Wednesday August 8, 2018 Edition

Dasuki, President Buhari’s rule of law

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari loves the rule of law. He misses no opportunity to preach to audiences the importance of rule of law to an orderly society.

HIS most recent listeners were 25 Presidents and Heads of Governments at a joint meeting of West and Central African countries in Lome, Togo. The meeting dealt with security, herders-farmers

The Oracle Today Comment

clashes, terrorism, migration and the proliferation of small arms in the regions.

BUHARI waxed strong about the rule of law and obedience to court orders as imperatives for the sustenance of democratic governance.

The

VOX POPULI SACRUM

The audience, as courtesy, diplomacy, and etiquette demanded, applauded.

SOME were however shocked to hear Buhari utter those words, considering one of the most celebrated legal tangles in Nigeria that has

WEDNESDAY August 8, 2018

run contrary to his offering in Lome.

Sambo Dasuki, 64, a retired Nigerian Army Colonel was National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan On 1 December 2015, State Security Service operatives arrested

Dasuki for allegedly stealing $2b, awarding phantom contracts to buy 12 helicopters, four fighter jets, and ammunition for Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram in the North East.

TWO years into Dasuki’s detention, in December 2017, President Buhari’s government had ignored four different High Court bails that

racle

Cont’d on page 24

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ISSN: 2545-5869

Today

VOL.3 No.31 N200

‘Save Lagos, use other ports’

By KAYODE OGUNWALE

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ailure of the federal government to provide the required infrastructure and develop other seaports across the country has been blamed for the perennial traffic gridlock in the Apapa Wharf axis of Lagos State.

Stakeholders who spoke with The Oracle Today on the matter noted that lack of rail transportation, holding bays, good roads and the federal government’s seeming exclusive focus on Lagos seaport,

•One port location not enough, Stakeholders insist •Ambode’s long awaited prognosis on Apapa crisis •About nine other ports disused among others, are also responsible for the difficulties witnessed by motorists, other road users as well as residents in Apapa and its

environs as a result perennial traffic holdups.

What has come to be despairingly described as Apapa gridlock has

of recent affected a lot of places in Lagos State, including the famous Western Avenue, the carrying road to Apapa Wharf.

FG shops for $3.5b investment in flare gas

By SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

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HE federal government has declared new commercial incentives for investors willing to stake about $3.5b or N1.43 trillion in capturing value from the nation’s gas flare sites.

The new plan de-emphasises prevailing ‘punishing’ disincentives and involves fresh investments in both domestic and export gas projects as state agencies fight to capture and convert some 324 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas flared at oil production sites yearly to economic development catalyst.

According to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which hosted industry reporters to a workshop in Lagos, the gas valorization plan captured in the National Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) seeks to recover some 888 million standard cubic feet of flared gas per day (scfd) for productive application.

Mr. Olwoleola Ogunsola of the Gas Monitoring and Regulation unit of DPR who delivered a presentation at the event said the volume of gas planned to be recovered from flare booms would be sufficient to not only generate adequate energy to drive national social, commercial and industrial

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development but also stimulate job creations and productivity.

In explaining the economic opportunities Nigeria has lost annually to routine gas flaring, Mr Ogunsola explained that the volume of flared gas is equivalent to over 50 million barrels of crude oil, could feed two-three liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, or produce 600,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or cooking gas per year.

If applied to power generation, he continued, flared gas volumes would be adequate to fuel generation of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to meet electricity

Cont’d on page 47

•Bukola Saraki

The gridlock has been due largely to indiscriminate parking of trailers and trucks on the road.

Cont’d on page 2

•Ike Ekweremadu

Saraki decamps, Ekweremadu detained

From Chidi UGWU, Abuja

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ENATE President Dr. Bukola Saraki on Tuesday officially stated that he had left the All Progressives Congress (APC),

the party he joined in January 2015. His political son, AbdulFatah Ahmed, his successor as Governor of Kwara State, has also left APC, “after extensive consultations”.

It was not clear where they were

headed, but most indications are that it would be the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform on which they dominated the politics of Kwara State for 10 years.

These departures continued the

trend of last Tuesday when APC Senators and Members of the House of Representatives left APC for PDP. Another major development is

Cont’d on page 2

Court stops swearing-in of new Imo Deputy Governor

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

NEWS Continued from Pg 1 Unable to bear the drudgery that the development has subjected Lagos residents to in recent time, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode last week sent an SOS to the Federal Government, urging Abuja to ensure that seaports in other parts of the country become functional to decongest Apapa Port and ease the gridlock.

Ambode also urged the government to address, without further delay, whatever had led to continued use of trucks to lift fuel from the fuel depots in Apapa, stressing that the number of tank farms should also be reduced to prevent the perennial traffic congestion the has become the lot of Apapa and its

Obaze, democracy and other matters

‘Save Lagos, use other ports’

environs over the years.

According to the Lagos governor, the distribution of tank farms to other parts of the state has become necessary, as the concentration of about 68 tank farms in one place is risky in the long run.

He contended that a greater part of Apapa’s problem stemmed from the fact that there are too many agencies and establishments disturbing the fundamentals within the axis, appealing that every layer of government should collaborate to resolve the crisis.

“As it is now, other seaports in Nigeria must begin to work immediately to decongest the gridlock in Lagos. It is pathetic that gridlock in the axis has become perennial in the state; it goes and comes. But the challenge is to give a permanent

solution. It is a national issue and must be addressed as same immediately,” Governor Ambode said, while reacting to the hardship that the spiral effects of the gridlock, has imposed on residents of the nation’s commercial capital.

A licensed customs agent, Mr. Boniface Uche lamented that “Apapa region is congested” and appealed to the federal government to decongest the Apapa Port and vicinity by developing other seaports in the country.

Apart from Apapa and Tin Can Island Port located in Lagos, Nigeria also boasts such other seaports as Calabar Port, which has the deepest draft; Warri, Burutu, Koko and Sapele Ports in Delta State; petroleum terminals at Escravos and Forcados and Onne and Eleme

Ports both in Port Harcourt.

But, since the end of the Civil War, practically all ports outside Lagos have either not been in use or have been largely under-utilised.

This situation has resulted in every major import into the country coming through Lagos, in turn resulting in port congestion and subsequent gridlocks in the Apapa area, which often spread to other parts of Lagos thereby causing untold hardships to motorists, other road users and residents alike.

Uche noted that should the government provide adequate support for other ports in Nigeria, the Apapa gridlock would quickly disappear.

In the last two decades, Apapa has been shorn of all its glorious past as the area has degenerated, leaving a web of collapsed roads,

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ranting his first formal interview since the November 2017 Anambra governorship elections to Ifeyinwa Aronu, who writes for The Oracle Today, Oseloka H. Obaze, the PDP gubernatorial candidate speaks on an array of political and strategic policy issues, but declined to speak on Anambra governance issues.

On Nigeria’s democracy, he said: “Nigeria’s democracy is progressing in a halting manner and the promised change has not manifested. That will be the basis for determining the leadership in the 2019 elections” On the decamping spree, he said: “The spate of decamping represents a political trend of realignment and alliances. Those in the ruling party who can form an alliance with the opposition must inevitably decamp.”

•Mrs. Aronu at the interview with Mr. Oseloka Obaze

Saraki decamps, Ekweremadu detained Cont’d from Pg 1 the resignation of Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary.

He said he resigned from his position not the party, noting that in the past few months, he had defended APC stridently.

Some thought he had left Saraki.

Abdullahi, Saraki’s former Commissioner for Information, is said to be Saraki’s annointed candidate for Governor of Kwara State in 2019.

He is expected to head wherever Saraki decides.

As President Goodluck Jonathan’s Minister for Sports, Abdullahi resigned in 2014 to join APC ahead of his boss Saraki.

A seeming repeat of Tuesday’s event, when security agencies laid a siege to his house appeared in a different hue for Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President.

He honoured an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Tuesday morning and was still held at press time.

EFCC sources said he had to answer to allegations of corruption, money laundering, and ownership of property abroad.

EFCC alleges that he used fronts to acquire the property.

Ekweremadu denies the allegations, saying that they are political prosecutions against him for speaking out against the govern-

ment.

He has had a running battle with the law since 2015, when his collaboration with Saraki to farm out principal offices at the Senate irked APC members.

Ekweremadu was then accused of changing the Senate rules to execute his plans.

The Oracle Today learnt that the swirling changes in party membership to beat deadlines for participating in party primaries, is affecting the calculations for 2019 more than had been anticipated.

The situation poses challenges on all sides.

While PDP should be happy with the return of many of its former top members, some PDP members do not want privileges extended to them.

A case in point is Kwara State where PDP officials resisted the return of Saraki.

In other States, the changes are seen as being capable of strengthening PDP’s chances in the elections.

APC, on its parts, is trying to depend on the power of incumbency to hold on to power.

It says it is not panicked by the departures. Adams Oshiohmole, APC Chairman, said that those leaving were not useful to the party.

I wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress

(APC).

This is not a decision that I have made lightly. If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence.

Perhaps, more significantly, I am mindful of the fact that I carry on my shoulder a great responsibility for thousands of my supporters, political associates and friends, who have trusted in my leadership and have attached their political fortunes to mine. However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigerians would be best served.

While I take full responsibility for this decision, I will like to emphasise that it is a decision that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist.

They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of par-

ty administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.

The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party.

Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere.

I have had the privilege to lead the Nigerian legislature in the past three years as the President of the Senate and the Chairman of the National Assembly. The framers of our constitution envisage a degree

which ensnare residents in intractable traffic holdups.

Several man-hours are lost daily as a result of delays in the movement of goods and persons along the route due to bad roads.

“The traffic in Apapa axis of Lagos is killing rather than easing business,” a resident told The Oracle Today. “Besides, a generation of Nigerians, particularly from the ’90s, are gradually losing touch with Apapa, which was once a bustling centre of commerce. Apapa, up till the ’90s, was a beehive of commercial and social activities, being home to Nigeria’s two major seaports, Apapa and Tin Can. It also has the popular Apapa Amusement and Recreation Park together with its enchanting nightlife. It was, indeed, a place to be for tourists, young and old.”

Commenting on the effect of the gridlock in the area, a resident of Apapa, Mr. Friday Ekeoba stressed that the gridlock has practically crippled businesses and killed tourism in the area.

He added that the situation has affected private lives too.

According to him, “many residents have relocated from Apapa to escape the nightmare that has made life difficult for many of us.”

The two critical roads that service the area, namely Wharf Road and the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, he said, are in bad shape and inaccessible to residents, commuters, motorists and the public, leading to huge economic losses.

Similarly, Mr. Samson Aderibigbe, another resident and business executive, advised the Federal Government to knock down old and obsolescent buildings in Apapa in order to expand the port access road and create truck marshalling yards.

He added that if the challenges are not addressed, tank farm operators might begin to have challenges in the distribution of fuel across the country.

He advised that a commission cutting across all port operators, including shipping companies, regulators, customs and immigration among others, be set up to to seek a lasting solution to the problem.

According to Aderibigbe, such commission should also be assisted with empirical data on the throughput assumptions when the ports were constructed many years ago.

He noted that the traffic situation on access roads to the port is abysmally bad and the ports are currently choked to death.

Said he: “The roads were built so many years ago. In relation to the traffic size, the traffic has since increased and there is need for policy planners to make adequate provisions for roads for various trucks.

“The problem has to do with the fact that we have not seen investment in infrastructures like roads.

Policy makers need to redesign the areas very close to the port.

There are lots of obsolescent buildings around the port environment that are not yielding any economic profits.

“It would not be a bad idea if we have people who are forward looking to look at the possibility of acquiring some of these building, knock them down and developing additional infrastructure by way of truck parks and access roads and the problem would be solved.”

Responding to the gridlock challenge, National President, Cashew Farmers Association of Nigeria, Tola Faseru, lamented that exporters of agricultural produce and other goods are losing about $10 billion annually.

He disclosed that the development is affecting export delivery time and hindering exporters’ ability to fulfil commitments to overseas customers through making forwarding and shipment very expensive.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

•Sunday Okpe (m) Dede Uzor A. Uzor (r) & Barr Onwuemekai during the event ,

By Oge Onyeanusi Group, Human Rights Defenders of Nigeria, has honoured the Anambra State Commander of

the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad (FSARS), Mr. Sunday Okpe, a Superintendent of Police (SP) for his giant strides in policing.

The ceremony, which took place

at Awkuzu, the Anambra State Headquarters of the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad (FSARS) attracted members of the human rights group led by its national

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Wednesday August 8, 2018

NEWS ACROSS THE NATION Oshiomhole ‘overzealous national chairman’ – Ortom, dismisses impeachment …Buhari not involved – Presidency

By VICTOR NZE

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OVERNOR Samuel Ortom has described his purported impeachment by some lawmakers of the Benue State House of Assembly as illegal, even as he dismissed the alleged suspension of 15 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Assembly by their colleagues as ‘a display of impunity.’

This is just as the Presidency, in a statement, Tuesday, rejected reports alleging the involvement of President Muhammadu Buhari in the ongoing Benue State Executive and Assembly impasse.

Ortom who stated this, Tuesday, at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi, the state capital, while addressing a press conference on recent political developments in the state, further accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Mr Adams Oshiomhole, of overzealousness.

The governor who noted that it was the height of illegality for an impeached speaker to preside over an Assembly with only eight members, said an already subsisting court order restraining him from parading himself as speaker further made the sitting a nullity.

While responding to allegations of corruption and non-performance levelled against him by the eight members of the Assembly as justification for the impeachment move, Ortom asked where the speaker and seven others were for the past three years that they could not raise such issues.

While describing the allegations as

‘unfounded and unsubstantiated,’ Ortom stressed that laudable projects executed by his administration in education, health, agriculture and infrastructure abound for the public to see.

The Governor also used the platform of the press briefing to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Daura, to order, adding that the siege to the state Assembly by the security agencies was against the tenets of democracy.

Reacting to comments credited to Oshiomhole, that he was no longer marketable, Governor Ortom described the party chairman as ‘an overzealous party chairman who has usurped the powers of the President, Police and even ministers.’

He, therefore, advised Oshiomhole to concentrate on the running of the party saying his utterances have contributed in causing mass exodus from the party.

Meanwhile, the Presidency has condemned attempts in some quarters to drag the name of President Muhammadu Buhari into the on-going political saga in Benue State House of Assembly.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement in Abuja, Tuesday, dissociated the president from the developments.

Adesina described as paranoia the statements issued by different interest groups, insinuating that the president might have a hand in the devel-

•From left: Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mr Femi Pedro, Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and the Dean Emeritus of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and outgoing Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Most Rev Adebola Ademowo, during a special thanksgiving service to mark Ademowo’s 70th birthday and retirement held at Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina in Lagos. opments.

“This is paranoia at its worst, coming from people who have wittingly positioned themselves against the clean-up of the country and the way we do things,’’ he said.

The presidential aide noted that the allegation was being made against Buhari when he was attending the ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit in Togo.

He added that strident attempts were being made to drag Buhari into the unfolding drama between the executive and the legislature in Benue.

Adesina said Buhari would never be

part of any unconstitutional act and any attempt to link him with the inglorious past when minority number of lawmakers impeached governors would not stick.

He said “It will simply be like water off the duck’s back. Those with open minds know this, but those who cavil would rather source everything untoward to the president.

“It is murky ground in which they are now marooned as fallout of their resistance to change in the country.

When it suits them, they preach separation of powers and true federalism,

and in another breath, they call on the president to interfere brazenly in affairs at state level.

“President Buhari will always stand by all that is noble and fair and will reject attempts to drag him into infamy.

“People who stoke fires by deliberate acts of omission or commission, and then summon the president to come and put it out will find that this president will be guided by the Constitution at all times, no matter the attempt to entangle him in unwarranted controversies.’’

which was in the episcopacy (being Bishop), saying he would be greatly missed.

While declaring that the church was against all forms of homosexuality, Okoh also urged people to prepare for eternity, saying it was important for people to know that their actions in life had eternal consequences whether good or bad.

Other dignitaries who graced the service include: Ogun State Governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun; former Lagos State Deputy Governors, Mr Femi Pedro and Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire; former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Deputy National Chairman (South) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George; former Minister of Petrole-

um Resources, Odein Ajumogobia; foremost banker, Otunba Subomi Balogun, among others.

Meanwhile, in his inauguration and enthronement sermon at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos, Monday, Olumakaiye urged Nigerians to return to God for the country to overcome its challenges, urging Nigerians not to lose faith but to continue to pray for the country.

“I believe that at the end of the tunnel there will be light, hope is not lost, we should have hope for the country, at the end of the day everybody will be happy. Leaders should lead the country in the path of righteousness, they should have the fear of God, they should shun

greediness,’’ he said.

He also urged religious leaders to give room for the younger generation to take over the leadership of the country, saying that the country did not move forward due to the recycling of old leaders that had ran out of ideas.

“They should try to give the younger generation a chance to use their talents for the development of this nation; some of our leaders are overspent and bereft of ideas. “We need fresh brains, fresh ideas; we need people to move the country forward, enough of recycling bad leaders; it would not help the country to be great.

We should believe in the younger generation,’’ he said.

Ambode celebrates Ademowo, as new Bishop berates ‘recycling of old leaders’

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AGOS State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and his counterpart in Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki on Sunday heaped accolades on the Dean Emeritus of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and outgoing Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Most Rev Adebola Ademowo on his 70th birthday, describing him as a respected clergy who contributed significantly to mankind and national development.

This is also as Rt. Rev. Humphrey Olumakaiye, Monday, formally assumed office as the new Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion) taking over from Most Rev. Ademowo who was in 2000 elected Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos and Archbishop of Lagos Province.

Speaking to reporters at a special thanksgiving service to mark Ademowo’s 70th birthday and retirement held at Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina in Lagos, Governor Ambode commended the clergyman for serving the State meritoriously, saying it was not in doubt that he made significant impact to the development of the State and the nation in general.

“For somebody that has served Lagos so meritoriously; he (Bishop Ademowo) has been like a father to all of us, and I just want to first of all say a big thank you to him on behalf of all Lagosians and for attaining the age of 70, we are very glad to have witnessed this celebration and I also wish him well and his family.

“We know the impact that he has actually created for Lagos and

even the whole of Nigeria and one is happy to be celebrating this day with him,” Ambode said.

Also speaking, Governor Obaseki said Ademowo deserved all the accolades and commendation for the peace and unity he brought to bear on the church during his tenure in active service, as well as the service to mankind.

The Governor recalled how his mother worshiped in the church for 50 years, saying it was on record that Ademowo performed his role as spiritual leader brilliantly and excellently well.

“My mother worshiped in this church for the past 50 years and he (Bishop Ademowo) was my mother’s Bishop and as a true Anglican, we know how much contribution that he has made to the Anglican Communion; the peace he has brought, the unity and more importantly the service he has made to the church and to mankind. We wish him well; we wish him God’s grace and God’s peace in his retirement,” Obaseki said.

In his sermon, Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, thanked God for His grace and loving-kindness which saw Bishop Ademowo through his service to the church and mankind, saying it was evident from all from all fronts that the clergyman had enjoyed the blessings of God. Taking his text from the book of Psalm 103, Okoh said the thanksgiving service was most deserving considering the landmark achievements of Ademowo in his 46 years of service to the church, 29 of

Kaduna governorship race hots up as Yero, others join under PDP

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ORMER Governor of Kaduna State, Dr Ramalan Yero, says he is most qualified to hold the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in the state for the 2019 election.

Yero made the declaration while submitting his letter of intent to contest for the governorship seat at the state PDP secretariat on Monday in Kaduna.

The former governor is among nine PDP members jostling for the party’s governorship ticket in the state.

Yero became governor of the state in December 2013, following the death of the then governor, Mr Patrick Yakowa, in a plane crash.

Yero, however, lost to the current Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai of the All

Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 polls.

“It is with deep sense of moral responsibility, I formally write to inform you about my decision to vie for the gubernatorial ticket of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 general election.

“This decision was informed by the genuine concern of our people and the numerous calls I have received to contest in the forthcoming gubernatorial election of our dear Kaduna State. “Having considered the plight of the people, I have consulted widely decided with my family members, key party stalwarts, political associates and other party faithful, I have come to a conclusion to grant the wishes of my people by declaring to

contest the gubernatorial election by grace of the Almighty Allah,“ Yero’s letter read in part.

Similarly, a former Commissioner for Science and Technology and Lecturer at the state University Dr Muhammed Sani-Bello had on Friday July 27, submitted his letter of intent seeking for the party’s ticket to contest for the seat.

Also, Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi, who defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress (APC), is also seeking for the governorship ticket.

Others include Malam Isah Ashiru; Bello Kagarko; Sani Sidi; Jonathan Kish; Shuaibu Mikati and Dr Ja’afaru Sa’ad, The party had earlier urged those seeking to run under its ticket to harmonize and present a consensus candidate to avoid internal crises.

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Wednesday August 8, 2018

NEWS ACROSS THE NATION

No plans to pay salaries to clerics – Lagos Govt

By VICTOR NZE

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AGOS State Government, Tuesday, debunked viral report on the social media suggesting that it was planning to commence paying salary to religious leaders in the State, saying the claim was totally untrue and misleading.

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Mr. Abdulateef Abdulhakeem who made the clarification while speaking on a television programme monitored in Lagos, said there was no iota of truth in the said report, and urged members of the public to disregard it in its entirety.

He said: “The clear position is that the Lagos State Government is not intending to employ Imams and Pastors. There is no such plan and there is no willingness on our part to delve into a private realm.

“What exists in Lagos State is that there is a symbiotic relationship between the Lagos State Government and faith-based organizations and it is a mutually beneficial relationship which has contributed to the growth and development of the State,” Abdulhakeem said.

In the said report, Abdulhakeem was quoted as saying that the State Government would soon place religious leaders on the State salary structure to encourage them to use their Pulpit and the Minbar to re-orientate citizenry to shun corruption and immorality.

Clarifying his statement, the Commissioner said: “I must have been misunderstood or misquoted. We were at a forum where we were trying to encourage religious leaders to be advocates against corruption because religious leaders have millions of adherents and they enjoy the allegiance of millions of followers and we expect them to use the Pulpit and the Minbar to advocate for good governance and selflessness so that they can influence their

members positively.

“In Lagos State, one of the remarkable successes of the present administration is that we have cutting-edge approaches to relating with religious leaders and that is why Lagos remains the most peaceful and most religious crisis-free State in the federation inspite of our cosmopolitan nature.”

Already, the Commissioner said a structured approach had been put in place to relate with religious leaders in the State through the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) which consists of people nominated by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Community across the 57 Local Councils in the State.

According to him, “We have them at the State level; they meet regularly in the Home Affairs and instead of leaving them as dysfunctional silos, we ensure that there is an integrated approach.

“They meet regularly to interact on religious issues and the Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has even further decentralized that whereby over 700 of them were appointed based on their nominations and they are volunteers who are not paid anything. They come together to nip religious crisis at the bud,” he said.

He added that the general approach of the State Government to religion was that of rule of law, good governance, constitutional democracy and more than anything, the observance and preservation of the fundamental human rights of Lagosians to freely practice their religion.

“Section 38 of the Constitution is very clear and explicit that every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion including the freedom to change your religion and the freedom to either alone or in community with others practice, manifest and propagate

Lagos, Kwara top rankings in Africa’s Progress Report

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WARA State has been ranked second after Lagos in Nigeria in the latest Progress Report, titled ‘The State of the States’ released by Africa Report in its July/August, 2018 issue.

The Africa Report is an international publication of reference dedicated to African affairs, and is the guide used by decision makers to anticipate economic and political changes in Africa.

The publication is relied upon for the expertise of an independent editorial team in its surveys, sector reports and country focus published in each issue.

According to information available on the Africa Report websitewww.theafricareport.com, the survey of Nigeria’s 36 states used

fighting poverty, providing access to electricity, facilitating business and raising local revenue as indices.

In terms of Internally Generated Revenue per capita, Kwara ranks seventh out of the 36 states of the federation while it ranks tenth in the ease of doing business. The State also ranks tenth on the poverty index.

In terms of access to electricity, Kwara was ranked third and sixth in number of internet users in the country.

The summation of the indices put Kwara at second position in the progress report. The full report can be found on pages 22 to 26 of the July/August, 2018 edition of the Africa Report.

By ISAIAH ONWUANUMBA

launch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drone as a monitor tool to track movement of live stocks in the State,” he added.

He added that to make this possible, the State has built a call centre and obtained a Short Code from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which farmers and other residents can use to track the movement of live stocks in the environs.

Our Correspondent gathered that the ongoing conflict between farmers and cattle herders is costing Nigeria at least $16 billion in potential revenues annually. ... Farmers have

your religion. Clearly, that is unequivocally telling you that religion is a private affair as far as the Lagos State Government is concerned,” Abdulhakeem said.

Responding to a question on why the State Government was yet to implement a Court of Appeal judgment on the use of Hijab by school

girls, Abdulhakeem said being a government which firmly believes in rule of law, the State Government was awaiting the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the matter which, he said, was already before the apex court.

On taxes, the Commissioner said though religious institutions were exempted according to the state

•Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, flanked by members of his Executive addressing a press briefing on developments in the state at the Benue House, in Makurdi, Tuesday.

PVCs: Relocate to your localities for enlightenment – Kebbi Govt tells commissioners

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EBBI State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has mandated all commissioners in the state to relocate to their localities on public enlightenment to mobilize eligible voters to register and obtain permanent voters card permanent voter’s cards (PVCs) to enable them exercise their civic responsibility.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abubakar Dakingari, in a statement, Tuesday, state governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu gave the directive, when he presided over a meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state which took place at the Presidential Lodge, Birnin Kebbi.

The meeting resolved that party executive and local government chairmen with back up from the National Orientation Agency should commence action for this purpose immediately in preparation for the 2019 election.

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu promised to provide the necessary support towards the success of the voters’ registration, explaining that the exercise should cover all eligible

voters in the state before the closure of the exercise on the 17th of August, 2018.

The Governor used the forum to reaffirm the resolution of the people of the state in the adoption of President Muhammad Buhari as presidential candidate of the APC with a commitment to vote massively for him.

The state chairman of the state ruling party Alhaji Bala Sani Kangiwa spoke on behalf of party executives, Alhaji Maigari Abdullahi Dakingari spoken on behalf of the members of the state executive council while Alhaji Malami Abdulkadir spoke on behalf of Kebbi Central.

Similarly, the Chief of Staff Government House Alhaji Suleiman Muhammad Argungu spoke on behalf of Kebbi North Senatorial District while Alhaji Abdullahi Lamba stood in for Kebbi South.

All speakers emphasized the importance of unity among party members and the necessity on all stakeholders to mobilize eligible voter to register and obtain their permanent voters card.

The state publicity secretary of

accused the Fulani herdsmen of failing to control their cattle and of damaging crops. In turn, the Fulani accuse farmers of stealing their cattle. With an estimated death toll of approximately 2,000 to 3000 between 2016 to date, the clashes are becoming as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east. Yet till date, responses to the crisis both at the federal and state levels has been poor.

The GPS technology will result in significant advances in the ease and flexibility of studying animal movement patterns, yet removing the bar-

riers remain to identification as each live-stock shall become trackable.

The State of Osun developed lowcost and logistically simple approach solution shall be deployed among small and inexpensive GPS units to monitor cattle movements and habitat use and to assess the impact of cattle grazing on farmlands, he said.

“When we started putting up an inquiry and call centre the need a short code arose; so that it will be easy for people to call. We approached NCC for a 3-digit short code which we are going to make a toll free line. NCC supported us. We are going to commission it next week.

Osun Govt to deploy drones against herdsmen menace

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OVERNMENT of Osun State has announced that it is set to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones technology that will help tackle the lingering crisis between herders and farmers in its farming communuities and prevent loss of lives.

Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, State of Osun, Engr. Oluremi Omowaiye revealed this at the just concluded ICTEL expo 2018 in Lagos.

“The State, will in the coming week,

laws, but any religious body which engages in commercial activities was liable to pay tax.

“Religious institutions are not taxable under the Lagos laws but where religious institutions engage in business transactions like schools and so on, then such are liable to pay taxes but as far as the institution is concerned, it is exempted from paying tax.

the ruling party Alhaji Sani Dododo thanked all APC members for their loyalty and obedience to the administration, saying that the APC was committed to actualizing the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu for a second tenure.

Benue impeachment move, desecration of legislative sanctity – Saraki, Dogara

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EADERSHIP of the National Assembly has condemned impeachment move against Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, by eight members of the House of Assembly, saying it was desecration of legislative sanctity.

President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, made the assertion in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

The statement was jointly signed

by Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, Special Adviser to Saraki on Media and Publicity and Mr Turaki Hassan, Special Adviser to Dogara on Media and Public Affairs.

Saraki and Dogara deplored alleged complicity of police officers in the development, saying that 22 other members who constituted more than two-third majority of the 30-member assembly, were kept away from the complex.

They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the police to order, while stopping them being used to achieve political purposes.

“We have monitored closely the development in Benue in which the impeached Speaker, Terkimbir Ikyange, led seven other members to serve impeachment notice on the state governor, Samuel Ortom.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS

Ebonyi Govt begins allocation of shops to traders at Int’l market

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

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overnment of Ebonyi State has officially commenced allocation of shops to traders at the reconstructed International Market Abakaliki.

The International Market which has over 5000 shops was constructed by the immediate paste administration but it had structural defect with most of the shops caving in before the present administration had to demolish most of the structures.

It also landscaped the premises and opened water channels to prevent erosion that was raving the market, as well as constructing overhead bridges along the highway to curb traffic congestion on the road.

Senior Special Adviser to Governor David Umahi on Internal Security, Dr. Kenneth Ugbala, while flagging off the commencement of the allocation expressed sincerity of the state government in allotting shops to traders.

“I want to thank the people who have confidence to believe that government is sincere.

“This morning when we give you your shop, you will mark your shop and you will start working towards it, monitor it every day and make sure that everything is in line with the directive of government. We are preparing a central market that will serve not only Ebonyi state but all the states within the south east and south south.

“The marketers have interfaced with excos led by His Excellency the Governor and the price was debated up to the level that the government had to accept their demands being that every shop, the highest price!is N2.3million and it is not annually, it is outright sale because you own the shop forever with C of O. “The upstairs is N3million, the bungalow is N2.5million, the smaller one (single ones) is N1.3million. We made it in such a way that everybody must have a place that suits the business you do and in all these categories of shops, only 50% down payment can make you to have a shop and after”.

Mr Peter Nwaogbaga, the governor’s Special Assistant on Market Development, noted that the debris found within the complex were from the old structures at the market.

“It will not take us one week to evacuate the debris and we have fully constructed and channelled drains around the market to prevent flooding,” he said.

Chief Daniel Okorie, a businessman, said that he had purchased five shops at the market: three shops for N3.2 million and two shops for N2.5 million.

