nigerian was not happy about the “Pilgrimages to London,” to see Buhari, whom he had written off many times as incapacitated, on life-support or dead.

Fayose particularly took exception to the visit of Acting President Osinbajo, as there were no photographs of the meeting “to show that it actually took place.” As usual, he bared his mind through one of his spokespersons.

According to him: “It is, therefore, my position that Nigerians do not need this drama of Osinbajo’s behind-the-camera meeting with Buhari.

“Rather, what we want is that the president should speak to Nigerians publicly and disabuse the minds of the people, who are of the belief that he is already incapacitated and cannot continue as president.”

Given the finality of that statement, would any still or video pictures of Osinbajo’s meeting with Buhari have convinced Governor Fayose, and abridge his longstanding criticism of the president even on his sick bed? Previous images didn’t work the magic!

provoking proclamation of wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, on July 10.

Her statement served two purposes. First, it informed of the imminent home-coming of President Buhari; and second, it hinted of a possible shake-up to “flush out” those she described as “hyenas and jackals” in her husband’s administration.

Mrs. Buhari had been critical of a so-called “cabal” in the Presidency, which some alleged had prevented her from seeing her husband in Mrs. Buhari London early on in the year.

• Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media ConsultLet’s not forget the surprising and thoughtA post on her Facebook page took a simi- ant, contributed this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

POLITICS

Ezeja: Why regular payment of workers’ salaries is Ugwuanyi’s N0 1 priority in Enugu •Assures zoning arrangement in Igbo-Eze North is intact but…

Waste Management Authority) Volunteer Marshalls, created by Governor Ugwuanyi, to help clean our environment and make it safe for human habitation. Periodically, these Marshalls mobilize the community to clean our environment and open up blocked drainages to prevent flooding caused by indiscriminate dumping of refuse in wastewater ways.

Comrade Uwakwe Ezeja is the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, Enugu State. A former Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Enugu State, and pioneer Public Relations Officer (PRO)of Igbo-Eze North, Comrade Ezeja who holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, was appointed Caretaker Committee Chairman by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in January last year. In this interview with reporters in his office at Ogrute, Enugu-Ezike, the headquarters of the local government, Ezeja speaks on the achievements of his administration since his appointment, the ‘giant’ development strides of the Ugwuanyi Administration in Enugu State, preparations for the soon-to-be-held local government election in the state, among other issues. ROSEWITHA CHUKWUMA who participated in the press briefing, reports…

As the State prepares for its first local government election under Governor Ugwuanyi, what are your expectations?

One is that PDP will win landslide. And it has nothing to do with the party being the ruling party in the State. No; we will win because the party under the able leadership of one incredible miracle worker called Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu), Nigeria’s number one recession buster, PDP has done very well in Enugu State. The second expectation, which flows from the first one, is that there will be a peaceful election. We do not expect any acrimony at all. For, PDP in Enugu State is one big family under one big umbrella, firmly held by our servant leader, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the worthy son of David.

•Comrade ezeja

How would you describe your experience in office since your appointment early last year as Chairman of the one of the largest local government areas in Enugu State?

I would say it has been quite challenging.

But, we can also look back and feel satisfied, even fulfilled, that we have done a few things well to uplift Igbo-Eze North, thanks mostly to the fatherly support of the State governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu) and, of course, by the special grace of God. What challenges exactly were you faced with at the inception of your administration and what did you do to surmount them?

The Ugwuanyi Administration in Enugu came in at the very beginning of our economic recession, which, till today, is still biting the country very hard. So, it was at the height of the recession that we were appointed and sworn-in in January last year. It was a period of sometimes zero allocation from the federation account. Part of the reason was that the internal revenue generation mechanism in the local government had collapsed and, as you may know, IGR is one of the factors taken into consideration by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in making allocations to local councils. When we came in, we set up an Economic and Revenue Mobilization and Generation Committee, which developed a transparent process for IGR collection.

Consequently, from the very first one month of the operation of that committee, we raised our IGR from an embarrassing N3,600 (no thanks to leakages in the system) to a record N1.5m monthly! This helped to re-establish confidence in the system and over time, coupled with the fact that we have a grassroots-supporting governor who does not pinch a penny of the local councils’ money, who gives to each of the councils as he receives from Abuja, things began to look up. As of today, we have cleared all arrears of salaries owed workers, in line with the governor’s philosophy that the economy of the State is served better when workers are paid their salaries, which they can then spend on food stuffs, school books and uniforms, vehicle maintenance et al, thereby putting money in the hands of businessmen and traders. As you are aware, Enugu is one of the four or five

States in Nigeria that are up to date in payment of workers’ salaries and allowances.

What about primary school enrollment and the problems associated with that. How are you dealing with those?

Igbo-Eze North has very high primary school enrollment. In fact, it has among the highest three in Enugu State with 119 primary schools and nearly 2000 teachers (the whole of Jigawa State, for instance, has only 120 primary schools). Hitherto, primary school enrollment was a factor in revenue allocation.

But, apparently because that didn’t favour some areas, it was jettisoned. So, these days, they simply share the money equally among the local councils and from what each council gets, salaries and emoluments for teachers in that council are deducted at source and whatever is left is given to the council as its allocation from the central pool for that month. This has, sometimes, resulted in zero allocations to some local councils. Igbo Eze North, Nsukka LGA, Udi and Enugu-North are among some of the worst hit LGAs in Enugu State in this regard. It is really very challenging for us. But, one of the awards I have received from organized Labour since my appointment was inspired by the fact that despite these challenges, we have been able to meet our obligations to the council workforce. As I said earlier, we are up to date in payment of workers’ salaries.

What are the other achievements of your administration?

What I consider one of the most outstanding achievements of our council administration is the enthronement of a local security system that has ensured the safety of lives of property in Igbo-Eze North. Before we came in, all manners of untoward things were happening here. Indeed, this place had the infamy of being a very unsafe place.

Armed robberies, car/motorcycle jacking, ritual killings, kidnappings and a whole lot of other bad things, were rife. Such a situation, needless to say, adversely affected the local economy as people either relocated to safer places within the Nsukka Cultural Zone, under which Igbo-Eze North falls, or completely outside of it, while most of our young, nouveau riche refused to come home for fear of being kidnapped.

But, I can assure you that Igbo-Eze North is a very safe place now. Drawing strength and

However, in order that none of the two groups feels any sense of political alienation at any one point in time in a political dispensation, the elders, in their wisdom, decided that at no time must the two elective positions...

(LG Chairman and Member House of Reps under the Udenu/ Igbo-Eze North Federal Constituency) be held by persons from the same side at the same time.

”

support from the Ugwuanyi Administration’s Neighbourhood Watch Security programme and working in mutually beneficial relationship with our divisional police, we have been able to equip and motivate our local vigilante to take on our security challenges and they have done a swell job of it. Those who were familiar with the security situation in Igbo-Eze North prior to the coming of the Ugwuanyi Administration in Enugu State are wont to admit that there is a world of difference between then and now.

Apart from security, we have also done well in the area of market development. Our people, as you know, are mostly traders and ours is a sprawling agrarian council area with plenty of farm produce to sell. So, we are building markets to provide decent business environment for our people. We are expanding existing markets (Eke Ozzi at Ogrute, the council headquarters, and Eke Umuitodo at Amufie), and building a new one (Igbo-Eze Market) at Umuida. With approval from the State government, we have also set up the Igbo-Eze North ESWAMA (Enugu State

There are insinuations that the local government’s Charter of Equity whereby elective positions rotate between two groups- Ozzi and Umunano (so divided for administrative convenience, we understand) is under threat? What is your take on it?

No, the rotation of elective positions between Ozzi and Umunano is not under threat at all. The truth is that it has served us well; it has served the cause of equity, justice and fair play in the council to the satisfaction of our people and must be maintained.

Many years ago, leaders of Igbo-Eze North, which is largely a one-town local government populated by people of the same progenitor (Ezikeoba) and, therefore, same linguistic group and culture within the wider Igbo culture, decided, for administrative convenience, that elective positions in the area must rotate between two main groupings-Ozzi community comprising 22 villages, and Umunano comprising 11 villages. However, in order that none of the two groups feels any sense of political alienation at any one point in time in a political dispensation, the elders, in their wisdom, decided that at no time must the two elective positions from which we benefit as a political entity in Enugu State (LG Chairman and Member House of Reps under the Udenu/Igbo-Eze North Federal Constituency) be held by persons from the same side at the same time. In other words, for no reason must we have Chairman of the Local Government and Member of the House of Representatives from the same side at the same time.

What is your take on the Supreme Court ruling on the Chairmanship of your party, the PDP, which has already had a successful non-elective convention?

God and the Supreme Court saved our democracy. The simple truth is that PDP, the only national party worth that name, is back to reclaim its position as the only pan-Nigeria party capable of leading the country, as they say, to the next level.

What about the 2019 governorship election?

It’s already a fait accompli for Gburugburu here. It’s not that we are mobilizing; it is that we have already mobilized for him. In this area, there is a saying that bare hand and knife do not fight over meat. Gburugburu is the knife here. Mark my word: the man don win already!

14

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

INTERVIEW A number of Christians were murdered at the St. Philips Church in Ozubulu, Anambra State. What is your comment on this sad incident?

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is not in support of what happened in Anambra in any way. Human lives were involved and it does not matter whether the incident happened in a church or a mosque or a shrine.

The PFN is a responsible organization and we preach repentance of souls and a soul will not have a chance for repentance if he dies.

The PFN is yet to make an official stance on this issue but we condemn the act of terrorism. They say it is not terrorism but horror.

Whether it’s terror or horror, the PFN and indeed the entire Pentecostal body condemn that horrifying act especially as it happened on a Sunday morning inside a holy sanctuary.

Are you satisfied with the way the Federal as well as the State Government has handled the matter thus far?

We are awaiting the preliminary report of the incident because as you saw on the television and print media, the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Obiano was on site on time to ascertain the damages. Also, the Acting President promised that no stone would be left unturned in apprehending the culprit. We stand on that and hope that this time around nothing will be swept under the carpet as we also found by hearsay that it involves drug barons- two brothers from the same community are involved in a long term fight. So, we hope that if this is well investigated it should unravel all other drug barons and cartels in this country.

A number of people have expressed surprise that such a massacre took place in a Christian community in Nigeria because before now, we heard such things happening in non-Christian parts of the country?

No, don’t take it that way otherwise you will not understand what happened at Ozubulu. It’s like saying why should fire burn in fire service? You cannot isolate crime. It can happen on land, sea, in churches, mosques, so it should not be seen that way. Don’t forget it was an external attack. It was not an internal attack. Someone came from outside and inflicted harm. This is a Catholic Church and I’m not a member of the Catholic Bishops conference. I’m sure they will speak for themselves.

But as a private citizen and the publicity secretary of the PFN, I want the media to know that you cannot determine where a crime happens. It can happen anywhere so you cannot domicile crime. It’s a big lesson to all.

Going forward, will you subscribe to the use of arms by security personnel manning security units of churches?

Of course, if they are licensed. Why are you a security man if you do not have guns and bullets? These items are for the criminals and not for good people. Don’t forget that in the law guarding use of arms, it is about rules of engagement and not legality of possession. If you are guarding my premises, I suppose you should use arms. It is not illegal. It is expected that arms should be used by security agents as long as it is consistent with the rules of engagement.

There is an assumption that morality is dying in churches and this is responsible for why incidents like this happen in the church?

The media should know that it was not a church incident but an incident that happened in the church. I don’t know if my English is clear. Two different things. It was not within the church that people started carrying guns and killing themselves during service (Mass).

Shouldn’t the people who did this have had the fear of God? Not everybody in church can be born again.

Not everyone in Rome is Roman. You can only be preaching the gospel but you cannot guarantee 100% repentance. The church is like a hospital. The medical personnel can only recommend the proper medication. The doctor does not have too much power over a patient who decides not to take his drugs appropriately. It’s the same thing in the church.

The pastors and bishops are to preach. If peo-

There is huge disconnect between voters and their representatives --Bishop Emmah Isong Bishop Emma Gospel Isong, the National Publicity Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN); immediate past Chairman of PFN, Cross River State and President, Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI), Calabar bared his mind on some pressing national especially as they affect the Church in Nigeria. From Calabar, the Cross River State capital, ANIEKAN ANIEKAN reports… ple do not listen you cannot force them. The preachers have no right in the constitution to compel people to abide by what is being preached. Otherwise, you infringe on someone’s rights. So you cannot blame pastors.

We can only preach. Perhaps the incident will challenge us to preach more.

How will you want the Federal government to approach the incident because after some time, this thing may be swept under the carpet especially as alleged that it only involves two brothers?

Nigeria’s cardinal problem perpetuates when the first is not nipped in the bud. I can take you to the incident of kidnapping. When kidnapping began in Nigeria around the Niger Delta region, government was seeing it as the restiveness of youths. As at then, it had not grown to this level. White men were the major victims and so, you and I were not worried. It was done to prove a point to the international community and to draw their attention to the plight of the Niger Delta people. But now, it has grown to a point where people are even kidnapping themselves. It’s now big business. There are now different types of kidnapping. This is a problem with crime in Nigeria. We don’t nip it in the bud when it rears its ugly head. I want to warn that the case in Ozubulu in Anambra is a big example. The Police and government should deal with it, finish it, expose it and make those responsible pay for it so that it will not grow to a situation where in the near future, someone will not say because you owe me, I have to come to your church. Oh you owe me N50, 000, where do you worship, I’m coming there to get my money. So crime should be tackled. We should clean it to the roots. It’s not something we should use kid gloves to deal with.

There seems to be a number of challenges facing the church in Nigeria like the collapse of church buildings. What do you think is the way forward?

As I said, if you look at it as an isolated case, you domicile it. I do not like to domicile a situation. If you say there was crisis in a church and bloodshed in Ozubulu, there was also bloodshed in a mosque recently in Kano or one of those states. If you say there was fire in the church, there was also fire at the federal secretariat in Lagos. If you say that there was building collapse in the church, there was also building collapse somewhere else so we should deal with issues holistically, not to isolate it and domicile it. There is no religious issue in taking a gun to a church to massacre people. There is no religious issue in an engineer doing a bad job in a building and it collapses and kills people. So, we should

take it as horror, terror and error. When we take it in that direction, we can then pursue it to a logical conclusion as per the lives of Nigerians not just worshippers. The federal government should evolve policies that attack crime wherever it happens. Look at the United States, whenever crime happens, they see it as crime. In a few hours they come up with a solution. Whether it’s an act of horror, terror or error, they will come up with a solution. But here, it will take one week for the federal government to reply, and then it will take three weeks for the paramount rulers to meet. Look at the Ikot Offiong and Oku Iboku crisis, are you aware that the issue was resolved after 18 years. It took the National Boundary Commission 18 years to come and have the two deputy governors of the sister states to come together and plant Beacon Stones according to the Supreme Court judgment and give peace to the people after hundreds of lives have been lost.

Eighteen years! So, it’s not about where the crime happens but our reaction. For example, a crisis occurred recently in Yala (Cross River) and the findings of the committee commissioned to look into it said that only one life was lost. There is no life that is only.

So, one person is not enough to move the Police and the government. If it was 100, then a committee will be set up and its deliberations will last for 17 years like it took to resolve the Ikot Offiong crisis. We must be responsible people and respect the sacredness of human life. We must have great emergency response system to crime, and I thank God for the Ozubulu case that more than 50 doctors were involved and medical facilities were set up. So, the emphasis is that our society must be built up not just to respond to crime.

Does it not call for the leadership of the church to consider the source of wealth their members bring in?

I’ve heard that. Don’t forget I’m a member of the United States Embassy Religious Leaders Anti-corruption Committee. I’m representing Christianity and we have a Muslim representative. You can check it online. We recently launched a website called “report yourself” whereby if you suspect someone with wealth or unusual movement or compromise to normal human standard, then you can report it yourself.

Boko Haram seems to be waxing stronger, what do you think government should do?

Boko Haram is of variants. We have the religious Boko Haram whereby elements have infiltrated doctrinally some jihadists to Islamize Nigeria. There is economic Boko Haram who kidnapped the oil explorers. Here, people who are enjoying the big security money in the north are saying don’t stop Boko Haram; we have seen so much money and we are enjoying it, so don’t stop it. There is also the political Boko Haram, which, before the advent of President Buhari, some religious elements in the north were using negotiate return of power to the north. So, when you say that Boko Haram is still on, I will like to know which arm of Boko Haram you are referring to because these are the three that exist.

Do you think the National Assembly was right to reject restructuring?

I’ve always supported restructuring. The restructuring issue has become fragmented.

Some people use it as referring to regional governments whereby you do not need to go back cap in hand to the government to beg. Some are clamouring for restructuring as a means of resource control, that is regions control their resources and pay taxes to the federal government whereas some are clamouring for political restructuring, that is to say, weaken the presidency and strengthen the regional governments so

Boko Haram is of variants. We have the religious Boko Haram whereby elements have infiltrated doctrinally some jihadists to Islamize Nigeria. There is economic Boko Haram who kidnapped the oil explorers. Here, people who are enjoying the big security money in the north are saying don’t stop Boko Haram; we have seen so much money and we are enjoying it, so don’t stop it. There is also the political Boko Haram, which, before the advent of President Buhari, some religious elements in the north were using negotiate return of power to the north.

”

15

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

INTERVIEW

•Bishop Emmah Isong that we do not have to be a slave to anybody.

That is why some people like Atiku Abubakar and Babangida are saying that maybe we can diffuse the tension we are going through by now by power devolution. Everybody go back to your mother’s house and let’s have one father. Ok, the father will be Nigeria. So I think in that area, I, Bishop Emmah Isong, this is not PFN now, support restructuring. The 2014 confab report should be implemented.

If you think it had grey areas, these areas can be amended. Someone said in the papers that the reason why the National Assembly is against restructuring is that they have presidential ambition as you will not want to be president over a weak Nigeria. They want to be president with enormous power so many of those sitting there in the senate have ambition in their pocket so power devolution to them is like giving them an empty house to rule. Devolved power will make the presidency unattractive.

Are they a problem to Nigeria because they only gave themselves powers to checkmate the president?

Well, they say they were rightly elected by the majority of Nigerians and they speak for them. So, are they right, yes. But how many of them have come back to consult with their constituents on national issues? And also, how many of them really won an election fairly? Don’t forget what they say and they are right – we are the duly elected representatives of the Nigerian people but I can add how much have they consulted? For me, I can say that my representatives both here in Calabar and in Akwa Ibom State have never sought my input. It’s not a matter of going to your village, calling area boys and then giving them motorcycles, bicycles, sewing machines and generators. Is that the town hall meeting

we are supposed to hold? Some of these representatives are not representing the people but themselves and with all due respect to men of the hallowed chambers, they should go back home and seek the input of Nigerians, consult with those they think elected them so that there will be no more discordant voices.

If I am saying one thing now and my representative is saying something else, there will be confusion in the polity. For example, Nigerians don’t know when elections stop and when governance starts. Here in Cross River State, Prof. Ayade has since won the election but elections are still on. For example, during the reception for the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I was shocked to see such assemblage of people. I said, this should be a town hall meeting.

I saw Liyel Imoke, Donald Duke, Ben Ayade, former military governors, PDP, APC, APGA and Labour Party - they were complete.

That is how a town hall meeting should be.

What you call town hall meeting these days is when you call two or three village heads and tell them you have bought rice, motorcycle and drier. The same people will then buy these motorcycles. The politicians will promise power but when they assume office, they give out generators. So, I’m still thinking there is a missing gap between the electorate and the people who represent them. The representatives are completely on their own and do not know what is happening to their people.

There are fears that governors might arm twist the legislature to vote against local government autonomy which scaled through in the national assembly?

The marriage between states and local governments is on two levels. Marriage of

revenue, which makes them relevant to the States and the second level of relationship is through primary school teachers. When I graduated as a finance expert from the University of Calabar, my project was on “financing local government administration system in Nigeria. That project was in 1986. I am an expert in local government financing and I can tell you that the day the third tier of government can have enough power just like the first and second tier, rural migration will cease. Cottage industries will spring up; primary healthcare will improve. Tell me if that is not the meaning of developing Nigeria. The real governments are local governments. Before people are elected, they go inside the village, pick the ticket and come out to contest.

Even the location of State capitals is in local governments. So, improving local government administration would, of course, simply develop Nigeria.

Should we have part time legislators to save cost?

When you say those sweet things, who will pass the law? Who will amend the constitution? That proposal will not see the light of the day. The issue of part-time is to save funds and allow people who are tested in their areas of profession and are settled in life to go and contest. To contest into these positions is a full time thing and people kill but if people go there to serve, it will add value to the lives of Nigerians, it will reduce electoral violence.

Legislative job should be a service to the people and not a full-time job.

The federal government claimed that there were wide consultations before the merger of CRK and Islamic Studies. Was the Church in Nigeria not part of the consultations?

Lies. Remember, I was given two pages in

one of the dailies and I was also live on television alongside other men of God in Nigeria.

About 42 church leaders, including Kumuyi’s representative, Bishop Oyedepo, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Adeboye and I as the National Publicity Secretary convened the conference and answered questions regarding whether the Church of God was widely consulted and we answered that it was a lie.

We cannot be widely consulted in a curriculum that says the following: Jesus Christ was not dead on the cross and was not resurrected. Do you think that Bishop Oyedepo, Mike Okonkwo, Adeboye will be widely consulted to contradict what they are preaching? Think about it. Secondly, a curriculum that says there are only two international language subjects that is Arabic Studies and French of which you are to choose one, even when there are no French teachers in the country while there are Arabic teachers, could have been approved by Church leaders in Nigeria. And in Kwara State, a Christian student was beaten up for not taking Arabic studies.

The case and other such nonsensical things, which are a contradiction of the doctrine of the Christians, have been taken up by the PFN in Kwara. Also Christianity was going to appear as a combo subject including Arabic Studies, Civics and National Values and other nonsense, which teache that a child is free to participate in masturbation as contained in the Childs Right Act and a lot of things I don’t want to say now. Thank God that the Federal Government has suspended that nonsense.

Christian leaders were not consulted. It was a jamboree; it was a mess. It should be repealed and buried. I want to thank God for all Christians particularly the way they behaved because in this country, if you dare say that Mohammed was not a prophet and put it in the curriculum, by this time, Muslims would have started burning everywhere. Thank God Christians were controlled. But, you don’t try that with Muslims. Thank God the issue did not degenerate to a crisis.

Would it not be proper that our children learn the dominant religions in the country so that they can better understand each other?

Is there any part of the constitution that forces me to study a subject? No. So keep all subjects different and allow one the choice to study. We are not saying don’t make this a subject. What we are saying is that the authorities should bring all the subjects to the table and allow people to choose which ones they want to study rather than choose for people. Unbundle the subjects and let people make the choice. Do not impose a subject, particularly religious subjects on students.

There is freedom of religious worship in Nigeria. Do not use the instrumentality of government to force religious subjects on people.

That is indirectly infringing on the rights of our children. We are not against anyone or any religion but we want them to unbundle religious subjects.

How do you see the resurgence of PDP I am not a PDP or APC member but I believe a good democracy needs a robust opposition. I heard the APC chairman said that they have over 20 states while the PDP has about 10 states. I want to correct him. When PDP had all the States and APC had almost no state, they came and won all the states. So, it’s a warning. APC should not make the mistake of the PDP. The mistake of the PDP was that they claimed they are the largest party in Africa and would rule for 60 years. Where are they now – are they still the largest party in Africa and are they still ruling for 60 years unbroken? That’s why I advise the APC not to make such statements. The electorate is wiser and smarter. They are suffering and there is no food. The other day a widow told me she wants to go back to Kogi State because she has nothing in Calabar. No food, no money for rent and as a pastor, I could only give her N20, 000 to feed and cannot afford to take her and her children to my house because I am not a polygamist. In Kogi, how is she expected to survive? So, we have members like that all over and the church is becoming empty. APC should face the needs of the country and not 2019 because what happened to the PDP will also happen to them if they fail to face the needs of the country.

16

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

POLITICS

Quit notice: Stop another looming genocide now-rights group In this report, Special Correspondent CHIMA CHRISTIAN writes on the A petition by a human rights group, Civil Rights to the Nigerian authorities HUMAN rights group, Civil Rights has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, the UN, AU, ECOWAS, EU, UK Parliament, AI Nigeria, among others to do everything within their powers to prevent another looming genocide against the Igbo people of Nigeria.

The petition came against the backdrop of the quit notice given, in June this year, to the Igbo living in northern Nigeria by a coalition of northern youth groups, to vacate the region before October 1 this year or face the consequences of their ‘recalcitrance’.

The Civil Rights petition read in part: “On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, a coalition of youth associations from northern Nigeria issued a statement, which has now come to be infamously known as ‘The Kaduna Declaration’ in Kaduna, ordering fellow citizens of the Igbo stock from Southeast Nigeria, to quit the north of Nigeria before October 1, 2017, as they (northern Nigerian youths) would commence ‘visible actions’, which include to “reclaim, assume and assert sole ownership and control of ... landed resources currently owned, rented or in any way enjoyed by the ... Igbo in any part of Northern Nigeria.

“Consequently, officials of the signatory groups to this declaration are already mandated to commence immediate inventory of all properties, spaces or activity in the north currently occupied by the Igbo for forfeiture at the expiration of the ultimatum contained in this declaration.”

The group further noted that “soon after this quit notice, a hate song composed in Hausa language encouraging the massacre of the Igbo anywhere they are found in the north of Nigeria went viral.”