“I made 50 per cent payment for them and will certainly purchase more because I am satisfied with what I saw inside the market.

Mrs Virginian Nwofe, a vegetable trader at the Abakpa main market, however, expressed doubt that traders could afford the exorbitant cost of the shops.

Court restrains INEC, APC, others from conducting congresses in Imo

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he Federal High Court Abuja, Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and the National Chairman, APC, not to conduct any congress in Imo until August 21.

The court also ordered the plaintiffs, Sen. Osita Izunaso, Sen. Ben Uwajimogu , Mr Mathew Omegara, Mr Hilary Ekeh and Mr Patrick Uzoukwu to maintain status quo until August 21 The vacation judge, Jutice Babatunde Quadri gave the order following an application by Mr Ahmed Raji, (SAN), counsel to the plaintiffs.

Raji had asked the court to order that all parties be restrained from conducting any primaries in the state, ward or local government until the next adjourned date of the suit.

He said that if such and order was not made and the defendants went ahead to conduct the primaries before the next adjourned date, the suit would become an academic ex-

ercise.

Raji told the court that although the defendants were duly served with an order of court stopping them from conducting congresses on July 20, they went ahead to conduct the congresses.

The senior lawyer argued that consequently, on July 23, the plaintiffs filed a motion ex parte praying the court to set aside the purported congresses.

He said they further asked the court for an order of injunction restraining APC and its chairman from recognising and swearing in those purportedly elected at the congresses.

“The court, however in its wisdom refused to grant this order and ordered us to put them on notice, and we did and duly served all processes on them but there has been no response from them.’’

Responding, counsel to the defendants, Mr Oladipo Okpeseyi , (SAN) told the court that he had just been briefed about the matter.

According to Okpeseyi, all I could

achieve as at today is to file a memorandum of conditional appearance.

Okpeseyi alluded to the fact that his clients had been unable to file the proper responses owing to the “political maneuvering” they had recently been faced with including the mass defection from the party.

“The executive members of the party have not been around so the best we could do is to file a memorandum of conditional appearance.

“We want to crave the indulgence of the court to give us more time within which to file our processes.’’

He prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him file the necessary processes.

The plaintiff’s counsel, however, disagreed with Okpeseyi’s reason for his inability to file his processes saying such reasons were not permissible in law.

According to him, this unusual and unheard-of oral application of the defendant has no basis and should be rejected because the alleged defection he alluded to hap-

• (From left): Non-Executive Director, Ensure Insurance Plc, Ayodele Akande; Regional Chief financial Officer of Allianz Africa, Anuj Agarwal; MD/ CEO, Ensure Insurance Plc, Sunkanmi Adekeye; Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Allianz Africa, Coenraad Vrolijk; Executive Director/ Chief Responsibility Officer of Ensure Insurance Plc, Owolabi Salami; Regional Head of Mergers, Acquisitions and Transformation Africa-Allianz, Adeola Adewumi – Zer and Non-executive Director of Ensure Insurance Plc, Dickie Ulu at the event.

Flood: Declare state of emergency in Anambra – Commissioner tells FG

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nambra State Commissioner for works, Engr. Marcel Ifejiofor has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Anambra State due to the damage which gully erosion has inflicted across the state following a recent four-day torrential rainfall.

The commissioner made the call while speaking to newsmen during the inspection of Mgbemena road where a four-day rainfall destroyed ongoing re-construction of the road with heavy gully erosion threatening to submerge many buildings in the area.

He, however, assured the Awada Community that the state government would immediately embark on palliative measures along the Mgbemena road to forestall further damage.

State commissioner for Works, Engr. Ifejiofor, thanked the leaders of the community for imposing a fine of N10, 000 against any person caught dumping refuse into the

drainage system, lamenting that some persons in the state have cultivated the habit of disposing wastes into the gutter which has been helping the flood to wreak havoc whenever it rained.

Engr. Ifejiofor however called on parents and guardians around Mgbemena to control the movement of their children so that they would not fall victim of mudslide caused by the gully erosion after the rainfall.

Reacting to the development, President of Awada Community, Chief Paul Chinedu commended the Anambra State Governor, Dr. Willie Obiano for his good works in Awada and lamented the poor building materials with which the Mgbemena Road was being reconstructed, especially the size of the drainage channels which he noted cannot control the degree of flood waters passing through it.

The community leader was also not happy with the size of iron and steel with which the construction

company was using for the road rehabilitation and appealed to the state government to find solution to it so that the road upon completion will remain durable as a capital intensive project.

He also led the Commissioner to St. James Anglican Church Road, Awada by Iba Pope where the gully erosion has cut off the road, threatening to submerge buildings and other businesses in the area.

Also commenting, the vice president of Awada Community, Chief Earnest Iwuamadi, expressed dismay over the poor quality of work being done at the Mgbemena Road by the construction firm, which, according to him, contributed to the devastating flood along the road.

Most residents of Mgbemena who spoke during the inspection of the devastated road pleaded with the government and the construction firm, Pachuks to widen the drainages along the road so that it would contain the flood waters during rains.

pened after they were served with processes.

Justice Quadri in a short ruling, ordered all parties in the suit to maintain status quo and not conduct any primaries until the next adjourned date. ‘’All parties are restrained from conducting any primaries in the state, ward or local government until August 21.’’

He awarded a cost of N10,000 against the defendants for not filing their processes within the stipulated time and adjourned the matter until August 21 to allow the defendants regularize their processes.

In the originating summons, the plaintiffs have formulated four questions for the court to determine.

One of which is that having regard to an appeal pending before the Court of Appeal in Owerri, whether INEC has the power to monitor the state, ward and local government congresses of the APC of July 20.

“Whether the APC and its chairman have the powers to lawfully schedule or conduct the state, ward and local government primaries in the state without 21 days’ notice given to INEC in line with mandatory provisions of Section 85 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010.’’

Consequently, the plaintiffs are asking for the following reliefs;“ A declaration that having regard to the appeal pending before the Court of Appeal in Owerri, INEC has no power to monitor state, ward and local government congresses of the APC of July 20.

“A declaration that the state, ward and local government congresses of the APC purportedly scheduled to hold in Imo on July 20 is illegal, unlawful, null and void and a gross abuse of court process.

“An order of injunction restraining INEC from monitoring state, ward and local government congresses of the APC purportedly scheduled to hold in Imo on July 20.

“An order nullifying or setting aside the state, ward and local government congresses of the APC scheduled to hold or which held in Imo on July 20.

2019: Ohakim will pick APGA ticket, Imo APC Chairman declares

By COLLINS UGHALAA

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mo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Hilary Ekeh, has said that former Governor of Imo State, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim, would emerge the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2019 governorship election.

Ohakim on Friday, July 27, 2018, declared to run for the 2019 governorship on the platform of APGA. Eke who is the Chairman of the Imo APC Chairman of the Coalition faction spoke during a meeting of party stakeholders, comprising the State Working Committee, LGA executives and Araraume Campaign Council, on Sunday July 29 called on members of the party still with Rochas Okorocha to return home.

He maintained that he is the authentic chairman of the party.

Ekeh explained that while it is certain that the former Ohakim would fly the flag of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Emeka Ihedioha would take that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS FG to refund N37bn to Anambra for road rehabilitation – Umeh

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he Senate has approved the reimbursement of N37.9 billion out of N43.5 billion expended

by Anambra Government for the rehabilitation of some federal roads in the state.

Sen. Victor Umeh (APGA-Anambra) made the disclosure at the inauguration of the Awka North Local Government Chapter of his Campaign Organisation at Isu-Aniocha near Awka on Monday.

Umeh, who represents Anambra Central Senatorial District, said “the Senate has approved various refunds to 21 states for various monies spent on federal projects, particularly roads.

“Anambra had a claim of N43 billion over time but the Senate secured approval for N37. 9 billion for Anambra.

“Our hope is that the Federal Government will pay this money as quickly as possible because Gov. Willie Obiano is in a hurry to execute more projects,” Umeh told the party faithful.

Umeh, who is the Chairman House Committee on Labour and Productiv-

ity, commended Obiano’s passion toward developing the state.

He also described his recent victory at the Election Petition Tribunal in Awka as ‘victory for democracy and Nigeria’.

“I was happy the tribunal dismissed the petition with harsh words. We will now move on without distraction,” he said.

Umeh appealed to oppositions to rather join forces with him and the party to develop the state.

According to him, APGA has done so much to make turn the fortunes of the state.

“Obiano and APGA legislators are doing well. I believe that it is God’s will that APGA is in Anambra to solve its problems,” he said.

He expressed confidence that with two Senators and six House of Representatives members, the party would • Anambra State Commissioner for works, Engr. Marcel Ifejiofor with the president of Awada community, further make inroad in the 2019 gen- Chief Paul Chinedu, during an inspection of the Mgbemena Road where heavy rainfall has halted ongoing reeral elections. construction works Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Nkem Okeke, who described Umeh as a ‘performing senator’, urged members of the constituency to support the senator’s re-election bid.

Killings, defections, others ominous signs of Nigeria’s breakup -- Uwazuruike

By IBE NWACHUKWU

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eader of the Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) and founder of the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, Monday, listed terrorism, sharia, Biafra agitation, herdsmen’s killings, human rights violations, disobedience of court orders, poverty, among others as ominous signs of Nigeria’s disintegration.

He, therefore, reiterated the resolve of BIM/MASSOB to support any conference, non-violent mass action or even any policy adopted by the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration that can lead to emergence of Biafra as a Sovereign Nation.

In a press statement issued on his behalf, by his Media Assistant, Mazi Chris Mocha, shortly after their meeting at Delta North Zonal Secretariat, Ubulu Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta state, Uwazuruike stated that today’s unfolding scenario in the country, including the constitutional breaches by the Executive arm of the government is a vindication of BIM/MASSOB’s quest for Biafra actualization.

Uwazuruike further listed the payment of about $46.2m Us Dollars for the purchase of seven fighter Jets by the year 2020, pronouncement of June 12 as Democracy day without the amendment of constitution and killings by the murderous armed Fulani herdsmen as some of the ominous signs of imminent Nigeria’s break-up in no distant time.

According to the statement, “the face-off between the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and some party chieftains; the face-off between Buhari vs Former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the $16 Billion Us Dollars power project fund that was spent from 1999 till 2007 without electricity; the rift between the presidency and the National Assembly over the 2018 budgetary allocations to critical projects and insertions of new projects without consultation are

other ominous signs of the disintegration”.

“The claim of technical defeat of Boko Haram by the Army, the clamor for the restructuring of Nigeria before the 2019 election by Southern and Middle belt leaders forum; the looters list released by the Federal Government; high profile cases of looting by government officials and of course the presidential executive order No.6 are the ominous signs of Break-up of the country”.

Going down memory lane, Uwazuruike further expressed concern that NASS members have become rubber stamps of the executive arm as the blood of innocent lives are wasted on daily bases in different part of Nigeria, adding, the influx of ISIS fighters into the country, restiveness in the Niger Delta Region, petitions at the International Criminal Court, ICC over gross violation of Human rights in Nigeria; the first ever mobile Police protest over unpaid special duty allowances in Maiduguri, Borno state, on July 2, 2018.

Islamic agenda and corruption war by the anti-graft agencies targeted at the opposition PDP members are further attestation and pointer to Nigeria’s Break-up”.

“Igbo man was not trusted to be Nigeria’s President, Minister for Petroleum, Works and Housing minister and Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), among others and what is playing out now in the Nigerian polity was in fulfillment of the policy-cum conspiracy between the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba tribes against the Igbo that people from the South East zone can never become president even beyond 2023”.

The statement further advised the main opposition party, PDP or the ruling party, APC either in elective or by appointment capacity to show their grievances if they are not satisfied with how the country is being run by the party to resign honorably and stop crying out louder of selective treatment, nepotism and favoritism against the government.

Non-metering: Ozalla-Obosi consumers win suit against Enugu Disco

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esidents of Ozalla-Obosi Community in the Idemili North local government area in Anambra State have won a suit filed against the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) over the distributor’s alleged ‘outrageous electricity bills and illegal disconnection against the electricity consumers in the area.’

The residents led by Chief Chukwudi Mbanuzuo and other stakeholders of the community hin the suit against Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, at the Ogidi High Court.

Presided over by Justice E.C NriEzedi, the court granted the residents of Ozalla-Obosi electricity Consumers the following prayers they sought against the Enugu Disco.

That EEDC has no powers to im-

pose outrageous and arbitrary estimated electric bills on the consumers; That EEDC has no powers to order for the disconnection of the electric lines of the consumers in the area; That Electricity consumers in Ozalla-Obosi are not under any obligation to pay for an outrageous and arbitrary electric bills being imposed on them by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

The court also granted that: The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) is hereby ordered to meter the buildings of electricity consumers in Ozalla-Obosi in accordance with the directives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) decision dated on the 24th day of January, 2017; EEDC should not impose any form of electric bills against the electricity

consumers in Ozalla-Obosi until their houses are metered with prepaid meters as directed.

Addressing the residents and the electricity consumers of Ozalla-Obosi following the court judgement, President-General of Ozalla-Obosi Community, Chief Emeka Esotu, described the court verdict on the reliefs sought by the consumers in the area from the Ogidi High Court as ‘a welcome development being expected by the people, who have for a long time been exploited by the agents of the EEDC as a result of nonmetering of their buildings and the attendant outrageous and arbitrary electricity billings to the consumers.’

He, however, advised them to remain calm and law-abiding until ‘all the anomalies are corrected as ordered by the court.’

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

alization in Nigerian nation when they “are the cause of their marginalization”.

“Igbo don’t help themselves.

They don’t believe in themselves or trust each other, adding that “the only way they can end marginalization is to come together, believe in themselves and trust each other,” the monarch said.

Ofuebe noted that in absence of creation of state police, the existing security structure of Nigeria must be rejigged so as to effectively tackle the current security challenges.

He argued that since the insecurity currently plaguing Nigeria appeared to be overwhelming the present security structure in the country, one of the viable options left was the creation of state police.

The monarch however, commended the federal government in its efforts in tackling the present challenges of insecurity across the country.

He equally backed restructuring that would return Nigeria to regional government for more effec-

tiveness in governance.

“State policing will help the nation because there will be more security in various states. But my fear is that Governors will abuse it. You see how some of them become Governor and turn themselves to a God. “Yes, federal government is trying in ensuring security but state policing will assist in no small measure. On the other hand, if Nigeria police and other security agencies can do their job very well, there will be no need having state police.

“Yes, I support the call for restructuring of Nigeria. The country should be returned to regional government, such that every state will have control of its resources”, Ofuebe said.

He also commended President Muhammad Buhari for declaring June 12 Nigeria’s democracy day; saying “Abiola worked very hard for the nation’s democracy and he truly won the election. Now, the government decided to recognise that and honour him. The President did well for declaring June 12 as a democracy day”, he added.

Igbo, cause of own marginalization -- Monarch

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raditional ruler of Ifite Ogwarri kingdom in Ayamelu local government area of Anambra State Nigeria, Dr. Igwe Ofuebe, has backed presidency coming to the Southeast in 2023 when the North must have completed their tenure.

This is also as the monarch stated that the Igbo were the cause of the marginalization they suffer in Nigeria.

“By right, after the North, the position of the president of Nigeria should come to the Southeast. It has been long Southeast supposed to have produced the president of this country,” the monarch said.

Dr. Ofuebe who bared his mind in a chat with journalists also urged Governors, Senators and other leaders of the Southeast zone to sit up and ensure they protect the interest of Ndigbo in the affairs of the nation. He also called for state police, though expressed concerns that state Governors would abuse it.

Dr. Ofuebe equally wondered why the Igbo often cry of margin-

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS

Anambra community donates land for FG’s modular refinery

By IBE NWACHUKWU Anaku community in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra state has donated a large expanse of land estimated at about 20 plots for the construction a Modular Refinery, following Federal Government’s approval for the construction of 10 Modular Refineries to be cited in each of the 11 oil producing states in the country.

A member of Board of Trustees (BoT) of Anambra State chapter of the Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCON) in the state, Joseph Obidigwe who disclosed this, Monday, in Awka, while briefing the National Chairman of the association, Prince Mike Emuh, explained that he single-handedly convinced his fellow Anaku land owners to donate the land in their own interest.

Obidigwe noted that the commu-

nity was ready to donate more lands if the 20 plots would not be enough for the refinery project because according to them, there is abundant oil deposits in the area to be tapped and refined for both export and local consumption, adding that they are now looking forward for the take-off of the project in earnest.

In his opening remarks, the state Chairman of HOSCON, Hon. Anthony Chiokwe and his deputy, Anene Onyilegbe Gregory, explained that they had discovered more than 50 oil wells in about 12 oil producing communities of the state in commercial quantities waiting to be exploited.

Chiokwe and Onyilegbe disclosed that Aguleri alone has about 26 oil wells, while Ogwu-Ikpelle has as many as 16 oil wells, just like OgwuAniocha has five wells, Anaku nine wells, Umerum, three wells, two wells in Abagana, while Okija and

Umunnachi wells were said to have been overflown and are currently spilling.

Addressing the HOSCON members in what he tagged a town hall meeting, the National HOSCON Chairman, Prince Emuh identified economic recession, disunity, ignorance and boundary disputes between Anambra state and its sister states as some of the major factors that deprived the state of its 13 percent oil revenue derivation, since former President Goodluck Jonathan declared it as an oil producing state in the year 2012.

Emuh lamented that the state, unlike other oil producing states, is losing about N30 million daily since six years after the presidential declaration of the state as an oil producing state because either by omission or commission, the 13 percent derivation formula has not been gazetted by the appropriate government

agencies.

Emuh who also inaugurated the state committee for the proposed Anambra’s Modular Refinery project, said apart from economic recession which the country is just recovering from, ignorance among Anambra citizens and lack of political will to pursue their legitimate rights, boundary disputes between the state and its neighboring sister states and leadership crisis within the state chapter of HOSCON were the major constraints militating against including the state in the 13 percent derivation formula since then.

He noted that Anambra has so much oil deposits to warrant including it in the derivation revenue to enable it get the N30 million daily from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC), adding that the state has two oil

Ebonyi bans town unions’ elections

Education, rule of law key to peaceful society – Uzor Kalu

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ormer Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, says adequate investment in education and adherence to the rule of law are crucial to sustainable peaceful in any society.

Kalu said this on Monday in Abuja at a news conference organised ahead of a peace walk slated for Tuesday with the theme: “Peace is Possible in Nigeria’’.

The peace walk is organised by Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ikoyi, an NGO, in partnership with Orji Uzor Kalu Foundation.

According to him, for Nigeria to have peaceful atmosphere, the judiciary must be given outmost priority and independence because a society cannot exist where there is no rule of law.

“When JCI came up with the Peace Walk, it was a very bad time to come to Abia State because the IPOB and the security agencies were having disagreement at that time.

“I asked them to come because they were not killing anybody, they were not talking about anybody, they were talking about peace and that peace is possible in Nigeria.

“All the political parties are not talking about how Nigeria will change, they are all talking about themselves, otherwise they cannot be killing to be in power,” he said.

He said that the quest for peace in the country would only be realized if government and citizens obey court orders and the laws of the land.

He said that education was also paramount to peace and development of any society, calling for greater investment in education in the country.

According to him, government at all levels must more invest in education to bring equality across the country.

“You cannot have inequality in education in Nigeria and think of having peace, education must spread across the North and South to bring about peace in the country,” he said.

He called on the government, religious organisations, corporate bodies as well as individuals to invest more in the education sector.

blocs worth N9.3 trillion which is estimated at about three percent of total national budget.

He also assured the refinery committee that once they bring out at least 20 plots of land in an oil located area of the state, HOSCON national executive would assist the state in bring foreign technical partner to finance the modular refinery which he estimated at N30 billion.

Responding, some of the HOSCON stakeholders in the state, Chief Cyril Nnamekwe and Chief Alex Akora, commended Emuh for opening their eyes to the enormous benefits accruable to oil deposits in the state, which other oil producing states have been enjoying for long and moved a motion adopting Anthony Chiokwe-led state executive as the authentic executive committee of HOSCON in the state.

• Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma (r) in company of Directors, RGM of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, Mrs Shin Aba, Senior Management Team inspecting facilities at the Ikeja airport.

Enugu Chief Judge pardons 129 inmates

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o fewer than 129 prisoners were granted pardon in three prisons in Enugu State by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Priscilla Emehelu as she concludes the 2018 jail delivery sessions.

Emehelu on Tuesday, during the conclusion of the exercise in Oji-River Minimum Security Prison, urged the released prisoners to, henceforth, desist from crime and lead a reformed life.

She said the exercise was in accordance with Section 1 (a,b) of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) Special Provisions Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2007 and Sections 34 (1), 35 (1) and 36 (5) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).

Emehelu lamented the congestion in various prisons in the state and called for immediate measures to address deviant behavoiur in the society.

“We, judges are mindful of the onerous challenge of prison congestion and have consistently worked with stakeholders in the justice sec-

tor to ensure speedy and sustained case flow management.

“It is part of the commitment to effective justice delivery that necessitates our periodic visit to prisons, to provide bail and the release of inmates who have exceeded required prison term,” she said.

The chief judge pledged commitment of the judiciary to ensuring speedy dispensation of justice and expressed optimism that modern prisons would soon be built across the country, as promised by the Minister of Interior.

She assured that another session of the exercise would be conducted in December, to further decongest the prisons.

Emehelu commended the Controller of Prisons in Enugu state, Mr Ndubuisi Ogbodo, for ensuring that Enugu prisons becomes a reference point for others.

Earlier, the Controller of Enugu Prisons Command, Ogbodo appealed to the Chief Judge for clemency to sick old and juvenile inmates.

Ogbodo said inmates recom-

mended for pardon were now reformed and had pledged to desist from committing any crime that could land them in prison again.

“These ones have embraced the service change mantra imbued in them through the Prisons Special Study Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) programme.

“They performed excellently well in the programme at the undergraduate and post-graduate level with outstanding results and will be easily accepted back into the society,” he said.

He thanked the Chief Judge for her cooperation and described as `unprecedented’ the number of inmates pardoned during the exercise.

A pardoned inmate, Ndubuisi Nwabueze, expressed happiness that he would go home after serving two years in prison.

He was sentenced in 2016 after being found guilty of attempted murder.

bonyi Government has banned the conduct of town unions’ elections across the state till after the 2019 general elections.

Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor David Umahi on Internal Security, Dr Kenneth Ugbala, who made the disclosure in Abakaliki, said the decision was to ensure peace in the state.

He said that factors such as intrigues to oversee the N10million grants by the government for developmental projects in the communities and election interests among others, necessitated the ban.

“Most people are gearing up to oversee the N10 million grant by intrigues to change existing town unions’ leaderships.

“The town unions will oversee the construction of these projects though under the supervision of Local Government Area Councils and the state government.

“This development will create security problems in the state and the government in its wisdom, decided that the present town union leaderships’ remain till after the general elections.

“The individuals intriguing to oversee the N10 million grant should realise that people were in charge of the unions’ before such was granted and should be allowed to manage the funds,’’ he said.

The governor’s aide noted that politicians were also intriguing to change the town unions’ leaderships for political reasons and this would create unwarranted tension across the state.

“These individuals seek to install their loyalists and those who will contribute to their electoral success and this is undesirable to the government.

“Ensuring peace, harmony and security of lives and properties across the state is the government’s overriding interest.

“Those were the reasons for the cancellation of such elections in Effium community and Ohaukwu LGA as they were government’s decisions that must obeyed,’’ he said.

9

POLITICS The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

Ayade has plunged C’River into abyss of despair – Ekpo As a major stakeholder in the PDP in the State, what is your impression of the quality of governance in Cross River in view of the perception that the state has not fared well in recent years?

Really, it is a question of paradise lost and paradise that has to be regained.

Cross River State is a State that has a plan, well-designed, well-mapped out.

That plan was aimed at developing the State. It became a place people desired to go to for both pleasure and business. It is no longer so. And it has not been so definitely in the last three years. And that is a function of the misgovernance of the state. If politics is what it really should be, political parties should be worried about incumbents who are not delivering wholesale to the programmes of the party and to the programmes of the state. And so, as a member of the PDP I am worried about what is going on. I am even more worried about the fact that despite all the admonitions and advice, our government has not listened. They have continued to plunge us further into the abyss of despair. Whether at the party level or at the government level or at the popular level with the ordinary people of the state, there is a deep cause for concern.

How does the party hope to address these issues as we are in the run-up to the next general elections?

In order to try and recover the mandate that was given to the PDP by the people of Cross River state, and in order to try and restore to our people a sense of belonging, a sense of progress, real genuine progress, the knowledge and certainty that we are actually having a state that is good, in order to restore that belief, that conviction of the people in the quality of the governance they once had, I believe I must step up and run.

As a known PDP stalwart, what are you going to do differently if elected governor of the state in 2019, which the present PDP governor is not doing?

There are basically four pillars on which one stands when it comes to the governance of the state. Number one is the strong desire to restore the connection between the people and the government. And that connection was established in various ways. First, as a government itself, we are badly administered. Once upon a time in this state every Wednesday, a commissioner will come out of the executive council meeting and address journalists about what has been deliberated upon on the day’s discussions, policies and programmes, their progress and execution. We came out and we addressed the press and explained what had been discussed at Exco. Exco meetings were not just for contract awards or bonanzas. They were places where the policies of the state were enunciated and discussed.

Former Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice in Cross River State and gubernatorial hopeful, Eyo Ekpo, spoke with some journalists about what he called “falling standard of governance in Cross River” and the imperatives of salvaging the State from its present abyss of despair. ANIEKAN ANIEKAN was there and reports.

Their execution was discussed and issues were raised and discussed and agreed upon. We came out and explained to the people. That is no longer the case.

In order for you to have a viable executive council, you need the civil service that supports the political appointees. Now go to any office, including the office of the governor, nothing is being done. Memoranda are sent to the governor, he doesn’t treat them.

There is no feedback from the governor about what his aides tell him so they are no longer bothered about telling him anything anymore because he remembers everything he does by himself. So, the civil service is now moribund.

The local government system has totally gone. For three years running, no elections. All the revenue in the local government now reports in Calabar and then doesn’t go anywhere else. Nobody knows how it is spent because there are no budgets for local governments any longer. That is one aspect. That has to be recovered.

I am fully aware of the myriad advice that has been given to him by various people, various interests. He has not treated one. The only advice that he has been given which he has treated is, make sure you pay salaries monthly. But paying salaries is not an achievement.

Today it is touted as an achievement. Governors in the past, from Donald Duke onwards, were paying salaries regularly and they did not make a fetish of it.

They did not make any noise about it. I cannot possibly come to work and then paying me becomes an achievement. It is simple compensation for my labour.

So, it’s no big deal. That is the only thing he has done correctly. But I am aware also that quite a number of people at the local government level and outstations outside Calabar are not paid regularly.

Are you saying the governor is not working with the people considering the fact that he prioritizes their interests particularly in the prompt payment of workers’ salaries?

No power can be exercised without collective decision-making. As a governor, I can’t possibly know what somebody in Yala, or Bekwara or in Bakassi wants except feedback comes to me.

Then I can take a decision. Nobody is an island unto himself. Nobody is a repository of all knowledge and all abilities. You must work with people.

And then the great paradox is that the governor is not working with people.

Which specific sectors of the state’s economy do you think has not fared very well in recent time?

Health, human services, education--the superstructure that supports physical infrastructure. You cannot even say that you are inviting investors to Cross River. They cannot even come

There are basically four pillars on which one stands when it comes to the governance of the state.

Number one is the strong desire to restore the connection between the people and the government.

when we don’t have labour to work with. Go to any of our health centres anywhere in the state, they are illCont’d on page 11

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

INTERVIEW Inside Okpoko, Anambra’s ghetto: We are facing a lot of challenges, says Emesinwa, PG Okpoko town union •Explains that indigenes’ antagonism to non-indigenes behind leadership crisis Okpoko a densely populated community near the commercial city of Onitsha but situated in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State is comparable to Ajegunle alias AJ City in Lagos State. Dotted with ageing bungalows where residents as landlords and tenants exist in happiness nevertheless, the community, according to the President General of the town union otherwise known as Okpoko Development Union (ODU), Hon Edwin Emesinwa is facing a lot of challenges such as leadership tussle leading to a series of litigations in different Courts, bad road network, flood and sometimes security. Emesinwa who hails from Arondizuogu in Imo State but was born and brought up in Okpoko, in this interview with Anambra State Correspondent, THEO RAYS, speaks on life in Okpoko, his challenges as the community leader, the expectations of the people from Anambra State government and the readiness of the residents to massively participate in next year’s general election.

Let’s start with the reported leadership tussle in Okpoko. We have reports that you have been dethroned following a judgment from a High Court sitting in Onitsha. How come you are sitting in the office and addressing yourself as the President General (PG) of Okpoko community?

Actually there was a court judgment from the State High Court sitting in Onitsha in favour of my opponent and former Caretaker PG, Chief Linus Ezenwamma to come back and take over but I filed a stay of execution against the judgment and appealed the judgement, so the matter is now in the Appeal Court. I have to remain in office pending the determination of the matter in the Appeal Court. We also have another matter in the State High Court sitting in Ogbaru where I have gone to defend my election for second term because some people made move to conduct another election after we conducted election that gave me the mandate for a second term. Okpoko community conducted election on December 18 last year and I won but some disgruntled elements, who felt that I am not from Anambra State, are making effort to cancel the election for fresh one, so I went to Court to defend my election. I am from Arondizuogu in Imo State but I was born and brought up here. My father is a pioneer resident of Okpoko and among the people who developed the community, so how can somebody tell me that I cannot be a leader in a community where my father contributed so much to develop. It is not done. All Igbo are one. Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi States are one. The reason for dividing us into States and Local Governments is to widen development, so I cannot fold my hands and allow people to intimidate me in my homeland.

Observers say Okpoko is rich considering the population of the inhabitants and that is why you are fighting to be in office as PG. Your opponent told us that you have waged fight against all the leaders in the office for the past 10 years, so what is your interest?

Who told you that Okpoko is rich?

And where are the riches? We only collect security levies of N100 every month from residents. And as I speak with you, I have over 100 vigilante boys to pay salary every month from the said N100 monthly levies, so where are the resources? To answer your question correctly, I am not fighting for money;

lour business, where they fry akara, sell okpa, recharge cards, bread, biscuits, minerals and other things. We want the governor to help us to fight against flooding. We believe and trust the governor. We are well at home with the governor and I want to assure you that come 2019, we are going to vote for the candidates presented to us by the governor’s party the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In Okpoko, it is APGA all the way.

As the PG, how have you been able to sensitise residents on the need to obtain Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) so that they can vote during the 2019 election?

I can assure you that people of Okpoko have PVCs but the problem is that in most cases, the indigenes don’t care about the interest of non-indigenes.