“Apart from the fact that the quit notice and declaration to forcefully eject and take over properties belonging to the Igbo in northern Nigeria violate all known statutes of the United Nations guaranteeing the legal ownership of property and enjoyment of same by the owners anywhere in the world, these threats by youths of northern Nigeria have set the tone for genocide against the Igbo from October 1, 2017, hence, our petition for those behind the statements, songs and actions to be brought to book in order to nip the planned genocidal attacks in the bud,” Civil Rights stated.

“The threats should not be taken lightly especially as notable leaders and elders of northern Nigeria have given their backing to the quit notice and hate song against the Igbo while the commoners have been celebrating same.

“Our advice comes from the background of the fact that it was the same process and sequence as we are witnessing today that led to the pogroms against the Igbo people in northern Nigeria in 1966, leading to the Nigerian civil war and other mass actions against the people at several times in the past.

“We hereby urge all relevant authorities both local and international to rise to the occasion and ensure such violence is not allowed to happen again because it has the possibilities of throwing the nation into another round of chaos more massive than the scale of a civil war.

“Following the unlawful and ill-advised notice issued by Arewa youths of northern Nigeria to the Igbo people residing in that part of the country to quit on or before October 1, 2017, a hate song that has gone viral composed in Hausa language by a Hausa/Fulani singer encouraging the massacre of Igbos anywhere they are found in Nigeria, and the grave danger such notice and song portend to not only the Igbo people but also Nigerians in general, we seek, by this petition, the urgent actions of Nigerian authorities,

and the international community against what the group calls ‘looming genocide against Ndigbo.’

• President Buhari

• Mazi Kanu

Apart from the fact that the quit notice and declaration to forcefully eject and take over properties belonging to the Igbo in northern Nigeria violate all known statutes of the United Nations guaranteeing the legal ownership of property and enjoyment of same by the owners anywhere in the world, these threats by youths of northern Nigeria have set the tone for genocide against the Igbo

”

the United Nations and the international community to immediately bring the authors of the hate speech and genocidal song to justice.

It is instructive that the petition came in the wake of a national broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari to, as it were, mark his return from a 100-day medical vacation in Europe. In the said broadcast, made on national network radio and television, the President during whose absence so much happened, only made general oblique reference to the tension generated by the activities of the Northern youths. But, he was copious in his reference to the activities of pro-Biafra elements, as evident in his narration of his meeting with the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu with whom he presumably agreed in 2003 that “the country must remain one and united.”

“Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away and saddle

others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood,” Buhari declared, obviously discountenancing the clamour for restructuring that had gathered momentum nationally while he was away on sick leave.

He, however, noted, in his only reference to the quit notice, which many believe presents greater danger to the ‘non-negotiable’ but ever elusive Nigerian unity than pro-Biafra activities, that “every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.”

While acknowledging the right of groups to agitate, as he believes “every group has a grievance,” the President, however, pointed out that “the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence,” a task he said only the National Assembly and the Council of State have the responsibility to handle.” In effect, Buhari has foreclosed restructuring of

any type, which the National Assembly, perceivably acting at the behest of the North, which is opposed to restructuring, has thrown out as an item on the constitutional amendment agenda.

Soon after Buhari’s early morning broadcast on Monday, August 20, security operatives poured into the streets of Onitsha, the commercial city on the Niger, guns on the ready harassing motorists (the obvious pastime in the East), as if to give effect to the President order to them to fight and destroy “terrorists and criminals relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety,” even as he promised “to reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against elements of Boko Haram (who) are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets; kidnappers and herdsmen (but also against), “ethnic violence fuelled by political mischief makers.”

This hardline stance of the President, at a time that many expected him to be reconciliatory, has raised fears in the East over possible fresh attack and killing of pro-Biafra agitators by security agents, a ground the President appears to have prepared with his rather uncompromising, anger-filled broadcast.

In the light of the foregoing, critics argue that the Civil Rights’ petition to the Nigerian authorities and the international community against the ‘Igbo-Quit-theNorth’ notice couldn’t, probably, have come at a more auspicious time.

“We call on the Nigerian authorities in particular to immediately embark on a global campaign particularly in northern Nigeria to ensure that these murderous plots against the Igbo race in Nigeria do not become manifest,” Civil Rights stressed. “We, by this petition, also put world leaders particularly those of the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Israel, among others, on notice relating to these infractions.”

The Oracle Today

17

Wednesday August 30, 2017

BU$IN£SS •Energy •Finance

•Stock

•Insurance

•Aviation

•e-Platform

Drop in arrivals posts gloom for aviation sector L

By VICTOR NZE

NCC goes tough on telcos over corporate governance Howell, Managing Director of AviaDev, Africa’s leading airline route development conference, who was reacting to the data.

Another highly-contentious policy of the Federal Government in the sector which has heavily split practitioners, stakeholders and administrators include the controversial five per cent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC/CSC) remittances.

It would be recalled that the umbrella body of airline owners in the country, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), earlier this year at the height of the controversy surrounding the statutory levy demanded the suspension of the policy by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) until the parameters which constitute the levy are clearly and properly defined.

“AON has no problem with the NCAA going ahead to automate the collection and remittance of the said charges. However, the NCAA needs to give clarification on what constitutes the five per cent ticket and cargo sales charge.

“The five per cent TSC is only applicable on base fare, in compliance with industry practice and as currently applicable to international carriers operating out of Nigeria,’’ Meggisson said, adding that AON members are currently remitting the charges and ‘it is on record that the NCAA introduced financial clearance process for services over

Currency

Buying(NGN) Central(NGN)

Selling(NGN)

US DOLLAR

304.7

305.7

305.2

POUNDS STERLING 392.4841

393.1281

393.7722

EURO

357.7178

358.3048

358.8918

SWISS FRANC

316.9007

317.4207

317.9407

CFA

0.5247

0.5347

0.5447

WAUA

427.2724

427.9736

428.6747

YUAN/RENMINBI 45.6539

45.7292

45.8046

RIYAL

81.2468

81.3802

81.5135

S/AFRICAN RAND

23.0329

23.0707

23.1085

48.2504

DANISH KRONA

48.0926

48.1715

428.2559

428.9586

Industry anger greets NLNG Act amendment e-Platform

CBN EXCHANGE RATES AUGUST, 18, 2017

SDR

Energy

P20

429.6614

P22

Aviation Income repatriation:

Foreign airlines withdraw fleet

P27

Insurance •Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika

the last few years.’

He said despite the tax burden on airlines, the infrastructure and service level continue to deteriorate across all facets of the industry, under the same authority, even as he accused the NCAA of discriminating against the domestic airlines because foreign airlines were not mandated to join the same automation platform.

“It is apparent that NCAA is preying on domestic airlines, which they see as an easy target, a cash cow and for cheap publicity. They are over-regulating domestic operators and pushing domestic airlines to the edge of insolvency and bankruptcy. It is these kinds of policies that have reduced the lifespan Continues on P18

AST week’s report by travel marketing firm the ForwardKeys which forecast a gloomy outlook for the Nigerian aviation on the strength of the drop in inbound tourists figures, serves to solidify the position long held by experts in the industry who have maintained that weak and inordinate policies constitute the framework now drives the sector.

The report also claimed the massive cut in seats by airlines arriving in the country on the basis of an inordinate order by the Federal Government to withhold remittances to the foreign carriers as well as the issue multiple exchange rates for the local currencies against the dollar and others.

That study which analyzed seat capacity to top ten destinations in Africa, including Nigeria, posited that the major arrivals hub of the country, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, is conspicuously declining in arrival figures for both international and domestic capacity largely on account of decision by Arik Air to cut 53 per cent of its seat capacity for the rest of the year.

The situation is not different from the threat posed to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, the second biggest arrivals hub in the country.

The negative forecast for Nigeria arrivals comes against the backdrop of growth figures projected for other parts of the continent.

According to the ForwardKeys findings, during the coming five months, August – December 2017, there will be 16 per cent fewer airline seats on domestic routes and 9 per cent fewer and on international routes to and from the MMIA, Lagos.

“One of the major reasons for falling arrivals by air to Nigeria is the fact that many airlines could not repatriate funds after the currency crisis in 2016. As a result, Iberia and United Airlines have ceased operations to Nigeria, whilst Emirates and the other foreign carriers have scaled back services.

“The Nigerian airlines have suffered too and so this void has been filled by the ever-opportunistic Ethiopian Airlines, who began serving their fifth Nigerian destination, Kaduna on 1st August 2017 and are now the largest carrier in the Nigerian market,” said Jon

•Tourism

PenCom, PenOp tackle lawmakers on N6.5trn pension assets

P28

Stock Market Highlights As At August 18, 2017 Summary

ASI 36,920.56 DEALS 3,803.00 VOLUME 236,619,367.00 VALUE 4,807,693,729.28 CAP 12,725,510,339,197.47

5 Top Gainers Symbols Last Close Current Change DANGCEM 219.8 225 5.2 GUARANTY 37.1 39.5 2.4 STANBIC 37 38.85 1.85 ZENITHBANK 23.01 24.53 1.52 PZ 25.65 26.93 1.28

S/N

5 Top Losers

1 2 3 4 5

Coy (By Volume) Volume ZENITHBANK UBA GUARANTY FIDELITYBK FBNH

Value

61,847,345 1,471,989,761.19 40,407,231 380,678,351.48 32,513,493 1,261,132,563.78 12,379,738 16,039,268.50 11,736,332 70,101,685.89

Company Last Close Current Change OKOMUOIL 72.72 69.09 -3.63 NB 184 181.02 -2.98 CADBURY 12.7 12.07 -0.63 GUARANTY 40.06 39.6 -0.46 DANGFLOUR 6.67 6.38 -0.29

18

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

BUSINESS

FAA in Nigeria for IASA audit of aviation sector

By VICTOR NZE

A

SPECIALISED team from United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is already in the country to begin the re-certification of the Category 1 status of the nation’s aviation sector at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in Lagos.

General Manager, Public Rela-

tions, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, who disclosed this in Lagos, in a statement, said that the exercise which holds from August 21 to 25, was last conducted in 2015.

The exercise is also known as the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) audit.

The IASA audit affords the FAA the opportunity to determine whether another country’s air-

line had complied with the safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to fly into the U.S., or can code-share with a U.S. air carrier.

Adurogboye said that members of four-man team from the FAA include: Louis Alvarez, Team leader, L.P. Vanstory, Operations Specialist, Benjamin Garrido, Airworthi-

ness Specialist and Jeffrey Klang, Attorney, adding that the officials would assess the country’s aviation law, regulations and oversight capability in accordance with the eight critical elements as defined in ICAO document 9734.

“These will include legislation, regulations, organisation, technical staff, quality and training. Others are: the technical guidance,

tools, licensing, certification, continuous surveillance and resolution of safety concerns,” he said.

Adurogboye added that during the assessment, the team would visit Medview Airline to assess its operations and maintenance section, just as the team would hold a debriefing session on its findings at the headquarters of the NCAA’s in Lagos.

Onu assures on sustainable technologies to back SMEs

M

INISTER of Science and Technology, Dr Dgbonnaya Onu, has assured that his ministry will continue to deploy suitable technologies for the promotion of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

A statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Mr Abdul Aminu, Chief Press Secretary to the minister, quoted Onu as saying this at the African SME Expo held in Lagos.

According to him, the idea is to ensure economic diversification and sustainable economic growth in the country.

“Agencies of the Ministry such as the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Federal Institute for Industrial Research Oshodi (FIRO) have offered aids to SMEs. “Also, Raw Materials Research

and Development Council (RMRDC) and Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) have established centres in different states to provide support to SMEs across the country. They have trained and empowered so many entrepreneurs through their various technologies and innovative skills programmes,“ he said.

According to him, the ministry is aligning with the government’s economic diversification drive to ensure security and self- reliance.

He added that application of technology across sectors would create jobs, contribute to growth in Gross Domestic Product, Create new products and services, create SMEs, transform the workforce, improve living standards, and enhance international trade.

... Posts gloom for aviation Continued from P17

of Nigerian airlines and consumed over 25 airlines in the last 30 years since deregulation in 1982,’’ he said.

The AON president appealed to the NCAA to focus its energy on being an enabler and to foster growth in the Nigerian aviation industry, in line with its mandate, adding that while airlines in other West African countries operate 24 hours, Nigerian carriers are subjected to daylight operations only till 6:30 p.m. in most of our airports.

“Yet the West African charges are almost a fraction of Nigeria’s domestic billing. Sadly also, Nigerian airlines are the only mode of transport paying the Value Added Tax (VAT). Marine, road and rail transport don’t pay, and even the foreign airlines operating into Nigeria are exempted from paying VAT in Nigeria and their home base.

It is interesting to note that Ghana, only on March 30, announced the cancellation of VAT on domestic and intentional air travel,’’ Meggisson added.

Aero-medical practitioner, Dr. Owolabi Makunjuola, also recently condemned policies evolved by the Federal Government on the nation’s aviation sector, describing them as inordinate.

Makunjuola, the first specialist fellow in Aerospace Medicine and Human factors of West Africa College of Physicians and United States-based global Aerospace Medical Association, who was speaking at a Leadership lecture of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, also warned that the Federal Government ‘has done nothing to change its approach.’

According to the retired Nigerian Air Force chief, core professionals have left the country because the system in the aviation industry is wrong and nothing has changed.

“In fact, most of the people that I have trained have left the country saying that if there will be no opportunities to reflect the changes that we know and we still engage in sharp practices, it is an accident waiting to happen because it is not rocket science. We are wasting our time because nothing has changed. How many of the ministers in the country today are even knowledgeable about what to do?

“Look, Nigeria is like a football field where the football itself has been thrown out of the football pitch and here you have two teams still playing with each other and the referee is playing with one of the teams. That’s the story of Nigeria. Go and write it down, unless we change, another spate of air disasters is still coming because we have done nothing,” he stressed.

• Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo with newly-re-elected President Paul Kagame of Rwanda at the Presidential Inauguration of Kagame, in Kigali, weekend.

FAO distributes rice seedlings to Anambra farmers

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HE Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with Africa Rice Nigeria has distributed 51 bags of improved rice seedlings to 50 farmers in Anambra to boost production.

FAO National Project Coordinator, Rice Value Chain, Mr Andrew Ikhadeunu, told newsmen in Awka, Monday, that the beneficiaries were earlier selected and trained in February.

“They were given demonstration plots for planting. Now they have harvested, we are following it up with the improved seeds of 51

bags of rice for them,’’ he said.

Ikhadeunu said that the aim was to support the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which is the facilitator of the programme to empower rice farmers in the state.

“There is need for us to come out of hunger. If we are to put an end to massive rice importation, there is need to empower some Nigerians with such intervention programme.

“We look at it that there is need for us to support the farmers. We look at the states that have poten-

‘FG spent N1.3trn on capital projects in 2016’

F

EDERAL Government spent N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016 representing the highest in the history of the country, according to the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Osinbajo who disclosed this, Monday, at a plenary of the 2017 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Conference in Lagos with the theme: “African Business: Penetrating Through Institution Building,” also said the government remains committed to the power sector reform.

The sub-theme of the plenary was “Conversations With The Vice-President”, moderated by Miss Zain Asher, a CNN news anchor.

“The Federal Government spent about N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016, the highest in the history of the country. The power sector reform is also ongoing as it is one of the most important sectors in the

country,” Osinbajo said.

Responding to Asher’s questions, Osinbajo said the administration had set a solid foundation for the nation’s economic recovery which, he described, as the most important reform of the administration.

“We were dealing with a monoeconomy (relying on one major export or natural resource) and a financial industry that was essentially opaque. We have set a foundation of rebuilding the economy, creating the Single Treasury Account (TSA), monitoring government’s spending, modifying the tax system to be more efficient and implementing executive orders.”

According to the vice-president, the administration has also cleared what he described as a mess inherited from the previous administration.

On whether poor Nigerians in the

rural areas have felt the impact of the reforms, Osinbajo said diversification into agriculture had been embraced in most northern states with a lot of transformation.

“For the economy, we are going to see a tripling in the harvesting of rice, prosperity is returning to some states like Kebbi and Zamfara. The rural areas where the highest level of poverty is experienced, there is a turnaround as the highest number of people who went for 2017 hajj were farmers.

“There is a lot of export of agricultural products, what we need to do is to engage in more value added exports and we have quite a few investors,” Osinbajo told the conference, further noting that agricultural sector had witnessed hi-tech farming and investments with more people taking to farming.

tials, and Anambra state is one of them,’’ he said.

According to him, other benefiting states in the programme are Abia, Ekiti, Edo, Nassarawa and Jigawa.

He urged the beneficiaries to resist the temptation of selling the rice seeds, adding, “what you have is the best and with your cooperation, we can achieve food sufficiency in the country. You are the ones who will sustain the economy and create jobs for the teeming populace.”

Regional Representative of Africa Rice Nigeria, Dr Francis Nwilene, said that the target was for each state of Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice production.

Nwilene, who was represented by Mr Jide Oladejo, one of the scientists in FAO, said that the major challenges of rice production in Nigeria were impurities, adding that each rice seed variety should have the characteristic called “DUS’’ meaning distinct, uniform and staple.

“The programme will help to reduce importation of rice to each state, empowering the farmers and reduction of hunger and poverty,’’ he said.

State Director of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Pius Ogbonna, said that the farmers’ testimony had shown that the programme was a boost to efforts at ensuring food security.

“It is a welcome development for the youths and women to be busy in life,’’ he said.

Ogbonna called for timely supply of seeds, fertilizer, chemicals and machines to farmers.

19

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

BUSINESS

By CHRIS EBONG

W

ORRIED over the incessant cases of building collapse across the country, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) has cautioned the government on the incidences, saying activities of all building regulatory agencies nationwide should be audited in order to combat the rising cases.

NIA president, Mr. Tonye Braide, who said this at the third distinguished architect’s lecture, noted that negligence on the part of regulatory agencies was always to blame for incidents of building collapse.

“The frequency of building collapse may raise questions on the relevance of the agencies. There may be the need to conduct an audit on the activities of these agencies over the last three years to see how relevant their areas of emphasis have been towards national development.

“The continuing collapse of buildings in Nigeria will raise questions on the integrity of the officers in the agencies. Many could ask: when buildings collapse what has been the reaction? Were investigations and reports to prepare preventive measures to forestall further occurrence carried out?

Has any of the actors in the development process been brought to book? Have the Nigerian people been told what may be the direct and remote causes of the collapse, which would have killed scores of innocent citizens? When a person presents himself for a job he cannot do, it is corruption; and Nigeria has the mechanism to fight and contain corruption,” he said.

He further pointed out if the fight against corruption was extended

Building collapse: NIA wants regulators audited to the regulatory process in the construction industry it would create a pathway to stop the continuing collapse of buildings and make the country great again, architecturally.

“If we aspire to be one of the

leading 20 nations in architecture, we must rise to collectively stop the spate of collapsed buildings in Nigeria. The buildings are coming down at an average rate of one per month with great fatalities. This is totally unacceptable for a country

repositioning towards becoming relevant in global affairs in the industry. It means that something is critically wrong with the structure of building construction administration.

“Government has set up regula-

ECRMI Council visits LASEMA G

•L-R: Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and his counterpart in Rivers State, Nyesom Wike during the just-concluded 57th Annual General Conference of the NBA in Lagos

NRC resumes Lagos-Kano routes T HE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Monday, said it has commenced operations on Lagos to Kano rail services after two months of Jebba-Mokwa washout out as a result of heavy rainfall.

The NRC Director of Operations, Mr Niyi Alli, said the corporation has resumed both passengers and freight services along the routes.

“We have resumed operations after the unfortunate washout incident along Jebba-Mokwa road.

The normal services have resumed between Western Line and the North in terms of haulage of freight and passengers.

“Necessary steps have been taken by the corporation to ensure such disaster be prevented in the nearest future,” he said.

Alli who said that not only the railway way affected by the disaster but also the major road between Jebba to Mokwa town, assured that adequate measures have been put in place to ensure the rail

services were improved on a daily basis.

“Adequate supervisions have been put in place on the tracks to prevent any disaster in future. The

development would prevent further incident in order not to have much impact on the train services.

We are looking at the various washouts prone areas and ensuring necessary steps taken to prevent

future occurrence at the same time minimise the impacts,” Alli said.

The director said that continuous rain has affected the quick execution of the project since June.

iSON bags Frost & Sullivan award for innovation

By SAMSON AKINTARO

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USINESS Process Outsourcing and contact centre service provider, iSON BPO, has received the West African Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership. The award was based on the recent analysis of the business process optimization (BPO) industry market by Frost & Sullivan.

The analysis revealed that iSON gave a huge boost to its market prospects by diversifying its services portfolio to cater to multiple industries.

Its operational best practices and deployment of sophisticated tools have facilitated the integration of people,

process, and technology, making it the service provider of choice in the West African market. “iSON has started setting up operations in Tier II cities in all West African countries in which it operates as semiurban and rural population comprises 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the West African population. This has allowed it to slash the cost of operations, while gaining a bigger and cheaper resource pool. The company recruits only local talent, and has a multilingual workforce that supports up to 30 languages,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Deepti Dhinakaran. “iSON BPO’s strategies are highly customer centric, with 100 per cent

focus on customer experience management. Its multichannel customer support has enabled it to enhance service across all customer segments and lower costs,” noted Dhinakaran, who added: “These outstanding value propositions have helped the company stand out from its competitors and position itself for greater growth.”

Receiving the Award, Founder and Chairman Mr. Ramesh Awtaney , said, “I am pleased, honored and humbled to receive the Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership Award by Frost and Sullivan. iSON started in 2010 and since then it has been an incredible journey of learning and leadership to grow to over 10,000 employees across 20 delivery centers.

Stakeholders urge PenCom to prioritise transfer window

By CHRIS EBONG

S

TAKEHOLDERS in the pension industry have urged the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to speed up implementation of transfer window, adding that further delay might threaten the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

According to them, there was urgent need to open the transfer window now that CPS contributors stood at 7.5 million and not when the number further grows and become

tory agencies in the industry, but are these agencies doing what they should be doing? Some agencies have personnel who have emptied the content of their brains in chasing rumours and gossips, leaving no space to contain the how and why of building collapse. We are not taking the blame for the crumbling buildings in our cities away from design failures, but building collapse is also due to poor governance structures in the construction process, not architectural design failure alone,” he added.

difficult to manage.

Executive Director, Operations, CrusaderSterling Pensions, Conrad Ifode while presenting a paper at the event, said PenCom was taking its time to ensure that the registration of the contributors was done perfectly and devoid of multiple registrations. ”It is impossible to open the transfer window now because of inherent problems of multiple registrations, multiple pins, in fact there is no standard biometrics for the contributors. It

is what all PFAs can do, that is bringing all pins digitalized”, he insisted.

Mr. Ifode who spoke on; “Biometric Issues and Client Familiarity Requirement, Challenges and Potentials’, at the just-concluded PenOp media retreat held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said there was a great need to take biometric of all contributors of the CPS. He defines biometrics as an automated method for recognizing individuals based on measuring biological and behavioral characteristics.

This biometrics, he said will enhance proper registration of the contributors in order to get rid of multiple registrations which are currently a challenge in the industry as he disclosed that multiple registrations has been a major problem militating against implementation of the transfer window which the industry has been working to open.

The transfer window enables contributors to move from one PFA to another based on the regulators specification.

eneral Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, has assured the Emergency Crisis and Risk Management Institute (ECRMI), of his agency’s support in developing emergency responders.

Adesina gave the assurance, last Monday, when the ECRMI Governing Council Members paid a courtesy visit to his office led by Mr Fyneray Mbata, who represented the President/Chairman of Governing Council, Prof Onatolu Odukoya.

The ECRMI team visited LASEMA Management to discuss areas of bilateral relationships between the two organizations.

The ECRMI delegation also included the DG, Dr Akawo, other members of staff of ECRMI.

CIBN to induct 1034 new members

By VICTOR NZE

T

he Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has concluded plans to induct 1034 new members in Lagos on August 26.

CIBN said in a statement in Lagos, Monday, said the granduands who would be inducted at its 2017 Graduates Induction and Prize Awards Day consist of 234 newly-qualified associates.

“42 Chartered Bankers in Masters Business Administration (CBMBA), 689 Microfinance Certified of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (MCIBs) and 69 Banking Certificate graduates.’’

The institute said that a lecture to prepare the minds of the new members for the challenges ahead and particularly to acquaint them with survival tactics in any economic difficulty would be held as part of the ceremony.

It said that the lecture with the title: “Entrepreneurship Mindset: Critical success Factor for the 21st Century Professional” would be delivered by Mr Olabode Agusto, the Founder of Agusto and Co. The institute said the ceremony would be attended by members of the banking community and representatives of corporate organisations with Mrs Eniola Fadayomi, a Fellow of Institute of Directors (FIoD) and Chairman of African Prudential as the Special Guest of Honour.

20

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

ENERGY

By SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

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igeria’s frontline business leaders have demanded the National Assembly to instantly discontinue with legislative processes on the bill seeking amendment of the Act establishing the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited.

The bill essentially seeks to strip all the incentives earlier provided by government to lure multinational investors to stake huge funds in commercial liquefaction and export of gas produced at Nigeria’s petroleum production sites. The commercial gas export is a clear policy move to cut flares, generate revenue and activate ancillary businesses in the operations chain.

The incentives, The Oracle Today reports, include tax reliefs, guarantees and assurances that insulate the company from political inferences, liabilities to parties strange to the investment partners, and inconsistencies in policies and programmes of government. Some of the incentives like tax holiday have outlived their tenures and have been vacated. The prevailing ones mainly comprise guarantees and assurances that border on sanctity of agreements that govern the business.

Stripping NLNG of the guarantees and assurances as proposed in the amendment bill is now the subject of heated dispute.

Renowned industry stalwarts including former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji; chairman of Lagos Petroleum Club, Dr, Godswill Ihetu; Executive Director of SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability project (SERAP), Mr. Tokunbo Mumni; Head of Energy Research at Ecobank, Mr Dolapo Oni, amongst others decried amendment of the NLNG Act as dangerous to the economy.

The business leaders who spoke during a panel session that formed part of the 2017 August conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) deflated all arguments advanced

by Hon. Simon Yakubu Arobo of the House of Representatives and warned that over-exposing Nigeria’s most efficiently run company to multiple financial demands would leave it crumbling under the weight of responsibility.

The oracle Today reports that NLNG is a shining example of incorporated joint venture (IJV) between government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the one hand, and Shell, Total and Eni on the other hand.

The company which is the pioneer IJV among the partners is practically a midstream spin off from the upstream, NNPC/Shell/Total/Eni oil and gas exploration and production joint venture (JV). The company conceived by the partners drive a profitable solution to the problem of associated gas flaring.

NNPC holds overriding 49 percent financial interest in the company while Shell Gas BV owns 25.6 percent operating interest.

Also, Total has 15 percent in the company while Eni International N.V.S.a.r.l holds the remaining 10.4 percent interest.

From start up in September 1999, the company has paid princely $24 billion to Nigerian oil firms for 5.58 trillion standard cubic feet of associated gas recovered from the flare boom and channelled to its $15.4 billion processing facilities.

Within the period, the company has invested some $16.6 billion in the country, earned $95.1 billion in revenue, and dissolved some $42

Industry anger greets NLNG Act amendment billion into the Nigerian economy in terms of dividends and sundry taxes to government, regulatory fees, and procurement of local goods and services.

The company is reputed to be the biggest single corporate tax payer in Africa. But it still contends with more financial demands from government agencies.

The sponsored bill to amend the NLNG Act is the highest point of political intrigues in the demand by some agencies of government that crave financial receipts from the buoyant gas export company.

NLNG is in court with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to contest huge regula tory bills summed up from early age of the company.

Also, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is making strident demands from NLNG as statutory contribution towards development of industry host environment, and the company’s reference to government’s guarantees and assurances enshrined in its establishment laws prompted government advance proxy sponsors for the amendment the act.

Unlike the National Assembly where the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) lingered for over 10 years, the bill for amendment of NLNG Act surprisingly received accelerated legislative activity despite a wave of public opposition.

Hon. Simon Yakubu Arobo said the House of Representatives holds the right to amend any Act that is not in consonance with the country’s prevailing social and economic realities, insisting that that the amendment process would run full course.

He stated that corporate businesses in the country must conform to the economic aspirations of the country, maintaining that every law and agreement must be subject to changes and updates in tune with changing realities.

He hinted that the amendment has seen gas processing companies included in the group of oil companies that must contribute 3.0 percent of their operating budget into the pool of funds for NDDC. He did not specify whether all gas processing firms would be involved. He did

Waves of angry voices from industry and civil society groups roundly decried progress made on the bill as misuse of legislative powers, pointing out that altering an establishment act that forms the basis of foreign direct investment amounts to breach of business agreement.

”

not also draw any line between gas specific firms on one hand and integrated oil and gas firms.

In response, waves of angry voices from industry and civil society groups roundly decried progress made on the bill as misuse of legislative powers, pointing out that altering an establishment act that forms the basis of foreign direct investment amounts to breach of business agreement.

In separate contributions to the argument, they expressed anger at the deaf ears paid by the House of Representatives to a spate of public outcry against the adverse impact reversal of business agreements would have on the domestic economy.

They also condemned vehement efforts by fixed political interests in the country to drain every revenue stream available to the country, and blamed signals arising from government’s constant breach of business agreements with foreign investors for the worsening investment flight, associated scarcity of foreign exchange and general economic downturn.

Former Minister of Power, Prof.

Barth Nnaji, who responded to a cross fire of arguments between the Hon. Simon YakubuArobo of the House of Representatives and Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke of NLNG, made it clear that agreements are legal instruments that form the basis for investment decisions.

He pointed out that government must respect its contracts with business entities in order to attract the right set of foreign direct investments required to realize the country’s aspiration for rapid economic development.

Chairman of the Lagos Petroleum Club, Dr. Godswill Ihetu, stated

that the NLNG Act amendment would further worsen the current state of foreign investment apathy in the Nigerian petroleum industry, scare off intending entrants, send dangerous signals to the international investment community and stall growth in the midstream petroleum sector.

Dr. Ihetu who is the pioneer Managing Director of NLNG gave hindsight on the company’s establishment act, explaining that the plan for the country’s gas liquefaction and monetization programmes had laid dormant since 1970s due to uncertainties in the global gas business and Nigeria’s uncongenial operating environment. He pointed out that government had to provide assurances and guarantees needed for the investors to stake capital in generating value for the country.

He noted that NLNG has since its establishment paid over $15 billion dividend to government, paid the biggest corporate tax in Africa to Nigerian government, employed tens of thousand Nigerians directly and indirectly; and reduced gas flares in the country.

He pointed out that breach of trust that would inevitably arise from disputes over amendment of the NLNG Act seriously threatens further investment by partners in the planned Trains 7 and 8 of the company. Development projects for the highly flaunted next generation liquefaction trains are expected to generate over 18 million jobs in the domestic environment during the construction phase.

In his contribution, Mr. Mumuni made it clear that SERAP is more interested in the role of the National Assembly to protect the rights of individual and corporate

citizens. He tasked the legislators to conduct performance audits on government agencies funded from industry budgets to ensure that deliver on their mandates.

He made specific reference to NDDC and wondered why the National Assembly has failed to ask questions on the performance of the agency which has been funded consistently but, according to him, failed to deliver commensurate result.

Chairman of Mentor Energy, Mr. Victor Eromosele, who spoke extensively on the subject, concluded that the bill to amend the NLNG Act is not well thought out, wrongly premised and exhibited gross misunderstanding of the workings of the upstream and midstream industry operations.

According to him, NDDC funding obligations are borne by producing companies. He made it clear that amending the Act to drag NLNG into the NDDC tax list shows poor understanding of the operating cycle.

He explained that shareholders including Shell, Total and Eni respectively already pay the NDDC contribution as producers, arguing that same investors would be taxed again if NLNG is forced to accept obligation to NDDC. In pointing at the signals the amendment bill is sending to the industry, Mr. Eromosele warned that other producers with arrangements for gas processing investments might drop their plans if the amendment of the NLNG Act succeeds.

General Manager in charge of External Relations at NLNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, took time to explain the confusion in the amendment, warning that targeting further financial contributions from the company might lead those behind the amendment bill to cast a tax blanket over gas processing companies and establish a major investment disincentive that would take another rigorous legislative process to dismantle.

He explained that authors of the amendment failed to consider that almost all midstream companies including fertiliser companies, petrochemical companies, refineries, power companies and other upstream gas harnessing companies would be made liable to make similar payments as NLNG. He pointed out that bill’s target to dismantle cradle shields for NLNG was running late, explaining that all early incentives provided the company have elapsed. He told the crowd that the company is only asking for sanctity of guarantees and assurances that underpin its establishment.

21

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

ENERGY

FG sets prices for November LPG grades Stories by SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

F

ederal government has released the prices for cargoes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) grades produced in the country, zeroing out specification differentials that normally set butane and propane competing for premium.

This comes as condensate added boost to the country’s production performance in July, amplifying the role of natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the country’s upstream yields.

According to market reports by S&P Global Platts, the two major cooking gas specifications from Nigeria will be lifted from the terminals at the same price.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) set the September official selling prices (OSP) for all grades of LPG, keeping propane and butane at parity, according to the report.

The September OSP for propane cargoes was set at a $19.56/ mt discount to S&P Global Platts CIF Northwest Europe propane assessment, compared with a $22.77/mt discount in August.

Normal butane and isobutane OSPs were also set at a $19.56/mt discount to the CIF NWE butane assessments, from $22.77/mt in August.

OSPs for LPG mix from the Escravos Basin were set at a $52.35/ mt discount, narrowing from a $55.56/mt discount in August

Pipeline Vandalism: Govt laments impact on environment

T

he Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru has appealed to oil pipeline hackers to desist from such nefarious act which according to him is not only harmful to the environment but equally hazardous to the pipeline vandals and the economy.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Environmental Society who was at the NNPC Towers Abuja for a business meeting, Dr. Baru noted that the ugly incidents of petroleum pipeline pulverization presented a loss-loss scenario for the vandal, the environment and the economy.

The GMD restated the commitment of the Corporation to the best industry standards in Health Safety and the Environment, (HSE) noting that the Corporation does not embark on any project without a duly certified Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report. ``All our projects also go through commissioning and decommissioning and we do it in accordance with prevailing world standards and our environmental practices are in line with the latest International Standard Organization, ISO specification, ’’ Baru said.

The GMD noted that HSE was given a major consideration

before the Corporation executed the recent spate of multibillionaire upstream investment agreements with some of its Joint Venture partners. ‘’Be rest assured that if there is just one company that would be environmentally compliant in the industry, it is definitely going to be NNPC,’’ Baru told the NES delegation.

In her presentation, Mrs. Dorothy Bassey, National Vice President of the Society commended the NNPC for recent gale of success in the sector especially the signing of alternative funding agreements with JV partners and the re-invigoration of the NNPC Anti-Corruption unit.

Mrs. Bassey said as the foremost environmental society in the country, the NES was willing to forge a symbiotic relations with the Corporation to address all the concerns that comes with the day-day operations in the NNPC in particular and the oil and gas industry in general.

Earlier in the day, the NNPC GMD received a delegation of the Nigerian National Merit Award led by the Chairman, Prof. Shekarau Aku. Dr. Baru pledged the readiness of the Corporation to support and identify with the ideals of the NNMA which extols the merit and value addition to the society.

and pricing on a Mount Belview propane and butane basis.

Meanwhile, increased condensate output helped Nigeria’s average oil production up to 2.06 million b/d in July.

The ministry said the country’s crude output stood at 2.06 million b/d in July, up from 2.05 million b/d in June, and a sharp increase over the 1.6 million b/d output a year ago when production facilities were hit by attacks from Niger Delta militants.

Nigerian oil output has climbed steadily following a respite in activity by militants.

Loading of the popular export grade Forcados has resumed at its terminal in the Niger Delta after shutting for several months

over the past year following attacks in February and November 2016. Producers including Seplat Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas and Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. have all boosted their daily output of the grade.

Natural gas production also rose to 7.81 Bscf/d in July from 6.74 Bscf/d in the preceding month.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Chief Executive Maikanti Baru said in July Nigeria was well on the way to surpassing its oil production, including condensates, target of 2.2 million b/d for this year, as more facilities shut at the height of militancy in the Niger Delta last year were restarted.

Nigeria’s crude production cost now $23/bbl …NNPC saves $3billion annually

T

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has driven down the cost of crude oil production $23 per barrel. It plans to further lower it to between $17 and $19 for onshore and offshore production respectively.

The Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a unit of NNPC, Engr. Dafe Sejebor, said the country had saved a minimum

•Engr. Dafe Sejebor,

of $3.0 billion per annum.

The figure is still high by global standards given the Nigeria’s geological structure and low oil price cycle and associated downward pressure on the cost of industry services should support downside in per barrel production cost.

Production cost in Nigeria is traditionally high as a result of challenges in the operating environment, opaque operations procedures and high price cycle that sent figures as high as $78 dollars per barrel in 2015.

He commended the Federal Government for its support to the NNPC management in tackling the challenges in the petroleum industry, especially the cash call exit agreement signed in 2016 and the reduction of contracting circle from three years to six months.

On the new Petroleum Policy, Engr. Sejebor said it was necessitated by the increasing difficulty in operating the petroleum industry within the framework of the old Petroleum Act in the face of the delayed passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

He said the policy would restore investors’ confidence in the industry pending the full passage of the entire PIB by the National Assembly.

Oyo -9 well underway to deliver 7000 b/d

T

he drillship Pacific Bora has spudded the Oyo-9 development well on the offshore Oyo oil field.

Oyo-9 is planned to add an additional 6,000 to 7,000 b/d of oil, doubling Erin’s current production from the Oyo-8 well.

Operator of Oyo Field, Erin Energy, expects the well to take around 62 days to drill and complete. Production is planned by year-end and would be tiedin to the FPSO. The sixth-generation drillship Pacific Bora had arrived at the deepwater Oyo field early in the month.

Erin Energy had declared that the rig would spud the Oyo-9 well in the second week of the month.

The company stated it might exercise an option to use the rig additionally for wells on two other offshore Nigeria exploration prospects in the Miocene geological zone, which has been proven prolific in neighbouring blocks.

Earlier in July, Erin Energy finalized its plan to spud the Oyo-9 well by the end of the month, using Pacific Bora.

“Coincidental with completion of Oyo9, Erin will also tieback the Oyo-7 well to the FPSO Armada Perdana, which could add a further 2,000 b/d.

“Depending on available funding, the rig contract with Pacific Drilling could be extended to one or two wells in the prolific Miocene geological zone in OML 120.”

Transocean stakes $3.4 bn on Songa Offshore

T

ransocean has agreed to acquire the entire share capital of Songa Offshore, under a transaction estimated at around $3.4 billion.

The combined company will likely establish a Harsh Environment Center of Excellence in Norway to serve the North Sea and other harsh environment markets.

“The combination of Songa Offshore and Transocean is a strategic fit,” said Frederik W. Mohn, chairman of Songa Offshore. “By adding Songa Offshore’s four Cat-D rigs to Transocean’s existing harsh environment fleet, the combined company will be the leader within this segment which is showing signs of recovery.”

Transocean CEO Jeremy Thigpen added: “The acquisition will strengthen Transocean’s position as the leading offshore driller with exposure to deep- and harsh-water markets. Upon closing, Transocean will add four highspecification harsh environment floaters, in addition to three legacy mid-water harsh environment rigs…”

Assuming shareholder approval for the transaction, Mohn will be nominated to serve as director on the Transocean board.

22

The Oracle Today, Wednesday August 30, 2017

e-Platform NCC goes tough on corporate governance …Says no operator will be allowed to die

Stories by SAMSON AKINTARO

N

OTWITHSTANDING the vibrant regulatory environment, telecoms operators in Nigeria might have been operating by the rule of thumb as far as observance of corporate governance is concerned in the last 16 years. But those periods now seem to be over as the telecom regulator; Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) begins strict enforcement of sector-specific code of corporate government in the telecom sector.

This, the regulator said, would help to safeguard the over $68 billion investments in the Nigerian telecom sector and to attract more, noting that no foreign investor would invest in a market where there is no good corporate governance compliance.

Aside that, the Commission said this move to enforce corporate governance compliance is also in the interest of the telecom consumers, who would suffer most if any telecom company folded up suddenly.

While many would see the development as coming late, citing several incidences that had led to collapse of many telecom businesses in the past and even recent ones that nearly consumed a major operator, the regulator in its consultative approach, said the time lag was to ensure that the industry was well prepared for the new era. As a matter of fact, not only were the operators involved in the drafting of the code of corporate governance for the sector, the regulator had also held several sensitization

workshops to enlighten the operators about the code and the need to enforce it strictly.

It was along this line that the Commission recently held another sensitization workshop in Lagos to kick-start enforcement of the code. Speaking at the workshop, Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said the centrality of telecommunication to all spheres of the Nation’s life demands that, “we raise the standards of leadership and management in the sector to sustain the sector’s role as a driver of economic growth”.

The code, which dated back to 2012 when NCC instituted a Corporate Governance Working Group (CGWG), was formally launched in 2014 but then the operators were given the choice of complying voluntarily. By 2016, the regulator announced a period of mandatory compliance, but with no enforcement, the Commission described operators’ compliance as ‘passive’, adding that active compliance is now mandatory with full enforcement.

One of the key items in the Code is that the offices of Chairman and that of the CEO shall not be occupied by one person concurrently in any telecom company in Nigeria. In addition, no one can serve as a director in any telecom company for more than 15 years.

Reacting to complaints that the NCC might be dabbling into affairs of private companies through the code, Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare, said those complaining about the move have

failed to realize that the telecom operators, though they are not banks, are holding people’s money, hence, customers are bound to lose money if they fail. “These are special companies with high public interest; as such regulators are to ensure they are well run so they do not crash. These companies have gone beyond the threshold of private companies because of the quantum of public funds they hold without interest. We are also doing this because of the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment. It is very important and rapidly taking the place of crude oil, hence we are ensuring companies are well run to let investors know their money and investments are safe. If you buy a recharge card it is an investment in a telco and we are to ensure services are delivered equitably without exploitation, hence the code” he said.

“We are guarding against the Too Big to Fail syndrome, if the dictates of the code are adhered to the letter, we can guard against failure. This is not a silver bullet but it puts the trigger in the hands of the regulator to ensure only the best happens in the companies; practices, quality of staff and services, all because we seek to guard investors and FDI. The code, amongst other things, stipulates that the director of a telco cannot serve for more than 15 years. No other code gives that latitude. It also states sanctions for issues of delayed text message delivery, call masking, drop calls, forced subscriptions, bogus promises and breached agreements, to mention a few.

• Dambatta, EVC, NCC It is all in the interest of the subscriber. The success of telcos has come largely from NCC ensuring there is a level of corporate discipline and sanctions. We do not make noise about it,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Mr Dotun Sulaiman, has commended the NCC for taking the bold step of enforcing the code of corporate governance in the telecom sector, noting that the Commission has established for itself a reputation of a model regulator. Sulaiman in his keynote address at the corporate governance workshop, said the Nigerian economy is thirsty for more foreign investments, especially in the telecom sector, and this

means that things must be done right to attract investors. “We at FRC will also monitor telecom operators’ compliance. Be rest assured that we support the code and we would want it enforced strictly” he said.

Also throwing his weight behind the enforcement of the code, President of the Association of Telecommunications companies of Nigeria (ATCON, Olusola Teniola, described the code as a laudable initiative which should have been introduce to the telecom sector years back. Specifically, Teniola commended the 15 years term limit for directors, saying telecom is a dynamic business that requires young and vibrant people at all times.

200 teachers to undergo ICT training in Ondo A

Gov. Akeredeolu

BOUT 200 teachers in Ondo state are to be trained by SAP, world leaders in enterprise software in preparation for the organization’s Africa Code Week (ACW). According to SAP, the training which is in partnership with the Ondo State Government would also be extended to 50 volunteers as well as unemployed graduates from across the state.

“The vision of Ondo State is a remarkable one; to take Africa Code Week into the Nigeria hinterlands, to ensure that no child is left behind. In addition to this, it is commendable that unemployed graduates are included in the training that will contribute to the digital skills required to enter the competitive job market. The workshops enable the teachers of today to groom the innovators of tomorrow.

These workshops provide a platform for the transfer of skills from ‘Master Instructors’ to parents, teachers and volunteers.

This empowers them to become teachers who can train students in their local communities, creating a multiplication

effect”, said Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director for SAP West Africa.

Guerreiro noted that by 2020, 80 per cent of all jobs would be Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) related, and bold approaches are required to bring coherence and scale to digital literacy interventions across Africa. “The objective of ACW is to empower as many people as possible, positively impacting more than 200,000 teachers and reaching in excess of five million children and youth over the next ten years” he said.

The Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, was quoted as saying: “The opportunity to train our community in code provides an avenue to generate employment for our youth and provides much-needed technology skills to make them a valuable resource with the capability to work globally. It is programmes like these that help showcase Nigeria’s game changing acts of solidarity and harmony to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, changing one country at a time while supporting growth through technology.”

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

e-Platform

NITDA to coordinate PKI implementation in Nigeria Stories by SAMSON AKINTARO

Directory (PKD) via the Nigerian Country Signing Certificate Authority (CSCA) Master-list.

“NITDA’s inauguration of a National Stakeholders’ Harmonisation Committee bringing together all stakeholders in the industry to recommend the best

model for PKI infrastructure in the country. “To this end, all sector based regulators would be contacted by the agency to provide information on current efforts related to PKI in their various sectors. “This would include MDAs that require some

form of PKI services to carry out their statutory functions in a digital environment. “Our desire is to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigerians benefit from the use of information technology to enhance and simplify their daily activities, especially service delivery by government and other institutions,’’ Pantami said.

He said that in line with the Federal Government’s initiative on Digital Economy, it would enhance use of digital certificates to authenticate documents for Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Certificates, Tax Clearance Certificates and other legal documents. According to him, all IT procurements by MDAs as directed by FEC should to seek IT project approval from NITDA in order to avoid past experiences of huge losses incurred through multiple or conflicting projects.

Other resolutions are that the Office of the Vice President is responsible for coordinating the harmonisation initiative as part of its effort to move the nation on a path toward a Digital Economy.

NITDA is an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and coordinate general IT development and regulation in the country.

charge. “Airtel is committed to pioneering innovation, superior data experience and affordability. “Our new Unlimited is truly unlimited as we have stretched the threshold to deliver up to 100GB to telecoms consumers so that they can empower more people within their circle of influence,” he said.

He said that with the new offering, it had initiated and inspired a paradigm shift that would promote community, deepen friendship bond and eventually lead to a more productive and prosperous society. He said that

the company was proud of the new unlimited data package and the positive change it would create in the home broadband segment. According to him, customers who wished to use the service for home broadband and on data terminals are required to get the MIFI/ Router /Dongle at the nearest Airtel showroom or a designated Airtel agent.

“Upon activation of any of the unlimited plans, customers enjoy superfast data experience until a threshold is reached. After this, the data speed is throttled to a

lower speed in line with the Fair Usage Policy. “According to this policy, the threshold for Unlimited 10 is 40GB; unlimited 15 is with 65GB while unlimited 20 is 100GB, after which the speed comes to 256kpbs. “However, customers can continue to enjoy unlimited browsing until plan expires. “To get the MIFI, Router, Dongle, customers can visit the nearest Airtel showroom or a designated Airtel agent. “To renew data plans, customers can simply log into www. onetouch.ng and purchase the unlimited plan of their choice.’’

T

HE National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said it would now be in charge of coordinating the harmonization of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) related services in the country.

Dr Isa Pantami, the Director-General, NITDA, in a statement said that this was in line with resolutions reached at a recent meeting held at the Office of the Acting President.

The high level meeting, which was chaired by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on ICT, Mr Olanrewaju Osibona, was said to have had in attendance the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, the DirectorGeneral, National Identity Management Commission and the Director-General of NITDA. Pantami said the meeting was convened to resolve the challenges of lack of control and central regulation of the PKI services currently delivered by government establishments. He said part of the resolutions was that NITDA would take ownership, administration and regulation of the National PKI by ensuring full use and benefits of the associated PKI-as-a-Service (PaaS). This includes the issuance of Document Signer Certificates, the management of the Public Key

• Dr. Isa Pantami

Airtel unveils unlimited data plans A

IRTEL Nigeria has introduced unlimited data plans to boost mobile broadband connectivity in Nigeria. The Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Ahmad Mohkles while speaking at the unveiling in Lagos, said the plans would empower and create more prosperity opportunities for telecoms consumers as well as boost mobile broadband connectivity.

“The Home Broadband Service, allows customers to share data with colleagues, friends and family members with and the new package will empower telecoms consumers to have access to unlimited internet service at reasonable cost. “The new Airtel Home Broadband delivers superfast broadband service via data terminals such as Dongle, MiFi and routers as it comes in various packages and affordable price range to suit the lifestyle of different customer segments. “Customers can get unlimited data on packages such as Unlimited 10, Unlimited 15 and Unlimited 20, which are offered at N10,000, N15,000 and N20,000 respectively and valid for 30 days.

“The whole plans are unlimited, meaning that they are just tailored to match the size of pocket of the customer,” he said.

Mohkles added that the Telco was changing the paradigm, breaking new frontiers and inspiring new behaviour in relation to data sharing and delivering seamless data to improve customer lifestyle and enable them take

•L-R: Oladokun Oye, Head of Direct Sales, Airtel Nigeria; Veronica Onoja, Vice President, Mobile Financial & Digital Services, Airtel Nigeria; Gabriel Afolayan, Airtel Brand Ambassador; and Enitan Denloye, Vice President, Brand & Advertising, Airtel Nigeria at the grand launch of Airtel Unlimited Home Broadband in Lagos.

Kaspersky raises alarm over backdoor attacks on servers

K

ASPERSKY LAB experts have announced the discovery of a backdoor planted in a server management software product used by hundreds of large businesses around the world. According to the experts, when activated, the backdoor allows attackers to download further malicious modules or steal data.

“In July, 2017 Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis (GReAT) team was approached by one of its partners – a financial institution. The organisation’s security specialists were worried about suspicious DNS (domain name server) requests originating on a system involved in the processing of financial transactions. Further investigation showed that the source of these requests was server management software produced by a legitimate company and used by hundreds of customers in industries like financial services, education, telecoms, manufacturing, energy, and transportation. The most worrying finding was the fact that the vendor did not mean for the software to make these requests” Kaspersky said in a statement.

The internet security company said its analysis showed that the suspicious requests were actually the result of the activity of a malicious module hidden inside a recent version of the legitimate software.