When non- indigenes find out that their interest is not carried along, they sit at home and decide not to come out and vote. I can assure you that Okpoko people are ready to come out and vote if the politicians prove to them that the interests of both the indigenes and non- indigenes are going to be protected in 2019.

Hon. Edwin Emesinwa

I am fighting to defend the right of non-indigenes who have been part of the development of this community in particular and Ogbaru Local Government and Anambra State in general. It is wrong to say that non-indigenes of Anambra cannot lead Okpoko as PG. It is wrong to say that a no-indigene cannot be chairman of Ogbaru Local Government or go to House of Assembly or Federal House of Representatives.

So are you saying that security is tight in Okpoko?

Very tight. We don’t joke with secu-

rity in Okpoko. We want to ensure that what Governor Willie Obiano is doing on security in Anambra State is much alive in Okpoko; that is why employ enough community vigilante to assist the Police in putting adequate check against the activities of criminals. Okpoko residents are comfortable with Governor Obiano. The major problem we have here now is flood. Flooding has caused irreparable damages in Okpoko and displaced a lot of families.

People lose their residence and sources of livelihood to flood. People lose kiosks and joints where they do beer par-

How do you expect the interest of non-indigenes served?

Thank you very much. Let them allow non-indigenes to represent Okpoko, which is Ogbaru Constituency 2 in the Anambra State Constituency. Let an indigene take Ogbaru 1 Constituency and a non-indigene take Constituency 2.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, it is only Calister Nwachukwu who won election as Council Chairman of Ogbaru as non-indigene that has occupied elective position in Ogbaru. Other positions including the Federal House of Representatives have been occupied by indigenes since 1999.

How has the ban on Okada impacted on Okpoko-- good or bad, positive or negative?

The ban on Okada is good for Okpoko and it has made a very positive impact by giving the environment a good, clean face. Okpoko now has a clean face and thank God and Governor Obiano for that because if Okada riders were operating at this time of heavy downpour, a lot of people would have been swept off by flood because Okada riders and their passengers have always fallen victim of flood.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

POLITICS

•Ayade

•Imoke

•Duke

‘Ayade has plunged C’River into abyss of despair’ Cont’d from page 9 equipped--no staff, medical doctors less than 40 in the state. No incentives. People are leaving in droves to go and work for the federal government and then when they come back, they work on contract for the state because we are so resource-poor in the state. Our education system is still living on past glory.

Very soon it will collapse. Attention is not being paid to it. This is the 21st Century. We ought to by now review the syllabus. The last review was 14 years ago. This is the 21st century and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the way to go. If we do not at primary school level begin to motivate boys and girls to focus more on science and science education and less on humanities and arts, as important as they are, we will have a future that is doubtful. It is not just to say you are paying teachers. No. What kind of teacher education are we giving? What kind of teachers are we generating for our school system? What is the focus of our school system? What kind of students do we want our school system to produce?

There is a lot of support out there but we are not getting it for our state. We need to upgrade our education system.

A state that regards itself as a preferred destination for investment, for business, for pleasure, must be able to develop people that are ready, willing and able to service that group of people that are coming into the state. A state that says it wants to industrialize doesn’t have engineers. I worked with General Electric.

When we were looking for people from Cross River State to work in the facility we are doing here, it was a difficult thing to find Cross Riverians. Why is that

the case? We have them but they are all so engaged that we hardly found any.

If we are looking to the future, we must try and address that.

Besides education and manpower, which other sectors of the state’s economy has fared badly and how will you go about fixing it?

Infrastructure. Business, pleasure can never be carried on peacefully, capably, competently, properly if we do not have the infrastructure in the state.

We don’t have, whether it is federal, whether it is state. Our governor says he is close to the president. I wish he would use that closeness to ensure that one or two of our federal roads are properly done. We have not seen the benefit of that closeness yet. We have the state infrastructure programme, the RAMP—rural access and mobility programme-- that was designed to connect the agrarian communities, the rural areas in our local government areas, to the main artery, the CalabarOgoja road. What happened? Since this governor came I am aware that he has received lots of memoranda on RAMP. From Donald Duke with zero per-cent through Liyel Imoke, we had attained 70 per cent. Just that little bit that is left to complete it, his tenure ignored it and yet you say you are industrializing. The goods you are going to produce from the industries, on which road are they going to be evacuated? Is it through the phantom deep seaport? Until the deep seaport comes, you must use our roads.

In the power sector, the state government is currently building a 21MW power plant along Parliamentary road in Calabar, will this not help improve the state’s infrastructure?

To supply who? Instead of focusing and solving that problem, our governor is building one moribund white elephant power project in Parliamentary Village called the 21mw power plant.

We have a federal government owned 560mw power plant. Basically, its capacity is barely utilized. One out of the four machines in that power plant is enough to supply electricity to the entire Cross River. The concern of government should be the transmission and distribution of energy and not generation. I have been in power generation business, with NERC, BPE, the board of NEPA and others for 17 years. He is not perceptive enough to ask me how we go about this power generation business. They are only interested in awarding contracts so that money can leave our coffers. You don’t need to spend so much money. He should ensure that the people are enumerated and metered. If our people are enumerated and metred, then we will know where the need is and then address that need. We have an electricity infrastructure that covers our state. Instead of finding a way to expand the distribution network of that distribution company within the state, because the central and the governor’s northern part of the state depend on Enugu disco for electricity, can you imagine that Enugu disco will allow power to come to Cross River state when it has not served its customers in the South Eastern states with enough power? Of course, it will not.

Besides these, what are the various indices you feel buttresses the fact that Cross River State is now in despair and needs to be redressed through your ambition?

Number one is law and order. Cross

River State is on the verge of being classified as a lawless state. There is a complete breakdown of respect for human life and property. It is becoming a norm that communities are fighting each other internally and we are fighting our neighbours externally.

There is no concern in identifying the causes of these clashes or understanding how they came about. Of course, how can it not be so? We have no local government so who will report to you in Calabar? Nobody. The money meant for local governments stays in Calabar.

It doesn’t get to local governments.

It shows that there is no connection between the local governments and the centre in Calabar.

Law and order is vital. Communal clashes, cult killings on our streets in Calabar, in Ogoja, in Obudu every day. It is not rocket science to maintain law and order. It has been done before in this state. Parts of Bakassi and Akpabuyo have been taken over by militants and bunkerers. Why? Why are we not collaborating with the federal government to provide security on our waterways?

Sports. Once upon a time, we were known as a hotbed for a certain kind of sport. It’s all gone. Our parks, our streets, our cleanliness, our recreation.

Our museum locked up by the governor for what purpose? A place that people from across the world come and see, and you lock it up? You will kill the livelihood of the people. How will they not take to crime? The people of this state in the demographics between the ages of 18 and 25 are almost 50 per cent of the population of this state. They are the future of this state and the focus must be on them or we will lose them to other states. These constitute the kernel of my vision for Cross River state.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS INEC to conduct byelection for Rivers Assembly August 18

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), will on Saturday, August 18, conduct a by-election for the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Former member representing the Port Harcourt Constituency 3, Victor Ihunwo, had on June 23, contested and won election as the local government chairman of Port Harcourt Local Government Area.

Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), in Rivers State, Obo Effanga, told journalists, in Port Harcourt, last weekend, that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly had communicated to the commission, two weeks ago, intimating the electoral body of the vacancy created by Hon. Ihunwo’s departure from the House of Assembly.

“The commission was informed of the vacancy by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly two weeks ago and the law requires INEC to conduct a by-election into the vacant seat within 30 days.”

According to the timetable released by INEC, political parties were notified of the by-election on July 27; last day for conduct of primary by political parties is August 1; last day for submissions of nomination forms to INEC is August 3; last day for publication of nominated candidates August 10; submission of names and addresses of party agents to electoral officer, August 10; end of campaigns, August 16.

Akwa Ibom Govt moves to check loitering by students, pupils From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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he Akwa Ibom State government has established a taskforce to check pupils and students loitering on the streets during school hours.

The taskforce is made up of persons from the Ministry of Education, Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and would start operations immediately schools reopen in September.

Speaking, Monday, in Uyo, Commissioner for Education, Professor Victor Inoka said the task force was put in place in response to com-

plaints from teachers that many students don’t attend classes.

He said the ministry has strengthened the monitoring and supervision of all public schools across the state, besides its effort in the development of physical infrastructure.

He noted that monitoring in public schools was to ensure that the teachers lived up to expectation, adding that the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel was committed and determined in making quality education for students in the state a reality.

He explained that a list of approved private schools was being

complied by the ministry as unregistered schools will be closed down.

“We are aware that some students, pupils, go to school and roam about. And people, teachers are complaining too that some students don’t go to classes. Without education nothing can work. The governor is passionate about how we can impart positively on the future generation.

“So from September we will be going round the whole schools in the state. It is going to be a team work. The police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps will also be involved. Once it is 8,

DPR seals 32 filling stations in Akwa Ibom over hoarding

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Police spread campaign against cult activities in Enugu

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olice Command in Enugu State says it has taken its Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) to markets, schools, NYSC Orientation camp and communities, among other areas.

The command’s Spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said in Enugu, Monday that the command would stop at nothing in its ongoing campaign to eradicate cult activities in the state, especially in schools.

“The command team on the POCACOV campaign drawn from its Police Public Relations Department has visited Ameke Ngwo community; 9th Mile Square as well as Christ the King Parish, Okpokolo in Ngwo during the women August meeting last year.

“The team also visited Iwollo Oghe community where members of the community and students were engaged at the Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwolo in Ezeagu Local Government Area.

“Other areas that the team had visited included Enugu North Local Government Area and Enugu South Local Government Area councils’ Hall where invited stakeholders and youths were sensitised.

“The team, not relenting in its efforts, had also visited Government Secondary School, Enugu, Nike Grammar School and Moore house Primary School.

“The team also had constant lectures/sensitisation for various batches of youths corps members during their orientation at the permanent orientation camp at Awgu as well as other informal sensitisation meetings on the same issue,’’ he said.

The police spokesman said the team had also partnered with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Enugu State Command, to produce sensitisation radio jingles against cult activities and related vices.

o’clock in the morning and we find you loitering, we pick you up.

“And so many private schools are springing up again in the state. We have got list of those we call illegal; they started operating without our approval. We are still compiling the list zone by zone and if we see those that don’t meet our standard we are going to close them down.

“Education experts have told us that there are two key variables paramount in achieving total quality education: the exogenous and endogenous variables. Exogenous variable is talking about physical infrastructure, renovation of facilities, classrooms and all that”.

• Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, with the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding on Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), positioned towards increased water supply in Ogun State, at Ota Water Supply Scheme

Pidgin, threat to English in Nigeria -- Eyoh From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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rofessor of English Studies, University of Uyo, Prof. Luke Eyoh has said the use of pidgin in schools, alongside the use of short message service (SMS) in the GSM industry is posing a threat to English language in the country.

Eyoh who spoke, Monday in Uyo during the 63rd Inaugural Lecture of the University of Uyo on the topic, “Nigerian Literature and the English Language in the Task of NationBuilding: Revisiting Chinua Achebe’s vexed issue of Leadership”, said English language is under pressure by the use of pidgin in writing and speaking.

He said the pressure was recently intensified when the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), began BBC Pidgin Service as part of Focus on Africa on August 21, 2017.

He said letters in the English alphabet are now distorted with Arabic numerals even in official communication, adding that the practice does not augur well with the English or-

thography.

“In the skill of speaking, English language continues to receive pressure from English-based pidgin at school, on television and on radio in Nigeria.

“Even a more urgent threat comes from the short message service (SMS) culture in the GSM industry in the area of English orthography. The letters in the English alphabet are being distorted or replaced with Arabic numerals even in official communication like examinations: “today is replaced with “2day”, “for” with “4”, you with “u” and your with “ur”.

“This phenomenon will delete the English orthography before the ascendancy of Pidgin; indeed, it may well be a part of Pidgin orthography.

Eyoh however noted that despite the threat, English language had continued to be a unifying factor in the country, and in nation building.

He said English language has been used in leadership to bring diverse groups together, advance technological breakthrough, teach and learn in the nation’s school system as

well as a requirement for admission into the tertiary institutions.

He added that literature in Nigeria is predominantly written in English and noted the need to revive the reading culture in Nigeria’s school system so that the thriving browsing culture will not replace the traditional reading culture.

He said, “In spite of the threats it has received, the English language has continued to unite the 515 ethnic/linguistic groups in the country.

“Leadership as envisioned by Achebe would be impossible without a language to weld the diverse groups together. That language is English. I have shown English to play a crucial role in our quest for technological breakthrough, being a language in which we think technology.

“I have shown English as a language of international diplomacy and a language of teaching and learning in our school systems, as a requirement for admission to our tertiary institutions; all these facts are bricks for nation-building”.

epartment of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Akwa Ibom, has sealed 32 filling stations for hoarding and selling fuel above the approved pump price.

Operations Controller of DPR in Akwa Ibom, Mr Kingsley-Sundaye Tamunoiminabo, confirmed this in Eket, Eket Local Government Area of the state, Monday.

“Last week, we sealed 32 filling stations for related offences such as hoarding, selling above pump price and some marketers run away as soon as they sighted DPR staff,” he said.

Tamunoiminabo said the department was aware of the artificial scarcity that started last week and efforts were ongoing to end the crisis in the state.

“We are ensuring that filling stations that have the products should not hoard or sell above government approved pump price of N145 per litre,” he said.

He said that the filling stations were sealed due to artificial scarcity caused by an industrial action embarked upon by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), in solidarity with some of its members, who were downsized by a private serving company, Universal Energy Resources Ltd. The operations controller appealed to the marketers not to use the artificial scarcity to cheat the public, noting that cheating the public would not be allowed by the department.

“We expect petroleum marketers to sell their products at government approved pump price of N145 per litre,” he said.

He noted that the department has taken inventory of filling stations, which have products and locked their underground tanks in the state.

He explained that such filling stations would be sanctioned appropriately.

He decried the situation where some filling stations would sell their products at the early hours in the day and late at night to the people of the state.

Tamunoiminabo thanked the state government for intervening in the matter between NUPENG and Universal Energy Resources Ltd. He said that the state government had called for several meetings to solve the lingering crisis in the state but to no avail.

NUPENG had embargoed supply of petroleum products to Akwa Ibom with effect from July 23.

Fuel is sold between N170 and N200 per litre in the state.

13

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS

Navy, EFCC synergize to fight oil bunkering From ANIEKAN ANIEKAN, Calabar

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he Nigerian Navy and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have synergized to collectively stem the tide of oil bunkering and other economic crimes in the nation’s waterways.

This was made known in Calabar by the Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship, (NNS) Victory, Commodore Julius Nwagu while parading eight suspects on board a merchant ship, MV EFEMENA containing 773,472 litres of adulterated diesel.

Commodore Nwagu who spoke while handing over the vessel laden with the product and suspects to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution said they were from Delta State and headed for a tank farm in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.

He said: “We are here to hand over a merchant vessel, MV EFEMENA that was arrested on April 19 to EFCC. The vessel was mounted to do a ship-to-ship transfer of AGO from Delta to a tank farm in Ikot-Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.

“The operation was to commence on April 19, but it went on April 17 to pick the product from another vessel containing 773, 472 litres of AGO from a platform. Unknown to them, our intelligence was already trailing them and we intercepted them when they entered the Calabar channel on April 19.

“The implication is that they picked the AGO two days earlier from an illegal source. And when they were arrested, we immediately contacted the Department of Petroleum Resources who came to take samples of the product in the vessel and it was discovered that it was adulterated AGO. “We have had to call the EFCC, in accordance with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who have the right to prosecute those with illegal oil products.”

He said the Nigerian Navy is alive to its responsibilities and will not allow any criminal activity to take place in the nation’s maritime waters.

Speaking while receiving the suspects for prosecution, the Deputy Zonal Head of EFCC, Uyo office, Mr Alex Ebbah, promised that the commission would after investigation charge the suspects to court.

“We are here to take over the vessel and its products as well as the suspects on behalf of the EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu. We appreciate the efforts of the Navy in combating economic crimes on the waterways.

“This collaboration has yielded positive results as so many vessels have been forfeited to the Federal Government through similar interceptions in the past. We would do our best to ensure that this matter culminates to a successful prosecution,” he said.

Group urges A’Ibom people to undergo hepatitis tests From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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rinity Healthcare Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has urged the people of Akwa Ibom State to test for and know their status on hepatitis.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Dr Nseabasi Ekanem, said, Monday, in Uyo that there must be concerted effort by Governments, NGOs and philanthropic organisations to fight towards the elimination of the virus from the world.

Speaking during the first advocacy and awareness campaign for hepatitis in the state on the theme, “Finding the Missing Millions”, Ekanem said the theme was designed to create awareness to the millions of people who have no knowledge about Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E. He said the organisation chose Akwa Ibom state for its advocacy campaign to give residents an opportunity to know their status, get them screened, vaccinated and treated.

He explained that hepatitis A, B,

C, D and E destroys the liver and eventually kills the individual if it is not diagnosed on time and treated.

He revealed that over 22 million Nigerians are believed to be living with the virus, noting that hepatitis is highly endemic.

“We are doing advocacy and public enlightenment campaign on Hepatitis B and C and other forms of viral hepatitis to mark the World Hepatitis Day with symposium tagged, “Finding the Missing Millions”.

“The reason we adopt this theme

• Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, today Friday 27th July 2018, played host to University of Lagos Alumna led by Senator Effiong Bob at his office, Government House, Uyo

Defections due to failure of APC-led FG -- Wike

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ivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that the recent gale of defections that hit the All Progressives Congress (APC ) were due to the fact that the APC Federal Government has failed Nigerians.

He declared that the APC Federal Government runs on vindictiveness, intimidation and illegality, whilst denying Nigerians the dividends of democracy.

Addressing journalists after projects inspection on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Governor Wike stated that more high profile defections are in the offing across the country.

He said: “Politics is all about alignments and re-alignments. We expected these defections, knowing that the ruling party at the National level has completely failed the people.

“It is not hidden that even when they had majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly, they never had it easy because their representatives knew the APC has nothing to offer the people.

“For me, I had expected these defections more than a year ago. More will happen across the country “.

He berated the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole for his double-speak on Benue State Governor, Dr Samuel Ortom. He also decried the unfounded allegations by the APC National Campaign against the Benue State Governor

on the killings by herdsmen in the state.

“APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole said in one breadth that Ortom is the best that they have.

The following day because he had defected he said fielding Ortom would have been a calamity. This double-speak is laughable.

“I think it is unfair for the APC National Chairman to begin to do the work of the security and the Judiciary. For him to indict the aides of Ortom for Benue killings when the APC never took that position when he was in their party is most unfortunate. Now that the Benue State Governor has defected, they are throwing up these allegations. These are the people who claim they want to fight corruption, but they are always acting illegally.

“This is politics of vindictiveness.

This is politics of vengeance. There is an extent to which you can push people. You can intimidate people, but not all the times. When you push people to the wall, they tell you ‘enough is enough ‘. That is what you are seeing today in Nigeria. “ Governor Wike said that the PDP is working round the clock with all stakeholders to put an end to failed APC Federal Government in 2019.

He said the PDP is stronger and more vibrant, having been rebuilt over the last three years.

“What we are doing now is part of the preparedness towards 2019. If

we are not prepared, people won’t come to the party. They know that the PDP is very serious and PDP is stronger.

“It is not easy for an opposition party to receive defectors of such magnitude. It shows that the party is doing quite a lot. We don’t need to make noise. But people are working on the ground. We don’t need to come on the pages of newspapers to outline what we are doing. The ruling party only believes in intimidation and harassments”, he said.

He noted that in Rivers State, the Failed APC Federal Government is using the EFCC to intimidate government officials, despite a subsisting court judgment on the matter. He said the State Government will not succumb to intimidation.

On the execution of projects, Governor Wike said that his administration will sustain projects delivery till the end of the first term.

He said that the time for political campaigns have been earmarked, pointing out that it will not affect projects execution.

Governor Wike inspected dualisation of the Elelenwo-Akpajo Road, the construction of Judges Quarters in Port Harcourt and the the ongoing construction of Mile One Market.

He was accompanied by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and Rivers State Executive Council.

for this year is because, there are millions of Nigerian with others in the world that are living with Hepatitis B and C and other forms of viral hepatitis without even knowing. So this year we have decided to go in search of the missing millions.

“This is an opportunity to get them screened to know their status, vaccinated and get treated so that they can get rid of the virus.

This is a strategic plan to get rid of the virus by the year 2020.

“Hepatitis B does not present symptoms on time, by the time symptoms present itself the liver is severely damaged. And at that time treatment may be very difficult.

“The reason hepatitis B does not present itself on time is because the liver has what we called the organ reserved capacity, which give the organ ability to still function even though it is badly damaged.

“That is the reason we are going out to sensitise Nigerians about the virus so that those that have it can start treatment before the liver is badly damaged.”

He mentioned the symptoms of hepatitis B to include, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains dark colour urine and stool, yellowing of the eyes and skin and non-specific rashes around the body, cough, itching and headache, loss appetite and severe fatigue.

He said most times, the symptoms is closely related to that of malaria, adding that it was the reason most people living with hepatitis end up treating malaria, not knowing that they have viral hepatitis.

He said that if hepatitis is diagnosed on time, medication could be administered, stressing that early testing was the key to eliminating the viral hepatitis.

He explained that hepatitis B is transmited through unprotected sex, casual sexual intercourse with someone whose status is not known, adding that it could also be transmitted through sharing of sharp objects and blood transfusion.

He also explained that hepatitis B could be transmitted from mother to child, adding that pregnant mothers must always screen for hepatitis B during ante natal to avoid mother to child transmission.

Ekanem called on the State’s government development partners and policy makers to draw up strategic plans towards vaccinating the people on hepatitis B and C and treatment of those who are already carriers.

He said, “From the statistic of today, we have screened and vaccinated over 900 Akwa Ibom residents, even passerby have also been informed of the hepatitis B and C virus and precautionary measures.

“During our screening, we have discovered quite a number of people who are carriers of the hepatitis B and C virus, this goes to proof that Akwa Ibom is indeed endemic for hepatitis B,” he said.

14

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Okowa calls for support for security agencies From JONATHAN AWANYAI, Asaba

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elta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has called for the support of all stakeholders for the security agencies so as to ensure peace and security in the society.

Speaking recently in Asaba during the commissioning of Police EagleNet Special Squad Office, and operational vehicles, Senator Okowa said that the task of ensuring peace and security of our society should not be left for government alone.

“We cannot continue to leave the affairs of security just to the government alone; individuals who are blessed, corporate organizations ought to and should continue to support police in their work so that they can have the best in delivering their duties because when they have the best working environment they are likely to be more civil in your duties.

“As a country and as a people we must realize that we require the partnership of the police and we ought to be their partners if we want things to work, the private sector should support the security agencies to ensure peace and security in the country”, he added.

Dr Okowa commended the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission [DESOPADEC] and the Delta State Security Trust Fund for the building project and operational vehicles.

“I must also thank the management of DESOPADEC and the management of the Delta state Security Trust Fund for their collaboration with the police, starting first with the Eagle Net Squad and the Transit camp for the women that was built, we need to partner with Police Force to provide conducive working environment for its officers and members, so as to get the best out of them,” he said.

While congratulating the State Police Commissioner, Muhammed Mustafa for the leadership qualities in bringing out the best in his subordinates, the governor eulogised the initiator of the projects, DSP Usman Dimka, O/C Eagle-Net Special Squad, Asaba, for his initiative in building the office and Transit Camp and urged others to emulate him.

In his welcome address, the State Police Commissioner, CP Muhammed Mustafa appreciated Governor Okowa for his numerous support to the State Police Command and DESOPADEC for the partnership and the projects.

He commended DSP Dimka for initiating and completing the projects for the benefit of the Nigeria Police especially members of his squad.

In his brief remarks, DSP Dimka said that the projects were in fulfillment of his vision of what the future police station should look like and providing conducive working environment for his colleagues.

Ayade killing Cross River -- PDP stalwart From ANIEKAN ANIEKAN, Calabar

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ormer National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a gubernatorial hopeful in the forthcoming general elections, Emmanuel Ibeshi has decried the absence of tourism and good governance in Cross River State.

Hon. Ibeshi who is also a former member of the Federal House of Representatives stated that the re-

luctance of the government to complete the next phases of some legacy projects in the state particularly the Tinapa Free Trade Zone cost the state over 200 billion Naira annually.

He made his feelings known in Calabar while officially flagging off his gubernatorial campaign in the state which he tagged “Mission to rescue Cross River State”.

He said the past three years has been particularly turbulent for the state and everything the state had

been known for has disappeared in our eyes.

“Cross River State, the pearl of the nation, pride and destination of choice of international and local travellers and tourists for the Nigerian tourism sector, the hope of the agrarian industry, a haven of peace with the unmatched promise of home-made culinary expertise.

“Suddenly, all these have fallen to pieces; disappeared in our very eyes – in just three years, just three years!

• (From left): Chairman of the Great Nigeria Insurance Plc, Bada Aluko, MD /CEO of the company, Cecilia Osipitan and Akin Ajayi, a director at the Annual General Meeting of the insurance firm, Thursday in Lagos

Saraki finally confirms APC exit; as Gov. Ahmed defects to PDP

By VICTOR NZE

S

enate President, Bukola Saraki has finally confirmed his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is just as the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, formally announced his defection from his All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki said via his Twitter handle, @bukolasaraki, Tuesday, that he was finally leaving the party, a move which further opens the floodgates of more defections which hit the party in the state and which also caps the senate leader’s three-year running battle with the APC hierarchy which began with his emergence as Senate President against party choices.

Although, the senate president did not disclose his political destination, it is believed it might be the PDP which he had romanced with in recent time.

“I wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” said Saraki on his Twitter feed.

It would be recalled that following a raft of defections from the party, Saraki also indicated that there was a very high chance that he would leave the party.

Meanwhile, a statement signed

by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, to the Kwara Governor, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, confirmed the defection of his boss, Tuesday.

“Following due consultations with the people and in response to calls by major stakeholder groups in the state, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed today defected to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), having realized that the All Progressives Congress (APC) can no longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of his people,” the statement read.

Also, in a desperate bid to stem the tide of defections which hit the state, the National Working Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had, Monday, dissolved the Kwara State Executive of the party.

This is according to a resolution signed by the party’s National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole and its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni on Monday in Abuja after the NWC meeting.

The party said a caretaker committee to be led by Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa shall be appointed to head the state Executive Committee.

It added that caretaker committees would also be constituted in the wards and local government areas of the state.

“The NWC at its meeting of

30th July, 2018, examined the unfolding developments within the party in Kwara state.

“Specifically, the irregularities that characterised the conduct and outcome of the congresses that produced the leadership of the party at all levels.

“The committee also reviewed the actions of some of the leaders of the party that emerged from the above congresses who participated in an open rally calling on the Senate President to decamp to the PDP,” the resolution said.

It added that after a careful and exhaustive deliberation on the issues and other developments in the party’s Kwara chapter, the NWC invoked its constitutional power to dissolve all the state’s organs.

This it added, was in pursuant to the provisions of article 13.4 (xvi) and (xvii) of the party’s Constitution.

According to the resolution, the appointment of Bolarinwa as the chairman of the caretaker committee of the state executive committee shall take immediate effect.

With Saraki’s exit from APC, as well as the state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, only one senator is left in the APC from the state as Senators Shaaba Lafiaji and Rafiu Ibrahimhad, last Sunday, announced their defections to the opposition PDP.

“We all recall with nostalgia those days when tourists from all over the world as well as their counterparts from all states of Nigeria, practically trooped to Cross River State, filling every available space in hotels, savoring the hospitality and beauty that our state offered – thanks to His Excellency, Mr Donald Duke, who sold the state to the world, and made us the envy of all other states in Nigeria.

“We used to have at least three airlines flying to and from Calabar on regular schedules with visitors, investors and Seminar attendees.

At the moment we have just one airline plying the Calabar route; a sad commentary on the ordeals of Cross River State within just three years!!”

He said the people still remembered with pride the contributions of the previous administrations in the state and emphasized that posterity will not forgive the people of the state if they let the gains recorded in the past 16 years go to naught.

“It is also still fresh in our hearts, the unforgettable strides of His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke, how he opened up the rural areas of our state and gave our people access, how he brought hope for agricultural revolution with the Songhai Farms model.

“The projects established by the duo of Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke are fresh in our minds. And, I ask: is it not painful that in just three years, we have almost lost all that these two distinguished sons of the state worked so tirelessly to build in 16 years put together? I don’t think posterity will forgive us if we let the gains of those 16 years go to ruin as it is clearly the case now”.

“Permit me to remind you of some international assets globally acclaimed that we proudly call our own in Cross River State. Let me begin with the Obudu Cattle Ranch or Obudu Ranch Resort. This is an exotic resort that globally every tourist wants to visit. Donald Duke pushed it up and gave it global prominence and made it a home away from home for tourists.

“By now we should be celebrating milestones and upgrades of this resort. Unfortunately, that resort is literarily dead today. The Cable Car, first witnessed in West Africa in the Ranch Resort is dead.

“The Tinapa business and holiday resort; contiguous with the Calabar Free Trade Zone projected to turn around N200 billion annually is dead. The Institute of Technology Management (ITM) is technically also dead. So is the Songhai Farms,” he said.

Ibeshi said the aforementioned projects desperately need focused leadership with foresight and insight on how to actualize the vision behind their setup. These projects, according to him are phased projects that require clearly thought out projections and timelines with a vision to activate.

Government, he maintained, is a continuum and these are noble projects which the state is proud of and should always be proud of, and this is even more important, that these projects need continuous upgrade analysis for Cross River State to realise her export processing potential.

Ibeshi also promised to pay attention to fixing little things that matter to the common man and that his unique selling proposition is Tourism. Tourism he opined has been the focus for 16 years, but in the last three years, we have simply derailed.

15

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Extra Former Enugu Court stops swearing-in of new Imo Deputy Gov Assembly Speaker declares for Senate

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ormer Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr Eugene Odo, has declared to contest for the Enugu-North Senatorial seat on the platform of All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections.

Odo declared his intention for the Senate seat at his home town, Ukehe, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area amid a large crowd of APC supporters.

He said that he would give the people of Enugu-North a better representation at the red chamber of the National Assembly.

Odo had served the Enugu State House of Assembly as the longest serving Speaker from 2007 to 2015.

He said that it was high time Ndigbo stopped crying for marginalisation but stand up to be counted in the politics of Nigeria by voting for their best brains to represent the zone at National Assembly.

Odo, who said he believed that Nigeria needed to be restructured to reflect true federalism, noted that it was only the National Assembly that could tinker with the constitution to give Nigeria the restructuring it desired.

He said that he developed interest to run for the position as a result of series of delegation from his Senatorial zone that came asking him to come and represent them.