“Following the installation of an infected software update, the malicious module would start sending DNS-queries to specific domains (its command and control server) at a frequency of once every eight hours. The request would contain basic information about the victim system (user name, domain name, host name). If the attackers considered the system to be “interesting”, the command server would reply and activate a fully-fledged backdoor platform that would silently deploy itself inside the attacked computer. After that, on command from the attackers, the backdoor platform would be able to download and execute further malicious code” it said.

While analysing the tools techniques and procedures used by the attackers, Kaspersky Lab researchers said they came to the conclusion that some similarities exist that point to PlugX malware variants used by the Winnti APT, a known Chinese-speaking cyber espionage group. “ShadowPad is an example of how dangerous and wide-scale a successful supply-chain attack can be. Given the opportunities for reach and data collection it gives to the attackers, most likely it will be reproduced again and again with some other widely used software component. Luckily NetSarang was fast to react to our notification and released a clean software update, most likely preventing hundreds of data stealing attacks against its clients. However, this case shows that large companies should rely on advanced solutions capable of monitoring network activity and detecting anomalies. This is where you can spot malicious activity even if the attackers were sophisticated enough to hide their malware inside legitimate software,” said Igor Soumenkov, security expert, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab.

24

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

ISSN: 2545-5869

VOX POPULI SACRUM

www.oraclenews.ng

EDITORIAL Buhari rolls back change N Africa, when an elderly person has been away for a long time, he is expected to return with the fruits of his sojourn. Children are expectant of the goodies of the trip. The older people would await lessons from the trip to tweak their wisdom.

THE longer the waiting, the more the anxiety, the more the expectations and the higher the quality of tales the sojourner is bound to tell, coming from lands that most of his compatriots would never visit. He would oblige them, even exceed the bars set for him.

WHERE the journey is on account of a malady, the interests are keener. People want to know if the patient recovered. They are interested in his woes and wails while he conquered the invisible snares of illness.

Expectations are given. They are often met.

ULULATIONS would fill the air as they rented the surroundings of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where President Muhammadu Buhari landed on Saturday. The President had been away for 103 days, almost one-third of a year, in London, on medical vacation. Crowds surged on the presidential entourage, trying to touch the vehicle, since they could not reach the man.

THE most important thing was that he had returned. He had defied speculations about his collapsing health to step out of the

plane, unassisted, inspected the guard of honour, and completed the airport ceremonies flawlessly. The applause for the President resounded through the streets of Abuja, and beyond.

MANY are high on the promises the President has been making about a better Nigeria. We do not know how they have imbibed the message with the additional belief that only President Buhari could actualise that better Nigeria.

EXPECTATIONS about President Buhari are given. His failure to deliver on his campaign promises is seen as Nigerians disappointing the President by not joining him to execute promises that he made, though many told him that they were not realisable.

TO criticise the President approximates to affinity with corruption. His legions of avid supporters, and those who have been hounded into silence, have learnt to adore him. Images of him as a military Head of State, with powers of life and death, which he did not fail to use, are not really distant memories.

WHAT could have informed the President’s three-minute broadcast that halted some of the consensuses the country was reaching in his absence? He had recorded that broadcast before forwarding any letter to the National Assembly that he had resumed as President.

How do we in 2017, 103 years after the amalgamation that birthed Nigeria, decide by presidential convenience that we cannot discuss, interrogate, investigate, determine whether there are ways of improving our circumstances as Nigerians?

IS there anything that is not negotiable in life? How would we survive as a country if we cannot negotiate our issues? He drew Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who died six years ago, to support his position, based on a conversation that purportedly took place 14 years earlier.

And the President remembered it very clearly.

“IN 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united,” the President said. What politics permitted the duo to decide on a national question and seal it? Is it an assessment of the comatose state of Nigeria that a decision two men reached, without any legal or political grounding should seal the fate of Nigeria 14 years on?

THE President has proven his deftness in divisiveness. Did he think of the feelings of millions of other

Nigerians, who are not Igbo or Fulani, assuming that whatever he discussed with Ojukwu covered the interests of their people?

NIGERIANS have the most unapologetically divisive President in our history, yet he insists that he had decided how we could live. What does it say about him that he has no living person with whom he had this great discussion about Nigeria? The absurdity of the narrative as a counter to the agitations about making Nigeria workable is simply morbid.

LAST year, he hosted NYSC members from the South East, in Daura, the disclosed setting of his meeting with Ojukwu, and warned them against joining the agitations in the South East. At that time, other parts of Nigeria had agitations over other issues. He picked on the South East, as he has done again.

THE President places his personal understanding of issues over personal constitutional liberties Nigerians have, including the rights to express themselves. “I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far,” he said. What are those lines? Who drew them? Why can we not question our collective existence as a nation? Which law forbids the proffering of that question?

PRESIDENT Buhari’s penchant for talking down on Nigerians, being dismissive of grave national issues, and abridging the spaces for ventilating national issues is becoming legendary. The facility with which he discards opportunities to mould Nigeria into a national entity is exhibited in the manner of Monday’s broadcast.

HOPEFULLY, there would be an opportunity soon for him to heal the new wounds he has inflicted on a people in need of balms.

Our Vision TO BE among the top five newspapers in Nigeria and, in due course, the Numero Uno; to be a newspaper of records that effectively caters to the information needs of all segments and sections of the Nigerian society as well as all social classes and cultures. Essentially, we want to be a responsible corporate citizen, a commercially viable, properly organised media business, which meets its obligations to society, government and the workforce.

Mission WE INTEND to contribute to the development of an inclusive Nigerian society, with a view to getting rid of the dark sides of our national life (slothfulness, greed, corruption, nepotism, totalitarianism, etc); to continually engender and sustain national debates that would ultimately lead to the enthronement of healthy national values--hard-work, justice, equity and fairplay, transparency, good governance, resulting, in themselves, the egalitarian Nigerian society of our dream. We will give voice to the voiceless and at all times, strive to be balanced, objective, honest, truthful and fair to all sides; so that through The Oracle Today, our people, the Nigerian people can see a bright light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel. And we shall do all this in absolute trust in God who blesses good intentions.

25

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

OPINION Buhari: Critics are wrong about the media aides…

By EHICHIOYA EZOMON

F

OLLOWING his media aides’ visit to President Muhammadu Buhari (who has, thank goodness, returned safely) in London the previous week, we haven’t heard the usual retorts of critics, such as had attended similar visits in the past.

The routine was first to question the decision to go visit an “ailing,” “dead” or a “ghost president,” the choice of those to visit, which airline they would use, and which airport they would land.

The next line of quizzing would be whether the visitors had actually gone to see the president, or they went to the United Kingdom to bank their “loot,” and in the course of such an unholy enterprise from supposed “Saints in government,” they strayed into the Nigeria House to say hello to President Buhari “who will not be able to return their greetings.”

By now, we would be hearing that the visit did not take place but that the photographs, taken in London, were shot at Buhari’s country home in Daura, Katsina State; that the images were photo-shopped (digitally edited (manipulated)); that an unseen hand(s) was steadying the president, to prevent him from tripping or mis-stepping and falling down in the foregrounds of the Nigeria House.

The critics would argue forcefully that the seconds-long video showing the president and his visitors on the lawns of the expansive compound was a film-trick to bamboozle Nigerians and the global audience. And above all, that Buhari’s guffaw (a loud or boisterous burst of laughter) was indeed an expression

of pains he felt being put on display to indicate that he’s “hale and hearty.”

Many more assumptions, interpretations, permutations, presumptions, proclamations, and suppositions would have been bandied.

But on this particular visit by the president’s Media team, led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, such casting of undisguised innuendoes has subsided or reserved for another day.

Also in the visiting team were: Presidential Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu; Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and Senior Special Assistant on Social Media, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie.

These “August visitors” - the truly August visitors - are basically, first and foremost, journalists or media practitioners before some of them are classified as politicians, who are wont to speak and act accordingly in their stations.

Still, they don’t speak like the typical politicians: in parables, in coded language, in ‘black-is-white’ stuff, and whatnot. Rather, they tell it as it is, perhaps with some embellishment and “peppering.”

That they are not standard politicians showed in the visit. It might have been a strategy discussed together while they were preparing for the trip, or it was mooted on the transit from Abuja to London or when they got to the Nigeria House, or a gamble floated on the spur of the moment: Let’s get the president out in the open.

Or the idea was President Buhari’s, who wanted to demonstrate to the visitors, and indirectly to Nigerians back home, that the story of his “recovering fast” was not a fluke.

Recall that previous visitors were politicians, content to stay indoors and photographed throwing banters and having meals, while the president sat on a sofa or straightback chair at the head of the table. Such a setting had been interpreted as indicating that Buhari was incapable of standing or walking without assistance - a scenario the Media team probably wanted to avoid.

So, the baiting could have been: “Mr. President, would you mind if we take a stroll outside; we have something to show to you.” To which the president may have replied, “Not at all. Let’s go,” and he led the way into an outdoor rendezvous. Did you notice his old sure-footed, self-assured spritely gait?

Well, out on the lawns, they presented to him the “something” they had promised: a large “GET WELL SOON” greeting card the Media aides ostensibly brought along from Nigeria. You could see the “corner-to-corner” smile of Buhari, holding the card with both hands and reading the contents admiringly!

For all accounts, President Buhari’s “public” appearance has helped to calm the rumour of his being incapacitated, vegetative, on a life-support or even dead. The purveyors of such falsehood may have swallowed some hard bile, at least for now.

However, it won’t be long before they return to their pastime. After all, the president is still in London, “spending Nigeria’s money without accountability,” and dictating the

country’s affairs “through a cabal” even while he has handed over power to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to “coordinate the activities of the government,” rather than to “function in my office.”

If there are no more faults found in London, the critics have them in abundance within Nigeria: “Nothing is working in the country. The Ministers are not working; they are just frolicking. Acting President Osinbajo is not doing anything because he has no power to do so; he’s a ‘mere figurehead,’” the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) declared throatily the other day. “See, the people are hungry, and angry, and unhappy, which they are showing in the #ReturnOrResign protests (suspended) against the president in Abuja. We must flush out Buhari and his ‘evil’ APC (All Progressives Congress) in 2019. But for now, let’s just ‘chill’ and hold the fire.”

What haven’t we seen or heard in this country since Buhari took ill in January and went on an extended medical trip to London, where he had to return in May for a followup treatment.

As the farmer tells the rat jumping over his body while he lays, “I don’t blame you; it is sleep that has made me a plaything for you.”

Yes, it’s ill health that has turned President Buhari into an object of ridicule, scorn and downright vile attacks. The Almighty God may still heal him, to be on his feet and bounce back to reckoning.

to wallow in stupidity? Why does ignorance thrive in the society and the world today?

The accident of birth may be blamed to some extent but the indolent nature of the ignorant is mainly responsible! It is often difficult to change those whose minds are made up especially with arrogance and false sense of importance – and this is common with “flamboyant elites”.

However, nothing is impossible to the one that believes. Regardless of space and time, there is always room for improvement but to the earnest seeker with sublime mind and a teachable heart.

Those who blame others for their woes hardly get out of pitiable conditions. Those who enjoy the state of ignorance and stagnancy often have stories, silly stories, of how others are responsible for their failures, blaming everyone except themselves – this is the worst form of slavery. So what should be done?

Recognizing ignorance might be the only path to reliable knowledge. There is an interesting paradox that knowledge and insight accumulate fastest in the minds of those who hold an ignorance-based worldview, so ignorance can be dealt with ease where there is the will and readiness to learn even from the ones we teach.

Know yourself. Be true to yourself. Be real.

Be honest. Seek knowledge and use every available opportunity for education and advancement. Empower yourself and explore life to the full. Knowledge and choice provide power and control. By instilling in your unconscious mind a desire for learning, you can make an incredible and life enhancing difference, being contented and live at peace with yourself and others.

To eradicate ignorance, there is the need for social changes, if for nothing, to break

down old barriers of race, class, and sex between uneducated citizens and elite experts to enlighten more people and re-make the world through universal education for greater empowerment.

Therefore, through education, no matter how smart or accomplished we are, let’s endeavour to always learn more and put into practice the good and productive things we have learned. There is really no end to knowledge but the more we learn, the more we are enlightened for better.

•Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

Our culture of ignorance

By LIVY-ELCON EMEREONYE

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HERE ignorance is bliss, /’Tis folly to be wise-- Thomas Gray Ignorance blindfolds. Like stupidity, it is life-denying and dangerous. Ignorance can lead to the way of perdition and destruction through ‘unwise’ acts.

A cultural production of ignorance with resultant timidity allows people to suffer and smile while the criminality and inhumanity against them go unchecked and unchallenged. The perpetrators of such evil cash in on this ignorance and cowardice to inflict endless pains on the victims who may even pay for more pains.

To be ignorant is to be in a state of little or no sensibility; to muddle, stupefy or act foolishly; benumb the faculties; being unaware or be put into a stupor. It describes individuals who deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts. To the ignorant, not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it, thus ignorance is bliss.

But if ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people? No. Ignorance is not bliss; it is rather dangerous, promoting hubristic but short-sighted worldview with the denial of reality. Ignorance is a very dark force and, at the very least, it severely impacts one’s success and happiness. Yes, deadly ignorance has potentially catastrophic consequences. This can easily happen when and where many people could have so much access to so much knowledge but remain resistant to learning anything. Worse still, it can promote perpetual servitude and even lead to self-condemnation.

“There are many causes of culturally induced ignorance. These include the influence of the media, either through neglect or as a result of deliberate misrepresenta-

tion and manipulation. Corporations and governmental agencies can contribute to agnotology through secrecy and suppression of information, document destruction, and myriad forms of inherent or avoidable culture-political selectivity, inattention, and forgetfulness.” (Wikipedia).

But it seems that political agnotology is the greatest undoing of our people as argued by Londa Schiebinger who said that “ignorance is often not merely the absence of knowledge but an outcome of cultural and political struggle.” Little wonder there is a cult of ignorance, and there has always been, making Isaac Asimov state that “the strain of antiintellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”

The production and maintenance of ignorance is the cause of retrogression and decay in our society – and some feed fat on this!

Thus, the act of purposefully leaving some people in a state of ignorance with the goal of benefiting from it through “deceive and swindle,” “befuddle and confuse” or even “intimidate and victimize” is high and religious. Those who feed on other people’s ignorance can go to any length to maintain the status quo especially where and when the ignorant live with an unbridled slave mentality.

Some of the dangers of ignorance include the facts that it makes one not to be prepared, and without preparation, one can’t see what is coming and as such cannot act right and timely. Ignorance limits one’s choice and power that amplify the consequences of inactions and wrong actions, leading to more mistakes, greater costs and more pains.

But why should one be ignorant or choose

THE GROUP

Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Ikeddy Isiguzo Editor Felix Oguejiofor Abugu Deputy Editor/Head, Lagos Bureau Sopuruchi Onwuka Abuja Bureau Chief Tony Ailemen Production Editor Henry Duru Head, Graphics & Designs Nnamdi Alex Chukwu Advert Manager Andrew Udeh Circulation Manager Felix Oti

The Oracle Today, August 30, 2017

Travel & Hospitality

26

LASG moves to transform Oworonshoki he Lagos State Government Ttransform (LASG) has outlined plans to the blighted areas of

•Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema (m) flanked by Executive Council Members of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) led by president, Alhaji Rabo Saleh Kareem, during a courtesy call to the minister in Abuja, Monday Stories by VICTOR NZE

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HE Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) has called on the Federal Government to overhaul the process of issuing Nigeria’s visas in the country’s foreign embassies to make it easier, faster and also eliminate multiple levies.

During a courtesy call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema in Abuja, Monday, the travel and tourism practitioners led by their president, Alhaji Rabo Saleh Kareem, raised the visa concerns among other issues bedevilling the country’s tourism industry, even as the operators solicited the support of the Foreign Affairs Minister towards addressing them at crucial occasions like the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting .

Rabo who called on the minister to put in place strategic image

FTAN wants visa procurement overhaul management measures that will counter the pervasive negative reports against Nigeria in the international media, said a lot tourists desirous of visiting Nigeria were still finding it difficult in securing visas Nigerian foreign missions and called on the foreign affairs minister to quickly intervene.

He lamented that the number of days it takes for visitors to procure Nigerian visas disrupts efforts by the private sector at promoting inbound tourism, adding that the process remains slow and replete with

multiple levies.

The FTAN President also re-echoed his members’ support for the visa-on-arrival policy of the federal government as contained in the executive order signed into law by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, this year.

Responding, Onyema challenged tourism businesses in Nigeria to create more visible, all inclusive tour packages to attract more inbound tourists, especially for Nigeria-bound international conference participants, while also calling on

FTAN to produce attractive brochures of cultural tourism destinations and city tour packages for distribution at embassies and international meetings.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was setting up an online merchant portal to showcase Nigerian brands and to attract foreign investors. To this end, he promised to give FTAN an opportunity to also upload unto the portal inbound Nigeria tour packages and tourism events’ calendar.

Tourism to split from Information Ministry

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he Senate has disclosed it was working toward separating tourism and culture from the Ministry of Information.

President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, made this known at the opening of a public hearing on the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Act 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2017.

Saraki, who was represented by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Bala Na’Allah, said that the separation was imperative to enable the tourism sector enjoy autonomy for rapid development.

“Our ministries have never been helpful in anything developmental. So, the long and short of the story is that the Senate wants to give freedom to the parastatals, particularly the culture and tourism sector,’’ he said.

Remarking, Chairman of Senate Committee on Tourism, Sen. Matthew Urhoghide, said that invest-

ment in tourism was very crucial in view of the dwindling government revenue and the current recession, adding that diversifying the economy was imperative following the contraction in the country which was occasioned by the fall in crude oil prices.

Urhoghide who said that the NTDC Act had never gone through any form of review or amendment since it was enacted, in spite of several years of socio-political and economic changes, explained that one of the things the NTDC Bill would achieve was to abolish the existing Act and re-enacted a fresh one, just as he further explained that the re-enactment, when concluded, would change the nomenclature of the establishment to Nigerian Tourism Development Authority.

Meanwhile, proprietors of hotels in Nigeria, who attended the public hearing, have appealed to

the Senate to save them from multiple taxes by state and local government councils across the country.

President, Hotel Owners’ Forum, in Abuja, Dr Chike Ezeudeh, who led the group said hotel business in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had become difficult because of taxes, just as he expressed practitioners’ support for moves by the senate to empower NTDCto harmonise all tax collections.

He said that they were subjected to over 30 different levies by the FCT authorities and the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

“My brother from Ondo State said one of the levies his hotel paid yearly to the multiple tax collectors in the state is N7.5 million but that is more like a chicken change here in FCT. We are levied N29 million, N20 million, N15 million and so on, on yearly basis by the various tax collectors.

“This is the reason we are kicking against the one per cent-perroom levy proposed in the bill, although we strongly support the move to empower NTDA as sole collector of taxes from hotels,’’ he said.

For a hotelier from Ondo State, Mr Olafemi Egbodofo, the tax situation in the state was unbearable.

According to him, since the Supreme Court ruling of 2013, which empowered states and local government councils to collect levies, not less than 15 different bodies have been collecting different forms of tax from hotels, even as he explained that one of the levies was as high as N8 million annually.

“This is suffocating and killing because the multiple taxation has landed many of us in very uncomfortable position as it is difficult to pay salaries and even remain in business,’’ he said.

Oworonshoki Waterfront into one of the biggest transportation, tourism and entertainment hubs in Nigeria.

Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Engr.

Ade Akinsanya in a statement, Monday, said that the project will improve the aesthetics and security of the environment, while attracting investments in water transportation and boosting socioeconomic activities in the axis, with the provision of shopping malls and related infrastructures.

According to the Commissioner, the proposed entertainment and mega ferry terminal site, already under reclamation, would divert a lot of human and vehicular traffic gridlocks away from the Lagos Island and take advantage of the central location and accessibility of the proposed Oworonshoki terminal to the Apapa Port, Ikeja Airport and other parts of the State.

“Youths and residents will enjoy quality sports, recreational, entertainment and emergency response facilities at the terminal.

“Commuters transiting through the terminal will not only enjoy state-of the arts infrastructure, they will also be able to park and ride and park and cruise from the state-of-the-art jetty, thus reducing the carbon emission level and travel time within the city,” Akinsanya said.

He expressed optimism that the reclaimed 29.6 hectares site of the project, which would involve revetment work to protect the jetty area, would also eliminate illegal dredging activities in the area.

Explaining that the project will be in three phases, Akinsanya said that Phase One, which is the ongoing reclamation of the 29.5 hectares of the project site by Messrs Fountain Construction Company (FCC), would be completed by November 2017.

“Consolidation and settlement of the reclaimed land for six to nine months, will be followed by Phase Two, which will involve provision of shoreline protection and reconstruction of 2.8km Ariyo Street as an alternative road, that will run under the 3rd Mainland Bridge along with other infrastructures within nine months and to be completed

by June 2018”.

“The third Phase which will be both State financed and Public-Private Sector (PPP) financed, will involve the construction of the Mega Jetty and Bus Terminal, complete with entertainment and Tourism facilities (Multiple Boutique, Hotels, Museums/Art Galleries, Sport and recreational facilities as well as a 1000 capacity car park, based on the design master plan of the area.”

‘Domestic tourism can be developed with minimal funds’ A tourism consultant, Alhaji Yahaya Ndu has stated that governments at all levels could develop domestic tourism without expending too much funds, adding that if enhanced, it would create employment and generate revenue for the government.

Nduwho said this Monday, in Abuja, maintained that the various local councils in the state were sitting on tourism potentials and resources unlike at the federal and state tiers of government

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

AVIATION

Income repatriation: Foreign airlines withdraw fleet Stories by VICTOR NZE

I

NFORMATION Technology and destination marketing solution provider, ForwardKeys, has said there will be 16 per cent fewer airline seats on domestic routes and 9 per cent fewer on international routes to and from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos for rest of rest of the year.

According to the London-based firm, this figure adds to the cut by Nigerian carrier, alone, Arik Air of up to 53 per cent of its seats for the rest of the year.

The report, however, noted that most of the other airports in Africa’s top 10 are seeing a healthy growth in international arrivals capacity rather than domestic, with Nairobi in Kenya with a 22 per cent boost in domestic capacity, being the only exception.

“One of the major reasons for falling arrivals by air to Nigeria is the fact that many airlines could not repatriate funds after the currency crisis in 2016. As a result, Iberia and United Airlines have ceased operations to Nigeria, whilst Emirates and the other foreign carriers have scaled back services.

“The Nigerian airlines have suffered too and so this void has been filled by the ever-opportunistic Ethiopian Airlines, who began serving their fifth Nigerian destination, Kaduna on 1st August 2017 and are now the largest carrier in the Nigerian market,” said Jon Howell, Managing Director of AviaDev, an airline route development conference.

The report on travel to Africa, which predicts future travel patterns by analysing 17 million booking transactions a day, shows double digit growth in flight arrivals for the first half of this year and little indication that the pace of growth will slow down soon.

The report also reveals that in the first seven months of the year, 1st Jan – 31st July 2017, total international flight arrivals grew by 14.0 per cent over the same period in 2016. Most significantly, growth was stronger for travel to and from the continent than within the continent. Arrivals from Europe, which make up 46 per cent of the market, were up 13.2 per cent. From the Americas, arrivals were up 17.6 per cent; from the Middle East, they were up 14.0 per cent and from Asia Pacific, they were up 18.4 per cent. By comparison, intra-African air travel, according to the report, which makes up 26 per cent of the market, was up 12.6 per cent.

“Looking at Africa’s top ten destination countries, there have been stand-out performances from Tunisia and Egypt, which are recovering from notorious terrorist attacks two years ago, up 33.5 per cent and 24.8 per cent respectively. In addition, Morocco and Tunisia received a huge boost in arrivals from China, up 450 per cent and 250 per cent respectively, after they relaxed visa restrictions. The one disappointment is Nigeria, which has seen a 0.8 per cent drop, in the wake of recession in 2016, caused by a collapse in the oil price to a 13-year low,” the report said.

Ahead of the end of the calen-

dar year, bookings for flights to Africa are currently 16.8 per cent ahead of where they were on July 31st, 2016. Bookings from Europe are currently 17.5 per cent ahead, from the Americas 26.6 per cent ahead, from Asia Pacific 11.5 per cent ahead, from the Middle East 8.2 per cent ahead and bookings for intra-African air travel are 11.0 per cent ahead.

A specific look at East Africa shows very similar trends in year to

date performance and outlook to the end of the year. However, it has stronger forward bookings from Europe, 22.9 per cent ahead and less strong forward bookings from elsewhere; the Americas are 15.5 per cent ahead and intra-African air travel 7.6 per cent ahead. However, bookings from the Middle East and Asia Pacific are 6.0 per cent and 3.8 per cent behind respectively.

On an individual airport level, the most significant capacity increase

in East Africa is at Kigali, with new routes to Brussels, London and Mumbai. Other notable new capacity includes Kilimanjaro to Dubai and Nairobi to Muscat and to Yemen.

“The growth in air travel to Africa is impressive. However, it is notable that consumer demand and airline investment is greater in travel to African countries from outside the continent than it is between African countries,” said Olivier Jager, CEO, ForwardKeys.

• (L-R): Kevin Erinjeri, Vice President IT Arik Air; Kamilu Omokide, AMCON Team Member, Arik Air Unit; Ziya Malik, Software & Product Development Director, Hitit Computer Services, Istanbul, Turkey; Ayodeji Ilesanmi, CFO Arik Air; Gbolahan Odusanya, AMCON Team Member, Arik Air Unit at the migration of Arik Air to Hitit Crane Solution Suite.