The Chairman of the occasion and former governor of old Anambra State, Sen. Jim Nwobodo, urged the people of Enugu-North to support Odo’s ambition.

He said that he was not in doubt that Odo would be a better Senator considering his pedigree when served at the Enugu State House of Assembly.

Nwobodo described Odo as a vibrant young man with integrity, dependable, courageous and humble to the core.

In the same vein, the former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani, also urged the people to support Odo’s ambition as they would never regret it.

Nnamani said Odo was a friend to all, adding that his leadership style was worth emulating.

Contributing, the South-East Chairman of APC, Mr Emma Eneukwu, described Odo as a hardworking man who had been working tirelessly to ensure the unity and growth of the party.

He said that people like Odo were rare to find, adding that he had brought sanity to the party.

In addition, the state party Chairman, Mr Ben Nwoye, said that going by the crowd at the declaration, he knew that Odo would make it.

He said that such crowd could only be found at a mega political rally.

The declaration was graced by Kenneth Okonkwo, the Governorship aspirant, the 17 local government areas party chairmen, all the House of Representatives and House of Assembly aspirant in the zone among others.

By COLLINS UGHALAA

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he hopes of the new Imo State Deputy Governor designate, Callistus Ekenze, was on Tuesday dashed as the Chief Judge, Justice Pascal Nnadi, refused to administer the oath of office on him.

Mr. Calistus Ekenze, his supporters, guests, government functionaries, including Governor Rochas Okorocha had stormed the Sam Mbakwe executive chambers, inside the Government House, venue of the swearing in, but the programme was forced to a halt.

However, after waiting for four hours, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Militus Nlemadim (SAN) appeared with the shattering news that the Chief Judge would not attend because of an early morning injunction granted by a State High Court.

The shocked Attorney General

told the audience that the there was a court order made by an Owerri High Court that morning stopping the swearing in of the new Deputy Governor.

A source told The Oracle Today that the State Chief Judge had been put on notice, thereby halting any swearing in as scheduled.

The source explained that the Chief Judge was advised to respect the sanctity of the court pronouncement by refusing to conduct the swearing in of Mr. Ekenze while the court order persists.

Meanwhile, the source said Justice Pascal Nnadi has directed that the state government should ensure the order is vacated else there will be no swearing in as envisaged.

The State Attorney General on his part has assured that the court order would be vacated by tomorrow, adding that the swearing in would hold immediately, even as

he told the guests not to despair at the hitch.

The impeached Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, had secured the court order stopping the swearing in exercise, wherein he is contesting his impeachment despite a court order stopping further impeachment moves against him on Monday.

Madumere was impeached barely hours after he secured a court order halting any action relating to the impeachment.

The legislators at the Imo State House of Assembly had immediately announced Mr Callistus Ekenze as the new Deputy Governor designate.

Until the announcement, Ekenze was the Head of Service for Imo State, and functioned in that capacity as at last week.

Meanwhile, Governor Okorocha has explained that the swearing in

ceremony “could not take place again following the ... Interim Court Order restraining the Chief Judge of the State from carrying out the exercise”. He said the order “be fully obeyed”.

In a press release by Sam Onwuemeodo, Governor Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, the Governor said that “the interim order be obeyed not minding some issues raised by Senior Lawyers in the government against the order, insisting that his administration must continue to obey valid Court Orders and also served on the government or agents of the government”.

Governor Okorocha also urged the people and all the parties in the matter to remain law-abiding and allow the law to take its course.

Group to sponsor surgeries on 30 free healthcare beneficiaries

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

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• Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel with his Deputy, Mr. Moses Ekpo and other members of the State Executive Council in attendance at the centenary celebration of Qua Iboe Mission, Asuna in Etinan Local Government Area of the State.

CVR: INEC urges stakeholders to intensify efforts in mobilisation From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia

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he Independent National Election (INEC) in Abia State has urged all stakeholders to intensify efforts in mobilizing people of voting age to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to enable the commission increase the voter population in the state to two million.

The Resident electoral commissioner (REC), Dr Joseph Iloh, on assumption of office, had set for himself, the target of registering about one million new voters using the CVR window closing on August 17, 2018, to beef up the number of registered voters in Abia to over two million.

However, the REC who is barely one year in Abia, said it was hard convincing Abians to embrace the CVR because of their belief that their votes did not count in previous elections.

Iloh told the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) which visited him in his Ogurube Layout, Umuahia office, that efforts geared towards growing the voting capacity of Abia state to upwards of two million have started yielding the desired results as the number of registered eligible voters has hit 1.85

million.

The REC informed his guests that there have been sustained efforts to get Abians to shake off their apathy and actively participate in the ongoing CVR, adding that he was hopeful the target figure of two million would be realised before the end of the exercise on August 17, 2018.

To achieve this, he urged political parties, church leaders, town union leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to intensify their efforts in mobilizing people of voting age to participate in the CVR. According to him, the hitherto prevailing apathy displayed by Abians was due to their loss of confidence in the electoral process because of their experience in previous elections when they felt that their votes were not allowed to count, pointing out the getting the people to embrace the CVR was an herculean task.

“Convincing people to come out and register and get their PVC was like extracting water from stone.

But we kept telling them that we are going to do the right thing,’ he said.

Iloh said that he has been able to win back the confidence of the people with every assurance that under

his watch in Abia office of INEC, every vote will henceforth count in every election.

“We are going to do the right thing. Do your part and we are going to do our own and come 2019, election in Abia would be free, fair and credible. We want to do election in Abia in which the person that lost will see it as the verdict of the people and not that of INEC,” he assured.

The REC accused desperate politicians of constitute a stumbling block to efforts of INEC to give Nigerians credible poll as these class of politicians engage in all manner of tricks to circumvent the electoral system in their quest for power.

Earlier the Acting chairman of SDP, Hon Chidi Nwosu, had commended INEC for its efforts in mobilizing Abians and expanding the facilities to enable eligible voters to obtain their PVCs. Nwosu officially informed the REC that the party has concluded arrangements for its state congresses.

Members of the Abia SPD interim executives, led by Nwosu, also paid courtesy visits on heads of security agencies in the state to inform them of the party’s presence in Abia.

aring Heart Foundation has offered to sponsor the medical surgeries of 30 persons found to be suffering from severe ailment after a free medicare that took place at the General Hospital Ishiagu in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi state.

The programme is being sponsored by the Member Representing Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Linus Abaa Okorie.

Medical Director of AMURT, an International Health organization that partners the NGO on the free medical services, Dr. Martins Agu disclosed this to reporters during the program said a total of 100 Pregnant Women, 150 children and 350 adults benefitted from the free health services in the area.

“We have 19 Doctors, over 30 health workers and up to 8 Midwives and Nurses. While coming, we made 100 cards for pregnant women and we made 150 cards for children. Then, we made 350 cards for adults. And we have finished all the cards. We had to get more cards. We have internal medical Doctors, we also have Pediatricians and Ostamologists.

“We gave antibiotics and emergency care to a child that has serious case to stabilize him while we plan for referral. We have so many surgical cases and we have picked them, we will present them to the Honourable member who is sponsoring this medical outreach hundred percent.

“We have a list from the previous ones we did in other communities in the constituency and we will organize surgical operation for them. We will bring surgeons from the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA) and it will be free of charge.

“We have 30 cases in our list now, we will bring lists from other outreach we did in the constituency and join the list we have now and plan for the surgeries”, he said.

The exercise it was gathered is meant to cover all the communities that make-up the constituency.

16

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Former Abia Speaker joins Abia governorship race From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia

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former Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Azibuike, has declared his interest to contest for the governorship of Abia State in 2019 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Azubuike declared his interest, Monday at the Azikiwe Road Secretariat, Umuahia, saying that he would stay in office for only one term of four years, assuring that he would have laid the foundation for sustainable development of the state within the period.

The lawmaker who said he is on a rescue mission, told party leaders and support groups that if given the mandate to fly his party’s flag, he would restore the state to its rightful place as an enviable commercial and industrial destination.

“We believe that this will serve as the veritable foundation upon which many other development initiatives will thrive, hence, the mantra, the Restoration Agenda,” he said.

According to him, his administration would focus on eight cardinal sectors of Abia economy, namely, Agriculture, Commercial and Industrial Development, Education, quality and affordable healthcare, Civil and Public Service Reform, Youth and Women Development, Infrastructural Development and Judicial and Justice sector reform.

“With the above foundation in place, coupled with the enablers such as peace and security, social justice and democratic freedom, we believe that Abia will then be placed on sustainable path to Economic Growth and Development,” he said.

He expressed optimism that this will provide the leverage for developing other sectors, adding that he would run an accountable government as well as carry Abians along.

It is on the above that I seek the nomination of our great party, APC, to run for the office of the governor of Abia State in 2019 General elections for a term of four years,” he said adding that the period would afford him “the opportunity to redeem the image of the Ukwa/Ngwa people who have been derided by the abysmal performance of the incumbent government …”

Responding, Abia APC chairman, Chief Donatus Nwankpa, promised that the party would provide a level playing field for all aspirants, stressing that only member of the party would elect the governorship flag bearer through fair and credible primaries.

Nwankpa said that the party’s ticket was not for sale but would be given to a candidate that would eventually emerge victorious in the state-wide governorship contest.

Colleagues of Azubuike in the House of Assembly, including the Minority Leader, Chibuzor Okogbuo (Bende South) and Ikedi Ezekwesiri (Umunneochi) said the declarant has all the qualities of a good leader and would give Abia the kind of leadership never witnessed in the state.

2019: Ebonyi APC women want 40% affirmative action

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omen leaders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi on Tuesday advocated for 40 per cent affirmative action for both elective and appointive positions in 2019 elections.

This is part of the resolutions reached at the end of one-day summit of the APC Ebonyi women stakeholders held on Tuesday in Abakaliki.

The summit was hosted by a woman chieftain of the party and former Permanent Secretary in the state government, Mrs Ann Agomeze, who noted the need for increased allocation of elective and appointive slots to women to enhance their involvement in political leadership.

The 40 per cent affirmative action, the women said should come in both political party structure, nomination for elections and appointive offices.

Agomeze in her address of welcome said Ebonyi women must close ranks, unite, build synergy and work together to present a common front in future political engagements if they must make politi-

cal progress.

She called on the traditional rulers, states and National Assembly to stop traditional, cultural practices and laws that inhibit women from effective participation in politics.

The APC chieftain also urged the women to register in large numbers as members with existing political parties and be active, urging them to participate actively in partisan politics.

“The Ebonyi APC women being critical stakeholders, for the purpose of fairness and equity, should be well represented in the local, state and National Assembly.

“The Ebonyi APC women are demanding for one senatorial, two House of Representatives and eight State House of Assembly slots in 2019 general elections.

“This translates to about 30 per cent representation and falls short of the 40 per cent being clamoured for by women all over the world.

“We should therefore, step up and ask for more representation as it is in line with Article 20 (iii) V of our party constitution,’’ Agomeze said.

She called on women to believe

in themselves, unite and actively engage other stakeholders to contest for elective offices.

“For us to achieve the 40 per cent affirmative action calls for greatest unity and understanding among us.

“If we achieve this, it will enable us to direct our efforts at greater mobilisation, sensitisation, advocacy, opinion moulding, talent hunt and development of other aims and objectives,’’ she added.

Mrs Beatrice Nkwuda, Ebonyi Central Senatorial District APC Women Leader, who spoke on behalf of the other zonal women leaders, said that the call for 40 per cent affirmative action would motivate women to declare intentions for elective positions in 2019 elections.

She called on women to explore their unity and voting strength to demand for their right.

“The unity of women cannot be over emphasised because we know that it is women that make politics what it is; we make it colourful, we vote for our choice.

“With this call today women should come and also express their intentions as it affects 2019 elections; it is a call which cannot come

at no other time than now,’’ Nkwuda said.

Contributing, the state Women Leader of APC, Mrs Ugoeze Uburu, said that the summit was coming at a right time.

Uburu said that time had come for women to take their rightful place by demanding for fair representation in both elective and appointive positions in Ebonyi.

She said that women would no longer be relegated and regretted that it was only the state women leader that was allowed in the State Working Committee (SWC).

The women leader described non-inclusion of more women in the sector as “gross marginalisation’’ of the women.

“This summit is an eye opener and a wake-up call for us; women have known their rights and they are ready to demand for these rights which will offer opportunity for fair representation in both elective and appointive positions,’’ she said.

The summit was attended by APC local government area women leaders, zonal women leaders and other key women stakeholders.

Man, 23, kills father, sister in Ebonyi

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

A

• (From left): The General Manager of LASACO, Mr Dimeji Olona, Permanent Secretary, Office of Finance, Mrs Funmilayo Balogun, Lagos State Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Adesoye, a beneficiary; Mrs Sangosanya Seliat Adefowora and the Deputy Managing Director, LASACO Assurance PLC , Mr Rasaq Abiodun-at the presentation of insurance death benefit cheques to families of deceased public servants in Lagos State

Respect our democracy, group tells FG, politicians

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

A

n Igbo group, Ochie Igbo has urged Nigerian government, politicians, supporters and electorate to respect the country’s fledgling democracy and ensure it is preserved especially as next general elections draw nearer.

The group further warned that political ambition should not be equated to a blood of any Nigerian.

A statement signed by the group’s National President, Dr. Chuma Orji and Secretary, Mr. Theo Nwoba and made available to Journalists in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state capital, noted there was no alternative to democracy.

According to Orji, the call became necessary after the group analysed the political development in the country at their general meeting held recently in Enugu looked at looked various developments in the polity.

“Delegates at the meeting observed the creeping despondence and apathy towards nation building caused by social upheavals, includ-

ing hate!speech, insecurity and other forms of divisiveness and arrived at the conclusion that a public interaction is needed to advance positive narratives on the Nigeria project.

The group also said it had concluded plans to celebrate 77 birthday and 15 years of demise of Dr. China Okadigbo.

“Being a socio-cultural organisation comprising young Igbo professional both at home and the Diaspora, members of OCHIE Igbo recalled that it was in a similar period of socio-political tide and despair that late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo admonished Nigerians to free their minds and fly high to achieve their natural potentials.

“The decision to have this national discussion to coincide with Okadigbo post humus 77th birthday and 15 years of his demise amid agglomeration of social forces, was therefore reached as a away of appropriating his sagacity, clairvoyant political postulations and defense of democratic ethos.

“The Oyi of Oyi considered the various existential structures of

democratic governance and endorsed the Principles of Separation of Powers as the guarantee of the democratic state.

While he served Nigeria as the President of Senate, Okadigbo saw the legislature, nay the Senate Chambers as a kind laboratory for producing essential apothecary to preserve not only the democracy, but also the democratic process.

“We at OCHIE Igbo see a similarity in Nigeria’s present socio-political circumstances that warrant a revisit to the Okadigbo summations in the hope that citizens from North, South, East and West, and indeed, all parts of the country would reflect and see reasons to be the best they can to ensure that the labours of our heroes past are not negated.

“Most importantly, as political activities gain momentum, it is our belief that political gladiators, voters and vote managers rise up to the reality that there is no alternative to democracy and that no ambition should equate with the blood of any Nigerian”, the statement submitted.

23-year-old man in the area, Julius Nwode Nwigboaka, last weekend, reportedly ran berserk, killing both his father, Chief Nwode Nwigboaka and his unnamed sister at Ifelemenu, Ekpaomaka in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state.

The incident which occurred early hours of Sunday threw the residents of the area confusion as they scampered for safety.

Six other neighbors were also inflicted with serious machete cuts before Nwigboaka was gunned down by a man believed to be husband of one of his victims.

A native of the area who simply identified himself as Ekoyo told our Correspondent that Julius was suspected to have taken hard drugs that led him to the act.

The source said Julius came into the house and killed his father asking him where he had gone that nobody could tell his whereabouts.

Ekoyo said: “When he was attacking his father with machete, his sister came out and asked him why he was attacking their father and he descended on her and cut her to death immediately after killing the father.

“Some neighbours who saw what happened came to the scene. Julius attacked about six of them with the machete. As he was leaving the area wielding the machete, a man called Peter whose wife was among those macheted, went inside his house, brought his gun and shot him and he died instantly”.

The corpses of the victims have been deposited at Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA) while the injured are currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Loveth Odah who expressed shock over the development told our correspondent to wait for her to get Ikwo Divisional Police Officer over the matter.

17

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

BU$IN£SS

•Energy •Finance

•Stock

•Insurance

•Aviation

•e-Platform

Recapitalization: Insurance firms face mergers, acquisitions

•Companies must meet N2 billion to N15b capital base by January 2019

T

HERE are strong indications that the new re-capitalization requirement for all insurance companies released by the apex industry regulator may compel some insurance companies to adopt mergers and acquisitions as a life line.

According to National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) latest capital requirement, Life insurance firms now have three captalisation tiers. Tier one companies will be required to have N6 billion as capital. Tier two life insurance firms will be required to have N3 billion, while tier three firms will maintain the current requirements of N2 billion.

Also, Non-life insurance firms will now have three tiers. Tier one non-life firms are mandated to have a capital base of N9 billion. Firms in tier two segment are expected to have a capital base of N4.5 billion, while tier three firms will maintain the current capital base of N3 billion.

In addition, Insurance companies operating in the composite segment, that is all classes of insurance now have three tiers. Companies operating in the tier one will be required to have a capital base of N15 billion. Tier two firms will need to have a capital base of N7.5 billion, while those in tier three will maintain the current capital base of N5 billion.Meanwhile, NAICOM deadline to meet the new requirements is January 2019.

A market analyst who don’t want his name in print said that raising capital through equity may be difficult for many of the firms, as share price of some them currently trade at 20 kobo per share on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

US DOLLAR POUNDS STERLING EURO SWISS FRANC YEN CFA WAUA YUAN/RENMINBI RIYAL S/A RAND

Policy mishaps cost $36bn LNG investments P20 Nigerian youths: Harness technology power in your hands now P22 Travel

NIS to implement 10yr passport validity, bars officers from handling cash P26

•CEO NSE, Oscar Onyema

Central (NGN) Selling(NGN)

304.9 399.9373 356.1842 307.1112 2.7441 0.5212 426.3266 44.6842 81.298 23.1148

305.4 400.5932 356.7683 307.6148 2.7486 0.5312 427.0258 44.758 81.4313 23.1527

305.9 401.249 357.3524 308.1185 2.7531 0.5412 427.7249 44.8317 81.5646 23.1906

Insurance

•Acting DG, SEC Mary Uduk

Also, retail investors who have suffered a huge loss on their investments, will also be reluctant to partake in the exercise.

However, in anticipation of the new requirements, several insurance firms had initiated moves to raise capital.

For instance, Mutual Benefits insurance, earlier in July last month had obtained regulatory and shareholder approval to raise N5 billion through a Rights Issue. Wapic insurance in May last year, obtained the approval of shareholders to raise up to N10 billion in fresh capital.

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance in October last year, raised N500 million through a rights issue.

In another development, FBN Insurance Plc. is fine-tuning plans to transform into tier one category, in response to the new capitalization requirement for all insurance companies released by the National Insur-

CBN EXCHANGE RATES JULY 31ST, 2018 Buying(NGN)

Energy

e-Platform

By JEROME USHAKANG

Currency

•Tourism

ance Commission (NAICOM) the previous week.

According to the new capital requirements announced by NAICOM, Tier one is the highest capital base for each class while Tier three is the minimum capital base required for each class.

Commenting on the issue, the Managing Director of FBN Insurance Limited , Val Ojumah said that FBN Insurance Limited and FBN General Insurance Limited have the financial wherewithal to operate in the Tier one category.

Ojumah stated that the newly introduced Risk Based Supervision (RBS) will send a clear message to investors and remove the negative impression about most insurance companies being fringe players.

He said, “we have so many fringe players and as a result, we have suffered as an industry from all sorts of malpractices.

If you look at the financials of

many companies, you will find out that many of them are indeed, struggling and because they are struggling, they tend to try to survive by doing whatever and this has brought collective shame to the industry.”

According to records, in February 2010, NAICOM granted an operating licence to First Bank of Nigeria Plc. (FirstBank) to establish a life assurance business in partnership with Sanlam Group of South Africa.

Consequently, First Bank incorporated a subsidiary, FBN Life Assurance Limited. First Bank has a holding of 65 percent in the equity of FBN Life Assurance Limited. Consequent upon the restructuring of 2012, the investment is transferred to FBN Holdings Plc and the name of the company was changed to FBN Insurance Limited in 2014.

The segment recorded N10 billion in revenue in its half-year financial reports for the period ended June 31, 2018.

PFAs invest N5.2tr in FG securities; as fund assets hit N8.14tr P28 Equity & Capital Market WorldRemit partners Fidelity Bank on money transfers P30 Money Market

CBN auctions Chinese currency in first Yuan sale

P31

Stock Market Highlights As At 31st JULY, 2018

Summary

ASI DEALS VOLUME VALUE EQUITY CAP BOND CAP ETF CAP

S/N

36,455.24 4,551.00 378,698,700.00 N4,418,224,535.72 N13,205,932,116,905.38 N10,076,217,563,330.70 N6,378,852,128.93

Coy (By Volume) Volume

GUARANTY UBA STERLNBANK FBNH UCAP

39,647,053 27,990,507 26,899,099 23,084,339 10,382,952

Value(N) N1,610,124,069.75 N272,465,539.80 N37,851,130.67 N232,462,655.00 N32,710,473.39

5 Top Gainers

Symbols Last Close Current Change NESTLE N1502 N1600 SEPLAT N687.5 N704 CCNN N30 N31 NB N104.5 N105 CHAMPION N1.87 N1.98

Five Tope Losers

OKOMUOIL BETAGLAS PZ ZENITHBANK FLOURMILL

N83 N78 N16 N23.7 N29.4

N74.7 N76.95 N15.1 N23 N28.7

-8.3 -1.05 -0.9 -0.7 -0.7

%Change 98 6.52% 16.5 2.40% 1 3.33% 0.5 0.48% 0.11 5.88% -10.00% -1.35% -5.63% -2.95% -2.38%

18

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

BUSINESS

Duty regime drops NB’s H1 PAT by 22%

N

IGERIAN Breweries Plc, Monday, reported 22 per cent decline in Profit After Tax (PAT) for the half year ended June 30, 2018.

NB Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Mr Uaboi Agbebaku, who attributed the development to new excise duty introduced by the Federal Government, said that the new excise duty regime and higher rate of beer introduced by the Federal Government in June 2018 further impacted on affordability in the period under review.

The company during the period posted a profit after tax of N18 billion compared to N24 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

Profit before tax dropped by 19 per cent from N34 billion in 2017 to N28 billion in the period under review.

An analysis of the company’s unaudited result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that revenue also declined by five per cent to N173 billion from N181 billion in the comparative period of 2017.

A further analysis of the statement indicates that results from operating

activities declined by 20 per cent from N39 billion in 2017 to N32 billion in the period under review.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved an amendment to the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco with effect from June 4.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said that the new excise duty rates were spread over a threeyear period from 2018 to 2020 in order to moderate the impact on prices of the products.

Adeosun said that the new excise duty regimes followed all-inclusive stakeholder engagements by the Tariff Technical Committee of the Federal Ministry of Finance with key industry stakeholders.

According to her, the upward review of the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco is to achieve a dual benefit of raising the Federal Government’s fiscal revenues.

The minister said it was also aimed at reducing the health hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.

By JEROME USHAKANG

(the Company) which was one of the companies suspended by the NSE earlier in July has submitted its Audited Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2017.

In view of the submission of its accounts and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the Default Filing Rules, which provides that; “The suspension of trading in the issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided The Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of The Exchange.

The general public is hereby notified that the suspension placed in the trading of the Company’s shares has been lifted effective July 30 2018.

Results for the first quarter ended March 2018 show Gross Premium written increased from N178m in 2017 to N346m in 2018. The company made a profit before tax of N131m in 2018 as against a loss of N12.6m in the corresponding period of 2017. Profit after tax of N118m as against a loss after tax of N12.6 million

NSE lifts suspension on Universal Insurance Plc

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has on Monday announced that full suspension placed on Universal Insurance shares, has been lifted.

The Exchange in a notice placed on its website, announced the lifting of the full suspension placed on Universal Insurance shares.

Full suspension means that a company’s share price has been pegged and trading activities suspended.

The company alongside African Alliance Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, R. T. Briscoe Plc, Royal Exchange Plc, STACO Insurance Plc, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc was suspended earlier in July this year for failing to submit its audited results for the 12 months ended December 2017.

The NSE had earlier lifted the suspension placed on African Alliance Insurance and Royal Exchange Plc According to an excerpt from the release.Universal Insurance Plc

...Regain trading right on stock exchange

By KAYODE OGUNWALE

T

HE shareholders of Universal Insurance have heave a sigh of release as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) lifted suspension placed on the firm’s shares.

The NSE had on July 5, notified the public of the suspension of eight listed companies for non-compliance with the NSE rule on filing of accounts.

Suspended companies are, African Alliance Insurance Plc; Cornerstone Insurance Plc; R. T. Briscoe Plc; Royal Exchange Plc; STACO Insurance Plc; Standard Alliance Insurance Plc; Universal Insurance Company Plc and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc. According the exchange, the suspension of the companies will only be lifted upon the submission of the relevant accounts and provided the exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all its applicable rules.

Universal Insurance Plc which was one of the companies suspended has submitted its Audited Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2017.

Circular signed by NSE Head, Listings Regulation Department, Godstime Iwenekhai made available to Oracle Today, stated that, In view of the submission of its accounts and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the default filing rules, which provides that; “The

suspension of trading in the issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided the exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the Exchange. The exchange shall thereafter also announce through the medium by which the public and the SEC was initially notified of the suspension”.

•Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications; the Minister, Adebayo Shittu and MD of Galaxy Backbone, Yusuf Kazaure, at the Ministry’s recent workshop in Lagos.

Investors approve new name, N5bn capital raise for FMDQ

By JEROME USHAKANG

change, it is now known as FMDQ Securities Exchange Plc. OLLOWING approval by shareThe FMDQ Securities Exchange holders to FMDQ OTC Plc Plc adopted the new at the Annual Board of Directors for name General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos

F

Social Lender close to winning $5m venture challenge

S

OCIAL Lender, a lending solution based platform on social reputation on mobile, online and social community platforms has taken a step closer to winning Connecticut’s $5 million global venture challenge.

The fintech company today advanced to the semifinal stage of the 2018 VentureClash competition.

Techeconomy reports that VentureClash, managed by Connecticut Innovations, is a $5 million global venture challenge for early-stage companies in digital health, financial technology, insurance technology and the Internet of Things.

The competition that has attracted nearly 300 applications from more than 20 countries around the world has Social Lender as the 34th companies selected to advance to the next round.

The CEO of Connecticut Innovation, Matt McCooe said that the application pool gets stronger and stronger for VentureClash, and this year is no exception.

“We’re extremely excited about our semifinalists this year and look forward to getting to know Social Lender during the process.”

Matt said that Connecticut Innovations is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm and is the leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies.

“CI provides venture capital and strategic guidance for early-stage technology companies and connections to its well-established network of partners and professionals” VentureClash 2018 finalists will be announced on September 7, and those chosen will compete at the VentureClash finals event, to be held on October 18, 2018, at the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut.

Social Lender uses its own proprietary algorithm to perform a social audit of the users’ online, on mobile, on social media and other related platforms and give a Social Reputation Score to each use

through Galaxy Backbone, the Government ICT services provider, connects all FGN secretariat complexes in States.

The project, he said, interconnects with undersea fibre cables, provides an e-Government connectivity backbone and broadband Internet.

He said the Optic Fibre connectivity phase one has been completed to run through Abuja-AkwangaLafiaMakurdi-Enugu – Onitsha – Asaba – Benin-City – Ore- Ijebu-Ode- Lagos to international undersea cables.

“Phase 2 is underway and will connect additional 22 cities. To be delivered by March 2019”, he said.

The MD further said that Galaxy Backbone’s partners and other stakeholders are guaranteed returns based as its Infrastructure as a Service business model will provide

services to these institutions at an annual premium fee.

He said that GBB services are part of FG’s deliberate attempt to translate policy into action especially with respect to fulfilling government’s promises to the people in reducing poverty and unemployment through various social development programmes.

“There are more than 60million Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria.

“These are the building blocks of the economy and the cornerstone on which the future of the economy is based, hence, it is important that the ease with which these SMEs does business with each other and the government is simplified”, Mr. Kazaure said.

Speaking, specifically on GBB’s

as it has already secured approval from the regulatory authorities.

According to the Board, N5 billion fresh capital is needed to strengthen its financial backbone and further boost its operation.

However, the Chairman of the Board, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, who gave the hint at the sixth AGM, in Lagos, said that no stipulated date has been fixed for the capital raising.

But reassured the investing publics that that the fund would be raised via a mix of Rights Issue and public offering.

He explained that the fund would be raised in tranches and will be deployed towards subsidiaries and products development.

Nnanna who speaking while presenting the financial report to the shareholders, said that the Exchange admitted a total of 50 debt securities worth N236.87 billion, while foreign currency-denominated securities listings amounting to $4.98 billion which was also attracted during the year.

According to him, the Exchange recorded N2.57 billion revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017, a 25.94 percent increase compared to N2.04 billion posted in 2016, and the highest recorded since its inception in 2013.

Galaxy Backbone completes phase one of fibre cables deployment in federal secretariats

T

HE phase one of National ICT Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) Project has been completed. The phase two is on-going and Galaxy Backbone Limited targets March 2019 for overall completion of the project which entails deployment of fibre cables in Federal Secretariats across the country.

The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Mr Yusuf Kazaure, disclosed these during his presentation at the recent workshop and public unveiling of National ICT Roadmap by the Ministry of Communications in Lagos.

NICTIB is a Federal Government project that is delivered through Galaxy Backbone and financed with a China EXIM Bank facility.

Mr. Kazaure said that the critical national infrastructure deployed

Evolving Business Model, the MD said they are open to partner with Private operators to deliver services according to International standards.

“GBB is government owned, but professionally driven to meet the demands of ‘worldclass organizations’. We have a renewed focus on the customer & the customers’ ‘customer’.

“One area GBB is critical to FG is the security of Government Data – a key factor for our future”. Therefore, we are open to partnership; collaboration; shared thought leadership with private sector ICT thought leaders”.

On capacity building, he said, it remains a key element in public sector requiring private sector partnership to meet the e-government goals for the nation.

19

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

BUSINESS

Shittu urges stateholders to embrace 2017-2020 ICT road •Roadmap aids Public-Private-Partnerships on infrastructural investments

By ISAIAH ONWUANUMBA

T

HE Honorable Minister of Federal Ministry of Communications, Barr Dr. Adebayo Shittu has urged Stateholders in Nigeria technology industry to key into the nation’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Road Map, 2017-2020.

Shittu said this at Sensitization Programme and official Launching of Nigeria Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Road Map, 2017-2020 in Abuja recently.

According to him, at its core, the Roadmap promotes PublicPrivate-Partnerships to attract investments in high quality infrastructural facilities and services “I urge you all therefore to embrace the Roadmap as veritable instrument for achieving your various aspirations. You can do so by identifying where you best fit into the highlighted priorities in the Roadmap and taking appropriate action. On the Part of Government, we shall continue to provide required enabling environment, incentives and support towards ensuring the growth and success of our Indus-

try players”, he said.

Speaking on the theme: ‘The role of the Private sector in the implementation of the Nigeria ICT Roadmap”, he said Government is working assiduously towards sustained economic recovery and growth with the Private sector as a key player.

“Technology revolution that commenced over a decade ago indeed impacted positively on the national economy. This is evident in its significant contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 0.6% in 2001 to 9.8% in 2014. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) made by Telecommunications Operators, Service Providers and other Stakeholders from 2001 till date is in excess of US$32 billion dollars. The Sector is essential for the proper functioning of many other key Sectors of the economy and government including Agriculture, Commerce, Banking and Finance, Health and Transportation.”

Shittu howver noted that in spite of its dramatic growth, “the sector had challenges and constraints some of which were inadequate Local Content, poor

infrastructure leading to the lack of access by many Nigerians, poor skills to leverage ICT opportunities, and lack of confidence in the use of ICT. It is for this reason that, on becoming the Minister of Communications, I made a commitment to turn the ICT Sector into a “cash cow” so as to revive the economy. Working with my team, we promised to ensure prompt and quality service delivery. We undertook to mobilize Communications Technology for national growth and development as well as wealth creation for our investors. This is in tandem with the current Administrations desire to achieve cutting edge, global ICT

standards, develop sufficient, efficient, affordable and critical ICT infrastructure. It also synchronises with the expectation for rapid ICT penetration among all socio economic levels and increased local content.”

To deliver on these promises, he said there was need for an integrated implementation framework. “My desire and aspiration was to leverage business process outsourcing and other ICT Sector opportunities to create two million jobs, establish a technological Park and ICT Exhibition centre, create ICT innovation hubs across the nation and reposition NIPOST to enable it provide cost effective 21st Century services.”

The Minister added that, “for this purpose, the ICT Sector Roadmap which is being unveiled today is conceived as an implementation framework focusing on five Pillars, namely: ICT Industry and Infrastructure Development; Governance; Policy, Legal and Regulatory Environment; Capacity Building and Cross Cutting Issues such as Information Security and Innovation.”

The intention in developing the Roadmap is to create broad, yet flexible pathways to ensure that ICT reaches all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. It is also to provide every Nigerian with access to ICT, and improved Quality of Service Delivery by Government, he added.

Transcorp Hotels expand H1 profit by 85%

By KAYODE OGUNWALE

T

RANSCORP Hotels Plc has announced its unaudited financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2018. The company showed significant growth over same period last year recording a turnover of N8.01billion, profit before tax of N2.02billion and earning per share of 17.84 Kobo.

Transcorp Hotels delivered a commendable 29 percent year-on-year growth in revenue at the close of the first half of 2018, moving from N6.20billion in half year 2017 to N8.01billion in half year 2018.

Gross profit for the period grew by 31 percent to N5.89billion from N4.50billion of half year 2017; Profit before tax for half year 2018 was N2.02billion against N1.10 billion in half year 2017, representing a 85 percent year-on-year growth. The Group ended with an impressive profit after tax of N1.38billion, representing 83 percent year-on-year growth over N760million in half year 2017.

Commenting on the financial results, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, said “We are thrilled with the half year results of the hotel, which was primarily driven by the increase in

occupancy, room inventory and aggressive marketing strategies. With the help of a strong and dedicated workforce, we will continue to deliver significant value to our shareholders and unrivalled service excellence to our customers.”

He emphasised that for Transcorp Hotels Plc. to achieve its long-term strategy of being Africa’s leading hospitality company, the organisation is investing resources into diversifying its overall guest experience using technology. According to Mr. Ozigbo, “we recently launched the Transcorp Hilton mobile application, which allows guests request for dining services, housekeeping services, valet services and maintenance requests with the click of a button.

Guests can read up about local attractions in Abuja, explore on-site and off-site recreational services and navigate key locations around the city through the inbuilt map.

He added that Transcorp Hotels Calabar is also undergoing an extensive upgrade of its existing technology and internet services, to ensure guests experiences are better personalised and customer service is seamless across digital platforms.

“This is the only way we can remain competitive in the ever-changing business landscape”, Ozigbo said

T

The finalists comprise three MSMEs in each of the 12 award categories designed for the programme.

The 12 categories are; MSME of the Year, Young MSME of the Year, Most Friendly MSME State, Excellence in Creative Arts, Excellence in Agriculture, Excellence in Manufacturing, Excellence in Technology Innovation and Excellence in Fashion and Style.

Others include; Excellence in Leather Works, Excellence in Furniture and Wood Works, Excellence in Beauty, Wellness and Cosmetics as well as Excellence for Non-Profit Service to Humanity. The criteria

for selection include: outstanding business concept, locally produced goods, use of local technology, provision of conducive atmosphere for MSMEs to thrive among others.

The awards which is being organized by the National MSMEs Clinic is an initiative of the Federal Government domiciled in the Office of the Vice President, which is aimed at encouraging innovation, hard work, dedication and industry in the MSMEs sector.

Winners will go home with different category of prizes including the grand prize of a brand-new car, cash rewards amongst others.

•R-L: Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Tonye Rex Idaminabo, Principal Partner, African Achievers Awards (AAA).

NCC bags African Organization of the Year award

HE organizers of the African Achievers Awards presented the African Organization of the Year 2018 Award to the Nigerian Communications Commission recently, a statement . The award ceremony was held on July 5th at the United Kingdom House of Parliament in London, with a focus on girls right to education in Africa.

While presenting the award to Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, EVC/ CEO NCC in Abuja, Tonye Rex Idaminabo, Principal Partner, African Achievers Awards, said the NCC has been very influential to the growth of the telecommunications sector in Nigeria and has contribut-

ed to the improvements in education through ICT. Idaminabo stated that, “millions of people now have access to telecommunications services and telecom companies are accountable to customer services experience.

“We are excited and it is our motive to encourage and spur achievers across the continent to meet up to standards by honoring leading organizations.”

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta expressed delight that the Commission is being recognized, not only by people within the country but also by global observers.

Thirty six finalists emerge in first MSMEs award

By VICTOR NZE

A

RRANGEMENTS have reached advanced stage to host the first-ever National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Awards as 36 finalists have emerged for the event scheduled to hold in Abuja, August 2.

A statement signed by Me. Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Monday, said the 36 finalists were selected from businesses across the country in a process that started on July 3, 2018.

•V-P Yemi Osinbajo

The NCC Boss further stated that, “the basis for recognition is the way and manner we have empowered and protected the consumer, and the recognition rhymes with an important item of our eight-point agenda which is empowering and protecting the consumer”.

“Since the declaration of 2017 as, ‘year of the telecom consumer’, the level of activation of the ‘DoNot-Disturb (DND) 2442 short code by consumers has climbed from half a million before the campaign to almost ten million currently.”

“The level of resolution of complaints by telecom companies have increased and calls to the NCC 622 toll free line and complaints resolution through the facility has equally seen a spectacular rise.”

Danbatta reiterated that the NCC is deploying information and communication technology in key sectors of the nation, among which is education, in order to improve learning and teaching in Nigeria’s educational institutions.

“One of such programmes of the NCC is the Advanced Digital Awareness Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI) intended to build human capacity in the universities on how they can leverage the power of information and communication technology in content delivery in the universities”, he said.

20

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

ENERGY

Policy mishaps cost $36b LNG investments

•Correction enhances $7 bn NLNG-7 FID •Nigeria ranks low in plant capacity growth

• Dr. Maikanti Baru

By SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

Y

‘

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, $6.56 billion invested by shareholders in the first six trains of the company appreciated to $16.71 billion in 2015, adding NLNG has contributed significantly to the reduction of gas flaring in Nigeria, and diversified the revenue base of the nation.

“As at today NLNG has generated revenues in excess of $25 billion to the Federal Government of Nigeria comprising of Dividends of circa $17 billion and taxes of $7.2 billion and is a delight and a source of immense pride to the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, its host communities, the Shareholders, financial markets and several other stakeholders,” he declared in London.

Dr. Baru stated that NLNG has invested substantial funds in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, pointing at $150 million contributed by NLNG for the ongoing construction of $300 million Bonny – Bodo Road by Julius Berger with Federal Government funding the balance; N3.0 billion Bonny Kingdom Development Fund contributed yearly for the host community; University Support Program to six universities; supply of energy to all continents around the world, and its role as fourth largest global LNG supplier.

Apart from the contributions made by NLNG towards enhanced national revenue, realization of major infrastructure projects and host community development, the company also sponsors numerous development projects across 110 host communities.

However, despite the huge economic contributions of the LNG industry in Nigeria, government had stalled further development in the

industry since 2007 when three liquefaction projects that were running in parallel towards FID were stalled by a policy shift.

The Oracle Today reports that whereas NLNG has doggedly sustained pressure on policy drivers to permit its expansion ambition, feasibility of persuading investors to return to other stalled liquefaction projects in the country is very low.

The LNG projects including the NLNG Train-8 located in Bonny, Rivers State; the $7.6 billion Olokola LNG (OKLNG) in Ondo State; and the $4.0 billion Brass LNG in Bayelsa State. The LNG projects were stalled in 2007 following transition of power from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to Late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The projects whose investments decisions were being worked out among partners ran into glitches following a swerve of policy focus from export gas revenue to domestic supply. Former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Mohamed Barkindo, had declared at gas exporters’ confab in Doha, Qatar, that Nigeria was no longer pressing forward with export projects in order to meet domestic supply sufficiency.

The new LNG promoters who had staked funds in preliminary site preparations had consistently challenged the new policy, arguing strongly that the two objectives of meeting domestic energy needs and pursuing export revenue could be simultaneously achieved in a well articulated policy programme that offers commercial opportunity at both ends.

Former Managing Director of the company, Mr. Chima Ibeneche, had suggested that government use LNG industry to generate the revenue for domestic infrastructure development projects in order to effectively deliver gas to local demand centers in the country.

Current MD, Mr. Tony Attah, vigorously draws government’s

Despite domestic policy inconsistencies that stalled several new liquefaction projects in the country, the position of Nigeria as Africa’s leading exporter and global supply factor remains unchallenged ,

attention to the growing global competition in the LNG market and the imminent energy transition that threaten Nigerian gas opportunities with closing window. He consistently warned that Nigeria has limited period within changing global energy demand dynamics to monetize her huge gas resources.

Expectedly, with rising popularity of peak oil and energy transition conversations around the globe and the positive response of automobile industry to greener fuel demand, government has altered its policies on LNG investments.

Unfortunately, only partners in the NLNG project are still around and willing to press forward with growth investments. Thus, the timing of the government’s policy correction appears late as partners in the 25.2 mtpa Olokola LNG who reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2005 and signed shareholders’ agreement in 2007 have dispersed.

The partners including BG, Chevron and Shell had envisaged expansion of Ok-LNG’s liquefaction capacity to 40 mpta in the medium to long term and considered Foster Wheeler and the Saipem/Technip consortium for the front end engineering design (FEED) and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) jobs respectively.

Also, partners in the two-train 10 mpta Brass LNG project, including Chevron, Eni and ConocoPhillips have also walked away and the project which was expected to ship first LNG in 2009 was never realized.

The failure of the two LNG base projects resulted in some $11.4 billion investment loss, and pulls Nigeria down the chart of capacity development in the global LNG industry. Also lost capacity expansion investments, according to OkLNG project partners, amount to $16 billion. Some $8.5 billion was projected for NLNG-8 while expansion opportunities in the Brass LNG project were under discussion.

It is clear that the new policy twist has re-entered Nigeria into the new global fray for greater space in rapidly changing gas export market,

EARS of uncertainty and inconsistency in government’s gas policy account for loss of over $36 billion investment in new and existing gas liquefaction facilities, hampering Nigeria’s progress in the global race for enhanced export market share.

The revelations which come with activation of fresh moves towards final investment decision (FID) for the seventh train of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited explain why Nigeria ranks among lowest in global liquefaction capacity development in the past 10 years.

According to our survey of new gas liquefaction investments associated with global energy transition from oil, Nigeria’s recedes behind other African upstarts in the list of new capacity development but retains its position as Africa’s leader with existing 22 million tons per annum (mtpa) capacity of NLNG. The company which suffered arrested growth due to policy fluctuations is however set to activate capacity growth projects with additional 8.2 mtpa train to about 30 mtpa when FID is finally reached by partners.

NLNG is a private limited liability company in which the government, represented by the NNPC, holds 49 percent equity stake.

Shell Gas B.V. holds 25.6 percent share, Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France has 15 percent interest, and Eni International holds renaming 10.4 percent stake.

The company also plays model for incorporated joint venture which the partners twisted off parallel oil and gas exploration and production joint venture. The joint venture accounts for most of the bulk of gas feedstock to the liquefaction facility and earns huge returns for the producers under commercial terms for feedstock supply.

Ahead of FID, the company has on July 11 in London awarded two front end engineering (FEED) contracts for the seventh train in an event that coincided with a parallel ceremony by the company to

celebrate exit from its $5.45 billion legacy loan commitments.

The legacy debts supported construction of the first six trains that currently chill huge volumes of natural gas harnessed from oil production sites into 22 mtpa of LNG that is pushed into the global market with the aid of own logistics company that operate as ancillary enterprise to the core business.

The FEED contracts were awarded to two consortia of six companies. First of them, the B7 JV Consortium, comprises KBR of the United States, Technip of France and Japanese Gas Company (JGC) of Japan. The second, named SCD JV consortium, comprises Saipem of Italy, Schroeder of Germany and Daewoo of South Korea.

The FEED contracts are preliminary to Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Construction (EPIC) contract the outcome of which will shape the project FID. NLNG-7 FID would create the need for fresh $7.0 billion (N2.5 trillion) financing credit from the international money market and equity holders; and the project stages, according to the company, are expected to create over 120, 000 direct and indirect jobs and assist in deepening the local finance market. The choice of lead finance arrangers and deal brokers are to meet the requirements of the Nigerian Content law.

Managing Director, Mr. Tony Attah, stated in London that the $7.0 billion would finance construction of Train-7, upstream investments for feedgas to new and existing trains. He said NLNG has monetised over 5.96 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of Associated Gas (AG) which would have otherwise been flared.

Deputy Managing Director, Sadeeq MaiBornu, stated that NLNG has paid over $33 billion in dividend to shareholders and some $24 billion to Joint Venture (JV) feedgas suppliers.

According to

Continued on P 21

21

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

ENERGY

NCDMB, service firms meet on $200m NCI Fund disbursement

By SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

S

TAKEHOLDERS in the Nigerian oil service industry are to meet the management of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) over modalities and systems of accessing the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF).

The consultations are to hold in August and September respectively.

The $200 million fund managed by the Bank of Industry (BOI) provides low and single digit interest loans and advisory services to a range of oil industry contractors as part of the capacity building commitment of NCDMB to the stakeholders in the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF).

According to a declaration by NCDMB, the management has scheduled a meeting BOI and oil and gas service companies, community contractors and commercial banks in a bid to address the factors responsible for the slow disbursement of the industry service fund.

The $200 million NCI Fund is a portion of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) set aside by the NCDMB for the BOI to manage and lend directly to indigenous manufacturers, service providers and other key players in the oil and gas industry, to meet their funding needs.

One percent of all contracts awarded in the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry is deducted and remitted to the NCDF as stipulated by Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas

Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. The Director, Finance and Personnel Management (NCDMB), Mr. Isaac Yalah confirmed the meetings in Lagos during an interaction with industry media.

The engagement with oil firms, he explained, is specifically for applicants to the NCI Fund whose submissions have been incomplete for a while, to discuss the challenges they have with completing their applications.

The Board and BOI are also scheduled to meet community contractors to foster wider participation from them in the NCI Fund.

“The need for town hall meetings with community contractors is to know why they are not applying for the loans as expected,” he said.

The session with managing directors of commercial and micro finance banks is also intended to find ways to understand their requirements for quicker issuance of Bank Guarantees (BG) needed for processing applications for the NCI Fund.

According to Yalah, the Board is dissatisfied with the low number of companies and community contractors that have accessed the NCI Fund since it was launched in August 2017 and released to BOI. He stated that only about $10.55m which is less than 10 percent of the NCI Fund has been disbursed.

“We are concerned about the poor accessibility of the NCI Fund.

We will engage the companies that have tried and others seeking to apply to discuss the way around the challenges.”

•NNPC GMD Dr. Maikanti Baru (left), making a point to the visiting Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Eni, Mr. Antonio Vella, in his office Tuesday.

The scope of credit facilities available from the NCI Fund covers loans for manufacturing, asset acquisition, contract finance, community contractor finance scheme and loan re-financing. The loans have a maximum tenor of 5 years.

According to NCDMB, applicants seeking loans for manufacturing and asset acquisition can access up to $10 million at 8.0 percent interest rate while applicants for contract finance loans can access about $5.0 million also at 8,0 percent interest rate.

Loan re-financing applicants can access about $2.0 million at

8.0 percent interest rate whereas community contractors can get N20 million, repayable at 5 percent interest rate.

In his presentation, the General Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund and Treasury Management (NCDF&TM), Mr. Obinna Ofili, explained that about $45 million was remitted by operating and service companies to the NCDF account between January and April 2018.

He stated that remittances to the fund increased because of the third party forensic audit which NCDMB plans to commission with purpose to reveal companies that

are in default of NCDF contributions.

Mr. Ofili disclosed that the NCDF account has a current balance of $450 million and is domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Treasury Single Account (TSA). The NCDF is the parent of the $200 million NCI Fund which resides with the BOI. According to Mr. Ofilli, NCDMB is also using the NCDF to build local capacity in the industry.

“We are using portions of the NCDF to support the development of modular refineries, NOGAPs, Pipe mill and training programmes that the board sponsors.”

Policy mishaps cost $36bn LNG investments

Continued from P 2o

and probably rekindles hopes for reactivation of abandoned LNG projects in the country. It only remains for the members of the project consortia to reassemble.

Dr. Baru had declared at the 2018 World Gas Conference (WGC) in United States that Nigeria was targeting 10 percent of global LNG market share, but he did not explain the capacity requirements or the project plans Nigeria for capturing the market space. Other sources said that most of the corporation’s partners in the failed LNG projects are still around, and would need the project to create export window for gas flare down commitments in the country.

Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, had during a meeting with the management of NNPC pointed at the huge economic growth potential and industrial catalytic leverage of the Brass LNG and demanded official support for its revival.

He was assured by Dr. Baru that government was working to woo the original and new partners back to the project. Dr. Baru said government was driving existing plans to position gas as the nation’s key economic driver.

BG and ConocoPhillips have left Nigeria and have no business interest anywhere in the country.

Whereas, Oando Plc bought ConocoPhillips assets in Nigeria, there is

no indication that the indigenous company would immediately take investment position in Brass LNG project. The future of the project is said to be the subject of debate by the remaining shareholders, comprising NNPC, Eni and Total.

Whereas sources at NNPC insist that the corporation was also working to reactivate project plans on OK-LNG our enquiries around operating firms cannot confirm any recent conversation about revival of the Olokola gas liquefaction project.

However, despite domestic policy inconsistencies that stalled several new liquefaction projects in the country, the position of Nigeria as Africa’s leading exporter and global supply factor remains unchallenged.

Survey of new LNG developments across the world shows fast capacity growth mainly in the United States and Australia, the two countries predicted to lead global capacity growth in the medium to long term. However, Africa’s liquefaction capacity is comfortably led

by NLNG with Algeria maintaining a distant second.

Qatar remains global capacity champion with liquefaction of over 12 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d).

Qatar previously announced a new development from its giant North Field which would produce 23 million tonnes of LNG per year by 2024 translating to an increase of 30 percent from current total LNG pro-

duction levels to about 100 million tonnes per year.

Australia follows in the processing capacity with about 9.0 Bcf/d.

Malaysia is just ahead of Nigeria with just under 4.0 Bcf/d while Nigeria stands in the middle with some 3.2 Bcf/d.

In terms of capacity growth, Australia and United States draw global attention with steep upside in new liquefaction capacity. Whereas Australia has build capacity from about 3.0 Bcf/d in 2013 to 9.0 Bcf/d at the end of 2017, United States has raised its LNG export from zero capacity to over 1.9 Bcf/d in the period. Other producers’ capacity fluctuates on the margins of availability.

In Africa however, Nigeria’s recedes behind new upstarts on new capacity development but retains its top position on cumulative capacity. Operational plants in Sub-Sahara Africa at present are the Nigeria LNG scheme on Bonny Island, Angola LNG and EG LNG in Equatorial Guinea.

Already, Cameroon has carved a niche with Africa’s pioneer floating LNG (FLNG) project commissioned

by SNH, Perenco, and Golar LNG. The first cargo was exported from the production vessel in May. The project is the first operational FLNG facility in Africa and the second in the world.

Across Africa, new upstarts are aggressive with LNG programmes with Mauritania and Senegal over-

coming political and infrastructural constraints to develop their cross maritime border discoveries. Multinational players, Kosmos and BP, are reportedly working on the FID by the end of the year.

Also, Mozambique and Tanzania plan separate LNG facilities, with Mozambique having both onshore and offshore projects in the early development stage.

The new LNG developments coincide with rising demand from Asia where industrialized countries are placing increasing orders for gas to meet energy needs for industries and power plants.

But Qatar National Bank warns investors to drive projects that would strike balance with market demand dynamics, pointing out that that global LNG markets are expected to be oversupplied until 2022.

The bank stated in a report that plant capacity utilization is projected at 88% on average between 2019 and 2022.

The report has it that new LNG supply mainly from the US and Australia is expected to boost global production by 30 percent to 96.5 mtpa by to 2020, compared to the 2017 level.

However, around 2024, the market is expected to tighten with supply broadly flat as few new LNG projects, which take about 5-7 years to complete, have been given the green light since the sharp de-

cline of prices in 2014, the report said.

The report, citing Bloomberg New Energy Finance data, said that about 362 mmtpa additional capacity at the pre-FID (final investment decision) stage has some chance of coming online before 2030.

At the same time, global demand is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of about 5% over the period 2023-30 as domestic production in Europe and South East Asia declines, and the demand for clean energy in economies such as China gathers pace, the bank said.

For Nigeria to take early advantage of the evolving market scenario, pundits warn that the country must enter the market when demand is high as, according to them, a string of new LNG projects in Australia, North America and Russia promise a growing surplus of LNG on international markets, making the timing of new Sub-Saharan African LNG projects difficult.

Early entry, according to them, would meet tight offtake agreements while late entry would meet a demand burst.

Thus, the new race for global LNG market share requires Nigeria to address all fiscal issues that currently impose investment disincentive on the operating environment.

Government must also stabilise the policy and social environment to attract the right level of international funds for gas monetization.

22

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

e-Platform

Nigerian youths: Harness technology power in your hands now

•Technology has put great power into our hands ... to positively and dramatically impact our prosperity •Google, 21st Century to provide free WiFi access in public spaces in Nigeria

By ISAIAH ONWUANUMBA

N

IGERIA Government has urged the youth to harness the power of technology in their hands ‘to play the defining role’ in global development and wealth creation.

Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said this in a keynote address at The Google for Nigeria Event in Lagos weekend.

“Technology has put great power into our hands, as individuals, but more importantly as co-creators and collaborators, to positively and dramatically change the course of human existence. With it, we can solve many of the problems that confront us,” Vice President said According to him, democratization of technology is quantum leap for Nigeria and Africa’s development.

National Bureau of Statistics stated in National Youth Survey Report that there are nearly 70 million people in the 15 to 35 age bracket in 2016. And this massive young population offers the nation a rare human capital and Government could use ICT to empower them for create jobs and generate revenue for the country.

VP said “this Century is Africa’s Century. Why? Because Africa will, for good or ill, play the defining role in global development. Africa’s fortunes will matter across all the trends shaping the world. I say for good or for ill because either scenario is possible. If Africa fails on these important development issues, because of our sheer size, the global impact will be catastrophic and if it succeeds the global impact will be incredible.”

Speaking further, Osinbajo said bout three months ago, I spoke at an event at the Warwick University on the subject “The African Century.” The substance of that speech was that this Century is Africa’s Century. Why? Because Africa will, for good or ill, play the defining role in global development. Africa’s fortunes will matter across all the trends shaping the world. I say for good or for ill because either scenario is possible. If Africa fails on these important development issues, because of our sheer size, the global impact will be catastrophic and if it succeeds the global impact will be incredible.

In at least four important respects, Africa will hold the balance of world development. First is in world population (demography).

Second is environment and climate change. Third is productivity.

Fourth is social exclusion (or inclusion as the case may be) and its implications for global security, he added.

“Let’s take population, by 2035, Africa will have 1.2billion people. Nigeria is Africa most populous country; she will become the 4th most populous nation in the world. Over 50% of that number will be young persons under the age of 25. Today 60 percent of the unemployed in Africa are young people. If we do not change the trajectory of socioeconomic development, we would have millions of jobless young people in the prime of their lives, and as we will see, largely illiterate and /or

poorly trained. The workforce will be ill-equipped to man any industrial revolution or take advantage on scale of technology. The anger, disillusionment, and hopelessness of these young people will drive social unrest, compel more desperate migration northwards and present a fertile recruiting ground for extremist groups. If social conditions remain tenuous, even the well-educated will be tempted into migration and contribute further to the brain drain.”

Africa, he said, is confronted with existential challenges, and there is simply no time to waste in resolving these problems. “The answer that providence has given us is technology. The great purveyors of technology such as our hosts today Google, and their collaborators - 21st Century Technologies Limited and Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN), are not mere corporations in search of profit and some social good, they literarily hold the future of generations of humanity in their hands.”

“In Nigeria, we cannot train our nearly 200million young people by 2045, in classrooms alone. It is impossible! We must use the internet and even mobile telephony. We must connect our young people to knowledge and innovation all over the world. Co-creation efforts of innovators and inventors require broadband to be consummated.”

Connectivity: Nigeria number 2 citizen noted that “without connectivity, the development trajectory of our nation and continent is truncated.

Today, it is also becoming increasingly clear that the availability of food and healthcare for the huge numbers of our people will depend on how democratized the technology becomes. We simply cannot provide enough food, drugs or vaccines in Africa without the availability of innovation in agriculture, and technology in farming and the production of drugs and vaccines. So democratizing Artificial Intelligence as we heard Marvin Chow, Google’s VP Product Marketing, describe in agriculture and the medical sciences, will change the human development story.”

“Indeed every step that is taken to democratize technology is a quantum leap in the African development story and a major contribution to Global stability and growth.

This is why the launch of Google Station here in Nigeria, is an enormously significant event.

First, it means that Google and 21st Century, will be providing free WiFi access in several public spaces in Nigeria, more exciting is that several of our markets will benefit from this free internet access.

This partnership is particularly important to us, because we have in the past one year, in our energizing markets project, been providing solar power to markets and economic

‘

•Vice President Osinbajo clusters across the country. We have done extensive work in Ariaria market in Aba, Sabongari in Kano, Gbagi market in Ibadan, Sura here in Lagos, and we are starting out in Iponri, and Balogun markets.”

But the most profound implication is that internet access is becoming available to some of the poorest in society. What access to information, tools of education, business or commerce means is that gaps of inequality and exclusion are bridged. Jobs are created and in many important respects, there is a real chance of better quality of life for large numbers of our people.

Millions of Nigerians have personal stories of how the Internet has transformed their lives, their hustle, as today’s theme alludes to, in positive ways. And Juliet Ehimuan, Google’s Country Director Nigeria, has showed us, with stories of real people like Adaobi, how Google has featured prominently in many of these stories.

ICT Training: In 2016, he said, working with

Training companies.

We have since surpassed those numbers and trained over a million Nigerians in basic digital skills in the last 24 months.

To scale up our support to private sector players in the technology space, I recently inaugurated the Technology and Creative Advisory Group, a subset of our National Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council.

This group brings together, young private sector players in the technology and creative sectors and relevant government agencies, working jointly to formulate policies, programmes and projects for the Technology and Creative sectors of our economy.

Some private sector members of the Advisory Group and relevant government agencies like NITDA, NEPC and the Bank of Industry, went with me on the trip to Silicon Valley. Also on that trip, I met with the creative sector in Los Angeles and showcased Nigeria’s readiness and preparedness for investment, and the work we are doing with our Ease of Doing Business Secretariat, to provide an enabling environment for business in Nigeria, and which helped Nigeria rise 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index in 2017.

Through the GEM Project of the World Bank, the Federal Government has given out over $2million to 79 startups across the country. Apart from this, our National Social Investments Programme is working with the National Information Technology Development

Technology has put great power into our hands, as individuals, but more importantly as co-creators and collaborators, to positively and dramatically change the course of human existence ‘ the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, I launched the Google Digital Skills Training Programme with the target to train 400,000 Nigerians on basic Digital Skills, working with Google and local Nigerian Tech

Agency (NITDA) to support the private sector to establish technology and innovation centers across the country.

We have established and launched these Innovation Hub projects across the nation. From the Ventures Platform in Abuja (Ventures Park), to the Marydel Hubs and the Edo State Government’s Edo Innovate project in Benin, Edo State, and the Humanitarian Innovation Center in collaboration with the North East Innovation Hub and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yola, Adamawa State, we are committed to building an ecosystem to drive innovation.

The Federal Government is now investing in training 5,000 developers as part of our N-Power Tech program, just as we are catalyzing a whole new sector of animation production by training 3,000 young people with scriptwriting, storyboarding, voice acting, animation and post-production skills. Not only will we develop their skills, we are providing an initial support of the hardware and software tools that will help them function economically after they are trained. We also believe that starting earlier with our students helps to solve tomorrow’s challenges, today. The Federal Government is lending support to initiatives such as the Civic Lab’s Student Innovation Challenge, and the Campus Innovation Challenge

by Union and CC Hub, Nigeria’s pioneer Tech Hub in Yaba, Lagos State, to discover and support student entrepreneurs in our tertiary institutions.

The challenge remains connectivity, extending broadband reach, making data cheaper - National Broadband Policy. As a first[1] step, the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), has since licensed a number of Infrastructure Companies (Infracos), who will invest in rolling out broadband infrastructure across Nigeria.

I believe we can extend broadband reach significantly in a year or two. We will partner in whatever way we can with Google and Nigerian broadband providers like 21st Century Technologies Limited and Backbone Connectivity Network, to quickly achieve extensive broadband coverage.

Our goal is to create a data-driven digital economy; one that will lead the way not just in Africa, but globally as well. And I believe strongly that Nigeria is on the right path.