‘Nigeria remains Ethiopian Airlines’ biggest market in Africa’

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THIOPIAN Airlines has said that Nigeria remains its biggest market on the continent, adding that the country stands at number one in terms of volume of passengers.

Manager Ethiopian Airlines Holidays, Mrs Seble Azena, who said this, Monday, while addressing journalists and tour operators from Nigeria, during a tour of the airline’s facility at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, also said the airline is willing to assist any African country to develop its aviation sector especially in setting up a national carrier through partnership.

“Nigeria got her independence in October 1960 and we commenced operation unto the country in November, just a month after the independence.

Since then we have continued to operate there, Nigeria has our great ally and currently we are operating a number of destinations in the country.

“Nigeria is one of the leading economies in the globe followed

by South Africa. So today, Africa is known for positive things with double digit economic growth,’’.

She said.

Ethiopian Airline, according to Azena is working to be a 10 billion dollar profit-making organisation, fly 120 international and 26 domestic destinations by 2025, adding that the airline’s current

revenue for 2016 unaudited stood at 2.71 billion dollars with 100 international destinations and 17 domestic destinations.

She added that the carrier currently transported 8.8 million passengers annually with a total of 92 aircraft in its fleet while 59 air-

craft have been ordered, further disclosing that the airline also transport about 238,000 tonnes of cargo annually using 39 wide

manpower and strategy to perform its statutory duties. This exercise is also necessary in ensuring the certification of the airport.

“From this exercise, the airport is ready for any emergency even though we are not praying for accident but we must have emergency plan. A similar exercise took place at the Lagos Airport about two weeks ago and the result was impressive,” he said.

On his part, Airport Manager, NAIA, Mr Mahmud Sani, said the exercise was meant to test the safety and emergency plan of the airport in preparation for its certification, adding that the exercise was aimed at examining how the response agencies manage and respond to emergencies at the scene of accident.

According to him, what happened today is part of the safety requirements in civil aviation and it is a very important exercise.

Also, Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standard, NCAA, Mr Odunayo Mohammed, said the mock exercise was part of the NCAA’s requirements for certification of airports, just as he stated that the aim of the simulation was not to give pass mark

but to ensure safety standards were maintained in all airports.

According to him, accidents are unexpected occurrences and we must be prepared at all times, reasons this simulation exercise is required.

Deputy General Manager, Airport Response and Fire Services, FAAN, Mr Rimdap Dontor, said the exercise was meant to test the emergency procedures at the airport, explaining that the air crash simulation was to also help to ascertain the level of coordination among the response teams at the scene of accident.

He said that the exercise was carried out by the Airport Fire Service, FCT Fire Service and National Emergency Management Agency. The others were the Police, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Aviation Security and Federal Road Safely Corps.

“We have carried out this exercise in fulfilment of Part 12 of NCAA regulations and it has been successfully.

“FAAN, hereby, assures airport users and the general public that it will continue to deliver on its core mandates of ensuring safety and security at all the nation’s airports,” Dontor said.

NAIA ready to handle any emergency –FAAN

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ederal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has stated that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja (NAIA) was now ready to handle any emergency as all the relevant response agencies had demonstrated their competence to contain such occurrences.

This is as the Airports Emergency Rescue Team at the NAIA, completed an air crash simulation (mock) to test the readiness of the airport workers on emergency response.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, who made this known in a statement, last Thursday in Abuja, said the exercise was aimed at examining the level of preparedness of all response agencies at the airport.

She quoted the Director of Airport Operations, FAAN, Mr Rabiu Yadudu, as saying that the exercise was in fulfilment of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), regulations on safety and emergency response in Nigerian airports which stipulated that such simulation exercise be carried out in every airport once in two years.

“The exercise is meant to confirm that FAAN has the right equipment,

body freighter aircraft across the globe.

“As the leading pan African Airline, we are targeting 10 billion dollar revenue by 2025 and we also target. Today Ethiopian Airlines is the second fastest growing carrier in the world. We transport 8.8 million passengers and about 338,546 tonnes of cargo per year.

“The revenue is 2.71 billion dollars revenue, our current fleet is 92 and we have 59 aircraft in order. Beyond the number of aircraft that the Ethiopian airlines have, the most interesting element is that the average age of aircraft is five years.

“We use Addis Ababa as our main hub and as such there is more congestion at the airport.

To alleviate this and facilitate passengers’ movement within the continent and the globe, the airline has established two more hubs, one in Lome in west Africa and the other is in Lilongwe in Malawi in south Africa.

“We currently have 100 destinations, for cargo, we have 39 dedicated cargo freighter and 19 dedicated domestic destinations,’’ she said.

Azena disclosed that the airline’s new cargo terminal in Addis Ababa was the largest in Africa and second in the world. adding that the terminal would become the world’s largest by 2025.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday AUgust 30, 2017

INSURANCE & PENSION

PenCom, PenOp tackle lawmakers on N6.5trn pension assets T

Risk managers advise govt on economy

Stories by CHRIS EBONG

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ENSION funds which currently stands at N6.5 trillion is faced with a major threat of depletion if multiple Bills sponsored by some persons and bodies at the National Assembly become law.

On the back of this, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Pension Fund Operators of Nigeria (PenOp) have kicked against the bills seeking to amend some provisions of the nascent 2014 Pension Reform Act. The proposed bills, according to the duo, are seeking to exempt the paramilitary from the scheme and raise Lump Sum withdrawal to 75percent as against the current provision in the Act. According to them, the current pension administration established by the Pension Reform Act 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014 may take a downward turn if the Bills numbering over seven become law. They both have condemned the bills describing them as spurious and against the interest of the country’s financial system.

PenOp Chairman, Longe Eguarekhide said prominent among the Bills, include one sponsored by Honourable Oluwole Oke on May 16, 2017 seeking to amend the Pension Reform Act 2014 to exclude members of the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Prison Service, Nigeria immigration Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from the application of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and other related matters.

“The Bill passed its second reading and has been referred to the relevant Committee of the House of Representatives for further action. Additional cause for concern regarding the legislature arose on May 10, 2017, when yet other private member’s Bill sponsored by Senator Aliyu Wamako (Constituency - Sokoto North) sought to pass a Law for “An Act to Further Amend the PRA 2004 to Provide for Definite Percentage a Retiree Can Withdraw from his RSA and for Other Matters Related Thereto”, Mr. Longe lamented.

He noted that the Bill permits retirees to withdraw a definite rate of 75 per cent of the value of their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) upon retirement, leaving only 25 per cent to be spread over their expected years of retirement as periodic pension payments.

Longe explained that the proposal is based on a misunderstanding of the concept of pension payment under the CPS, stressing that it is pedestrian to assume that lump sum should be fixed, rather, what should be implemented is a minimum replace-

L:R- Company Secretary, Ikechukwu Utazi, NPF Pensions Limited; Nicholas Nnaji, Managing Director, FUG Pensions, Usman Sulaiman; Head, Research and Corporate Strategy Department, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Dr Farouk Aminu; Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Chairman, Longe Eguarekhide.

ment ratio as monthly pensions.

He said: “The proposed amendment would mean leaving only 25 per cent to be spread over the lifespan of the retiree, which may be longer than 20 years, thus giving meagre monthly pensions below the current replacement ratio of a minimum of 50 per cent of last pay. It is doubtful if the 25 per cent balance in a retiree’s RSA, after deduction of 75 per cent lump sum, would, if spread through the retiree’s expected life span, be adequate to reasonably cater for his livelihood during old age. Accordingly, the proposed amendment would only result in the depletion of the RSA without regard for the retiree’s continued subsistence, thereby impoverishing retirees.”

On the proposed exit Bill for the paramilitary, he warns that seeking to fully exempt the stated organisations from the CPS and return them to be 100 per cent underwritten in relation to pension arrangements by the Federal Government of Nigeria means returning them to the erstwhile Defined Benefit (DB) arrangement.

He continued that in FGN employees that retired under the CPS from the six agencies sought to be exempted have grown to 50,730 last 10 years, while their total accrued benefits amounted to N208.22 billion, which had been redeemed by the Federal Government and paid into their respective Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) and consolidated with their monthly pension contributions to fund their retirement benefits.

According to Longe, exempting them who have been collecting their pensions promptly under CPS would imply that Government would shoulder the huge financial obligation of

payment of their pensions as well as that of future retirees through budgetary provisions, with no guarantee of availability of funding and; or timeliness of payment.

“The Federal Government is already overburdened with the payment of pensions as illustrated by the 2016 Appropriation Act, which made a provision under the Service Wide Vote for the sum of N200.17 billion as total pension and gratuities allocation.

This allocation is still insufficient to fund the pension liabilities of the Federal Government. For instance, the 2016 Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD)’s Budget proposal indicated a total annual pension liability of the sum of N388.32 billion. Out of that amount, the sum of N255.89 billion constituted unfunded liability, which was inherited by PTAD mostly due to outstanding payments for 33 per cent pension arrears to pensioners under the DBS. Indeed, the Federal Government pension liability burden under the DBS is much higher than the PTAD proposals in view of the provisioning of about N74.53 billion for the Military Pension Board, N7.64 billion for the State Security Service and N3.71 billion for the National Intelligence Agency’ he said.

In addition, it is evident that the Defined Benefit pension system is not sustainable as exempting the Military, Department of State Security and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency has resulted in very high allocation of resources to fund their retirement benefits. As is evident in the various Appropriation Acts since their exemptions, their combined allocations were 49.4per cent, 49.1 per cent, 45.1 per cent, 41.99 per cent and 43.1 per cent of total allocations for

pensions in the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Appropriation Acts as well as in the 2017 Appropriation Bill respectively. The figures will be staggering and clearly unsustainable they were to be exempted in view of the fact that the number of Police personnel is significantly higher than the number of the personnel of the three exempted Agencies combined.

This indicates by implication, he noted, would dismantle the institutions, systems and processes that Government had put in place in the last few years towards the implementation of the pension reform programme, including the culture of national savings as well as the efforts to eradicate the structures that encouraged corruption during the pre-pension reform era, contrary to the policy thrust of the current administration of diversification of the economy and fight against corruption.

He argued that the immediate negative impact of exempting these Agencies is the erosion of the pool of long term investible funds accumulated under the CPS, which is suitable for economic development of any nation as illustrated in other jurisdictions including developed economies, positing that this would undermine the process of the attainment of development initiatives in the infrastructure, housing and real sectors of the economy, which are largely hinged on the utilization of a portion of the pool of pension fund assets.

“Exemption of some agencies of Government would also result in loss of confidence in the pension reform and other reform initiatives of Government. The growing culture of national savings built within the last decade would be destroyed”, he added.

HE Risk Management Association of Nigeria says creating buffers for the economy is a sure economic strategy to preventing risk crystallisation, which they describe as having serious consequences on the populace.

They noted that the economic challenges facing the country could be linked to failure by successive governments to diversify the revenue base from oil.

The two-day event with the theme, “Risk management for economic development and revenue diversification”, was sponsored by the Central Bank of Nigerian, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, and commercial banks.

RIMAN provides the platform for sharing of ideas, scenario analysis and discussions that are centred on risk mitigation and national economic development.

Describing risk as the probability that something unpleasant or unanticipated may happen, the guest speaker, the managing director/ chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, who spoke at the association’s 17th annual international conference and training in Lagos said as the economy was growing bigger, there was the need to learn from the mistakes of the past.

He said, “Economic cycles are natural, we need to accept that. We need to accept the risks that are attendant with cyclical movement.

But what do we do about it. It is not enough to identify the risk; but have we learnt our lesson from the event of the past?

“So, global risks are there but not much can be done about them, but we need to insulate ourselves with buffers, capital and all the other buffers to reduce the shock. We must learn from the lessons of the past so that we don’t repeat those mistakes because the economy is getting bigger and the consequences of risk crystallising on everybody and the victims of these are much more than they’ve been in the past. So, we have to be more proactive because we have a more robust system, he added.

Rewane charged risk managers and practitioners at the event to be aware of risks and how to tackle them.

The President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Segun Ajibola, who was also at the event, said failure to take proactive measures to address the challenges facing the nation had contributed to the crystallisation of the risk of security, food insufficiency, social and political upheavals, corporate failures, among others.

While commending RIMAN for organising the forum, the CIBN president noted that the banking business terrain was currently being disrupted by the emergence of financial technology.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees, RIMAN, Ms. Folakemi Fatogbe, spoke on the management of risk arising from economic activities by the CBN in conjunction with RIMAN. These, she noted, could be done through mitigation strategies, namely risk identification, analysis, measurement, scenario planning, among others.

29

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

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30

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

INSURANCE & PENSION

NAIC inaugurates c’ttee on bilateral agreement

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• L-R: The National Secretary, National Asociation of Niger Delta Students, (NANDS), Comrade Ebiri Ebilade, H.H. (Dr.) Ephraim F. Faloughi, OON, and the 1st Vice President, NANDS, Comrade Success Uko, at the presentation ceremony conferring the Award of Excellence on the erstwhile Chairman of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, by the National Association of Niger Delta Students in his office in Lagos.

HE Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), has inaugurated a technical steering committee for implementation of bilateral agreements signed between Nigeria and Morocco.

The committee assigned to peruse the bilateral agreement signed by the two countries will see Nigerian farmers covered by the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) get new packages in the area of parametric insurance otherwise known as Area Yield Index (AYI).

NAIC Executive Director of Operations, Bashir H Binji, who told journalists about the development in Abuja after the inauguration committee recently said, “For the area of yield insurance, if you are producing 3.5MT to 4MT of rice in a hectare, what we do is when you achieve 70 per cent of it, no payout, but when you get anything less than 70 per cent of it, we would pay you.”

World Bank completes catastrophe swap deal

Stories by CHRIS EBONG

T

HE World Bank has been involved in another risk-linked transaction with the completion of a catastrophe swap transaction that benefits the Philippines, providing the government with a source of parametric risk transfer against losses caused by typhoons or earthquakes.

The Philippines has been seeking assistance with disaster insurance for a number of years, with the World Bank working closely with the country’s government in search of a solution that would provide the risk transfer it needs in an efficient manner.

A Philippine catastrophe bond issuance supported by the World Bank had been mooted repeatedly over the years, but now it appears that the country has settled on a catastrophe swap solution that can provide it with efficient access to disaster risk capital swiftly after a catastrophic event occurs, thanks to the use of parametric triggers.

We’re told by sources that the catastrophe swap has now been completed at $206 million in size and that an announcement is imminent, which will provide further details on the arrangement.

The Philippines will benefit from a one-year source of disaster insurance protection through the catastrophe swap, we understand.

A catastrophe swap provides capacity and liquidity, by enabling a risk bearer to transfer some of its catastrophe exposure to an investor in return for a premium payment, much like reinsurance or a catastrophe bond but with less structural complexity or overhead to transact the deal.

We’re told that the Philippines catastrophe swap transaction was backed by the capital markets, including a number of the typical insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds that you would expect to see on such a transaction.

The cat swap will cover both typhoon and earthquake risks, with

embedded parametric triggers able to provide a rapid payout should damaging catastrophe events occur that breach the swaps trigger points.

We’re also told that a reinsurance firm may have been involved at some point in getting the Philippines cat swap transaction to market, likely one of the larger players if so, but cannot confirm this yet.

The cat swap will provide the Philippines government with a valuable source of just-in-time risk capital that will pay out should a severe typhoon or earthquake impact the country, offering a source of disaster relief and recovery financing that will trigger in a transparent manner and very quickly after an event strikes.

The Philippines also benefits from a $500 million Second Disaster Risk

Management Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT-DDO 2), which the World Bank arranged for it in late 2015.

That means the World Bank has brought almost $1 billion of risk to the capital markets and ILS investors in recent weeks, the busiest the Bank has been in the history of its time working with the ILS and catastrophe risk transfer market.

Global disaster losses shrink to $23bn

G

LOBAL Insured loss from natural and man-made disasters has been put at $23 billion for the first-half of 2017, down 36per cent on the prior year and 30per cent below average. Economic losses are estimated at just $44 billion, down from $117billion in H1 2016, according to report.

Analysts say it’s another signal that reinsurance pricing is set to remain under pressure, as insured losses from catastrophes, man-made incidents and severe weather events come in well below 30per cent, the 10-year average of $33 billion.

U.S. thunderstorms were said to be the largest driver of loss, hence the slight impacts on a number of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds over the first-half, report added that the exposure some collateralized reinsurance transactions and structures have picked up were perils that were well covered by the ILS market.

Preliminary estimates reported suggest that global economic losses from disasters, at $44 billion, were well below the average of $120 billion, reflecting a period that has been relatively benign from a global loss point of view.

With $23 billion of the economic loss covered by insurance and reinsurance it is actually a relatively high percentage, at 52per cent insured.

The 10-year average economic loss of $120 billion and the average insured loss of $33 billion, show that a more typical percentage insured is just 28per cent.

The reason for the higher percentage of insured losses in the first-half is the prevalence of U.S. severe thunderstorm loss events, which drove the bulk of the insurance industry loss at $16 billion, coming from severe storms and flooding in the U.S. This shows how the protection gap, while still significant, is typically much smaller where U.S. loss events are concerned.

“Fortunately, in the US, most households and businesses are insured against wind risk so they are financially protected when severe storms strike,” commented Swiss Re’s Chief Economist Kurt Karl.

Other drivers of loss during the year where cyclone Debbie in Australia, which report estimates as US

$1.3 billion industry loss.

Man-made losses account for $3 billion of the insured total in H1 2017, while natural catastrophe events drove the other $20 billion of the industries exposure, around 4,400 people lost their lives or went missing due to disaster events in the first-half, down from 4,800 the year before.

2017 has been a year of extremes, with freezing weather in Europe during the early part of the year causing losses, while record temperatures then struck the region in the summer months resulting in a heatwave, the report noted.

Swiss Re puts the most impactful single event as the Colorado hailstorm, which it now estimates to be a $1.9 billion insurance and reinsurance industry loss event.

Broker charges FG on local content

A

n Abuja-based insurance broker, Chief Angus Uzoamaka, last week, said that government should promote local content as an imperative for job and wealth creation.

Uzoamaka who made this known while speaking on how to overcome poverty in the country, saying that local content would engender self-sufficiency and independence in production to guarantee long economic security for Nigerians and generations unborn.

The broker noted that era of importation should be over for the country, saying economic depend-

ence was the bane of underdevelopment.

“We must learn to appreciate our own, and the only way we can do that is to begin to produce no matter how lowly placed it is. In those days, nobody valued any product from China or Japan but today they are one of the best in the world,’’ he said.

Uzoamaka also called on governments at all levels to formulate policies that would trigger economic and productive boom, adding that Nigeria’s economic development could not be attainable without internal production and patronage.

Binji, however, noted that this insurance would only cover losses accrued after using inputs recommended by NAIC. “We would recommend in this kind of policy a superior seed for a certain region, so poor yield as a result of poor germination or as a result of poor seed quality, definitely we are going to exclude it because we are going to tell you the appropriate input to use so that this can be sustainable,” he said.

He outlined that the package guaranteed a winning situation for farmers, whom he said were very happy about it, adding that the new products would be run concurrently with the already existing indemnity-based insurance products.

Implementation of PRA imposes fiscal discipline in budgetary process

T

HE Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that the implementation of Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014 has been beneficial to government, in that it imposes fiscal discipline in budgetary processes.

Ambode added that the scheme has encouraged labour market flexibility while pensioners are no longer at the mercy of employers.

His Excellency made the remark while speaking on the State’s commitment to pension reforms at the opening session of training entitled: ‘Implications of the PRA 2004’ for officers of the Lagos State Pension commission (LASPEC) and all public servants.

The Governor who was represented by Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson said the training is to ensure that the officers of LASPEC can effectively discharge their duties and the generality of the public service can adequately prepare for the future.

He stated that the general benefits of the Act as implemented in Lagos State have boosted the welfare status of workers and pensioners in the state, noting that it has allowed the maintenance of a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) by each employee, which gives the workers responsibility over their retirement savings.

He further stated that workers could choose how to allocate their retirement savings and diversify their investments over a range of investment instruments.

He stressed that it has also been argued that personal accounts would provide all workers a higher rate of return than can be paid under the Direct Benefit plan adding that this approach affords participants an opportunity to pass wealth to survivors in the event of death.

31

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

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32

racleToday

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33

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Love and Living

... With Ireto Temofeh

Oracle Girl of the Week

LOVE NEWS

Woman finds diamond engagement ring on carrot after 13 years

M

ost dream of a 24-carat gold engagement ring… but one woman was merely thrilled to find her own one-carrot band.

Mary Grams, an 84-year-old from Canada, was astonished to be reunited with her engagement ring she lost 13 years ago after it reemerged with a misshapen vegetable growing through it.

Her daughter-in-law, Colleen Daley, pulled the carrot - with the ring around it - while collecting vegetables for dinner on the family’s farm in Alberta.

Mrs Grams had never told her husband Norman, who died five years ago, that she lost the ring while weeding more than a decade ago and had long given up hope of ever finding it.

She was left in disbelief when the treasured jewel, which she had replaced with a much smaller ring, reappeared.

Ms Daley admitted she had almost fed the strange-looking carrot to her dog before noticing the ring while washing the vegetables.

She told her husband, Mrs Grams’ son - who had known about the ring’s long disappearance, before the pair then revealed the news.

“I said we found your ring in the garden. She couldn’t believe it,” Ms Daley said.

“It was so weird that the carrot grew perfectly through that ring.”

A delighted Mrs Grams scrubbed the dirt off the ring before sliding it onto her finger as easily as the day her late husband had given it to her.

“I feel relieved and happy inside,” she said. “It grew into the carrot. I still can’t figure it out.”

The pensioner added: “We were giggling and laughing. It fit.

After that many years it fits.”

Name: Catherine Joe. Tel: 0803 263 8739 • Do you want to be our next Oracle Girl? Send your photos to ireto007@yahoo. com and call 07031028714.

ODD NEWS

100-year-old cake found in Antarctica

Romantic Joke All Dolled Up

A husband and wife had been married for 60 years and had no secrets except for one: The woman kept in her closet a shoe box that she forbade her husband from ever opening. But when she was on her deathbed—and with her blessing—he opened the box and found a crocheted doll and $95,000 in cash.

A

100-year-old fruit cake has been found in the oldest building in Antarctica and those who discovered it think it looks fresh.

The cake is believed to date to Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition between 1910 and 1913.

Although the tin containing the cake was rusted and falling apart, the cake inside “looked and smelt (almost) edible” according to the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Lizzie Meek, the programme manager for artefacts at the Trust, said: “With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artefacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake in amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise.

“It’s an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice.” The cake and its tin have been

taken to New Zealand’s Canterbury Museum laboratory, where the Trust’s staff are working on conserving almost 1,500 artefacts.

Scott’s expedition had a number of objectives, but reaching the pole was key - and although they ultimately succeeded they found that the Norwegians had beaten them to it.

Tragically the entire party died on the return journey from the pole.

“My mother told me that the secret to a happy marriage was to never argue,” she explained. “Instead, I should keep quiet and crochet a doll.”

Her husband was touched. Only one doll was in the box—that meant she’d been angry with him only once in 60 years. “But what about all this money?” he asked.

“Oh,” she said, “that’s the money I made from selling the dolls.”

34

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

True Confession

“He’s married, but I’ll rather be his second wife than die single and lonely”

M

y name is Rita. I am a graduate of Theatre Arts, from Delta state. I’ve been with this guy for 5 years now, but initially, I didn’t know where he resides. He is an engineer and works in Delta, but stays in Abuja.

Whenever I asked him to take me to his place, he’d respond by giving me all sorts of excuses. Two years ago, his friend told me that a woman with two children came to visit him.

Having been told this fact, I quickly ran for my dear life without telling him, because I naturally assumed that the woman was his wife.

Although he didn’t call me for almost a year, one day he called and began to apologize. He blamed his long absence on ill health. Then he showed me his place.

However, I confronted him with the news I had heard that a woman with two children comes from time to time to visit him.

But he denied everything and proposed to me instead of confirming the story. He asked me to marry him and promised to tell me all I need to know later.

He made me see reason why I should marry him. One of the reasons he gave is that both of us are very compatible.

He said that since he has been going in and out of my life, I still acted like a good lover towards him and never turned him back.

He also said that he is the only man who really understands me and that he could do anything for me if only I would marry him.

He spoke so sweetly to me that I accepted him after a month. He has gone to see my parents and has promised to pay my bride price and do my traditional marriage next month.

Ever since, I’ve been so happy. However, my joy is now turning to sorrow because recently, a lady called me and claimed to be his wife.

She said they wedded. I called my man and asked him if he wedded anybody but he denied it and telephoned the lady in my presence but she refused to answer her call.

The following day, the lady called me and warned me never to call her line again and that I can marry him if I like.

Actually, I’m scared of her threats but I love the man and more importantly, age is no longer on my side. I’m now 48yrs old and I can’t bear my loneliness anymore.

I’ve made up my mind that I’d rather marry this man than continue to live as a lonely old woman. I’ve sent his so-called wife a text explaining that I want to marry her husband purely for companionship.

One requires a certain degree of maturity to understand marriage contracted for the purpose of companionship. I hope she is mature enough to understand.

No man wants me anymore because I’m almost 50 years old. So I’ll rather be a second wife to any man than die single and lonely. Her husband is my last hope.