We have the people, the talent, we have a government that sees the potential very clearly, and is showing the determination to unlock that potential.

Technology has put great power into our hands, as individuals, but more importantly as co-creators and collaborators, to positively and dramatically change the course of human existence. With it, we can solve many of the problems that confront us.

In addition, we can connect people, grow businesses, influence good governance, and create better lives, and a better country for ourselves and for the future, he added.

23

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

e-Platform

Google to berth 200 internet stations in Nigeria •Rolls out 200 locations in five cities across Nigeria by the end of 2019 •Sites to include markets, transport hubs, shopping malls, universities

By ISAIAH ONWUANUMBA

G

OOGLE INC. has announced recently it will be rolling out in 200 WiFi (wireless fidelity) Internet locations in five cities across Nigeria by the end of 2019.

Google Nigeria Country Director, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor revealed this at the just concluded second Google for Nigeria Event in Lagos.

She said the move is aimed at helping more people in Nigeria, and across Africa, benefit from the opportunities the web has to offer.

She added that in a bid to make the internet more easily accessible to people in Nigeria, Google is launching Google Station for Nigeria: a program to provide high quality, high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots in partnership with 21st Century, one of the largest fibre network providers in Nigeria.

“Google Station will be rolling out in 200 locations in five cities across Nigeria by the end of 2019, bringing Wi-Fi to millions of people.

Sites include markets, transport hubs, shopping malls, universi-

ties, and more. Nigeria is the fifth country to get Google Station, after India, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico,” she revealed.

Google is also making search more powerful for ordinary Africans. Job search launched in March in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, and is now rolling out in 29 new countries. In Nigeria, Google is launching a search experience that allows users to explore health conditions based on symptoms, as well as recipe search for anyone who needs a little food inspiration.

StreetView’s Discover Nigeria gallery has been expanded to include more of Nigeria’s wonders including the National Museum in Lagos, Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Millenium Park in Abuja, and Lekki Conservation Centre.

Additionally, Google announced the update of several products from its “Go” initiative, which were launched in the past year. The Go product suite aims to give people with low bandwidth connections and low-RAM devices the best possible Google experience. These new features include:

Google Go: will soon read web pages out loud and highlight each word so users can follow along.

YouTube Go: users will be able to browse downloaded YouTube Go videos, saved as .yt files, right from the gallery on their phones.

Google Maps Go: will now provide users with turn-by-turn directions, whether they’re travelling by car, by bus or on foot.

Android Go: Launched in Nigeria

and 29 other African countries earlier this year, the Go OS gives people coming online for the first time a powerful and reliable smartphone experience. Across Africa, Transsion, Nokia, Huawei, and Mobicel have launched various devices, starting at just over 17,000 Naira.

Over 2.5 million of the 10 million Africans Google promised to train by 2022 have been trained through the Digital Skills Programme. Google has trained a further 9,000 Africans in mobile app development and Google’s Launchpad Accelerator Africa initiative graduated 12

promising startups from across the continent in June.

The application process of the ongoing Google Impact Challenge, part of Google’s $20m Google.org commitment to Africa over the next five years, closed with over 5,500 entries. The process of selecting the 36 finalists has begun.

“We are offering new solutions to improve and expand access in Nigeria and across Africa; these launches demonstrate our commitment to Africa through products built to help people in Africa to make the most of the Internet,” she said.

Govt commissions ICT hub in Katsina

N

ATIONAL Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has today commissioned an ICT Innovation Hub in Katsina State in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to tackle unemployment among youths.

A statement signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations Unit at NITDA added that the Hub which is situated at Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management (KSITM), is one among the six (6) resolved by the National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA) to be established in all the geo-political zones of the Country.

Katsina State in the North Western region is one of the most populous states in Nigeria with a high number of productive youths, and the State also has given adequate attention to the ICT sector in the past through increasing commitment to exploit the latest trends in ICT for the development of the State.

The Executive Governor, RT. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, who was ably represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mustapha Mohammed Inuwa, noted that Katsina State has long recognized the importance of ICT and in the pursuit of using ICT for national development, the State has established Kastina State Institute of Technology and Management (KSITM) to offer training in national diploma and degree certificates for Katsina State indigenes and Nigerians at large. KSITM, which hosts the ICT Incubation Hub has been given unrelenting attention to champion the buildup process towards ultimate e-Governance in the state through Research and Development to become a veritable platform for socio-economic upliftment of the teeming unemployed youths who will venture into competitive global entrepreneurship in ICT. The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Isa Ali Ib-

rahim Pantami, PhD, FBCS, FIIM, while delivering the keynote address stated that Katsina State has been providing enabling environment that encourages strategic partnerships on initiatives that attract investments in ICT and other sectors of the economy.

•L-R: 2nd VP of ATCON Muyiwa Ogungboye; Director of Licensing at NCC, Ms Funlola Akiode; 1st VP of ATCON, Ikechukwu Nnamani and ATCON President, Olusola Teniola at the unveiling of a Book on 100 leading Telecom and ICT personalities in Lagos.

DIGITAL business services agency has said traditional stores would remain relevant in spite of growth of e-commerce industry in Nigeria.

This is the view of An innovator, Mr Dayo Ayeni, chief Innovation Officer, of Lagos-based BusinessPlus during a media chat.

He noted that although e-commerce had made it easier for people to buy items from the comfort of their homes and offices, physical stores could not be phased out.

Ayeni said that physical stores had the advantage of enabling buyers to feel items they would want to purchase. ”Even with the emergence of the

e-commerce industry, thousands of consumers in Lagos, for example, still go to traditional stores at Isale-Eko, Computer Village and Balogun Market on a daily basis to purchase groceries, electronics and clothes, despite the stress involved.

“The fact remains that traditional stores allow consumers to interact with a range of products to make informed choices, aside from the advantage of being able to touch and see what they are buying. Online shopping is convenient in many ways, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its disadvantages. “For instance, delivery charges and time spent wait-

E-commerce boom can’t phase out traditional stores – Innovator A ing for the product to arrive are not pleasant to many consumers.’’

Ayeni said that online shoppers were mostly corporate workers, who hardly had the time to go to physical stores to shop.

According to him, many consumers usually complain that items they ordered for online looked different when delivered, adding, since citizens were not educated and had access to the internet, the society would always need traditional stores.

“Shopping online requires the use of internet, and not all Nigerians have access to it, hence, the need for physical stores which accommodate both the literate and the illiterate. I am not to trying to

Telecoms Associatiuon unveils 100 ICT Personalities •ATCON unveils book on 100 leading ICT personalities in Nigeria

I

NDUSTRY advocacy group, Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), weekend unveiled a book on Nigerian telecom/ ICT sector and some personalities who have payed noticeable parts in shaping Nigerian telecom industry till date.

President of ATCON, Olusola Teniola said at the event that the aim of publishing the book is to celebrate the industry, which is currently contributing 9 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

“The idea of publishing the book was solely conceived to celebrate individuals and corporate organizations that have contributed and still leading innovation and creativity in the industry through their personal and corporate efforts,” he said at the

event attended by almost all stakeholders in the ICT industry.

The book on 100 leading Personalities in Nigerian Telecom/ICT Sector, chronicled individuals and corporate organizations that have done well to grow the industry to where it is today and what they still plan to do in order to speed up the needed future development.

Mr Teniola explained that a book highlighting the profile, achievements, skills and innovations of individuals and corporate organizations would further encourage ATCON, an umbrella body of all telecom professionals in Nigeria to intensify its advocacy drive in the Nigerian telecom and ICT ecosystem.

The goals, according to Teniola is to put on record, those who have

contributed to the development of telecom and ICT in Nigeria, adding that the book will help to record the development that has taken place since the liberalization of the sector.

A look at the book shows that curriculum vitae (in an easy format) of the personalities, a brief historical background of how the company has led creativity in terms of the company’s services and products, the future plans of the company with respect to innovation and creativity and the list of corporate social responsibility that the company has done in the past were recorded.

Others are the brief corporate profile and advert of the company and passport photograph of the personality of that organization.

rule out the fact that the e- commerce industry is making it big globally, but the truth is even most of the online stores now have physical stores as a front to sell their markets. The reality is that physical stores can never go into extinction, there will always be the need for them,’’ he said.

According to the Global Consumer Insights Survey 2018 brick-andmortar (physical) stores’ weekly shoppers grew by four per cent from 2016 to 2018, an indication that e-commerce cannot phase out physical stores.

The survey also found out that shopping is not just about convenience but also about experience, which, at the moment, only a physical store can offer.

Niesel Global Survey also shows that one of the biggest barriers to online shopping in Nigeria is inability of customers to inspect goods.

The survey says 78 per cent of Nigerian respondents believe the factor is a deterrent.

The Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) says trust remains a major issue in online transactions as many Nigerians are in constant fear of online fraud and will do anything to avoid using their debit cards to process payments electronically.

According to data from NIBSS, year 2014 recorded 1,461 reported cases of electronic fraud, with actual losses grossing N6.216 billion.

In 2015, about 946 attempted efraud cases were also recorded by banks, other financial institutions and mobile payment operators, resulting in estimated N5 billion loss.

24

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

ISSN: 2545-5869

EDITORIAL

www.oraclenews.ng

VOX POPULI SACRUM

Dasuki, President Buhari’s rule of law Cont’d front page 1

judges in Nigeria and ECOWAS Court granted Dasuki. He is still in detention.

PRESIDENTS of ECOWAS countries, whose court issued one of the bails that the Nigerian President disobeyed, were among those who listened to the message on the importance of obedience of court orders. They would keep their feelings to themselves.

THE court orders were mostly for Dasuki to travel abroad for medical attention. Others were granted on the legal point that the offence he allegedly committed was bailable. The Nigerian government was unimpressed.

ONLY weeks to the gathering in Lome, another court order for a bail for Dasuki had been given. Nigeria, under Buhari showed its determination to disobey the order. That order was the sixth ruling, granting Dasuki bail.

UNLIKE in other instances, the government was not quite about its decision to disobey the court order. It alleged that Dasuki’s offence (he is still a suspect, until convicted, according to Nigeria laws, was of such gravity that the bail order would not be obeyed.

JUSTICE Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Abuja Federal High Court ruled: “The respondents (DG, DSS, DSS, Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation) have not successfully justified the long and continued

detention of the defendant. Based on the circumstances of this case and the established facts, the honourable court is of the humble but firm opinion and as affirmed by superior authorities that the applicant (Dasuki) has made out a case to warrant the intervention of this court.

“The period of detention has become unreasonable in the circumstance.

“What this court is saying, in essence, is that the respondents should focus on prosecuting the applicant and not on the pyrrhic victory of holding him in an unlawful detention.

“When it comes to the rule of law and the Constitution, if the applicant is found culpable for the alleged offences, he should be visited with the full wrath of the law if he so deserves.

“Respondents also averred that the applicant was being held because of his failure to honour an invitation by an investigative agency.

“It is clear that the applicant has been in detention under the custody of the 1st and 2nd defendants (DSS and its DG) since 29 December 2015.

“Since the applicant has been made to honour the said invitation, why is he still in custody of the 1st and 2nd respondents for about two and a half years?

“This query is also in view of the fact that the respondents have averred that they are not standing on the way of the applicant to actualise the bail granted him.

“The continued detention of the applicant by the respondents despite the bail granted to him by the courts in other matter is an aberration of the rule of law.”

The ECOWAS Court of Justice had unconditionally released Dasuki on 4 October 2016. The government ignored the order.

“The continued detention of the applicant, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) by the operatives of the 1st respondent (DSS) under the instructions of the 2nd respondent (the DG) since 29 December 2015, till date without granting him an administrative bail is a violation of his fundamental right to liberty under section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.”

Justice Ojukwu granted Dasuki bail under these conditions: .N200m with two sureties in like sum. .Civil servants not less than Grade Level 16 in the employment of the Federal Government or non-government employees. .If the sureties are Federal Government employees, they would deposit the certified copies of their letters of appointment and last promotion letters with the court .If private citizens not employees of the Federal Government, they must own properties in the Abuja metropolis and must submit the original title documents to the registry of the court.

.Sureties are to submit to the court, their evidence of tax payments for 2015, 2016, 2017.

AFTER he met the bail conditions, the government again refused to release him. Government has spent a lot of time justifying his continued detention.

MANY would remember a furious President Buhari, in December 2015, telling Nigerians, in his only televised presidential chat that the allegations against Dasuki were so weighty that if he was granted bail, he would escape.

Government subsequently greeted court orders on Dasuki with silence.

ABUBAKAR Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, went public with government’s decision not to release Dasuki after last July’s bail. The public’s right, which he claimed releasing Dasuki would infringe, was more important than Dasuki’s right, no matter the court decision on it.

THE legal profession was aghast over Malami’s position since he is the “Chief Law Officer of the Federation”. There is at least one petition asking that he should be de-robed.

A NEW meaning for the rule of law is not only Dasuki being detained, after six court orders for his release, but government defying court orders and boasting about its decision.

MORE confounding, however, is the President’s call to his colleagues that sustenance of democracy would depend on obedience to court orders, when he proudly parades a bag of ignored court orders.

FROM the President’s Lome speech, he knows the import of obeying court orders for democracy’s well-being. Does the Lome speech exclude democracy in Nigeria? Or is the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria unimportant?

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.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

OPINION

Trump doesn’t get the benefits US gets from trade

By HOWARD YU

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ven Donald Trump understands he can’t win his trade wars across all fronts, from China to Mexico to Canada. The White House is now set to restart trade negotiations with Europe and to work toward “zero tariffs” on various industrial goods. Still, the President’s belief that “the US has been ripped off by other countries” is a line of reasoning åthat only comes naturally to a former real estate developer.

In real estate development, land grabs are a zero-sum game: When you win, it means someone else loses. In the same line of thinking, imports result in trade deficits; trade deficits destroy jobs and, consequently, lower citizens’ standard of living. But what if trade deficits have nothing to do with our economic well-being, which in fact relies on a healthy dose of foreign competition?

A generally accepted measure for a country’s standard of living is the GDP per capita -- the output of goods and services produced in a year divided by everyone within the country’s borders. It’s a measure of economic growth and well-being used by the White House.

By this measure, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker shows in his book, “Enlightenment Now,” that China, once a famine-stricken nation, had achieved in 2008 the same per-capita income that Sweden had in 1950.

And China’s progress has hardly been made at the expense of the United States. The US has grown richer still, during the same long boom in the late 20th century, along with South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore and other developing nations, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Georgia, Rwanda, Vietnam and others. Everyone has been winning big. The world has never been more abundant.

Nevertheless, some rightly point out the rising inequality of the United States. Income among the top 1% has steadily crept up, and the cohort now control nearly 20% of all income, reaching levels similar to the “Gilded Age” before World War I. But if the administration is truly worried about the suffering of middle-class Americans, the real answer is to increase social support for re-skilling the labor

workforce. Trade and technology, in and of themselves, are merely the precondition for wealth and progress.

According to Pinker, in 1800, an Englishman in Britain with an average wage needed to work six hours to earn enough to purchase a hand-dipped candle that burned for an hour. Any non-natural light sources were preciously expensive.

Trump’s tariff move shows he flunked economics Eight decades later, in 1880, with the invention of the kerosene lamp and the refinery technologies of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, the average American needed to work for 15 minutes to afford an hour of artificial lighting. Then, incandescent bulbs, introduced by Thomas Edison, could be lit for an hour at the cost of a mere eight seconds of labor. Later, fluorescent bulbs cost only half a second, and solar-powered LED lamps are practically free in terms of fuel costs.

Whereas Americans spent more than 60% of their disposable income on necessities in 1929, people are spending less than a third nowadays. The prices of running water, electricity, automobiles, personal computers, mobile phones, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, stoves, air conditioners, dishwashers, and refrigerators have all plummeted.

How much an average person earns matters just as much as how much a fixed amount can purchase. Our material advancement, when measured by purchasing power, is indisputable.

What Trump forgets is that innovation and progress are often triggered by foreign competition, which is needed to force domestic companies and industry titans to be inventive. Without foreign competition, corporations grow fat, CEOs become lazy, consumers suffer, and the economy stagnates.

This might be bad news for big companies, but it’s a boon for consumers. Thanks to the advances in computer storage and its plummeting cost, laptops are becoming cheaper, mobile phones more versatile, and cloudcomputing a reality.

Seagate -- an American hard-disk maker -probably hates the stiff competition it’s facing from Asian manufacturers in a narrowing

market for hard drives. But at the same time, the spillover effect of cheaper storage has powered the growth of Google, Facebook, Apple, and countless American firms that thrive in the information age. Would anyone seriously want to trade the brilliantly inventive Silicon Valley for a coal-burning, smogsmearing, pollutant-choking heavy industrial sector that even the Chinese government is desperate to get rid of?

Trump’s fast and loose trade policy endangers American jobs That brings us to the question of international trade. How and why do foreign manufacturers paradoxically power the growth of American firms and then further secure America’s preeminence in technological innovation?

Take Apple, the world’s biggest export company, with sales reaching over $200 billion in 2017, pushing the rise of the Dow Jones Industrial Average through the longest uptick since the last recession. The central processor inside an iPhone is designed in the US, but its battery, displays, and most of its other parts are produced abroad. The iPhone contains hundreds of components, approximately 90% of which are produced with the help of workers in Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and elsewhere.

So, who’s the biggest winner in the rise of computing power, supported by this intricate network of foreign suppliers? Corporate America. Kenneth Kraemer, a researcher from UC Irvine, together with two other researchers from UC Berkeley and Syracuse University, estimated that from an iPad sold for $499, Apple retains about 25% of the sales price as income, while LG and Samsung, by supplying the display and memory chips, receive 7% of the retail price.

Since China only provides manual labor, a mere estimated $25 is spent on the Chinese workers.

In other words, while each iPad sold in the US adds about $250 to the trade deficit (the import factory cost declared at customs), the value captured by China from an iPad sold at $499 is, according to Kraemer, “at most about one-tenth that amount, and probably less.”

Trump’s core belief that America is the victim of global trade is therefore a curious one; global trade helped establish America’s lead in advanced technologies -- a sector that generated 200,000 jobs in 2017, with an estimated 11.5 million workers, valued at $1.6 trillion, providing the US with almost a monopoly of the world’s most valuable companies. The technological advances that have fueled the rise of our laptops, smartphones, and selfdriving cars all hinge on this expansive global supply chain.

Nearly 70% of US GDP is comprised of consumer spending. The other three components of GDP are business investments, government spending, and net exports. But consumer spending alone can never be the sole engine for sustainable economic development over the long run. If the US administration is truly concerned about its nation’s industrial competitiveness, then it should urge its domestic industry to invest in the next generation of technologies, rather than constantly redistribute earnings back to shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buy-back.

If it is concerned about the protection of intellectual property, then it should, for instance, enforce a punishment on ZTE and not back off (ZTE, a Chinese telecom giant, was found violating sanctions by reselling American technologies in Iran and North Korea.) And if the administration is worried about the suffering of middle-class Americans, the answer is to increase social support FOR providing new skills for the labor workforce. What’s truly remarkable is that the administration would choose tariffs as the cure-all.

Land is a finite resource. That’s why people are obsessed over winners and losers. International trade, by contrast, is a non-zero-sum game, which creates wealth and progress.

The distinction between wealth generation across nations and wealth redistribution within a nation, however, is unfortunately alien to a former real estate developer.

Howard Yu is the author of LEAP: How Businesses Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied. He wrote this article originally for CNN.com.

Oshiomhole: Less talk, more tactful action

By Ehichioya Ezomon

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ollowing the political quake in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the question of whether the new National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has come to bury the party or revive it is fast gaining currency in the polity. This is on account of his seeming ugly fights with members of the splinter Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), and with other prominent and loyal members of the party.

To the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former Edo State governor was, indeed, chosen to bury the APC. The PDP national spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said while Oshiomhole had described the R-APC members as ‘inconsequential’, ‘hungry birds’ and ‘tired feet’, he had reportedly made midnight shuttles to “beg” the faction’s arrowheads not to leave the party.

“Unfortunately for Oshiomhole and his presidential sponsor, events of the weeks ahead will clear all doubts that APC is dead and that Oshiomhole is just an undertaker, whose job is to cremate the derelict contraption of oppressors, who are falsely hailing themselves as messiahs,” Ologbondiyan said in a statement.

This was on Thursday, July 19. By Tuesday, July 24, the PDP’s foretelling occurred, as 14 senators and 34 representatives of the APC defected to the PDP, while four representatives moved to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the National Assembly.

This probably gave rise to insinuations credited to Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, APC’s former chairman, on the social media, that: “When I was called up to handover to Adams Oshiomhole, I pleaded with the leaders of the party to look for someone else even if they don’t want me again. Nobody listened

to me. I handed over to him a party fully intact and healthy. Under 4 weeks, Oshiomhole has used his mouth to destroy APC. Who do you blame?”

Although Oyegun has denied granting any media interview since leaving office, or saying that “Oshiomhole was bringing more problem to the party,” the alleged social media concoction aptly captures the reality on the ground.

Ordinarily, the projection of more defections should give the APC the jitters, and a sombre reflection. But what did the public see and hear from the party chairman? The very opposite of introspection! Emerging from a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari the other day, Oshiomhole fired from the hip, expressing his excitement over the departure of some lawmakers to opposition parties.

He did not only describe the defectors as “mercenaries” and right wing politicians, who believe in the philosophy of “share the money,” but also claimed that the APC was “not disturbed at all” nor was he losing any sleep over the defections. A familiar refrain since May from a man, whose pedigree as a labour leader and negotiator recommended him for endorsement and affirmation as chairman!

Oshiomhole’s headship of the APC was expected to breathe fresh air into an asphyxiating party that was held down by the previous National Working Committee (NWC) shepherded by Oyegun. The division, and current defections were the groundwork laid by that committee, which saw “nothing burger” in the crisis that tore the party apart at the state and national levels.

Instead of quick intervention to stem the grievances, the previous NWC felt the solution was to extend, by 12 months, the tenures of the party committees nationwide, to avoid going into the 2019 elections “more fractured.”

The reversal of the decision on that sugges-

tion, already endorsed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC, paved the way for the ward, local government and state congresses, which culminated in the national convention that picked Oshiomhole as national chairman, with the mandate to heal the wounds in the party.

Rather than be the mediator, facilitator, conciliator and peacemaker, Oshiomhole has ostensibly become the inflamer of passion, adding insults to injury. His outings have been largely saber-rattling, thus hardening positions in a fluid society wrack by tribal, ethnic, religious and geopolitical interests, and by the spate of unwarranted killings across the country.

It would be indiscreet to list his verbal gymnastics and gyrations, but suffice it to indicate that Oshiomhole’s modus operandi had virtually been to admonish, blackmail, browbeat, bully, caution, flex muscles, intimidate, pressure, scare, terrorize, threaten and warn all known or perceived “enemies” of the APC in the party and its government, to pave way for only “genuine” members.

But House of Representatives Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, thinks now is the time to gather, and not to scatter. “What I told you was that we are on break now and some of our members will be going out on campaigns and to meet their constituents. It is the time to stay in touch with our members and keep them close because... this is their time. We must consolidate and hold our positions very tight,” he told Oshiomhole at the APC Reps Caucus meeting on Friday.

If the APC chair needed further admonishing, he got one from a Facebook poster: “I think Adams Oshiomole should be a lot more conciliatory than issuing threats, giving orders and treating party members as if they are toddlers. A lot of Nigerians will be disappointed and heartbroken if they are taken back to ‘Egypt’.”

‘Egypt’ is a euphemism for the opposition PDP, which the APC took power from in 2015.

Will Oshiomhole, through his utterances, take the APC members back to that road to Golgotha in 2019? He, and he alone can answer that poser that may fulfill Mark Anthony’s stylistic at Julius Caesar’s funeral: “I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.”

•Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

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 Head, Graphics & Designs Nnamdi Alex Chukwu Business Manager Kelechi Nze Circulation Manager Felix Oti

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

Travel & Hospitality

26

NIS to implement 10yr passport validity, bars officers from handling cash Stories by VICTOR NZE

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IGERIA Immigration Service (NIS) is set to implement a series reforms on the epassport before the end of the year including an increase of its validity to 10 years for adults over 18years, as well as the security features of the travel document.

NIS Comptroller General, Muhammad Babandede who made this known at the Ikoyi Passport Office while launching the Guaranty Trust Bank POS device that allows applicants to pay for passports with instead of cash transactions, also disclosed that officers of the service are no longer allowed to handle cash.

According to the Immigration boss, the President who approved the reforms for the service did so with the intent that the reforms will lead to far-reaching security

and credibility of the passport document.

“Mr. President approved a lot of reforms; we hope to implement these reforms before the end of the year. 10 years for the e-passport validity. Although already it is a great system, digital, excellent and alright system but you can’t keep a system 10 years without improvement in security and so we have to improve certain measures which will raise the standard of our passport security higher.

“We have approval to do 10 years validity for the passport.

When the reforms are done, passports will have validity of 10 years especially for adults from the ages of 18 and above and this is welcome too especially for Nigerians in diaspora, they have been yearning for this especially.

“The National Assembly has submitted motions to ensure that same things happen the way it

happens abroad and Mr. President has approved 10 years for adults and 5 years for children. I think this is what we should commend the president for listening to the people and making this a reality.

“This will help us too. It will be less work even if people will pay more. It is better they pay more for good passport security, 10 years validity and booklet will be available. It means those who come to us every five years will come to us after 10years,” Babandede said.

As part of efforts to curb corrupt practices the Comptroller General read the riot act to officers warning them that if caught with cash it will be used as exhibit for their punishment.

He explained that New Works installations signed agreements with

NIS to collect payments but ‘we’re doing so by hand for 10 years until the new directive of the president which led him to initiate the POS payment.’

“Make sure you have the solution whereby individuals will come to passport office, they can use their POS pay let the banks collect the money, I don’t want officers to collect the money so officers you are hereby warned. If I see you with cash at passport office, it is corrupt money exhibit for punishment you have no business with cash.”

The immigration boss also said the passports will soon give opportunity for the National Identity Number (NIN) to be embedded within to enable a harmonized data stating that only criminals who have nefarious thoughts will not

want that.

“Another reform approved by Mr. President is that we must make sure all passport offices give opportunity for national identity number. Now all passports booklets must contain the NIN number, this is important for our nation’s collective security, social security, economic issues, planning. It will be on that passport so our data will be harmonized. ” In a related development, the NIS boss said following the Federal Government’s expansion of the Visa on Arrival policy, over 12, 000 foreigners intending to do business or vacation in Nigeria may have benefitted from the scheme at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in just six months.

Tourism, construction can drive sustainability – UNWTO

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ROM infrastructure and communication to food production and transport, tourism and construction play key roles in a circular economy framework that supports sustainable development, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which together with the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme of the One Planet Network, addressed this challenge during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, last week.

The event organized by the UNWTO held in New York under the theme of; ‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12.’

“Advancing sustainability in the tourism sector and fulfilling its responsibility in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a task that benefits from new technological advances, continuous innovation and the strengthening of models such as the circular economy.

Especially in view of SDG12 on ‘sustainable consumption and production patterns’, and considering the need to grow responsibly as a sector overall, tourism has an important role to play in the decoupling of economic development from resource use.

“With its vast links to other economic activities and direct interaction between consumer and producer, tourism can – if managed well – create positive, long-lasting impacts that go well beyond the sector. Adapting circular production and consumption patterns that accelerate sustainability is therefore key to the long-term health and resilience of tourism businesses and destinations,” the UN body said.

Against both this background and the review of SDG 12 at the High-Level Political Forum, the event underscored that embracing circularity implies robust measurement and monitoring of impacts of tourism and construction activities, including energy and water use efficiency, climate change mitigation, waste management, local sourcing, sustainable land use, biodiversity pro-

tection and decent employment, among others.

The event which featured panels and presentations from the governments and tourism and development administrations of Bhutan, Botswana, Finland, France, Mexico and Switzerland, also played host to the launch of UNWTO’s Tourism for SDGs Platform, an interactive online tool that aims to create collaboration, motivate discussion and foster action between the tourism sector and the world of sustainable development.

The platform, developed with the support of the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, is for policy makers, companies and all tourism stakeholders to connect and jointly advance their SDG implementation strategies.

Concluding the event, the Head of Delegation for Sustainable Development from the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France stressed the need to accelerate the shift towards SCP and encouraged both tourism and construction to build cross-sectorial cooperation. If properly developed and used, circular economy solutions will be instrumental to transforming the sustainability of our economic model.

•(From left): Managing Director IBILE Microfinance Bank, Adegboyega Kazeem; Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde; Special Adviser, Arts and Culture, Mrs Aramide Giwanson; and Executive Director, IBILE Microfinance Bank, Gaffar Abiola Masha, after the bank’s presentation to the Ministry on possible areas for synergy and available financing packages for SMEs and entrepreneurs in tourism business.

Global airfares, hotel rates to rise in 2019 – Forecast S TRONG global economy and rising oil prices are expected to push up the cost of air travel and hotel rates in 2019, an industry forecast released, Tuesday said.

The annual business travel forecast from Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Sheraton Lagos Hotel to celebrate National Cheesecake Day

S

HERATON Lagos Hotel has announced another foodie initiative; National Cheesecake Day, which it said will be celebrated with ‘the energetic and innovative teams’ of its iconic hospitality establishment.

This dessert which can be prepared as baked or non-baked will be celebrated globally on the 30th of July and Sheraton Lagos Hotel will be offering two of their favorite recipes.

“Our Pastry department has created some new flavours of Cheesecakes designed to ignite your taste-buds. Each of these cheesecakes is creamy, delicious and truly yummy making them the perfect desserts to indulge in.

“The hotel is inviting every-

one to come taste our selection of cheesecakes at only N4,800 inclusive of coffee or tea at our Lobby Café and Pool Restaurant from 3 PM onwards.

“At Sheraton Lagos Hotel we go beyond to ensure that every moment you share with us is an unforgettable one that brings friends together and families even closer as they share those memories,” said Deputy General Manager of the Hotel, Mr Damian Cooper.

Continuing, Cooper said: “With the hotel’s proven success and exceptional reputation in culinary expertise, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel looks forward to inviting all cheesecake lovers and enthusiasts to savour this dessert.”

(CWT) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) made this known in its report.

According to the forecast, airfares seen rising to 2.6 per cent and hotel rates up 3.7 per cent, although there are downside risks from a trade war.

In some countries, including India, New Zealand, Norway, Germany and Chile, airfares are expected to rise by more than seven per cent, it said.

“Speaking for the Asia-Pacific region, we are coming off a period three to four years ago where there was a lot of capacity in the system (and) fares was down pretty significantly, potentially lower than was sustainable.

“So I think we are getting to a bit more of a renormalisation of sustainable fares,” Michael Valkevich, CWT’s vice president for global sales & programme management, Asia Pacific said.