“ Ever since, I’ve been so happy. However, my joy is now turning to sorrow because recently, a lady called me and claimed to be his wife. She said they wedded.

I called my man and asked him if he wedded anybody but he denied it and telephoned the lady in my presence but she refused to answer her call.”

35

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Relationships and Love Advice

‘He wants sex in return for his assistance’

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Dear Love Doctor,

M

y name is Celestina. I’m 22 years old and hail from Imo state. I’m desperate to go to the university. But my parents are poor and can’t afford to send me to school. So one day while I was sitting at home crying because my parents can’t afford to send me to school, one of my dad’s friends came to our house and offered to pay for my education if my parents can allow me to live with him and his wife and children as a

nanny. I moved in with them two months ago. But since then, the man has been demanding sex from me. He says that the only way I can pay him back for promising to sponsor my education is by having sex with him secretly without his wife’s knowledge. What do I do?

Thanks, Celestina.

Love Doctor’s Advice: Dear Celestina,

I

think it is foolish to be desperate about going to the university. And it is your desperation that has led you into this kind of ugly situation. You don’t need to be desperate because you don’t have to go to the university or be a graduate before you can become a success in life. Successful people are people who believed in themselves and worked hard and smart on a specific plan in order to achieve their objectives, regardless of their level of education.

Being reckless or dangerous because of our sense of urgency about something in particular, usually leads to unexpected ends. Therefore, it is never good to be desperate for anything. Learn to be content with what you have and make the best use of it. You don’t need to have the whole world before you can become someone in life. You can make the best use of whatever situation you find yourself in, and still achieve your aim in the end.

Even if your parents are too poor to sponsor your education, you could have made good use of the situation by learning a trade or vocation in the meantime. You can learn catering, hairdressing, tailoring, etc; and still make good money, even without going to the university now. There are many vocations you can learn.

For example, if you learn tailoring, you can make a living for yourself from sewing dresses for women.

If your parents can’t sponsor your education, going to school should not be a do-or-die affair. So you can see that you didn’t need to go and live with that man and his family in the first instance! All you need to do is think, and you will eventually figure out a way to manage whatever situation you find yourself in. Learn to seek advice from knowledgeable people and apply wisdom in any situation.

You can indeed learn a vocation and work with it to take care of yourself rather than depend on that man or anybody. You can also save money while working to pay for your education later.

Leave that house immediately and don’t give in to that man’s demand. Don’t do anything that would bring shame to yourself and to your family, and make people label you a home wrecker.

Do you have advice on this problem? Please share your thoughts. Call 07031028714 or 08131161840. Email: ireto007@yahoo.com Note: If you have fertility problems like childlessness, inability to conceive or get pregnant, miscarriages, fibroid, low sperm count, STDs, or need a male child or female? Call 07031028714, 08131161840. Love Doctor can help you succeed in your marriage/relationship.

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36

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

It happened to me:

‘My brother’s fiancée’s bad attitude made me set her up’

H

aving always been close to my older brother Sean, the day I looked forward to the most in my life was the day he was due to arrive home from his long working holiday in the UK. I’d only been 17 when he’d left, so now I was almost 20 we would get to do everything we’d talked about growing up: going out to pubs, travelling together, and I even wanted him to set me up with some of his friends!

But I was even more excited when Sean arrived home a surprise fiancée. None of us had even imagined! And now, not only would I have my beloved brother back, but the sister I’d always wanted as well. I thought it could well be the most memorable day of my life.

As it turned out, I was right — but for all the wrong reasons.

It quickly became obvious to me that Anne might not be the girl Sean thought she was — she was bossy, sullen, and nothing that Sean ever did was good enough. And he did everything she wanted!

He changed industries because she wasn’t happy with the money he made, moved suburbs because she didn’t want to live near us, and bought a new car because his old one was too old. She was so conceited. Sean was her slave, never doing anything without her approval.

So much for awaiting his return! Within three months of his being back in Australia, I spoke to him less than when he’d been overseas. I never, ever saw him — she made sure of that.

English Anne wanted to stay in Australia

“Through my network of friends, I found out where the sleaziest nightclubs were and planned our night. I also invited as many single male friends as I could trust, telling them of my secret plan: I was going to get them all to seduce Anne! Considering how conceited she was, with a little bit of alcohol I was hoping she wouldn’t be able to resist all of the attention.” so, for the time being at least, there was little chance that he would actually leave for good. But as the months went by, I realised that he could be on another planet and I’d probably feel closer to him.

As the wedding drew near, with Sean barely having even a say in his own special day, I knew it was time to take action. Sean was head-over-heels, so he just didn’t see what was happening. I had to save him from himself and find a way to get rid of Anne!

As it happened, not long after that, one of my best friends had a hen’s party. It was one of those boozy affairs with lots of nightclubs and flirting with lots of different men, and it gave me an idea.

I quickly suggested to Anne that, as her future sister-in-law, I should throw her a hen’s party of her own. Anne was quite enthusiastic about the idea, and I promised to organise the whole thing. I just didn’t

tell her what I was organising.

Through my network of friends, I found out where the sleaziest nightclubs were and planned our night. I also invited as many single male friends as I could trust, telling them of my secret plan: I was going to get them all to seduce Anne! Considering how conceited she was, with a little bit of alcohol I was hoping she wouldn’t be able to resist all of the attention.

On the night of the party, I was buying Anne drinks constantly. Anne loved being the centre of so much male attention that she didn’t even seem to care how drunk she was getting.

By the time we arrived at the pub where all the boys were supposed to be, she was really drunk. She was also quite attractive, and the men really did go for her. A swarm of handsome young men crowded around Anne as soon as we reached the dance floor, and I quickly got out my phone and

made the call — Sean needed to come and pick his fiancée up; she was behaving disgracefully. Sean said he would be right down.

Anne was so drunk by this stage she wasn’t even choosy: the first guy who tried to pick her up quickly found himself in a passionate embrace, and then she moved onto another one, and Sean walked through the door only a few seconds later.

Needless to say, he was crushed, and it was a bad break up. I almost felt bad for what I had done, until I remembered what I had actually saved Sean from. 18 months later, Anne is now back in the UK and Sean is seeing someone he met at work. He’s truly happier with her than he ever was with Anne.

He’s never suspected my involvement in his break-up. I still hope he never finds out that I deliberately set up his fiancée.

37

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Love & Living

I did this for love

A

LL for love, we do the strangest things. During my early years in the love business, I could die for love, I took it that seriously. I could give anything and everything and never get anything back. It was until that day at the beach when I lost quite a lot for the sake of love that my brain went through a very needful reset and I started seeing clearly.

We were both all loved up and young, you know how it can be, and outings were just for us. That day we were at the beach and the fun was at its peak. I can remember that I was on an errand for my aunty that day to deliver a certain amount of money to her friend and business partner.

It day a long distance from our base back then and that was my alibi, I and Bobo had more important plans and I was to run my aunt’s errand after our time out at the beach, putting my Bobo first was already a

habit, all for love.

We had our hut and got suya and drinks.

It was the first time I would be out with him at the beach and I was determined to make every moment count. When he asked for a walk along the shore, I obliged him and we set out.

He was the adventurous type and soon asked that we get closer to the water, I sensed trouble but I kept my cool, all for love.

I saw the angry wave first but couldn’t run because he held me fast. In all my life, I have never screamed like I did that day.

Thank God I did! When I turned to run, he was right behind me because my piercing scream shook him. We ran to safety and that was when we noticed that everyone else had left the water on sighting that wave, we were probably too loved up to notice.

I saw the angry wave first but couldn’t run because he held me fast. In all my life, I have never screamed like I did that day. Thank God I did! When I turned to run, he was right behind me because my piercing scream shook him. We ran to safety and that was when we noticed that everyone else had left the water on sighting that wave, we were probably too loved up to notice.

Ify ARONU ifyaronu@gmail.com After that incident, I was unsettled and more like recoiled, it was time to go. But Bobo was unshaken, a guy had now approached him and they were talking. After that near death experience, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything else. The next thing I noticed, he was talking with another guy and soon, he was invited to play their game, he went with them while I waited in our hut.

When he got back a while later, I sensed that all was not well. Bobo explained that he was doing well in the money doubling game until he lost all his personal effects, now he needed money to try again so as to get them back. I told him I only had my aunt’s business money but he said, he would definitely get it all back and to trust him, he looked straight into my eyes. I gave him the money, all for love.

I insisted on going with him, maybe I shouldn’t have because that made the

” Fickleness of fame

M

e& ore

Maureen Alikor maureenalikor@gmail.com

T

•Please send comments to ifyaronu@gmail.com

Fame is a unique product with many marketers selling different sides of it to the same person.

On the other side, fame, without purpose, lies chronic emptiness, untold loneliness and awkward dissatisfaction.

”

he most important pursuit anyone should be after is a life of purpose and a life of impact. Change the course of your life today; redress the motivation for your actions and for your choices.

Fame is as fickle as emotions are.

Over the years we have become accustomed to the craze and crave for fame, and we’ve been pushed into many acts that we hope they shoot us to limelight, which as we believe is fame.

Fame as we see it with our flawed human perception is fulfilment and overwhelming satisfaction. Is it?

This lie has been sold to us and many of us have blindly bought the lie and we let it guide and motivate us in our life pursuits.

Many times, the media have made it possible for us to be abreast with the negatives associated with fame. Do we listen? Do we care? Do we not always think that our own cases would be different? Do we not think of fame without negatives as our own fate?

Fame, in as much as it sounds cool and satisfactory, has it own downsides.

Many of us who chase fame headlong have not been trained in handling the wiles that come with it. And it is guaranteed that they would come.

pain worst. Before my eyes, Bobo lost the whole money. Desperate to have it all back, he asked for another round this time with my phone as investment. He still lost and that was when I started seeing clearly.

I cried as though bereaved but it was all gone already. It was so terrible that we didn’t even have transport fare to go home. To make my case worst, he didn’t have a dime in his bank account, apparently the little he had was deployed for that outing.

You can then imagine my woes as I thought of what to tell my aunt, I could only think of at least saying that the money flew away, or didn’t it?

Fame brings us in contact with so many people, who want to be associated with us because of all we have going for us. They have their own understanding of the benefits of our fame, for themselves. Yet they will not always be there when the bough breaks and you need support.

The fame that has been sold to many of is a lie. As gullible customers with a one-traffic mind, we gulp down everything, hook line

and sinker. We have to live with how we manage it. Like most marketers, the seller is never around when we run into trouble with the product or service. Fame is a unique product with many marketers selling different sides of it to the same person.

On the other side, fame, without purpose, lies chronic emptiness, untold loneliness and awkward dissatisfaction. Those who are still battling for the fame they have seen as per-

fection on television or on the other media may never understand these statements, and I hope they do not have to experience it before believing.

Lately, we have been hit with countless sad tales surrounding the ugly demise of so many people and though they used to be our “eye candy”, those we envy and look up to, news shows that they did not have it all covered and all was not going smoothly for them all.

The latest sad occurrence being the death of a popular rap king Chester Bennington hit many of us in places where we never thought it could be hit. But, yes, it has happened. The lesson remains that nobody has it all. Nobody is so famous that he or she is perfection in motion.

Fame is fickle. Fame is transient.

Do you want fame for fame’s sake, or do you want to live a life of purpose and impact? I would like to hear you positions.

•Please email comments to maureenalikor@gmail.com

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

The Law and You

With Barr. Ken Akpom 08162016410

The Land use Act and customary Land law in Nigeria R

ecently, the National Assembly rejected the removal of Land Use Act from the on-going reform in the country’s constitution and many of my callers who did not understand what this Act stands for wanted me to throw more light on the topic, hence I decided to write this topic now suspending any other outstanding discussions to later editions.

Before the promulgation of the Land Use Act, hereinafter referred to as the “Act”, the land tenure system in Nigeria was basically of three different types namely; i. Customary ii.

Non-customary and iii. The special Land Tenure system in the former Northern region which was a combination of the customary and non-customary system.

Land was thus held by the community, the individual and the state/government. But the need to resolve the often bitter acrimony resulting from the controversies in respect of land and security of title to same and the need to simplify the management and ownership of land in Nigeria among other reasons, led to the promulgation of the Land Use Act (LUA).

By virtue of Section 1 of the LUA, the concept of radical title to land existing in the owner, prior to the Act was abolished and substituted with the limited title in the form of a right of occupancy. This has led to legal arguments as to whether or not the Land Use Act disposes or takes away private property for the public purposes. Prof. Smith I.O. rightly in my view observed that “……the conception of the Land Use Act as a piece of legislation is far from being a deprived/weakening of the pre-existing customary land tenure…..”

Going straight to the point, it is pertinent to note that the Act has not abolished pre-existing land laws and tenures.

Rather the previous laws have undergone some changes with the Act in place since 1978. The evidence for this is readily available.

THE PRESERVATION Firstly, the provision of section 48 of the Act which provides that; “All existing laws relating to registration of title to or interest in, land or the transfer of title to or any interest in land shall have effect subject to such modifications…..as will bring those laws into conformity with this Act or its general intendment”.

Thus, under the Act, the pre-existing land laws of which the principles are in conformity with the general intendment of the Act are saved. The provision of the above section 48 of the Act is also applicable to the concept of customary law and tenure that was in existence prior to the Act. Secondly, by Section 51 which is the definition section in the LUA, the Act recognizes customary right of occupancy and describes an “Occupier” to include a person holding land under customary law. A corollary to Section 51 is Section 36(2) which gives a deemed grant to the occupier or holder of land in non-urban area to continue to hold as if he had applied for and obtained a customary right of occupancy. This however does not mean that a license who is the occupier becomes entitled to that land. Hence, it has been in Onwuka v. Eduala 1989 1 NWLR pt. 96, p.182 that the land owner is the one entitled to the deemed grant and not the occupier/customary tenant. See also Abioye v. Yakubu 1991 5 NWLR pt. 190; Mogaji v. Cadbury 1985 2 NWLR 395 at 396 Thirdly, Section 24 recognizes the devolution of right under customary law upon the death of the holder of a right of occupancy and this is also applicable to customary land and tenure sustaining the concept of family property.

Fourthly, Section 34(4) recognizes any incumbrance held on land. A customary pledge of land falls under such category of incumbrance and is thus recognized.

the conception of the Land Use Act as a piece of legislation is far from being a deprived/weakening of the pre-existing customary land tenure…

Fifthly, Section 35 recognizes and preserves customary tenancy together with its incidents. In Okunnola v. Oluwo 1987 4 NWLR pt. 64, p. 141 at 36, it was established that the Act has not destroyed the concept of customary tenancy and it was not intended to transfer the possession of the land from the owner to the tenant by whom the owner is in possession. The Act has also preserved the remedies or relief or forfeiture available to customary landlord wherever a tenant dispute the title of the former or alienate without the consent of the landlord, the land let to him (the tenant) by the landlord. The reversionary interest of the landlord is never extinguished by the passage of time. This is also the position of the court in Abioye v. Yakubu, 1991 5 NWLR pt. 190 and Madam Safuratu Salami & Ors v. Eniola Oke 1987 4 NWLR pt. 1 or 1987 9-11 SC 43.

Sixthly, by the combined effect of section 2(1) and (b) (5), 6 and other relevant provisions of the Act, the customary right of use, control and management of community or family property is also preserved. No member of

the community or family can validly apply for and obtain a certificate of occupancy to own family property or can a prospective customary tenant by-pass the customary land owner to apply to the State or Local Government for a right of occupancy. Thus as it were before the Act any alienation of community or family land requires first and foremost the requisite consent of the community or family.

In conclusion, it has been judicially affirmed by the Supreme Court in salami v. Oke (supra). We must note carefully that the preservations of the rules and incidences of customary law and land tenure noted above are however subject to their conformity with LUA. Thus in dealing with land held under customary law prior to the Act recourse must always be made to the question as to whether or not the dealing in every case complies with the provision of the Act. Finally, the requirement of Governor’s consent must be sought and obtained for all transactions.

• Do you have questions or seek legal clarification on issues concerning your marriage, probate, property, etc? Call or send a text message to Barr. Ken: 08162016410, 08075763840. Email: kenakpom@yahoo.com

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Entertainment With Douglas Omoyooma I can date an ugly man – Unoaku Anyadike As the two year reign of Miss Unoaku Anyadike Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) draws to a close on September 15 when she crowns the new queen during the 30th anniversary of MBGN taking place at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Anyadike would have made history as the only queen to have reigned for two years. In this chat with Oracle Today, Anyadike opens up on what she will miss most being MBGN Queen. important thing. If your inside is as beautiful and amazing, what is on the outside is of no consequence, so it is your inside that matters.

You have a velvety and glowing skin, what is the secret? “Wow! Thanks. I guess I drink a lot of water. I also make sure I have adequate sleep and eat right. And besides, God blessed me with good skin. And for me eating right simply means eating when you are supposed to eat. I do lots of fruits, vegetables, water, less carbs and stuffs like that.

Next level Now that her reign is about to end. What is the next level for her: “Wow! That has already started and it is work, work and more work. That includes facing my career, building and training myself and trying to become a better person and focusing on things I hope to achieve with my life as an individual. MBGN was just something I said ‘let me try and see how it goes’ and it was mind blowing. It was not like I had been planning to be a queen forever. MBGN just came along and I gave it a shot and I was lucky enough to win. So now that it is winding up, life will still continue. I had to finish school, do NYSC, which I have completed, and now I work with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); and I am looking to have my own school and do my own show among a lot of other things.

Going down memory lane Anyadike began: “I have had many fond memories. Going for the international pageants, Miss World and Miss Universe this year was a mind blowing experiences, most especially, Miss Universe in The Philippines. I must confess they were both memorable experiences that will linger for a long time and I will never trade them for anything.

“I wouldn’t have had these experiences but for MBGN. MBGN gave me the platform to travel far and wide and make my country proud. And also, being able to help people is one experience I have enjoyed greatly.

I am talking about the less privileged among us, and of course, my pet project, which was Endometriosis.

Creating awareness for the condition was quite fulfilling for me.”

Has MBGN impacted her in the last two years? “It has opened a lot of doors for me. I have met and rubbed shoulders with a lot of important people and world leaders, and not just in Nigeria but also across the world.

I would always cherish those moments. I learnt that life is about meeting people, traveling, networking and building bridges so that we could have good and lasting relationships with people.”

Romance Tell us about the man in your life? “I would rather not talk about that in the newspapers. My love life is personal and not for public consumption.”

You won’t talk about your relationship but could you give us a description of your ideal man? “My ideal man first of all has to be God fearing. Everybody could say that is a cliché but it is really important. I have to be attracted to him though, it s part of it. And you have to be a hard and smart worker. I don’t like lazy men; you have to be on your feet. You have to be loving and caring as well. I don’t care about height. He could be short or tall and I don’t care about age, but he must be attractive.

However, what matters for me is what is inside.

That means you can date an ugly man? “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What is ugly to you may be handsome to me. I don’t think there is anything like dating an ugly man. He might be ugly to you but he is handsome to me. It is basically beauty from the inside; that is the most

Advice for the next queen “I will advise every young girl who wants to go for MBGN, and whoever wins MBGN to just be herself. Be yourself; don’t try to be me or any other person. Don’t try to be any other person that went before you. Yes, these people can be your role models, but please be yourself and enjoy the moment. Be cool and don’t get carried away by what happens in our society nowadays.

Just maintain your values.”

Dreams?

“My dream is to become a renowned psychologist. I am still going to do my Master’s degree, have my own school and crèche, not just in Lagos but also all over Nigeria by God’s grace. I also want to be a serial entrepreneur.”

Happiest and saddest moments “I have had a lot of them but I can’t point to one and say ‘yes, this is my happiest’. I have had a beautiful twoyear reign as MBGN. I got two years instead of a year, so I guess God loves me. I was privileged.

Talking about saddest moments, that would take me a long time to work out. Maybe now that I am about to handover to another queen, as my reign finally comes to an end, I might feel sad because I will be missing the platform.

However, I have not really had any saddest moment as such. Silverbird (Group) has been good to me, taking care of me in every way they can, and they are still doing that, and I am sure that is not going to end even after I hand over. For now, it is a grill of mixed emotions and I can’t wait to crown the new queen.

“I will be taking with me the relationships I have built over time with the Silverbird Group, the girls I met at Miss World and Miss Universe, and every other person I met internationally. I am still in touch with a lot of the girls I met including Miss India and Miss USA among others.

So, life is all about making lasting relationships with different people and that is one thing I won’t trade for anything.

• Unoaku Anyadike

40

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Entertainment PMAN to Minister of Information: I’m a victim of stereotyping –Brian Okwara Your action recipe for disaster

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he National Executive Working Committee (NEWC) of The Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has advised the Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Mohammed that the alleged plagiarization of its barcode initiative is a recipe for disaster A statement signed by its president, Pretty Okafor read thus: “After thorough review of recent interviews granted by the Honorable Minister of information , Alhaji Lai Mohammed, where the Minister stated that he stopped the implementation of the PMAN Creative Industry Bar Project just because a group of persons approached him and claimed that they were the original PMAN, even though the Minister knows that PMAN is registered hence no group of persons can parade itself as PMAN without the express permission of the Pretty Okafor led executive led executives.

In the above light, the action of the minister is disturbing.”

The body also carpeted the minister for not notifying PMAN of the Ministry’s abrupt change of plan after PMAN had already submitted the project’s blurprint to the Ministry of information after which the Ministry had announced its partnership with PMAN at a world press briefing held at the Ministry of information Office in Abuja. On August 12, 2016.

Describing the minister’s claim that he backed away from his initial commitment to the PMAN proposed Initiative because some people came to him claiming they were the original PMAN is ridiculous and frivolous, Okafor continued: “We are confident that the Minister and the Ministry of Information do not have any official records to back such claims and neither was there a petition written to the Honorable Minister by the invisible” PMAN” perpetrators. The Minister’s only defense against PMAN’s copyright infringement allegations is frivolous and the Ministers inexplicable fire brigade approach as recently displayed during implementation of

projects designed for the creative industry is a recipe for disaster.”

Stating that PMAN’s legal team is currently investigating how a certain tink tank media got hold of PMAN’s Creative bar-coding project proposal submitted in confidence to the Ministry of Information, Okafor stated that the said agency has confirmed publicly that its own proposal to the Ministry is entirely different from PMAN’s proposal.

“This is very questionable, how did this agency have access to PMAN’S Proposals and its content remains a mystery to PMAN. PMAN seriously doubts that due process was adhered to between the Ministry and the so-called advertising agency.

“The twenty individuals the Minister announced will invest one million US dollars are of particular interest to PMAN, we want to know what sort of arrangements is being made on behalf of the creative industry,

especially the music industry, to ensure the Industry is not being sold out to the 20 unidentified individuals.

Commenting on the recent threat to sue PMAN by the Minister. Okafor added: “The threat to sue PMAN for libel will not stop PMAN. PMAN will not be bullied nor will we be intimidated by the Minister of Information’s status, fame or any other designated person or entities that seek to distract or deter the focus of PMAN’S fight for justice and the fight for the rights of over 20 million practitioners of the music industry and the creative industry at large.

“PMAN has confidence in the Buhari led administration because of its emphasis on transparency, accountability and anti-corruption.

Therefore, we call on the Presidency to intervene and rescue the creative industry.

• Brian Okwara rian Okwara, ex-Mr. Nigeria has revealed that he is a victim of stereotyping because of his good..

“My biggest challenge as a lady’s man is for God to give me the strength not to be a lady’s man.

There is something you need to understand about being a lady’s man.

Yeah, you are a lady’s man and you can’t run away from it, it is something nature has endowed you with.

But there is a flipside and it is that people tend to stereotype you and hardly take you seriously.

B

a fine boy?’ And you are like ‘what do you mean by that?’ It is a good thing that you walk into a room and every woman is ogling but there are people that actually see the other side of life and attach importance and value to relationships and they will not really like that after a while.

I want people to like me for who I am and not judge the book by its cover.”

Has it affected his relationship with members of the opposite sex?

“I would say I have lost friendships that way. Some people just see me “Any woman that walks into your and say ‘Brian, come on, I know life will just say ‘oh Brian, we have your type and I am like ‘oh sorry, you seen your type before; are you not don’t even know me.’

Gospel singer Faith Liberty drops Do Me Well

By CHRISTIAN AGADIBE

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• Pretty Okafor

ondon-based gospel singer, Faith Liberty recently released her much talked about single entitled, `Do me well’ The Delta State-born gospel artiste who returned to her country from the UK to promote her songs revealed her passion for Christian songs despite being a chartered accountant.

According to the mother of three, her inspiration comes from God who drops the songs in her head during her sleep.

Commenting on her latest song entitled, Do me well, she said: “My Odera, who won an Africa Movie favourite right now is my latest sinAcademy Award back in 2010, for his gle which is Do me well is not yet on first feature film, ‘Soul Diaspora’ is a Hollywood based-Nigerian filmmaker.

Anambra 2017: Why I’m supporting Obiano’s re-election – Odera Ozoka, US-based Nigerian filmmaker

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S-based Nigerian award-winning film maker, Odera Ozoka, who’s currently in the country scouting location for his upcoming film on Biafra, A Forgotten Place, has thrown his weight behind the re-election bid of Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State.

According to him, he’s backing the incumbent governor because of his popular programmes in the State.

He was the guest speaker at the recently held Youth Stakeholder gathering for Governor Willie Obiano’s re-election campaign in Awka.

The event, which drew over 2000 youths from across the local government areas in Anambra, was a stepping ground for the Harvard-educated filmmaker to voice his support for youth empowerment and engagement in politics, as he urged the government to open more avenues for entrepreneurial youths to flourish in the State.

He also spoke with Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu about his upcoming film proj-

ect focusing on the civil war Biafra as well as discussing with the Deputy Governor Nkem Okeke, on arts and culture in Anambra, and his film company’s devotion to developing local talents and culture across the state.

• Odera Ozoka with Amb. Bianca Ojukwu at a function

• Faith Liberty

air. I think my promotion manager should know the date. We are promoting that Do me well we want to push it to the extreme.”

Speaking further on her mission to Nigeria, the fair complexioned singer said: “I came to Nigeria because this is where pidgin English can be really refined. I wanted them to listen to the song and to see if the pidgins are correct. I was privileged to have Wole Oni as my producer; he didn’t even make any corrections.

He was like, that is good. I think I only did one studio so he was like that is ok; we don’t need any more thing, let me complete it and we did the video shoot and everything is working fine.”

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

News

APC’s ill-prepared pro-Buhari rally

From CHUKS EZE, Enugu

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nugu, the coal-city capital of Enugu State witnessed an ill-prepared solidarity rally for the recuperating President Muhammadu Buhari, who returned to the country last Saturday, after his long medical trip to London.

The seemingly hastily packaged exercise held at a very tight venue, with participants all jampacked because the organisers could not officially secure appropriate venue for the rally.

They, therefore, settled for a building that once served as campaign office for former governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s People for Democratic Change, PDC’s campaign office, situated on Independence Avenue in the capital city.

Zamfara provides sanitary facilities Z

amfara Government on Monday said it had provided 229 modern toilets and sanitary facilities in Tsafe, Birnin-Magaji and Talata-mafara Local Government Areas of the state.

The Commissioner for Community and Rural Development in the state, Alhaji Lawal M-Limam, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau that the facilities were provided under Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN ll) project.

Zamfara was one of the six states in the country partnering with UNICEF/DFID intervention project to improve sanitation, hygiene and water supply in rural communities.

M-Liman said the affected local government areas were benefiting from the project under SHAWN 11 pilot scheme.

“From 2016 to date, under this pilot scheme, we have provided 229 modern toilets and sanitary facilities in primary schools and primary health centers in communities across the three local government areas.

“The state government had in January released N400 million as counterpart funding to this project.

“We have seen the benefit of this project in our communities, therefore, the state government is thinking of extending it to other local government areas.”

The commissioner also said that the state government, under its rural electrification projects, had connected 137 villages to the national grid from 2013 to date.

“We have also extended electricity projects to several communities across the state through intervention with the ministry for local government and chieftaincy affairs,” he stressed.

He said the electrification projects, which cost the state government billions of Naira, had been completed.

He also said that the state rural transformation policy introduced by the state government was aimed at improving the living standard of rural dwellers.

• Participants grumble over poor welfare Similarly, the organisers of the event could not procure brooms which is the official symbol of the APC, T-shirts and caps, the absence of which made several attendees of the exercise shun their street rally session due to intense sunshine.

It was also observed that appropriate arrangement was not made to take care of participants’ welfare as grumblings over poor welfare were prevalent among the people, at the meeting venue.

The march, which was launched under the auspices of Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), was led by its Chairman in Enugu State, Chief Anike Nwoga and Secretary, Godwin Onwusi alongside some other APC chieftains including the party’s Enugu State Chairman, Chief Ben Nwoye; Chairman of

Voice of Nigeria (VON), Chief Osita Okechukwu, who was said to have bankrolled the rally, as well as Brig.

Gen J.O.J Okoloagu (Rtd).

Former Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo, an APC South East officer, Chief Emma Enukwu, and Senator Fidelis Okolo, among others were also in attendance.

Participants at the rally were seen carrying placards with various inscriptions such as ‘Baba is back’, ‘We are praying for you Mr President’, ‘Sickness is not crime’, and ‘WE say no to corruption’ among others.

Some of the placards carried by the Buhari supporters read: “Welcome Baba” “ “Sickness is no Crime” “Continue with the Anti-Corruption Crusade” “We are

with you in prayer” In a press interview after the rally, Chief Nwoga said that the BSO had organised the exercise to thank God for President Buhari’s safe return to the country after his medical trip abroad.

He said the group is strongly backing Mr President to continue “the good works of fixing our physical and social deficit infrastructure - electricity, roads, railways, education, health and more.”

While encouraging the President to embark on more borrowing, the APC chieftain said: ”We implore you to appeal to the National Assembly to immediately approve the $29.9 billion foreign loan and more to get Nigeria out of recession and back to work.”

Kanu visits Mbakwe’s grave From COLLINS UGHALAA, Owerri

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he Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu on Monday paid a sudden visit to the Avutu Community in Obowo LGA of Imo State, to pray and pay his respects at the grave of the former Governor of Imo State, Dr. Sam Mbakwe.

It is agreed by most people in Imo State that the late Sam Mbakwe provided good leadership in the state and left enduring legacies across the old Imo State.

The IPOB leader was received by the late Mbakwe’s first son, Chief Alex Mbakwe.

While reviewing all the achievements of the late Dee Sam, the IPOB leader betrayed his emotions and wept publicly for the first time.

He also prayed while standing on Mbakwe’s grave, beckoning on him to be a guardian angel for Biafra even as he rests resting at the right hand of God the Father.

Scam mails worry NNPC From CHIDI UGWU, Abuja

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•Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnemeka Achebe and members of his cabinet dancing during the Ite Umato Festival at his palace

FUG parleys Anambra pre-retirees

By OLIVER UDEOGU

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forum of management and staff of the Future Unity Glavilis Pensions limited (FUG) and pre-retirement civil servants and non-government workers in Anambra State, has called for new understanding between workers and their pension managers. The forum was held recently at the Sharon Hall G.R.A Onitsha and was aimed at fostering renewed understanding between workers and pension managers.

The event attracted a large number of participants drawn from workers mainly from the State civil service and served as an avenue where grey areas about the pension scheme were discussed and resolved in a question and answer session.

Questions were entertained from participants with answers accurately given by management of the pension scheme. Majority of the participants were those retir-

ing next year.

Speaking at the event, Head of Operations FUG Uloma Nkemakolam, who gave out her phone number, explained the workings of the scheme to participants and told them to feel free to call her mobile line whenever an issue they don’t understand well cropped up.

The forum was initially conducted in English language but later in Igbo, when midway into the event some participants pointed out that the forum was violating Anambra State government’s standing rule on use of the native dialect in all government establishments and schools in the State every Wednesday.

The event coincided with the 10th anniversary of the FUG, which started operation back in 2007 as a pensions manager, serving the needs of retirees.

In his remark, the Regional Manager, Mr. Michael Ejiofor assured participants that all the complaints

they laid down would become things of the past as from September this year, adding that the organization is repositioning with an effective structure to fully meet their needs.

Participants were given free medical checkup, business advisory and management of their affairs among other sundry issues, which were also highlighted by the management.

Highlight of the event was presentation of set of desktop and monitor by the FUG Management to some government officials who were at the event.

Present at the forum were representatives of the Head of Service, Anambra State Mrs. Pamela Ikem, the Secretary Anambra State Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC) Chief Tony Oli who was represented by Mr Emeka Chukwu and also representatives of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Onitsha North.

he Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has lamented the huge volume of scam mails by international fraudsters that the Corporation has deal to deal with on a daily basis.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, who stated this in a statement, said the Corporation is worried by the activities of conmen who specialize in circulating phantom letters of crude oil allocation with intent to defraud unsuspecting would-be buyers or members of the public.

The NNPC spokesman said the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru raised the alarm while speaking at the presentation of commendation letters to 12 members of staff of the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the Corporation in Abuja, Baru, at the occasion said: “The activities of the international fraudsters created an unnecessary distraction for staff of the COMD who were compelled to deal with huge turnover of scam mails on a regular basis.”

He urged members of the public to be wary of such dubious emails purporting to emanate from the Corporation with mouth-watering crude oil allocation offers.

Providing an insight into the activities of the nefarious group, the Group General Manager in charge of the Crude oil Marketing Division of the Corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari said the scammers function by sending fake crude oil allocation letters using names of senior NNPC officials as decoy and requesting the gullible individuals to pay certain cash deposits as commission on volume of crude received.

“The gullible individuals end up paying huge sums of dollars into these accounts as commission but the reality is that nobody allocates crude oil on a piece of paper the way the scammers canvass in their dubious letters. Everything about crude sale is electronic and real time. If you have your cargo the whole world knows,” Kyari said.

To tackle the challenge, the COMD has made available the email contacts of its top officials thus allowing members of the public access to verify such emails.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August30, 2017

News

Quit notice: Oba women give returnees loans From UZO UGWUNZE, Ojoto

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s part of the activities to mark their August meeting, the Oba Women Patriotic Union (OWPU) a.k.a Inyom Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra state has given out loans to scores of fellow women that relocated from the North to enable them settle down in their new business environment in the South East.

The union also preaches oneness of all the women in the various communities in the South East irrespective of religious or denominational affiliations.

Speaking during the 2017 Home & Abroad General Oba Women conference held at Oba Civic Centre, recently, the President general (OWPU), Dame Janet Okeke revealed the various achievements of the present administration which include: giving out non-interest/non collateral loans to returnees from the Northern part of Nigeria who came back to settle in the South East; building of town hall, creating and grading an access road from Oba new road/Oba women conference town hall to

Restructuring: Nigerians take agitation to UK From CHUKS COLLINS, Awka

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outhern Nigerian groups have resolved to take their agitation for the restructuring of the country to the United Kingdom by way of an international summit.

The inaugural meeting which held during the week involved South East /South South Network, Afenifere Renewal Group UK, Bendel Foundation and Igbo Ekunie Initiative.

In a statement by the Coordinator, Dr Philip Idaehor, the Southern groups would use the medium to draw the attention of the international community to the need for restructuring the country for better performance.

According to the groups, the meeting will be first in a series of round-table consultations to deliberate on the way forward for Nigeria, following the defeat of constitutional amendments aimed to restructure the federation in the National Assembly.

“The round-table series will be a platform to ponder on various problems bedevilling the country since attaining independence and fashion out ways out of the country’s age-long crisis,” the statement said.

“Planned to be a quarterly event in the Diaspora, the summit will address various issues facing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and at the end of the meeting, the groups will come up with a memorandum that will be submitted to the National Assembly,” the statement concluded.

•Preach oneness of women in all the South East communities the Oba water works; establishing a nursery, primary and secondary school, equipping an ICT room for the secondary section of the Oba women project.

“Inyom Oba loves and cares for themselves. Especially those who ran back from the North empty-handed because of the quit notice threat by the Arewa youths, we have a programme for them.

We have been giving loans of N100,000 naira per annum without interest. Another member who has a foundation in USA also gives N50,000 per annum through Inyom Oba. As they come back, we tell them to register with their village women leader so that as soon as people given previously return their loans we give to the others, that is if we run out of fund. Most of them that returned earlier have been doing well. Some of them came with their ladies motorcycle to this conference because we pray over the loan before giving it to them and it has been useful to them”, Dame Okeke said.

Dame Okeke further revealed that oneness of the women in Oba irrespective of their Christian denomination has been the secret of the successes and achievements of the union.

“Inyom Oba comprises of all denomination both orthodox, new generation, white garment, charismatic churches as far as you are a Christian. Even pagans are being converted on daily basis to join us.

It baffles other women from other towns when they came here and see us sit together and brainstorm on how to move both our women, children and entire town forward.

They say they do their august meeting in their separate churches and return without embarking on projects that will affect the entire town collectively. Right now, the women in this town are building a town hall which is at the verge of completion, we’ve build a road from the town hall to Oba Water works, we have built both nursery, primary and secondary school with equipped ICT room or library.

This is different from the empowerment centre for different crafts we built many years ago. All these were possible not as a denomination but as different denomina-

tions believing in the same goal.

I urge my fellow women in all the communities in the south east to emulate us” she said.

Earlier in her address, the 2nd Vice president, Lady Prof. Nduka Obiezue reminded the women to be exemplary mothers as they raise their children in the fear of God. She further thanked His Royal Majesty, Igwe P.C Ezenwa, Eze Okpoko I of Oba and HRM, Lolo (Ogbueshi) Ifeoma Ezenwa (Mmiliaku) for the successful Oba Mass Return, which took place in 2016.

By IBE NWACHUKWU

ship election in Anambra state, members of APGA working committee and the executive in Ogbaru area council have expressed their unflinching support and unalloyed loyalty to Gov. Willie Obiano and Chief Victor Oye-led national leadership of the party.

Making the pledge in a meeting

which was convened by the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Willie Obiano on Political Matters, Hon. Arinzechukwu Awogu at the party’s local government secretariat, Atani, yesterday, the Committee and Executive which comprised Ward Chairmen, Secretaries, Women leaders and Youth leaders, among others said they would work towards returning Obiano for a second tenure.

The meeting, according to the convener, Awogu, was intended to form the skeletal framework for a well co-ordinated process towards charting a course in preparation for the election proper governorship election in the state.

Addressing the party loyalists, Awogu noted that he was aware that some of them were still confused about the tussle between Chief Martin Agbaso and Victor Oye, over who is the national chairman of the party, he was reassuring them that the party under the leadership of Dr. Victor Oye as the national chairman is very much on a sound footing.

The meeting also identified those collaborating with Chief Martins Agbaso and some other individuals in the local government to cause disquiet but sounded a very strong warning note to them as their actions were viewed as acts of ignorance and that they were probably misled but they must now retrace their steps.

The meeting fire up the spirit of commitment towards Gov. Willie Obiano’s winning the forthcoming Anambra state governorship election in Ogbaru local government area.

The new leadership of Okpoko community led by the President General of the community, Hon. Eddy Emesinwa, stormed the meeting with multitude of people from Okpoko to register their loyalty and readiness to work for the re-election of His Excellency Gov. Willie Obiano in Okpoko.

Emesinwa who was on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 restored as the President- General of Okpoko community by an Onitsha high court which sacked the former Caretaker Committee led by Hon. Linus Ezenwanma, gave an assurance that Obiano would definitely win the election and do his second tenure, because Obiano is someone who believes in the rule of law.

Emesinwa and the Okpoko community thanked the governor for all his care for Okpoko people and said that they will only reward him by ensuring that he wins landslide in Okpoko wards.

Ogbaru APGA supports Obiano for 2017

ith last Wednesday’s sucW cessful primaries conducted by the All Progressives Grand

Alliance (APGA) which ended in favour of Governor Willie Obiano as the standard bearer of the party for the November 18 governor-

43

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Power of Money

By D.D. Nwaiwu Chapter 2 “You have started again, Shola please let me be, I don’t have the strength” Kola pleaded with his wife, “How would you have strength?” She asked “Have you had anything to eat? Useless man, you will die of hunger, I can’t tell what your problem is anymore, poverty or total stinginess I don’t know” She said and stormed out of the house.

Kola truly didn’t have the strength, he lay down staring at the ceiling, he didn’t know which medicine to try on Shola, it was seven in the evening and yet she left the house with Jide, leaving him on an empty stomach.

He soon fell asleep, but it didn’t last, he was awoken by the loud voices of Mr. Eze and his wife, they were quarrelling again.

He was annoyed, sleep made him forget his sorrow and hunger, it made him realize how much he needed an apartment free from all those so called neighbors, but he remembered he needed food more at that time.

He was still muttering curses on the Eze family when an idea struck his head, he heard Eze and his wife throw insults on each other until only his wife’s voice could be heard shouting and crying for help, Eze had begun to beat her; as usual.

Kola ran a deeper thought on their matter, Eze and his wife always quarreled, but something was strange, after each quarrel, one could see them the next day, sitting in the cool of the evening talking and laughing together as if nothing had happened the night before. ‘Of course’ Kola snapped as he arose, that was the best medicine for a troublesome wife – ‘beating, severe beating to drive her back to her senses’ he smiled at his discovery and laid back again, he and Shola were slowly replacing Eze and his wife in the frequency of quarrels.

The shouting continued from Eze’s house, but now it was lullaby to Kola’s ears, he could not wait for the next day to take tips from Eze; Shola would not know what hit her.

Morning came and Shola had not returned, Kola shook his head in anger, but then smiled remembering he almost had her medicine and all she desperately needed was a cure.

He tied his towel and headed to the no mans’ bathroom but someone was there already and he had to wait.

He was still waiting when he heard, a loud cry from Eze’s house, ‘Is Eze still beating his wife?’ he asked himself beginning to hate the idea, he soon discovered that there was more to that shout as people had begun to gather around Eze’s room. He rushed there only to see Eze’s wife rolling on the ground, he went in with other men and saw Eze lying dead beside a plate of Fufu and Eguisi soup.

He had obviously choked on a ball of Fufu considering the way his hands still held his neck.

He looked at the dead man; he looked like he had struggled before death. His eyes met the left over meal and his stomach rumbled.

That was bad, thinking of the dead man’s food instead of thinking of a way out ‘shame on you, Kola’ his conscience seemed to have pricked him, but he knew it was not voluntary.

They left the room to console his wife, but the women around showed no real sympathy, Kola read their faces and thoughts – ‘work of his wife surely’ – ‘wicked woman’ – ‘they fought last night’.

Mama B soon came to the scene and was shocked at what happened, she didn’t hide her suspicion “Oh, so you have killed him?” she asked the woman “Hope your mind is now at rest? People are wicked, God have mercy” “I swear I didn’t kill him, God knows I didn’t, why would I kill my husband” Eze’s wife said amidst the crying, breaking her words into different stress patterns.

“Shut up, you devil” one woman shouted.

“Leave her” Mama B joined in “You think we didn’t hear when you said you were going to poison him one day yesterday night?

Eze’s wife is accused of killing her husband True to your threats, you have” ‘We?’ no one else heard that, but the new widow’s defense confirmed it “I was just talking o, I didn’t mean it, I swear, I was angry”. She said.

“We can see how angry you were, it’s not your fault sha, that’s what men that beat their wives deserve” she said and left the scene, tears flowing from her eyes “So Eze is gone, chai”.

Kola’s eyes widened, and a shiver ran through him ‘that’s what men that beat their wife’s deserve?’ bad idea, very bad idea, he would not lay a finger on Shola.

He now feared her. Through the while, his mind didn’t go that he had wanted Eze to give him tips, but now he knew he didn’t need it anymore, and even if he did, where was Eze? He took his bucket and ran to the bathroom, the commotion must have chased the previous user out, as Kola could still see the man’s half used bucket of water and bathing materials, he took his bath anyways.

The commotion had not died down, and it didn’t look like it would anytime soon, Kola dressed up. Clinton had coincidentally called him to come to Bone house for some fun time, but Kola’s tone made it clear that fun was last on his list; he had something important to discuss.

As he rushed out of the compound, he met Shola coming in with Jide sleeping on her arms. Shocked, he stopped abruptly like

he was going to run away, Shola just stared at him.

“What’s happening” She asked in a cool voice, it was the first time in days Kola would hear her without his ears hurting.

“Eze is dead” Kola answered “Ah, how, when” she asked surprised.

“This morning, his wife poi” he stopped, he didn’t want to say poison so that she wouldn’t build such ideas in her own head, but then realized he had to complete the sentence “his wife pointed that he choked on his food” “Ah! Too bad, ehya” she lamented, a little well of tears in her eyes “And you, where are you going to?” she asked in an angry tone.

Kola frowned; he was the one to ask her where she had been, but he dared not, he was afraid of her and he really didn’t know why. “I’m going to see Clinton” he confessed.

“Be going here and there, don’t sit in one place and think about your life, you think you’ll live forever abi, I pity you. Mr. Eze is a perfect example” Kola looked at her leave to the death scene. He shook his head and held his waist with both hands ‘what kind of life is this’.

Clinton was at the bar, he saw his friend come in like a depressed individual, a man without hope and tired of living.

“What is it” Clinton asked worried.

“What? You mean ‘who is it’?” Kola answered “Who?”

“Who else but Shola” Kola said almost in a shout “I’m tired of that woman; I don’t know what to do” “You and this your Shola self” Clinton laughed “When would you guys change” “This is not a joke” Kola said sternly “I’m very serious here” “Alright I’m sorry” Clinton apologized still laughing a little “What did she do this time?”

“What has she not done, her complaints would never stop, her insults are still on the run, and worse she leaves the house and comes in whenever she likes, you can’t believe that she went out yesterday only to return this morning” Kola said and looked as friend expecting him to be shocked, but Clinton just sipped his beer.

“So what do you think you are doing wrong?” Clinton asked.

Kola looked at him like he had said something murderous “What do you mean what am I doing wrong, haven’t you been listening?” Kola asked annoyed.

“You are the man, aren’t you, so your woman would only misbehave when you let her” “I don’t understand what you are saying, whose side are you on?”

•To be continued next week!

•Do you have comments on this story?

Email: daviesylva@gmail.com

44

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

Crime

Couple nabbed attempting to use daughter for rituals

•Parents Stories by XAVIER NDAH

O

gun State Command of the police has arrested one Nasiru Adeyemo and his wife Idayat Adeyemo for attempting to use their seven years old girl Abibat Anike Adeyemo for ritual purpose.

The state Police Public Relations officer Assistant Superintendent of Police,(ASP) Abimbola Oyeyemi said the duo were arrested following a distress call from members of the public that a strange load In a sack was sighted by the road side at Asabala area along Papalanto/Sagamu road.

He said on the strength of the

• Father, victim in a sack information, the DPO Owode Egba Csp Shehu Alao led his men to the scene where the load which was inside a white rice sack was untie and surprisingly,

• The child (victim) it was a seven year old girl whose one of her right hand fingers has been cut off tied and put inside the sack and dumped at the road side.

According to him,having realized that the girl is still alive, she was quickly taken to the hospital for medical attention.” It was when she regained consciousness that she informed the Police that her father and step mother were the ones who cut off one of her fingers before tying her and put her inside the sack and dumped her inside the bush for her to die there. Upon the information from the victim, serious manhunt was launched for the father and his wife and they were arrested.

Oyeyemi said the duo are currently undergoing interrogation.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered the transfer of the case to AntiKidnapping/Cultist section for further investigation and possible prosecution of the suspects.

Man beats neighbour to death with charm

T

he Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 32 –year- old man Olatunde Akapo for allegedly beating his neighbor Augustine Ode to death with charm.

Police said his arrest follows a report by the brother to the deceased who reported at Ibogun Division that his brother was having a minor disagreement with his neighbor which degenerated to a fight and in the process, the sus-

pect rushed into his room, came out with a charm with which he used to beat the deceased who slump and died immediately.

Upon his report, the DPO Ibogun Division, SP Nicholas TamunoInam led detectives to the scene at Alapako Eke and the suspect was promptly arrested. The remains of the deceased had since been deposited at Ifo General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Meanwhile the Commissioner

rope, iron rod, charms, jackknife, and different types of hand sets, an unregistered bajaj motorcycle and green belts of a security agency” Oyeyemi said.

Meanwhile the commissioner of police CP Ahmed Iliyasu has directed that the suspects be transferred to FSARS for discrete investigation.

of Police, CP Ahmed Iliyasu has directed that the case be transferred to Homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution of the suspect.

Four cattle rustlers arrested in Ogun

F

our cattle rustlers have been arrested by the police ,Ogun state command for robbery.

The state police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP,Abimbola Oyeyemi said the men were arrested after they had robbed the duo of Muhammed Ruga and Babuga of their cows and they were arrested while planning to carry out similar operation at Orile Igbehin area of Ofada.

He said the suspects Madu Abuchi’, Onyeka Okafor , Francis Onyeka ‘ and Hafiz Mustapha attacked the two herdsmen with cutlasses, tied them in both hands and legs after beating them thoroughly before they made away with their two big cows.

According to him, luck however ran against them when they were coming for another operation and information got to the police at owode Egba division consequent upon which the Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Sheu Alao led his men to effect their arrest.

The suspects have been identified by their victims, they also confessed to the crime stating that they area the brain behind the hijacking of many cement loaded trucks in the state which the sell to a receiver one simply identified as Femi who has houses in Shagamu and Itori..

“Effort is going on to apprehend the said Femi. Recovered from them are three cutlasses,

• Akapo

NGO seeks policy reforms to tackle illicit drugs

Y

outhRise a nongovernmental organization has commenced an open consultation and discussions towards exploring innovative youth centered approaches to drug control in Nigeria.

The project coordinator AdeoluAdebiyi told The Oracle newspapers in a consultative meeting on drug policy reform in Lagos that the project was aimed at offering recommendations for a review of Nigeria’s drug policies.

According to him, there is a growing concern on the increasing rate of illicit substance abuse in the country despite efforts by the government, medical community and the civil society to control the

situation.

“Nigeria can be described as a youthful population because of the huge proportion of young people; therefore issues that affect them such as drug control require an utmost attention. At the international level, there is a growing call for countries to review their drug laws and policies to be able to effectively tackle the situation. The outcome document of the April 2016 UN General Special Session (UNGASS), the African Union Commission (AUC) Specialized Technical Committee on Health, Population and Drug Control Ministers report of March 2017 and the report of the West African Drug Commission (WACD) consist-

•Participants at the S/West Regional Consultation meeting, in Lagos.

ently call for member states to shift their response to drug use as a public health, human right and development agenda. “For this to happen in Nigeria, there is need for a legal and policy reforms” Adebiyi explained.