The International Air Transport Association in June forecast passenger yields, a proxy for airfares, will rise by 3.2 per cent before ending of the year, the first increase since 2011 as a stronger global economy drives growth in

demand.

CWT/GBTA predicted a 3.5 per cent rise in airfares in 2018 in a forecast released in 2017.

Airline costs, including for fuel and labour, have been rising, leading carriers to attempt to push up fares or add fuel surcharges to maintain margins.

The CWT/GBTA 2019 forecast said the rise in hotel rates would be driven by an increased demand for air travel, which would fuel demand for rooms.

Room rates are expected to rise by more than five per cent in Asia and Europe, by 2.1 per cent in North America and to fall by 1.3 per cent in Latin America.

Already, hotel groups including France’s Accor SA and United States-based Marriott International Inc, have reported strong growth in revenue per available room in Asia and Europe this year.

The CWT/GBTA forecast said in spite of its positive outlook, risks remained for the global economy in 2019 from the rise of protectionist policies, the stoking of trade wars and uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the European Union.

27

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

AVIATION

Nigeria’s BASAs should not be one-sided – Onyema Stories by VICTOR NZE

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HAIRMAN/MANAGING Director of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema, has described Nigeria’s bilateral air service agreements (BASAs) with countries on the sub-region as ‘one-sided,’ adding further that the government was not committed to protecting the interest of indigenous carriers operating in the country.

Who was speaking during the recently-held 22nd Annual Seminar of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, also welcomed the Nigeria Air project, even as he said the indigenous operators remained open to partnership with government which had claimed that the new airline will be private-sector driven.

“I went into aviation to create jobs. I love touching lives, so if this National Carrier will bring about more job creation in the country, I support it. If this National Carrier is going to improve the lots of our people, I will support it. However, if this National Carrier is going to disrupt the industry negatively and affect the local airlines negatively then I will not support it.

“That is why we are calling for transparency in everything that the government does. If it is private sector driven, I am in the private sector, Bankole of Med View is in the private sector, Dana is private sector. Overland is private sector, TopBrass is private sector, Arik and so many others.

“Now, if the National Carrier is a private driven airline, we support it, I cannot say that there should not be National Carrier, I support National Carrier. For me not to support National Carrier is tantamount to me not wanting another airline to exist but that is not the issues here.

“The issue here is that the Nige-

rian indigenous airlines are saying that we want to be carried along; we want to know how we are going to run this National Carrier. If they say it is a private sector carrier; that means that it is going to be owned by a private person or private persons. Are you going to give these private persons the privileges of my country which you have not made available to us who are existing?

“I have acquired four Boeing 777, today, MedView’s first Boeing 777 just arrived Nigeria, we have invested massively. The question is, what is the lot of these private indigenous airlines who have massively invested in acquiring these modern aircraft and equipment. I am sure the National Carrier is not going to acquire five Boeing 777s between now and December. Now others have acquired it, are they going to come to us to say let’s partner?

“So, we are not against that but we are asking for a level playing field for everybody because you cannot give the privileges of my country to another private person and neglecting me that I have already being there, then it is not fair. I congratulate federal government for floating another airline, but it has to be open for everybody, it has to be fair to everybody,” Onyema said.

On the open skies agreement the country has signed with West African member states, the Air Peace boss described its implementation as being one-sided and non-reciprocal.

“It is not as if Nigerian airlines do not support the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), we support it, but it has to be in a level of reciprocity, it should not be one sided. Nigeria should not open its doors unrestricted in the name of open skies while those other countries are not allowing us easy gateway into their countries.

“We have a country in West Africa, they do about four or five flights into this country every day; no single Nigerian airline is going to their country not because we don’t want to go there but because, they are making it impossible for us, I mean one of the airlines in West Africa.

“That country is preventing us from going because when Air Peace went there to set up, what they did was that they slammed us with about $10,000 bill for every landing that you do into the country, you are spending about $10,000, how many people are you carrying on that plane, it is impossible.

“They are not getting the same treatment in Nigeria, in Nigeria we are laying red carpet for foreign airlines to rape our economy and that shouldn’t be. In the name of open skies, we shouldn’t give unrestricted traffic to the foreign airlines because they are not doing the same thing to us.

“The kind of charges that we pay in this country, their own airlines don’t pay them and that is against the spirit of IATA, ICAO and all the conventions that you can think of but this is what is happening. So, we have to protect ourselves, I cannot get offices in my own country and foreign airlines are being

given offices.

“Am I being supported, we are not being supported, so we need to support our own, we must start supporting Nigerian indigenous airlines for them to succeed. We are not asking anybody for money, we are asking for enabling environment for us to operate.

“I don’t see the reason why I should not have a lounge in my own country and foreign airlines are being given preference over me; so these are the things that we are saying. We support the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) but it must come with the right price,” he said.

•General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Khalid Emele (r) representing the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, receiving the award for Having the Political Will to Certify Lagos and Abuja Airports in 2017 from a representative of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Airport Command, Danjuma Ibrahim during the 22nd Annual Seminar and Awards entitled: Financing Aviation Development through Private Sector Partnership, at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Air Peace commences Lagos-Monrovia/Abuja-Accra services August 6 Squeeze on airline operating profit margins intensified in Q2 2018 – IATA A T HE results of International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s latest survey of airline CFOs and Heads of Cargo, conducted in early-July, suggest that the squeeze on airline operating profit margins intensified during Q2 2018.

This is consistent with increased reports of higher input costs, mainly reflecting developments in jet fuel prices. Many of our respondents (54%) expect to see further increases in input costs over the year ahead.

The 57 per cent majority expect their level of profitability to improve further over the coming 12 months, however, which reflects the fact that passenger and freight yields are expected to partly offset further increases in input costs.

The positive outlook for profitability also reflects confidence about the strength of the demand outlook, particularly on the passenger side of the business; 84% of respondents expect passenger volumes to rise over the year ahead – the second highest proportion in ten years.

The outlook for cargo demand has softened slightly in the past two surveys, which partly reflects uncertainty caused by the recent pick-up in global trade tensions.

Nonetheless, the majority (58%) of our respondents expect air freight

volumes to rise further over the year ahead.

Encouragingly, 43 per cent reported an increase in employment levels in Q2 relative to the same period a year ago, and more than 50% of respondents expect to increase employment levels further over the next 12 months.

IR Peace has announced plans to commence flight services from Lagos and Abuja to Roberts International Airport, Monrovia and from Abuja to Kotoka International Airport, Accra on August 6.

The development comes as the airlines secured the renewal of its International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operation Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate.

A statement issued by the airline’s Corporate Communications Man-

NCC, Aviation group partner to create aviation spectrum group

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HE Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) is partnering with Miss Aviation Africa and Business Upgrade to inaugurate Africa Aviation Spectrum group in the country.

Co-founder, Miss Aviation Africa and Convener, Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM), an Innovations and Opportunities Conference, Mr Ossai Ilome, said this on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ilome said that adequate radio frequency spectrum was an essential element for almost all aviation activities.

“Spectrum is a very limited and valuable resource required for flight, airlines and air traffic management operations,’’ she said.

She said that SAATM would ultimately increase the demand for radio facilities, adding that there was need for new technologies if Africa as a continent must meet with the goals of the Africa Union Agenda

of 2063 flagship project.

“We at Miss Aviation Africa Pageant believe that the SAATM policy, which is considered as the next market frontiers must be a leader in promoting the best use of spectrum, supporting innovative applications and ways of maximising the value of this resource.

“Therefore there is need for a robust continental Spectrum Strategy that will be flexible to reflect global developments and designed to influence them positively.

“These can be achieved when the continent applies the same principles of valuing spectrum use as well as core principles for spectrum management, he affirmed,” he said.

Ilome said that NCC and Miss Aviation would organise a conference with the theme: “Liberalised Africa Aviation Market; Need for Efficient Spectrum Management and Effective Value Chain Development” on September 13 and 14.

ager, Mr. Chris Iwarah said the new routes were part of the third phase of the carrier’s network expansion project on the West Coast of Africa.

Air Peace launched its first regional flight out of Lagos to Accra on February 16, 2017. About exactly a year later on February 19, 2018, the airline added Freetown (Sierra Leone), Banjul (The Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal) to its route map.

The new routes, Iwarah confirmed, would also connect Accra and Monrovia. The carrier added that many domestic routes, including Makurdi, Warri, Port Harcourt NAF Base and Kaduna, would soon join its network under its no-cityleft-behind project. Air Peace also confirmed that it would shortly reopen its Asaba and Sokoto operations.

“We are pleased to announce that Monrovia, Liberia and Abuja-Accra will be joining our route network on Monday, August 6, 2018. We will also be inaugurating our AbujaAccra service, besides connecting Accra and Monrovia on the same date. This is our way of expressing our sincere gratitude to members of the flying public who have continued to support and endorse the Air Peace brand. The launch of the new services will afford air travellers on the Lagos-Monrovia, AbujaMonrovia, Accra-Monrovia and Abuja-Accra routes the option of a truly efficient, customer-centric and exceptional alternative.

“Since the launch of the first and second phases of our regional flight operations to Accra (Ghana), Free-

town (Sierra Leone), Banjul (The Gambia) as well as Dakar (Senegal) on February 16, 2017 and February 19, 2018 respectively, we have received pieces of positive feedback confirming how our operations have transformed air travel and eliminated the challenges of connectivity on the West Cost of Africa.

We are determined to offer our valued guests an even greater experience in safe, on-time and efficient flight services. The inauguration of our Monrovia routes would bring our regional network to five important destinations. Lome, Abidjan, Niamey, Douala, among other cities, will also come on board soon.

“On the domestic side of our operations, unserved and underserved destinations, including Makurdi, Warri, Kaduna, Port Harcourt NAF Base and Bauchi are in line to experience our spectacular flight services. We are also going to restart our flight operations to Asaba and Sokoto. Preparations for our long-haul flights to London, Houston, Dubai, Sharjah, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Johannesburg are nearing completion and we will be announcing launch dates soon.

“We are not just progressively expanding our route network to deliver on our goal of seamless air connectivity, we are also crystallsing our ultimate vision of bringing the world to Africa and Nigeria through the expansion of our capacity in terms of human resources and equipment. We have recruited a lot of personnel to deepen our service efficiency.”

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

INSURANCE & PENSION PFAs invest N5.2tr in FG securities; as fund assets hit N8.14tr

Stories by VICTOR NZE

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ATIONAL Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that the total pension fund assets now stands at N8.14 trillion as at May, 2018, rising from its December 2017 figures of N7.52 trillion.

PenCom in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr Peter Aghahowa, weekend, added further that the figures had soared to N7.94 trillion in March to reach N8.14 trillion in May 2018. ”The pension assets as at December 2017 stood at N7.52tn, it moved up to N7.8 trillion as at February and soared to N7.94 trillion in March, then to N8.14 trillion in May,” the commission said.

It also disclosed that N5.2 trillion has been invested in Federal Government Securities by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) It said the investment represented 70.08 per cent of the N8.14 trillion pension assets.

“A breakdown of the investment is FGN bonds got N3.96 trillion; treasury bills, N1.68 trillion, agency bond like the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) got N6.54 billion, Sukuk bonds got N51.98 billion and green bond got N8.26 billion.

“The state government securities gulped N154.02 billion; corporate bonds, N393.27 billion; corporate infrastructure bonds,

N8.36 billion; banks, N662.80 billion; commercial papers, N71.75 billion and estate properties, N228.86 billion.

“Other classes of assets include, supra-national bonds, N8.21 billion; open/close end funds, N10.16 billion; mutual

funds, N1987 billion; private equity fund N3727 billion; infrastructure fund, N8.95 billion and cash & other assets N96.13 billion,” the commission said.

FBNInsurance bags ‘A+’ Agusto Rating

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BNInsurance Limited has confirmed its continuous growth amongst the comity of insurers by bagging the prestigious ‘A+’ credit rating from the foremost research and credit ratings company, Agusto & Co. In the final rating report, the credit ratings company acknowledged FBNInsurance as a “financial institution with satisfactory financial condition and adequate capacity to meet its obligations as and when they fall due.” The report states further that: “the rating reflects its (FBNInsurance’s) strong capitalization, good profitability, moderate exposure to underwriting risk, good cash flow and liquidity as well as an experienced management team.”

Industry watchers believe that while the company’s affiliation to FBNHoldings has helped its business development and risk management initiatives, her association with the Sanlam Group (SA) on the other hand has clearly aided the insurer’s technical capabilities thereby making it a vibrant business concern.

This much was acknowledged by her recent announcement as the 2018 AIO/AfricaRe Insurance Company of the Year in Accra, Ghana.

It will be recalled that FBNInsurance has consistently been rated A+ for the past three years. With a growing retail network of over 2000 retail sales agents operating from 42 sales outlets and 3 branch offices nationwide, the company is poised to increase her market share with unique product offerings and a commitment to customer relationship.

Guinea Insurance plans grand

celebrations ahead 60th anniversary, lifts PBT by 35% Guinea Insurance Limited plans to use its forthcoming 60th anniversary celebration to further consolidate its position in the industry.

This is also as the company announced a growth in its Gross Premium Income by 11.7 per cent from N913.4 million in 2016 to N1,020.4 billion in 2017.

Addressing shareholders at the its 60th Annual General Meeting held recently in Benin City, Edo State, Chairman of company Barr.

Godson Ugochukwu, assured that the board is fully committed to growing the company.

He also announced plans to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the underwriting firm.

“This year also marks the 60th Anniversary of our Company. Soon enough, you will begin to see signs of the upcoming grand celebrations as you move around major cities in the country. You will agree with me that 60 years is a milestone of epic proportions. There are only a few insurance companies in Nigeria that can boast of such a rich history, wealth of experience and consistent longevity.

“To this end, the Board and Management have resolved to use the 60th celebrations of our beloved company to further stamp our footprints even more indelibly in the landscape of the insurance industry in Nigeria,” Ugochukwu said. Net Premium Income grew by 15 per cent from N649.5 million in 2016 to N747.1 in 2017, while Underwriting Profit grew from N453.4 million recorded in 2016 to N501.1 in 2017 representing a growth rate of 11 per cent.

•From left: Non-Executive Director, Alhaji Hassan Dantata, Executive Director, Corporate & Legal Services, Mrs. Isioma Omoshie-Okokuku, Chairman, Board of Directors, Barr. Godson Ugochukwu; Company Secretary/Legal Adviser.

LASACO Insurance pays N204m death benefits

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AGOS State Government, in conjunction with LASACO Insurance Plc, has issued cheques worth N240 million to 80 families of deceased public servants as Insurance Death Benefit.

The Head of Service of Lagos State, Mrs. Folasade Adesoye, who presented the cheques to representatives of the families at Alausa, noted that the benefits were given to provide succour for the dependants of deceased Public servants who died in active service of the State.

She said “This is the Lagos State Government’s effort at providing some succour in form of material support and assistance for the families they left behind. This periodic exercise is an obligation which demonstrates the responsiveness of the State government to the need of the families left behind.”

While commending Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the prompt payment of salaries and other benefits to Public Servants in the State, she thanked the Ministry of Finance, State Treasury

Great Nigeria Insurance raises profit 202% A N earlier decision by Management of the Great Nigeria Insurance Plc has received the backing of the company’s shareholders, who unanimously approved the delisting all the ordinary issues shares of the company from the Daily Official List and from trading on the main board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Speaking at the extra ordinary general meeting (EGM) held, Monday, in Lagos, Mr Sunday Solomon Akinsoye, a member of the independent shareholders Association of Nigeria ( ISAN) said that the continued fining of the company by NSE is destroying the investment of minority shareholders.

He noted that the shareholders are not pleased with the regulator,

adding that if such funds paid as fines are channel as dividend or for investment, shareholders will be better for it.

Also, Alex Adio, a shareholder also applauded the board of directors for the bold step they have taken to delist the company voluntarily from the exchange, adding that the company has what it takes to survive after the delisting.

According to him remaining at the exchange has not in any way benefiting to the company, while assuring that shareholders will support all move by the company.

Speaking at the event the chairman of the company, Bada Aluko, said that the decision to delist the company from NSE was as a result of no trading on the shares of the com-

pany over 5years. ”Over the last 5 years, there is little or no trading activity with only 0.50 percent of shares held by the minority shareholders being traded.

There has also been a measurable fall in trading volumes over the last 12 months with an average daily volume of circa 1,200 units during the period January 2017 to December 2017. ”Neither our company nor you, our esteemed shareholders are benefiting from the continued listing as shares are not getting any exit opportunity and their investments have been locked up and they find it difficult to dispose of their shareholders, Moreover, the company is bearing unnecessary cost in complying with its listing obligations.

Office and Lagos State Assurance Company (LASACO) PLC for the part played in ensuring that the families of deceased members of the State Public Service are covered under the Global Insurance Scheme Policy of the government.

Adesoye, however, advised that the funds be put into good use especially by those handling the funds by proxy for the underage beneficiaries, saying “To the immediate beneficiaries, dependants particularly, I appeal that those who will manage the funds should take this advice and counsel given to you earlier by the schedule officers to heart and ensure due diligence as well as proper planning in the expenditure you may need to make, particularly, in the areas of business and investment”.

The Head of Service added that the recipients should endeavour to seek guidance and professional

advice from financial consultants and small business experts before taking decisions which will significantly impact their families.

Earlier, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Balogun, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, commended the State government for increasing the number of beneficiaries to 80 as against 32 that were given last year.

She appealed to all the relatives to be prudent in the spending of monies given out to them and urged them to complete necessary documents that will hasten the processing of other benefits from the State government.

LASACO Insurance Plc was represented at the event by its Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Razzaq Abiodun who advised the recipients to invest their money wisely after carrying out the necessary due diligence.

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structure. Etaduovie said the new four-fund structure will provide contributors the opportunity to improve their long-term terminal retirement benefits by properly aligning individual contributor’s funds with their individual risk profile.

He said: “Contributors are expected to take rational decisions based on a thorough understanding of the options available and of individual needs and expectations.

Th new Multi-Fund Structure seeks to align a contributor’s risk tolerance or appetite with his or her investment return expectations, based on work life cycle. Thus, the RSA Fund has been sub-divided into four Funds, to cater for the different age groups of contributors, including retirees under the CPS. “The four Funds to be established and applicable age groupings include Fund I for young contributors.

This Fund is growth-oriented and is aimed at young contributors who are 49 years and below. “Fund II is default fund/middle-aged contributors.

Fund II is the default Fund and is similar to the current RSA ‘Active Fund.

IEI Anchor targets N100b pension assets

ENSION Fund Administrator (PFA), IEI-Anchor Pensions Managers Limited, said it has concluded plans to grow its Assets Under Management (AUM) to N100 billion next year.

Already, the company has exceeded N80 billion in assets under its management, according to the Managing Director, Glory Etaduovie, who spoke to The Guardian.

He said with the strategies put in place, the company is targeting to be in the league of top PFAs to enable it gain 30 per cent from the transfer window platform.

He added that IEI-Anchor Pensions has been able to sustain growth, and has achieved 98 per cent of its target for the first half of the year, while yearly growth rate achieved stands at 25 per cent.

Speaking on the new Multi-Fund Structure for Retirement Savings Account, introduced by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), he explained that the Fund seeks to improve on the existing two-fund

The Oracle Today

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Wednesday August 8, 2018

News

Kidnappers threaten judge over death penality From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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IDNAPPERS reportedly from Rivers State, Tuesday, threatened a judge of an Akwa Ibom State High Court, Justice Okon Okon, with death.

The kidnappers were said to have attacked the judge in the court premises in Uyo, immediately after he pronounced the death sentence on them, threatening to kill him for sentencing them to death.

It was learnt that the condemned criminals rained abuses on him and also threatened to kill the Akwa Ibom State Government prosecution team.

The condemned criminals were said to have gone berserk, destroying the window of the court-room, and for about an hour refused to leave the courtroom, leading to a

pandemonium along Ikot Ekpene Road, where the court is located.

In the ensuing confusion, other courts, lawyers, and litigants scampered for safety. It took the intervention of a detachment of soldiers and Police to rein the criminals in, taking them into a waiting prison van.

The condemned kidnappers, Bernard Efe Ajomaya, Christian Charles Naya, Daniel West and Shedrach Dick Dala had on 19th May, 2015, kidnapped a medical doctor, Dr. Usen Bassey from his clinic, IniAbasi Clinic in Uyo, and demanded a ransom of N10million.

They were said to have been arrested on their way back to Rivers State in Ogoni with the international passport and financial documents of the medical doctor, and part of the ransom money.

Bayelsa Govt launches Safe Motherhood Initiative Policy

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AYELSA Government on Tuesday inaugurated the Safe Motherhood Initiative Policy as part of its efforts to address infant mortality in the state.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking in Yenagoa at the inauguration of the programme, lauded the state government on its giant strides in the healthcare development.

The programme was tagged: “First Bayelsa Infant and Maternal Mortality Summit’’.

Obasanjo, who spoke as the Chairman of the occasion, described motherhood as important to the society.

The former president called for adequate attention for infants and mothers to enable them to contribute positively to the society.

Earlier, the Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, said that the state government was paying N3, 000

to every pregnant woman who registered for ante-natal care in the government recognised hospitals.

Dickson, however, announced the approval of N2.5 billion to the state Ministry of Health to take care of the needs of the pregnant women.

“From today, the state government will be probing the death of any pregnant woman to know the integrity and quality of the health officials,’’ the governor said.

Also, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, the State Commissioner for Health, said that infant mortality was worrisome, urging mothers to avail themselves of the government’s health facilities in the state.

Etebu decried high maternal and infant mortality rate in the state, with a call for all hands to be on deck to reverse the trend.

•Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel (second left), performing the laying of foundation ceremony for construction of the University of Lagos Alumni Association Research Centre to be sited at the Banking Layout on Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, Tuesday.

Ayade seeks FG’s support in fight against crime

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ROSS River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade has restated his administration’s commitment to leave no stone unturned in other to retain its status as the most peaceful in the country.

Governor Ayade gave the commitment shortly after the weekly Security Council meeting with all security and service commanders as well as the commissioner of Police held in his conference room, Government House, Calabar, yesterday.

Briefing Journalists on the outcome of the meeting, Ayade pointed out that “part of the measures the council adopted was to get the state capital, particularly Calabar South Local Government Area,

2019: INEC, stakeholders canvass more women participation in politics

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OME stakeholders in politics on Monday, called on political parties to field more women as their candidates in the 2019 general elections.

The stakeholders made the call at a summit entitled “Working Together for 2019” organised for female aspirants, in Abuja.

The event which was organised by Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Women in Politics Forum (WIPF) and Women FM, was to enable the aspirants to network ahead of 2019, irrespective of party affiliation.

In a remark, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission was interested in increasing the number of women who were participating in politics in the country.

Represented by the Head of Gender Division in the commission, Mrs Blessing Obidegwu, Yakubu said that the commission was committed to providing a level-playing ground for all stakeholders.

He called on political parties to field more female candidates and support them to win elections.

He said that with women constituting 48 per cent of Nigeria’s populations, political processes needed to be more vigorously respond to issues of women inclusion and empowerment.

According to him, this has become imperative considering the marked decrease in the number of women who won elective positions since 2007.

Yakubu said that available data in the commission showed that in 2015 general elections, only 44 per cent of female voters were accredited to vote compared to 56 per cent male voters. He urged women to take advantage of the ongoing continuous voter registration and get their Permanent Voter Card (PVC).

According to him, nations where women and men are involved in decision-making at all levels tend to develop better and faster than those that do not make deliberate effort to include both gender.

In a contribution, the Chief Executive Officer of NWTF, Mrs Mufuliat Fijabi, urged the participants to take the summit seriously.

She congratulated the courage of the women to vie for political offices as it was a male dominated sphere.

Fijabi expressed hope that more women would be represented in elective offices in 2019 as Nigeria could no longer boast to be the giant of Africa with low women representation in politics.

In her remarks, President of WIPF, Mrs Ebere Ifendu, urged men to canvass votes for women, saying that women had always been supporting

male political ambitions.

She said that 2019 was the turn of women, expressing confidence that majority of the female aspirants would become candidates in the coming weeks.

Ifendu urged female aspirants to evaluate themselves and be physically, mentally and emotionally prepared for the 2019 general elections.

She said that women should also aspire to occupy elective offices of political parties, adding that political parties were the engine rooms where decisions were made.

On his part, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Lehmann, commended the organisers of the summit for focusing on aspirants. He said that Australia remained a major supporter of women as the country was among the top 10 donors to UN Women.

Lehmann pledged the support of the Australian Government to the ambitions of women aspirants as they were looking to fulfil their dreams in the political sphere.

While saluting the courage of the female aspirants, the Country Representative of UN Women, Ms Comfort Lamtey, said all the women aspirants were winners.

Lamtey said women must run for elective political offices with a purpose and not just because they were women.

sufficiently lit,” disclosing that the contract for the revitalization and expansion of the existing street lighting network has been awarded.

The Governor also disclosed that the State security outfit, Homeland Security, will be overhauled and more energy injected with complementary logistics and financial support as well as more personnel drawn from the armed forces and other security operatives in the state to enhance their operation.

Decrying the impact of the ongoing crisis in Southern Cameroon on the state, the governor narrated: “Let me bring to the knowledge of Cross Riverians and indeed Nigerians that 80 percent of security issues we are dealing with is a as result of the war just by our borders.

“The Southern Cameroon guerilla warfare is basically the Amazonians trying to secede from Cameroon.

And as a result, there is an influx of persons into the country through over 27 illegal routes, who smuggle in goods of different kinds, sell them and use the money to acquire arms, recruit our young men and women and use them as machineries to fight back home.

“As a matter of fact, this is an international issue, completely outside the scope of the governor of a state and should be handled by the Presidency. It is against this background that we are addressing a letter to Mr. President officially soliciting his support to address these security challenges in the state occasioned by the illegal immigrants of Southern Cameroon to the state,” Ayade disclosed.

Continuing the governor said: “I will not hesitate to cry out that Cross River State has been left hanging and crying in this crisis.

Aside from the humanitarian effort in addressing the issues in food security in the refugee camps and the communal skirmishes, the state has not received any special incentives knowing that a war at your backyard is a war in your house.”

Ayade further stressed: “Let me say again and again here that the war in Cameroon has direct nega-

tive impact on Cross River State and until we receive the needed federal attention, we will remain vulnerable to the daunting security challenges.

“Let me once again appeal to Mr. President and the National Security Adviser to as a matter of urgency intervene in the security issues in Cross River by ensuring that all military platforms are adequately upgraded and the police fully funded to tackle the rising cases of crimes in the state.”

Disclosing further decisions taken at the security meeting the governor stated: “Cross River and indeed Calabar is too beautiful, our people are too peaceful for what is battling us now. It is only from this security meeting that we realize that the only way we can address this issue is to address the illegal routes through which weapons, illegal goods and the rest enter into Calabar. Today, Calabar has become an illegal trading route by the immigrants who use same to acquire weapons as I mentioned earlier.”

On the inter states crisis, Ayade stated that, Cross River is at war with over four states bordering it, stressing that “these are issues that relate to land disputes long before my own father was born. So, as the governor, while struggling to deal with the internal issues, I am now confronted with international issues beyond the magnitude that the state can carry.

“So, again I use this opportunity to call on Mr. President to please intervene, not for me as state governor, but to support the service commanders and the Nigerian Police for them to effectively and efficiently carryout out their statutory duties of protecting the country.”

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

EQUITY & Capital Market WorldRemit partners Fidelity Bank on money transfer Stories by JEROME USHAKANG

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EADING digital money transfer service WorldRemit, has reached a partnership agreement with Fidelity Bank for the provision of instant money transfers to all Fidelity Bank accounts in Nigeria.

This is in line with WorldRemit’s plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020.

The new partnership, according to a statement, will further expands WorldRemit’s footprint in the country and allows the 15 million Nigerian in Diaspora to send money directly from their phones to recipients in Nigeria.

With a diaspora of over 15 million people living in countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom and Germany, remittances play an increasingly important role in Nigeria’s economy.

The Regional Director for Africa and Middle East at WorldRemit, Andrew Stewart expressed WorldRemit’s joy to be in partnership with the commercial bank.

Stewart said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Fidelity, a leading bank in Nigeria and a major player in the remittance business, to introduce its customers to our best in class online money transfer service, which offers a safer, faster and more cost-effective way to send and receive funds.”

In April, this year, WorldRemit entered a strategic partnership with Lebara as its unlocks digital money transfers for millions of Lebara customers to send money to over 40 African nations.

The partnership deal allows over 3 million Lebara Mobile and Lebara Money users to use WorldRemit’s digital money transfer service seamlessly, directly from the Lebara application and website.

CIS pledges to partner NASS to amend investment laws

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Afreximbank, AfDB to provide $500,000 grant to SMEs

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FRICAN Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide a $500,000 grant scheme for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa through the AfDB’s African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) programme.

The grant would enable the advancement of 20 emerging factoring firms in the continent and increase their financing opportunities. Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance, in which a business sells its accounts receivable to a third party called a factor at a discount. A business will sometimes factor its receivable assets to meet its present and immediate cash needs.

Afreximbank had introduced a model law on factoring to provide a benchmark for African national legislatures’ enacting arrangements.

It would be recalled that during Afreximbank’s yearly meetings and 25th anniversary celebrations in Abuja, Afreximbank President, Dr. Benedict Oramah, said:“The agreement will support our strategy to grow Intra-African trade and facilitate greater SME contribution to regional and global supply chains.”

The agreement was signed on behalf of Afreximbank by the Managing Director of Intra-African Trade, Kanayo Awani, while the Senior Director, Nigeria Country Office, Ebrima FAAL, signed for the AFDB. The signing was in the presence of Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of Austria in Nigeria, Elfriede Geisler, and Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Yutaka Kikuta, who represented the FAPA donor countries.

In July, 2018, Nigeria got 40 percent of Afreximbank $65 billion loan syndications for trade financing and development intervention for being the largest stakeholder and donor of the bank. The 40 percent was expected to cover public investments and private sector working capital particularly, the banks.

CIS pledges commitment with NASS to amend investment laws - The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS, has emphasized its commitment to work with the National Assembly to amend some relevant investment laws that im-

pede Nigeria’s economic development. Meanwhile, the governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, also urged stockbrokers to take the values of their profession to the political space in order to move the country forward. Obaseki, who spoke at the 10th CIS President’s Investiture, explained that every professional stockbroker operates on the premise of ‘my word is my bond’ .

•MD Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo

United Capital tops Nigerian Eurobond Fund

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HE United Capital Plc came top in Nigerian Eurobond Fund as it returned 0.5 percent in June to bring its Year-ToDate (YTD) performance to 3.79 percent.

This represents an annualized return of 7.58 percent, which, according to the fund manager, beats annualized return of 4.1 percent credited to its benchmark, London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) +200 basis points.

The seemingly non-stellar performance has been attributed to the bearish trends in Eurobonds, although corporate bonds remained resilient through the period.

The fund which came to live in 2017 is currently worth $5.21 million equivalent to N1.6 billion as at June 30, 2018 and is an openended mutual fund that invests in Dollar denominated Eurobonds floated by the Federal Government of Nigeria and top-tier corporates.

The aim of the fund is to offer investors a hedge against local currency depreciation as well as long term capital preservation and growth.

It takes an initial subscription of $1,000 and subsequent investments of $500 to invest in the fund which charges 1.506 percent management fee in addition to other fees that brings the total expense ratio to 1.679 percent.

The benchmark, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is the average interbank rates at which a selection of banks on the

London money market are prepared to lend to each other.

The United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund performance is not too different from the performance of its peers or other Eurobond and Dollar funds being managed by various fund managers in Nigeria.

On the other hand, the FBN Eurobond USD Institutional Fund returned 3.02 percent with an annualized 6.02 percent while its sister fund, FBN Eurobond USD Retail Fund returned 1.76 percent annualized 3.42 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018.

Based on the previous statistics, the current performance by FBN Eurobond USD Institutional Fund is nothing compared with its 2017 corresponding period performance of 12.17 percent in 2017.

The Stanbic IBTC Dollar fund on the other hand generated a return of 1.73 percent in the second quarter of the year to bring its YTD performance to 3.65 percent, annualized 7.3percent.

Like its peers, this fund beat its bench mark, six Months Libor which ended the quarter with 0.62 percent return and 1.15 percent for this fiscal year. Stanbic IBTC Dollar 2018 percent half year performance is much more in line with its 2017 performance than its peers.

In 2017, the fund returned 6.26 percent in a year when its bench mark made 1.48 percent.

Meantime, it is doubtful if these funds will repeat their 2017 per-

formance record in 2018 given the events that are unfolding in Eurobond markets as a result of Brexit uncertainties and the sound of drums of trade wars being beaten by the US president as well as the prevailing stability in the local currency.

However, irrespective of the performance, Nigerian investors are still in love with Euro Bond funds as evidenced by the over subscription of the Legacy Dollar fund which recorded a 144 percent over subscription in April.

FBN Eurobond Funds is mutual fund that seeks to provide investors with competitive income and total returns in USD by investing primarily in USD denominated debt instruments issued by the Nigerian Government, corporates and financial institutions.

The fund is said to be suitable to foreign currency deposit investors that want to mitigate the effects of exchange fluctuations and those that seek to diversify their portfolio. The Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund’s objective is to foster currency diversification as well as preservation and appreciation of wealth.

It also seeks to optimize returns to both retail, institutional and high net worth individuals who have preference for investing in dollar denominated securities by investing a minimum of 75 percent in USD Fixed Income Securities and 25 percent maximum in short term USD investment and a maximum of 10 percent investment.

HE Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, (CIS), has emphasized its commitment to work with the National Assembly (NASS) to amend some relevant investment laws that impede Nigeria’s economic development.

This was the submission of the newly elected President of CIS, Mr Adedapo Adekoje, during his investiture as the 10th President in Lagos recently.

Adekoje stated that the Institute will push its pending bill before the National Assembly.

He said, “We will continue to make our inputs into matters of national importance especially in the areas of securities and investment and good governance towards a better Nigeria. The federal government needs, more than ever before to refocus on the capital market as major platform for economic development”.

Also speaking at the investiture ceremony, the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, advised stockbrokers to take the values of their profession to the political space in order to move the country forward He explained that every professional stockbroker operates on the premise of ‘my word is my bond’ and noted that Nigerian politicians needed to embrace this element of integrity in order to ensure economic growth and development.

Wema Bank set to raise N20bn bond

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EMA Bank Plc has disclosed its intention to raise N20 billion through bonds offering in August, 2018.

Acting Chief Executive, Ademola Adebise who revealed this to an online media has confirmed that the bank is in the process of raising Tier II capital, in a quest to boost its capital adequacy above its internal guidance of 15 percent from 14.3 percent.

Adebise said, “This will be the second tranche of the bank’s plans to raise N50billion Tier II capital through bonds to enable it deepen its market penetration and profitability. Wema Bank had in the previous year November, 2017, informed the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) about its banking license which has been upgraded to National Authorisation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It would be recalled that in August 2016, Wema bank had issued a N20 billion bonds aimed at expanding its branch network.

Similarly, the bank issued local currency bonds after scrapping plans to issue a $100 million sevenyear dollar bond because of currency risks.

However, Wema bank is yet to end its dividend drought, though the bank’s Group Managing Director, Segun Oloketuyi, had promised shareholders that the bank will pay dividend soon.

Meanwhile, the bank recently released its results for the half year ended June 30, 2018. Analysis of the half year results showed that Profit after tax also increased from N1.2 billion in 2017 to N1.5 billion in 2018, in the same vein, Profit before tax rose from N1.4 billion in 2017 to N1.8 billion in 2018.

31

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

MONEY Market

CBN auctions Chinese currency in first Yuan sale Stories by KAYODE OGUNWALE

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ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold yuan at a range of N49- N51 at its first auction of the Chinese currency months after it agreed a $2.5 billion swap with Beijing.

The auction, which traders said saw yuan sold for immediate and for 15-day settlement, is part of efforts to encourage the use of an alternative trading currency to the U.S. dollar.

Nigeria imports heavily from Chi-

na and the central bank met with businesses prior to the auction to familiarise them with using yuan.

The CBN had last Friday provided $340 million and 69 million Chinese Yuan to customers seeking foriegn exchange in the agricultural and raw material sector.

Nigeria suffered severe dollar shortages after prices for crude oil plunged in late 2014, prompting the introduction of capital controls in 2015.

It now has multiple exchange

rates against the U.S. currency and has been selling the dollar on the interbank market to boost liquidity after floating the naira for investors.

In May the Central Bank of Nigeria signed a three-year currency swap deal with the People’s Bank of China to facilitate trade between the two countries and boost its reserves.

The acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said the sales in the Chinese

FMDQ, Thomson Reuters join forces to deepen Nigerian financial market

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HOMSON Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, and Nigeria’s foremost debt capital and OTC Exchange, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange have announced a strategic collaboration to deepen capacity to help drive liquidity and enhance the visibility of the Nigerian financial market to domestic and international investors.

Making the announcement at a signing ceremony in Lagos, the two organisations committed to combine forces to help drive Nigeria’s global competitiveness and visibility to global investors.

Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange said, “We are pleased to be formalising our partnership with Thomson Reuters as we cooperate towards the development of the Nigerian financial markets. Having sought a like-minded company with similar values and drive to FMDQ, I believe that this partnership will see both parties leveraging on the knowledge, experience, expertise and uniqueness of one another, in a bid to deepen the markets’ capacity and enhance its visibility to domestic and international investors, he added.”

Managing Director for Africa at

Thomson Reuters, Sneha Shah, said, “Thomson Reuters has been investing in Nigeria and Africa for over 100 years, and has worked closely with FMDQ and the Central Bank of Nigeria to support the development of the market over the years. FMDQ has been a key driver of many of the financial market innovations coming from Nigeria and these are going to be important for other developing markets as well.”

“Nigeria is an economic giant of West Africa and the continent and it is vital that global companies who want to reach the fastest growing markets in the world have access to the opportunities here.

We are excited about the opportunity this partnership brings to help drive sustainable long-term investment into Nigeria.”

Part of the action plan includes conducting joint financial markets events that promote transparency and liquidity as well as skills training to educate the market.

As part of this partnership, Thomson Reuters and FMDQ will work closely across their continental and global offices - including providing FMDQ access to Thomson Reuters’ Innovation Lab in Cape Town, South Africa - to drive innovation in FX, Fixed Income, Risk Management and the Financial Market.

Nigeria’s external reserves drop to $47.303bn, a three-month low

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ATEST data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $47.303 billion, a three-month low.

The reserves which were $47.697 billion on July 11, dropped by $394 million in 13 days, the CBN data revealed.

The data revealed that the reserves rose from $47.333 billion in April 24 to $47.846 billion on May 11.

The reserves which were $47.605 billion on May 31 rose to $47.789 billion on June 29, dropped by $102 million to $47.697 billion on July 11.

It would be recalled that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday expressed optimism that the external reserves would see further accretion.

In the communiqué No 119 of the MPC meeting of July 23 and 24, 2018, which was released on Tuesday by the CBN, the MPC predicted further increases in the level of external reserves in the near term, citing the favourable crude oil prices.

The MPC advised the CBN to sustain its current efforts to maintain

investor confidence and ensure accretion to external reserves.

It also called on the Federal Government to continue to build fiscal buffers against possible oil price shocks in the future, noting that the rise in the monthly distribution of revenues at the Federation Account Allocation Committee portended danger of the absence of reserve buffers to absorb shocks in the future.

Yuan were done through a combination of spot and 15-day tenor.

He said the Chinese Yuan was made available only to customers with Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit for agriculture as well as raw materials and machinery.

Okorafor said the availability of Renminbi would eventually ease pressure on the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

He attributed the current stability in the foreign exchange market to the continued intervention of the CBN as well as the sustained increase in crude oil prices in the international market.

The apex bank remained committed to ensuring all sectors continued to enjoy access to foreign exchange required for business, whether in US dollars or Chinese Yuan, the CBN spokesman said in a

•Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO; Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna, Chairman of the Board of Directors; and Mr. Ajibola Asolo, Company Secretary, all of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange at the company’s 6th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.

Diamond Bank drives Q2 growth with 3.0 m digital customers

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IAMOND Bank has released its second quarter unaudited financial report for the period ended June 30, 2018 to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), emphasising its strong focus on the Nigerian market, especially the retail business segment through its digital penetration strategy.

The report showed that the Bank’s digital strategy is paying off as the institution recorded a milestone figure of three million digital customers as well as a significant increase in its mobile platform transaction fees. Non-interest income of the Bank went up 6.4 percent to N18.8 billion on higher fees from

retail transactions on mobile platform while customers loan volume decreased by 3.6 percent to N728.7 billion as maturities exceeded new loans during the period but investments in fixed income securities increased 8 percent to N241.7 billion over the same period, according to the report.

Although the Bank’s net interest income reduced year-on-year by 14.4 percent to N46.2 billion due to lower interest income from loans and investments, and higher interest expense on deposits; impairment charges declined 2.9 percent to N18.39 billion. The Bank’s profit after tax for the first half of the year

Analysts predicts increase in inflation rate for August

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nalysts at Financial Derivative Company (FDC) have projected a rise in inflation figures for the month of August on anticipated supplementary budget spending.

In a post-MPC report, analysts equally foresee declining private sector lending, increased unemployment and underemployment (40 percent) and an estimated Q2 GDP growth rate of 1.7 percent to 1.9 percent in the near term. They said the factors behind the MPC holding rates include anticipated year-end inflation rate of 13 percent; month-on-month inflation annualized at 15.94 percent; marginal increase in money supply (M2); dripping external reserves ($4 billion

statement.

At last week’s auction, some banks got as much as 60 percent of the yuan amounts they applied for, while one trader said his bank got 5 percent. Traders said the volume sold was based on the price quoted for the yuan, also known as the renminbi.

CBN has tried several options to curb the resultant pressure on the naira, but some will not show an effect for some time.

The central bank currently auctions dollars at a range of N330N350.

The naira trades at around N362 on an over-the-counter system used by lenders while the unit is quoted at around 305 per dollar on the official market, supported by central bank’s regular intervention.

outflow in 3 months); and higher US interest rates Explaining the proposed lending incentive, FDC noted that CBN’s plan to reduce lending rates for employment elastic sectors by commercial issuance will encourage financial disintermediation.

According to the FDC, decisions on the cash reserve ratio implies that “banks can access CRR provided they lend for 7 years and a 2-year pass,” which is not available for refinancing of existing deals. However, as money supply inches higher on the backdrop of pre-election spending potential external impacts such as an increase in US rates, possible decline on oil price amidst unlikely disruption in produc-

tion is likely to impact consumers.

A review of food commodities prices in July 2016 compared with current prices show prices of palm oil, garri, rice, flour, sugar, and cement have declined by 33, 32, 16, 40, 17 and 6 percent respectively, prices of beans, tomatoes and semovita has increased by 59, 18 and 16 percent apiece while the price of a large tuber of old yam has remained flat. Macroeconomic scorecard for selected sub-Saharan African countries reveal most central banks are adopting a wait and see approach as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa have opted to retain monetary policy rates while Angola opted to drop rate on a negative GDP growth rate as at Q4’17.

stood at N2.2 billion.

Commenting on the result, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Uzoma Dozie said: “At a macro level the Nigerian economy continued to record improvements because of stable, higher than anticipated oil prices.

We have witnessed 15 months of expansion reflected in monthly PMI data, but investor sentiment has remained mixed caused in part by the election season factor. We have capitalised on the positive macro environment to sustain interest income in the short run with positive prospects for growth and have made progress in growing non-interest income.

Importantly, we have continued to build awareness of Diamond Bank in the wider financial ecosystem to develop new frontiers in retail banking. Amongst this activity were the Beauty Souk and TechFest events, targeted at entrepreneurs and emerging businesses in the fashion and technology sectors respectively. Our partnership with Lagos Business School’s Enterprise Development Center to support young entrepreneurs continued with the seventh season of the Building Entrepreneurs Today program. In addition to retail banking, we are investing more resources in our midmarket business banking services to seize the opportunities emerging in that segment. In the second half of 2018, these investments will lead to improved profitability overall.

32

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS NAFDAC seizes medical devices, expired drugs at Akanu Ibiam airport

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ational Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has seized fake medical devices, cosmetics, expired drugs and empty labels worth N5.804 million at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

NAFDAC’s Airport Head, Mr John Okwori, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday.

Okwori said that the seized fake products included unregistered and unlabeled blood glucose test strips unbranded from China to be possibly labelled in Nigeria and sold as imported original brand.

He noted that other items confiscated were herbal skin doctor massage cream for stretch marks, which had no NAFDAC registration number and was equally imported from China.

According to him, the agency also seized empty PVC cosmetic packaging containers for counterfeiting registered products and Benchmate PAR-BRO 60 powder in sachets all imported from China.

“NAFDAC is hereby warning prospective importers of fake consignments to desist from patronising the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, as the unit is up and ready to deal appropriately with such violators.

“Just as the NAFDAC DirectorGeneral, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has directed that serious action be taken against such imports and violators henceforth,’’ he said.

2019: Forget about APC -- Anglican Bishop tells Nigerians

11,100 Nigerians return home from Libya - EU

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uropean Union (EU) on Tuesday said no fewer than 11,100 Nigerians, who were among irregular migrants in Libya, had so far returned to the country.

EU Deputy Head of Delegation in Nigeria, Mr Richard Young, made the disclosure at a Public Lecture and Book Launch to commemorate the 2018 World Day Against Human Trafficking organised by NAPTIP in Abuja.

The United Nations had in 2013 adopted a resolution that every July 30 should be set aside as the World Day Against Human Trafficking.

This is to raise awareness on the

situation of victims and for the promotion and protection of their rights.

Young explained that 9,000 Nigerians were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), while the Federal Government also brought 2,100 in the recent evacuation exercise.

According to him, 57,000 of them are still stranded in various camps in Libya, according to the figures made available by IOM after its survey conducted in various camps.

The EU deputy head of delegation said that the union was working with relevant stakeholders and

agencies to ensure that the stranded Nigerians return home.

Young said EU was in partnership with NAPTIP to ensure that human trafficking was defeated.

He called for a joint task force with the International Law Enforcement Agencies for effective war against human trafficking.

In her remarks, the NAPTIP’s Director-General, Ms Julie Okan-Donli, said that the issue of human trafficking should be a concern for every nation as it affected all aspect of human life.

Okah-Donli explained that human trafficking endangered public

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Police nab 43 kidnap, armed robbery suspects, others in Abia

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• Firefighters and onlookers at the premises of Ecobank headquarters on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, Tuesday NAN Photo

By IBE NWACHUKWU oliticians have been called upon to withdraw all their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) which has obviously disappointed Nigerians and transfer same to any other political party that would help to move Nigeria forward.

The Anglican Bishop of Aguata Diocese, Rev. Samuel Ezeofor who made the call at the St. James the Great Anglican Church Cathedral, Atani, headquarters of Anglican Diocese of Ogbaru, during the consecration of Rev. Prosper Amah as the Bishop of Ogbaru Diocese, said what is important now is for politicians to look around and find out which of the parties that will move the nation forward and then join the bandwagon.

“APC has moved us backward and if we must progress, we must do the needful by leaving the APC which could not lead Nigeria into success and queue behind a better party that can guarantee our progress because we must progress as a nation since Nigeria is bigger than a single individual or APC as a political party,” according to Bishop Ezeofor.

Chancellor of the Diocese, Justice Pete Obiora, while presenting the key of a new brand Toyota SUV bought by the lay faithfuls to Amah, their new Bishop, said they were welcoming him to the Diocese with an open heart and urged him to do his best in shepherding the flock in the Diocese.

Obiora also praised the out-going Bishop Ezeofor who as the pioneer Bishop of Ogbaru Diocese, did marvelously well in the service of God and humanity and urged him to replicate the same in his new Aguata Diocese.

health, fuels violence and organised crimes.

“We shall be talking about injustice, man’s inhumanity to man, the outrage of human trafficking which must be called by its true name, modern slavery.

“This event is, therefore, a clarion call on us all to deploy all possible strategies to rescue and empower victims of human trafficking.

“This will be done by ensuring that they see and rise beyond the boundaries of uncertainties,” the NAPTIP chief said.

Non-treatment of leprosy aids spread - Afia From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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edical Superintendent of the Leprosy Hospital in Akwa Ibom state, Dr. Afia Afia, has said untreated cases of leprosy promote the spread of the disease and is a danger to the community where cases are found.

Speaking, Monday in Ekpene Ebom, Etinan local government area, Dr Afia disclosed that the hospital has an average of five leprosy cases a month.

He revealed that the disease has been discovered to be rampant in the Annang speaking areas of the state but no reason has been discovered for its prevalence in those areas.

He further explained that many undetected or untreated cases could lead to the spread of the disease especially by contact with the leprous persons, noting that the disease is spread by droplets, maybe through sneezing or inhaling the bacteria from an infected person.

The Medical Superintendent, who said leprosy is curable, stated that the disease is slowly contagious and has an incubation period that could span 21 years.

He noted that once the patient is treated and cured, the person cannot transmit the disease, adding that immediately treatment commences in new detected cases, between 48 -72 hours the patient cannot infect anybody again.

He however said the problem has always been that a small proportion of leprous patients have not ac-

cessed treatment which is free. He said many of them shy away from the treatment for fear of stigmatization, thereby becoming a danger to the community.

Explaining that the earliest sign of leprosy is a patch on the skin that appears lighter than a person’s normal complexion and a loss of sensation or numbness is felt on that patch, Afia added that the State government goes on random and regular outreach for the detection of news cases of the disease.

He noted that sensitization programmes are placed on radio and television regularly and called on persons who are affected to come out for treatment so as to arrest the disease before it begins to eat away at the fingers and toes of victims, and may eventually lead to the amputation of their limbs.

He called on the larger society to stop the stigmatization against leprosy patients, and their children, and treat them as humans, as well as help them as anybody could become a victim.

“Leprosy is curable and children of leprosy patients don’t automatically have leprosy. It is not transmitted through the placenta or given at birth, no! Leprosy is transmitted from person to person, from an untreated patient; those are the ones that can infect you. Even at that, you need to be in contact for very long time. The incubation period can be as long as 21 years, it is slowly contagious and it is believed to be by droplets maybe sneezing, inhaling the bacteria.

“Leprosy is curable, once the patient is treated and is cured, he/she does not transmit. In fact if you have a new case now, immediately you start the treatment, in 48 -72 hours, that patient cannot infect anybody anymore. The problem has always been that small proportion of them that has not accessed treatment; they remain untreated and continue to be danger to the community.

“We have a lot of new cases of leprosy, an average of about five a month. What we just noticed is that a lot of the patients we have and the ones we are receiving as new patients come from a particular axis of the state which is mostly from the Annang speaking local governments: Etim Ekpo, Ukanafun, Oruk Anam, Abak, Essien Udim, and Ika. But we still have some from other local governments: Mkpat Enin, Ibiono Ibom, Ikono but not as much as we received from the Annang speaking areas. We have not been able to pin what is responsible for leprosy in these places.

“The earliest sign for leprosy is a patch on your skin. A patch that is lighter than your normal complexion. That should raise serious suspicion especially if you are from the area that I have talked about. And there is loss of sensation on that patch, you don’t feel anything. Once you have that, know that is leprosy.

Other symptoms could be numbness or you feel weak in your limb.

You notice that you cannot do the things you used to do before easily, and you have noodles all over your face and eruptions.”

olice Command in Abia has arrested 43 suspects for various criminal offences including kidnapping, armed robbery, murder and defilement, within 40 days.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Anthony Ogbizi, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists in Umuahia on the efforts of the command to rid the state of violent crimes.

Ogbizi said that the arrest was a result of efforts by the command to ensure a peaceful and crime-free society.

“Some of the suspects are notorious. They have been arrested before in connection with crimes and later released but here they are today for similar crimes,” he said.

He also attributed the arrest to the improved synergy between the police and the state vigilance group.

The commissioner urged the public, especially motorists, to be vigilant, saying that criminals had devised new tactics of stealing cars.

According to him, the criminals were trailing people with exotic vehicles to churches, big ceremonies and popular shopping malls in Umuahia and its environs.

Some of the suspects included alleged members of a confraternity called Aro Confraternity, a syndicate that specialised in car theft and other crimes.

One of them also was a fish seller, 29-year-old Emmanuel Nwadike, who narrated how he defiled an eight-year-old Primary three pupil in Owerri-Aba on July 20.

Nwadike, a father of two, said that he committed the crime around 9 a.m, saying that he was moved by the devil to commit the act.

A 37-year-old Enyinnaya Okebugwu, who was arrested for allegedly killing 56-year-old Chairman of Umuoko-Umudala Ntigha in Isialangwa North Local Government Area, also confessed to the crime in an interview with newsmen.

Okebugwu said that he clubbed the man to death on a lonely bush path in the community to avenge the disconnection of his electricity line.

He said that the deceased, who was the chairman of the community’s electricity task force, disconnected his house for allegedly being in arrears of nine months, totaling N800.

The commissioner of police said that the 43 suspects “will be arraigned immediately”.

He said that during investigation the suspects volunteered useful information that helped the police to arrest their fleeing accomplices.

“We could not immediately arraign them. We kept them in custody because we needed to get useful information from them to be able to arrest their accomplices,” Ogbizi said.

33

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

Love and Living

...With Ireto Temofeh

MODEL OF THE WEEK

LOVE NEWS

Wife sue husband for forcing her to perform ‘unnatural’ oral sex

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woman in India is attempting to sue her husband after being forced to perform ‘unnatural’ oral sex during their four years of marriage.

The unnamed wife has taken her case to the Supreme Court after being filmed by her demanding partner as she was made to frequently engage in oral sex, reportedly against her will.

Such acts including anal or oral sex could be tried as ‘sex against the order of nature’ under Indian law.

Times of India reported the wife’s doctor husband ‘was incapable of comprehending her objection’ against physical interactions.

‘She was compelled to put up with the depraved demands, which were often accompanied by threats and physical abuse,’ the victim’s lawyer Aparna Bhat said.

The woman married her partner in 2014. They were engaged since she was just 15-years-old in 2002.

She previously accused the husband of marital rape, a case that was thrown out by the Gujarat High Court.

Bhat argued that the husband

should be tried under Section 377 of the India Penal Code that can jail people for ‘intercourse against the order of nature’.

But judges ruled that consenting oral sex did not meet the requirements to charge the husband with an offence.

It’s believed that woman has filed an appeal against the verdict.

Section 377 of India’s penal code is a relic from 1860s British legislation that is better regarded for banning homosexuality.

Prosecutions are rare and there are strong calls to remove the rule from law to effectively decriminalise gay sex.

It affects all sexual orientations nonetheless, including gays, lesbians, heterosexuals, transgender and bisexuals.

The ‘draconian’ law also makes any form of non-vaginal penetrative sex illegal, as well as use of sex toys by a female and oral sex between two individuals.

According to official data, 2,187 cases under Section 377 were registered in 2016 under unnatural offences. Seven people were convicted and 16 acquitted.

ROMANTIC JOKE

THE EXPLORER

NAME: BLESSING PROFESSION: ACTRESS/MODEL • If you want to be our next ORACLE GIRL, e-mail or forward your photos/data to ireto007@yahoo.com. Call 07031028714.

ODD NEWS

The beauty treatment you can DRINK

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classic gin and tonic doesn’t usually come with any health benefits, but now a new pink tipple could change all that.

The inventors of a gin infused with anti-ageing collagen have now launched a pink version that is said to taste ‘floral’ with a hint of rose.

Collagin Rose contains more collagen, which is said to help give you more youthful, glowing skin.

The original Collagin, which is sold on Ocado, proved a smash hit, so the creators are hoping the pink version will be just as popular.

The gimmicky gin is pricey at £36.99 a bottle, and is £2 more expensive than its original Collagin.

It’s currently only available to buy at Notonthehighstreet.com.

Its creators describe it a having ‘an elegant and refined flavour,’ adding: ‘With rose oil steam distilled from

rose petals.

‘Collagin Rose hosts 11 botanicals including pink grapefruit and orris, but with the innovative addition of pure collagen. The result is a deliciously smooth, velvety gin with floral notes, finished with a subtle rose sweetness.’

The collagen-infused gin was invented by best friends and entrepreneurs Camilla Brown and Liz Beswick, from Oxford, who decided to tap into the booming booze and beauty industries by combining gin with pure collagen three years ago.

Speaking to FEMAIL in 2016, they said: ‘Gin surpassed a billion pounds in sales last year and is on the up, however even with so many new gins launching all the time, none have the unique selling point that Collagin has.

‘As we age, our collagen breaks

down so drinking pure collagen helps keep our dermis youthful and resilient.’

They added: ‘The beauty world and the booze world are huge, so why not merge them and create a whole new world?’

How does collagen help give you youthful skin?

Collagen is found in our muscles, bones, joints, and tendons and because collagen contributes to healthy hair and strong nails, and makes up to 75 percent of our skin.

The body’s production of collagen starts decreasing from our mid-20s by about one per cent per year.

It can’t stop ageing if you take collagen supplements but there are some studies that do show an improvement to skin with the supplementation of collagen.

An explorer goes into an undiscovered tomb for the first time, and in the center of the tomb there’s a lamp. He picks it up, and as he starts to rub the dirt off of it, a genie comes out of the lamp and says, “I want to know the person you hate the most.” The explorer says, “That’s gotta be my ex-wife.

Why?” “I am a cursed genie. I will grant you three wishes, but whatever you wish for, your ex-wife will get double that amount.” “Okay, I wish for a billion dollars.” “Granted, but you ex-wife gets two billion dollars.” “I wish for a mansion in California with a swimming pool, and tennis courts, everything.” “Granted, and your ex-wife gets two.” “Now make your final wish.” The explorer walks around for a few minutes, returns to the genie with a stick, and says, “You see this stick? I’d like you to beat me half to death.”

34

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

True Confession ‘I paid another man to get me H pregnant for my impotent husband’ ow can you know that a man is infertile or impotent before marrying to him? I love men with muscles, and so I was naturally attracted to Charles. He was 47, I was 36, and we were both happy about having an affair leading to marriage.

We knew both of us were getting older and needed to settle down fast so that we could begin to have children before old age comes. Charles was almost 50 and I was already over 35, so we had to take the decision to wed rather fast.

Charles and I only courted for two months, and our courtship was like paradise on earth. Right from the moment I knocked on his door and he opened for me to enter, he would carry me in his arms from the doorstep straight to the bed and make sweet love to me in a way I have never experienced.

His touch was a memory, because I never could forget the way he touched me and made me reach cloud nine.

He was a good artist. And sometimes after we had made love, he would tell me to pose naked on the bed and use a pencil to make a breathtaking sketch of me on paper. I framed some of his black & white drawings of me nude because they were so beautiful.

Charles told me I had eyes like a cat; that my skin was the colour of honey, and that my hair was as beautiful and black as midnight. He was tall and had to look down into my eyes to say I love you.

I couldn’t resist him when he kissed me, because his kiss was as soft as a feather and as satisfying as rain on dry land. I was both hungry and thirsty for his love. And I thought I would die if I didn’t have Charles all night by my side.

However, the first seven years of our marriage were of deep concern to me, because all attempts to get pregnant for Charles failed woefully. Initially, I thought I hadn’t taken in because we didn’t have plenty of sex due to job stress.

So we started having sex as if there was no tomorrow. But still, it didn’t work. And after 10 years of marriage, I was at my wits end.

I asked Charles if there was anything wrong with us, and he said nothing.

He just kept silent whenever I raised the issue. His silence was suspicious and I told him so.

Then one night, Charles woke me up from sleep at 3am and said he had a confession to make. He now confessed to me that when he was younger he contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD), which affected his reproductive ability.

My husband said his sperm count was extremely low and therefore, it was going to be very difficult, if not impossible for me to bear a child for him.

I now asked him why he didn’t tell me all these things before marrying me. I asked him why he had wasted my time for 10 whole years before telling me the truth about his condition.

And he said he was sorry and that if he had told me during our courtship, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him.

Charles now said that people have

“ And he said he was sorry and that if he had told me during our courtship, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him. Charles now said that people have been referring to us as a barren couple and that it is his entire fault. He suggested we get children from outside to hide our shame. ” been referring to us as a barren couple and that it is his entire fault. He suggested we get children from outside to hide our shame.

I called my ex-boyfriend and promised to pay him $5,000 if he impregnated me. And he succeeded in making me pregnant. Of course, Charles, my husband, celebrated when I got pregnant twice and bore two children

purportedly for him in quick succession. And then our stigma as a barren couple vanished. We are now living happily in South Africa.

I just want to share this my story with some childless couples today so that they will know that there is still light at the end of the tunnel. A woman who is living with an impotent man as a husband can still get pregnant by having

a boyfriend outside with the consent of her husband, especially if the man is against adoption. You don’t need to do anything criminal or illegal just to have your own child.

Sometimes love is like the ocean, too deep to understand. And a woman who truly loves her husband should be ready to do anything to save her marriage.

35

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

Relationships and Love Advice

She dumped me after squandering my money

Love Search Women seeking relationship/ marriage Blessing, 26, fair, fat, in Anambra, needs a responsible, God-fearing and buoyant man of 40-55 years that can take good care of her.

08038198746.

Mojisola, 43, works in Lagos, needs a Yoruba man of 45-50 years for marriage. 08091027827.

Chidinma, 28, single mother, HIV positive, needs a HIV positive man of 35-50 years for marriage.