According to him, drug trafficking and use in Nigeria is a huge challenge. “Sadly, the current policies in Nigeria designed to address drug use and trafficking have largely proved ineffective. Caught in the web of this defective policy environment are the youths who use drugs. The policies in Nigeria and indeed across Africa have a disproportionate focus on reactionary and punitive measure as opposed to public health interventions for youths using drugs.

The end product reflects youths who are subject to massive human right abuse and exploitation sustained by a defective policy framework that views drugs addicts as criminals rather than people in need of support”.

Adebiyi, said Nigeria drug policy has been a reactive one to both internal and external pressures instead of being a proactive tool based on evidence of what works and what does not. There are systematic human rights abuses of young people who use drugs by both law enforcement agents and the society at large.

RRS arrests 20-yr-old armed robbery suspect

A

20-year- old notorious armed robbery suspect, Ahmed Lateef, who has been on the wanted list of the Lagos State Police Command, has been arrested in Oshodi by men of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad RRS,.

He was arrested while returning from an all-night robbery operation in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Ahmed Lateef, a.k.a ‘Ajona’ who has been on the Police wanted list since April, 2017, for a robbery operation in Ejigbo area of Lagos, where two motorcycles and other personal effects were stolen by him and his gang, confessed to have participated in countless robbery operations in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States.

The suspect who is from Oshogbo, Osun State also added that he participates in two robbery operations twice a week in company of his other gang members whom he mentioned as Enu - Ose. Lateef, who is also an ex–convict, disclosed that they went to Kuto area of Abeokuta, Ogun state to burgle a computer and phone retail outlet. He was arrested with a motorbike carrying the registration number of OGUN:MEK 339 WM, which he also confessed to have been stolen in Kuto, Abeokuta.

Lateef revealed that Enu-Ose, a member of his gang who is an indigene of Abeokuta, provided information to the gang about the computer dealer outlet and he also led three other suspects to the Ejigbo robbery, where they carted away two tricycles and two motorcycles amongst other personal effects.

When further quizzed, the suspect stated that for every stolen item such as jewelries, phones, motorcycles and latptos; there is always a ready buyer and that his robbery gangs usually hire metal cutters in Mushin for N10,000 per operation.

While pleading for mercy, he gave names of other gang members as Noah, Segun, Lekan, Ishan – Idi, Rilwan, Shile, Ege and Jandor while two of his gang members, Seyi Adebayo,26 and SaheedFunsho, 23 alongside two receivers of stolen items have been moved to Lagos State Taskforce for prosecution.

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous - Cole stated that the Command would not relent on its efforts to ensure that Lagos is not a safe haven for criminals.

• Lateef

45

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

SPORTS Mikel suffered more humiliation than Costa –Saraki

By MADUABUCHI KALU

F

ORMER Chelsea player, Emmanuel Saraki, has declared that Nigeria and Tianjin TEDA captain, John Obi Mikel suffered more humiliation in the hand of Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte than what Diego Costa is passing through at the moment in the hands of the Italian.

According to Saraki, Mikel was consigned to the bench at Chelsea not because he was not good enough for the team during his last days at Chelsea not because he no longer good for the Stamford Bridge side but because Mikel prefers to lace his boot for Nigeria in 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

The former Chelsea player explained prior to the Olympic, Conte had told Mikel that he should not go to represent his country and threatened to exclude him from the squad if he insists on going to play for Nigeria at the football event of the 2016 summer Olympics tagged ‘Brazil 2016’.

He said in order not carry out he threat against Mikel, Super Eagles’ gaffer, Gernot Rohr had to personally meet with Conte to urge him to allow Mikel take part at the football event of the 2016 summer Olympics.

Saraki explained that despite the intervention of Rohr, when Mikel returned from representing Nigeria at the 2016 summer Olympics tagged ‘Brazil 2016’, Conte went ahead and carried out his threat against Mikel by telling him that he was not in his plans for the season thereby confining the Eagles’ skipper to the bench until his contract which was not renewed expired in January thereby leaving him no alternate to move to China.

“Well, I don’t think that what Diego Costa is passing through now in the hands of Chelsea manager is close to what John Obi Mikel passed through in his last days at Stamford Bridge,” Saraki, who was at Chelsea from 2006 -2010 began.

“Mikel suffered more humiliation in the hands of Conte than what Costa is experiencing at the moment.

“You will recall that Mikel was made to sit out his last days at the Stamford Bridge not as a result of his lack of form but due to his patriotic decision to represent his fatherland at the football event of the 2016 summer Olympics in Brazil. That was the crime he committed.

“In order for Mikel to represent the country at the Games, the national team gaffer, Gernot Rohr had to go London to meet with Conte to plead with him to enable Mikel go for the Olympics. Rohr told Conte that Mikel’s participation at the Olympics is in the best interest of the club and country as the championship will enable him hit top form.

“Despite the intervention of Gernot Rohr, Conte never forgave Mikel for choosing Nigeria to Chelsea.

When Mikel finally returned from the Olympics, Conte told him that he was no longer in his plans for the season. So, Mikel was condemned to the bench until January when his contract with Chelsea expired and he left for China,” Saraki explained.

Speaking further, Saraki said the worst aspect of the humiliation Conte meted out to the Eagles captain was his refusal to allow Mikel formally say good bye to the fans who stood by him throughout his 10 years plus at the club saying nothing could be worse than that.

“You see, the most humiliating aspect of the Conte’s humiliation of Mikel is his refusal to allow the Eagles’ captain the opportunity to formally say good bye to the fans who stood by him throughout his 10 years plus at the club.

“As a footballer, nothing can be more humiliating than that. He never allowed Mikel to play any game to enable him thank the fans for their love and support but he allowed John Terry to do that,” Saraki lamented.

Gov. Emmanuel assures of adequate support for Eagles T

HE Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel has assured of adequate support for the national team the Super Eagles.

Governor Emmanuel gave the assurance while playing host to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) egg heads led by their president, Mr. Melvin Amaju Pinnick who paid him a visit to solicit for support for the team as the state prepares to welcome the national team for their crucial double header World Cup Qualifier against the African Champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

According to Governor Emmanuel who is the No1 supporter of the national team in Akwa Ibom State, the Super Eagles deserves the total support of every well-meaning Nigerian to enable them give their best for the two legged encounter on September 1st and 4th in Uyo and Yaoundé respectively.

The governor explained that despite losing their 2019 African Cup of Nations Qualifier against visiting Bafana Bafana of South Africa in their last match in Uyo, Nigerians should continue to believe in the team by showing them love and support.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor while speaking further said the importance of the Nigeria-Cameroon FIFA World Cup qualifier made him to shelve all official international engagements to ensure that he is on ground to mobilize for the Super Eagles as their number one supporter in Akwa Ibom State.

He used the opportunity of the NFF’s visit to thanked the NFF

for retaining Uyo as home of the Eagles, noting that such confidence will be justified with support and motivation for the Super Eagles to soar through the huddle and hoist the nation’s flag at next year’s FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

The Governor equally explained that because of the importance he attached to the Eagles World Cup Qualifier against Cameroon, he said initiated a plan of involving chief psychologist in the University of Uyo to assist the team’s psychologists and prepare the players for victory.

His words: “Coming back to Akwa Ibom is always a motivation.

Self-confidence is necessary when you are in the battle –front. After the last match, there were a lot of comments. I thank the NFF. They believe in themselves, they believe in the players and they believe in Nigeria. That is what we need at this time.”

The Governor used the opportunity to highlight his administration’s strides in sports development; infrastructure and talent hunt, insisting that it was not in error that the match day coincides with a statewide prayer meeting that defies religious beliefs preparatory to the 30thAnniversary of Akwa Ibom State.

According to him, this spiritual exercise would yield positive result not just for Akwa Ibom State but the Super Eagles.

Responding after Governor Emmanuel’s remarks, the NFF President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick thanked the Governor for his significant role in football development in the country, as shown in his government being ever –ready to hosting the Senior National Team in Uyo. He re-affirmed that Uyo will remain the home of the Super Eagles be-

cause of the extra-ordinary support from the fans in the state.

“On the 9th of October, Nigeria will be also playing Zambia here in Akwa Ibom,” Amaju declares.

He announced an invitation to Governor Emmanuel to lead the Nigeria delegation to Algeria for the last match in the qualifying series in November, and congratulated Governor Emmanuel for the support afforded NPFL team, Akwa United FC, saying this resulted in the team’s emergence as champions of the old-style Federation Cup (now Aiteo Cup) two years ago, while the team is currently contending for the Nigeria Professional Football League title.

46

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

SPORTS

Amaju backs Akpabio Stadium for Eagles/Cameroon clash

By MADUABUCHI KALU

P

RESIDENT of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who led a team of the Board of the Federation on inspection tour to the national team’s home ground, Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo has declared the stadium ready to host the all-important World Cup Qualifying game against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon come September 1.

According to Amaju, who during the inspection visit paid courtesy visit to the state governor, Udom Emmanuel, expressed satisfaction with all the arrangements put in place by the Akwa Ibom State government for the World Cup Qualifier.

Amaju, however, used the opportunity to solicit for support and prayer for the Gernot Rohr coached team saying all that the team and their handlers need from all Nigerians is support and prayers.

“Yes we have just returned from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital where we went to inspect the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, the home ground of the national teams’ flagship team, the Super Eagles,” Amaju began.

“As I speak with you, the venue, Godswill Akpabio Stadium is ready for the World Cup Qualifier against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon comes 1 September.

“I must express my sincere gratitude to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and his able team for what they have done. Everything is in place for the game, they have done a wonderful job having put all logistics in place for the crucial game,” Amaju said.

“I would like to use this medium to solicit for support and prayers for the team to enable them get positive result in the double header next month. At this stage of the qualifier, every hand must be on deck so that the team will be able to achieve its set target.

Meanwhile, Cameroon are not leaving anything to chance as report reaching the Oracle Today Sports

By MADUABUCHI KALU

A

Amaju Pinnick has it that the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have already booked their accommodation at the Ibom Le Meridian Hotel as they wouldn’t want any excuses.

It is recalled that Eagles are top of their Group B with maximum 6 points from two matches in the qualifiers so far, while the African champions are second with 2 points four points less than Eagles with the same number of matches.

As the race for the 2018 World Cup enters in crucial stage, Eagles’ gaffer, Gernot Rohr has declared that he is not afraid of the African champions even as he acknowledged that the

President Paul Biyar’s boys have a psychological advantage over his charges having played more than nine games to his boys three.

He said the advantage the Cameroonians have over his boys was that they have the opportunity of playing together during the Nations Cup in February which made them to blend as a team. He, however, said despite the psychological advantage the African champions have over his wards, he is optimistic that before the crucial game his charges would be able to blend.

Balogun lampoons govt for poor state of sports in Nigeria

By MADUABUCHI KALU

A

LHAJI Alanamu Ayo Balogun, the Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Ejigbo depot, has lampooned the Federal Government for the poor state of sports in the country. Balogun, an avid Table Tennis player said the sorry state of sports in the country calls for worry by well-meaning individuals.

According to the energy man, there is nothing to talk about as it relates to

• Balogun

Dangote threatens to fire Wenger, if...

sports development in the country because the government has decided to turn blind eyes on the industry, thereby failing to maximize the abundant potentials of Nigerian youths.

Alhaji Balogun stated this and other things in exclusive interview with the Oracle Today Sports in his office at the IPMAN House Ejigbo.

“Well, I am very good in playing table tennis. I am very very good in that field.

I have table tennis in my compound. So anytime I feel like exercising myself, I will come outside and exercise myself by playing the game of table tennis,” Alhaji Balogun began.

On the development of the sport in the country Alhaji Balogun said: “Like you know, if you put people who know something in place, that thing must improve. Nigeria believes in football, so any other game is not recognized and it is very very wrong. That is what is holding the development of sports down in this country.”

Speaking further, Alhaji Balogun condemned a situation where other sports are not paid any attention saying in sane clime like in the western world, other sports get the desired attention that they deserved.

“Let me tell, in other societies where things are done properly like in the west-

ern world you see people being very active in other games like volleyball, basketball, athletics, swimming, wrestling, boxing, hockey, table tennis, tennis to mention just a few and you observe that they do very well in them. Unfortunately over here in Nigeria the story is different. In Nigeria, it is all about football. That is what is killing the country.

“At the moment if you talk of sports, Nigeria does not know that there is any other game except football.”

On the way forward, the energy man said there was need to invite those who played the game in the past and encourage them to pass their wealth of experience to the younger generation as they are still alive and the experience is still with them.

“On the way forward, I think that we need to call all those who made their marks in other games like in table tennis where we have the like of Atanda Musa, Kasali Lasisi, Bose Kasafo etc. and these people are still alive. They should be encouraged to help revamp the game because the experience is still there with them.

FRICA’S richest man and the Chief Executive Officer of Aliko Dango group, Alhaji Alike Dangote has threatened to fire Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger if he happens to have the privilege of buying the North London Club from its majority shareholder, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

According to Dangote, who is a known Gunners supporter and fan, there should be a new vision and direction and as it were, Wenger is not the person who will give the north London club that vision and direction.

Though he appreciated the work the Frenchman has done over the years at the club, yet he believes that another manager should be the one that will take the club to the next level.

Dangote it is recalled had in the past indicated his interest to buy Arsenal if only he will have the opportunity to do so. Therefore, by declaring his intention to sack the longest and the most successful manager in the history of the club means the African money man is not comfortable with the way things are going at the Emirates and that he is still interested in owning the club.

Unfortunately, any time Dangote talks about football; it is about Arsenal, a foreign club for that matter.

The question is, why is it that Dangote is not interested in Nigerian clubs? Why can’t the billionaire key into the Nigerian project in terms of sports having done a lot in the economy?

There is no gain saying that Dangote loves this country very. His patriotism is not in doubt as he has done so much in helping the country in the past and at the present.

He has created a lot of employment for the army of unemployed Nigerians and he is still employing and Nigeria and Nigerians will ever remain grateful to him for that.

However, it will be good if he would spare a thought in owing a football club in this country and with his Midas Touch Nigeria Football will never remain the same because he is certainly going to set the standard which every serious club side in the country would follow.

The Oracle Today Sports wishes the African money man the best of luck as he dreams of taking over one of the best football clubs on planet earth.

• Wenger

47

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 30, 2017

SPORTS

Rohr boasts of Eagles’ victory against Indomtable Lions

Emetole laid to rest in home town Isikwuato

Stories by MADUABUCHI KALU

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ATIONAL team technical adviser, Gernot Rohr has boasted that the Super Eagles will defeat African champions, the indomitable Lions of Cameroon in their forthcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup which will be played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on September 1 with the reserve fixture on September 4 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

According to the Franco-German tactician, Eagles must ensure that they record victory against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon for ailing Eagles’ safest hand, Carl Ikeme who was diagnosed of Leukemia.

Rohr admitted that Indomitable are a strong side even as he explained that he expects a tough game on September 1. He said that he was confident that his boys have all it takes to wrestle victory from them.

“We are aware that Indomitable Lions are a strong side not just because they are the African champions but for the fact that they are one of the power houses of African Football,” Rohr began.

“Of course they have a psychological advantage over us because they participated in the last Africa Cup of Nations which they won. They equally participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup which is an added advantage.

“These competitions have afforded them the opportunity of staying and playing together for a reasonable period. While they have played more than nine matches, Eagles have only managed to play just three matches within the same period,” Rohr explained. “However, that does not mean that they are better than us.

Despite the advantage of playing more matches than us, I would like to state that I am confident that they will be beaten when they visit for the crucial World Cup Qualifier in Uyo. “I am confident that Eagles will deliver at least for the sake of one of their teammates, Carl Ikeme who is currently out of the squad due to ill-health following his recent diagnose of acute Leukemia,” Rohr assured.

Meanwhile, Rohr has revealed that John Obi Mikel and his compatriot in the Chinese Super League, Odion Jude Ighalo who seems to have rediscovered his striking prowess have been included in the 23-man list to face Cameroon. He equally explained that FC Ifeanyi Uba goalkeeper and the captain of the home based Eagles, Ikechukwu Ezenwa will be a part of the team that will do battle with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on September 1.

I

t is no longer news that former national team player and assistant coach, Kelechi Emetole (a.k.a) Caterpillar died some weeks ago after a successful cancer operation in India.

The news is that the ex-international was laid to rest at his country home in Isikwuato, Abia State at the weekend.

Before his death, Emetole coached a number of top club in the country including Enugu Rangers, Iwuanyanwu Nationale now Heartland FC, El-Kanemi FC among other clubs.

A lot of dignitaries in the nation’s football circle attended the burial in his home town to pay their last respect to Emetole who during his life time impacted positively in the lives of many footballers and other Nigerians.

All the dignitaries that graced the burial of the late coach of note heaped praises on the Isikwuato born football tactician. They equally urged well-meaning Nigerians not to allow the family he left behind suffered as he contributed positively to development and growth of the round leather game in the country.

The representatives of the various clubs where he made his mark were all present at the burial. The Oracle Today’s Managing Director, Ikeddy Isiguzo was among the dignitaries that paid their last respect to the late Emetole.

2017 ITTF World Cup: Quadri requests coach NAqF to organize coaching clinic

A

frica`s No.1 table tennis player, Aruna Quadri, has pleaded with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to hire a knowledgeable coach for him, ahead of the 2017 World Cup in Belgium.

The championship is slated to hold in Liege, Belgium later in the year.

Despite putting Nigeria on the world map on several occasions, Africa’s highest ranked table tennis player, said he had no quality national coach to manage him at international competitions.

“I am actually getting used to playing without

• Quadri

a coach because I have no sponsor. Since I have no sponsor, I just have to play alone. I can say that a coach is very, very important but since I have no support, I just have to keep on playing alone.”

“Actually, if I am not ready to play in the Bulgaria Open, I wouldn’t come along. But I am here because I am ready to play without a coach. If I had a coach, it would be even better of course,” he said.

The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation said on Monday said that Quadri attributed his victory against Japan’s Yuto Kizukuri in the round of 16 of Bulgaria Open as “sheer luck’’.

“I think I have been really lucky in this tournament. It was my best match. I was 6-3 down in the last set but luckily, I won. I gained some confidence from the round of 16 matches. I have something really important happening here and I am very happy,” he said.

He, however, pleaded with his fans over his disappointing outing at Nigeria Open, describing it as normal in sports.

“I cannot actually say that Nigeria Open was a big disappointment for my fans but at the same time, it is one of the things that normally happen in sports. For me, it is meant to buckle me up. I thought it is possible to do so much better and anything can truly happen,’’ Quadri said.

It would be recalled that Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, had promised to support Quadri for the World Cup.

for swimming coaches, teachers

T

he board of the Nigeria Aquatics Federation (NAqF) have concluded plans to organize a four day coaching clinic for swimming coaches and school teachers in private schools in the South West zone of the country.

The coaching clinic will hold from August 29 to September 1 at the board room of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos.

According a member of the board of the Federation, Rev. Sam Jesimiel, the Federation deemed it necessary to conduct the coaching clinic for the two categories of people mentioned in order to teach them the right technical things to be done.

“We are going to organize a coaching clinic for swimming coaches and school teachers in private schools in the South West zone,” Rev. Jesimiel began.

“The Federation have considered it expedient to conduct the coaching clinic to enable the swimming coaches and swimming teachers in private schools in South West Zone of the country to have the basic technical knowledge of how to teach their students and wards on how to swim.

“The technical arm of the Federation have discovered with dismay that the students are not getting the right technical knowledge of the basic swimming skills.

“The coaching clinic will be conducted by the technical committee of the Nigeria Aquatics Federation in conjunction with the technical officials from Federation of International Swimming Association (FINA),” Rev. Jesimiel who is currently in Budapest, Hungary for the FINA World Championship Masters.

Speaking further, Jesimiel explained that the Federation has discovered that there is an influx of people, who claim to be swimming coaches when they don’t have the basic technical knowledge of coaching people on swimming.

He said it was on that basis that the technical members of the board of NAqF in conjunction with the board deemed it expedient to conduct a coaching clinic for these categories of people, school teachers and swimming coaches who are not certificated in swimming technique.

He also revealed that many private schools in the south west have already started registering for the swimming coaching clinic.

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WEDNESDAY August 30, 2017

N400bn bribes not corruption

N

OT many Nigerians may know about the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS). They could be forgiven, given that many of us do not love figures, unless they are money due to us. The ‘non-recognition’ of NBS, which appears to be the stance of the Federal Government on its publications, should not be so dismissively forgiven.

The Bureau is a creation of the law. It is eight years old, and Act 9 of 2007 that created it charged it with one of the responsibilities that it executed with a report that it published recently. In “Bribery: public experience and response 2017”, the NBS revealed that public officials collected bribes worth more than N400 billion in a one year period (2015-2016). There have been no official reactions to this revelation.

Section 6 of The Statistics Act, 2007 published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 60 Lagos - 11thJune, 2007 Vol. 94 Government Notice No. 39, states that “The Bureau shall be the main National Agency responsible for the development and management of official statistics, the authoritative source and custodian of official statistics in the custodian of official statistics in the country.”

NBS was carrying out its mandate when it published that report, which many doubt, possibly their lack of belief in the capacity of NBS to have pulled off a nation-wide study in a subject that some consider “unstudyable”, it cannot be investigated. How could NBS have known, after all, bribes are not receipted?

THERE should be more shock than disbelief. Is it possible that the public did not realise that the publication was a joint effort of NBS and the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime (UNODC)? Section 6 (f) of the NBS law says it should “provide a focal point of contact with international agencies on statistical matters”. No statistical investigations of Nigeria, by international organisations should be done without NBS stamping the forms.

Remarkably, the N400 billion bribes to civil servants were in the first year of President Muhammad Buhari’s administration. The administration had (has?) anti-corruption programmes that had seen the storming of some offices, tanks, towers, tunnels, cesspits, farms, firms, in search of hidden, presumably, stolen wealth.

Were these also cases of corruption fighting back? I did not expect that corruption, whatever arsenals were deployed against it, would disappear in one year.

The APC mantra of defeating corruption, one of the many issues it said it would tackle with marked difference, would suggest that such staggering amounts should not be taken as bribes from the public.

HEAD of Cooperation, European Union, EU, Kurt Cornelis said the investigation cost about €30m from the survey and to the publication of the report. According to Cornelis, it was part of the EU, UNODC and other partners’ contribution to help

2015 - 16 BRIBERY •82.3m bribes in 12 months •Average of 6 bribes yearly •0.93 bribe paid per adult, per year •92% paid in cash •N28, 200 average annually on cash bribe •12.5 % of the annual average salary.

• N5, 300 - average cash paid as bribe • N400b or $4.6 billion paid as bribe • 39 % of combined federal and state education budgets in 2016

•Buhari Nigeria overcome the scourge of corruption, but I would add to put the enormity of the challenge before the government.

THE report was detailed and showed the expansive reaches of bribe giving and taking.

“Almost a third of Nigerian adults (32.3 per cent) who had contact with a public official between June 2015 and May 2016 had to pay, or were requested to pay, a bribe to that public official, ” it said. There are suggestions that the figures could be higher.

About 90.2 per cent of those living in the North West believe that government is very effective in fighting corruption. In

the North East, the figure is 88.4 per cent, it drops to 72.6 per cent in the North Central, 68.9 per cent in the South West, 41.2 per cent in the South East and 41.3 per cent in the South South region.

PUBLIC service, the report observed was not the only place bribery was prevalent. It said that data from private organisations showed that bribery was common too, but the focus of the study was the civil service.

AFTER high cost of living and unemployment, according to the report, Nigerians consider corruption to be the third most important problem of the country, ahead of infrastructure and health ser-

vice. It would also not be surprising.

MONEY, expectedly, was the most important form of bribe payment, the survey’s findings stated. Foods, drinks, handing over of valuables (telephones handsets, computers, laptops) or the exchange of another service or favour were also noted. Exchanges sometimes included sexual services, although the survey noted actual extent of that particular form of bribe payment is unknown.

THE survey also noted that police officers receive bribes the most, prosecutors come in second at 33 per cent, and judges and magistrates closely follow them, at 31.5 per cent. The public would hardly disagree with finding. They are in daily touch with that reality. “Other public officials with a high risk of bribery include car registration/driving licence officers (28.5 per cent), tax and custom officers (27.3 per cent), road traffic management officials (25.5 per cent), public utilities officers (22.4 per cent) and land registry officers (20.9 per cent), ” said the report.

Sections 12 (i) of the Act mandates NBS, to “provide the President with a Quarterly Progress Report on activities of the bureau and the entire System (wholesome statistical information of federal, state and local government units)”. There is high hope then that in some quarter, the report would get to the President.

THE report is a baseline study, the first time a study targeted at this group and its findings are not only an indictment but an expose of the dimensions of the corruption scourge. What would the Buhari administration do about it? Did his interventions reduce the amount to N400 billion? What else can be done?LET nobody be deceived, the war against corruption is in its infancy.

The NBS report has highlighted only a few of the places where it is to be fought – there are by far more places where billions are given and taken as bribe. We can start from the known.

The Oracle Today is published by The Oracle Newspapers Limited. Head Office: 116 Awka Road, Onitsha. Lagos Office: 25 Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA Ikeja. Abuja Office: 1st Floor, Plateau House, Central Business District, Abuja, FCT. ISSN: 2545-5869 Email: oracletoday2016@yahoo.com, Twitter: @oraclenews.ng Facebook: oraclenews.ng@facebook.com Website: www.oraclenews.ng Advert hot lines: 09078310060, 09061836916. Editor: FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU.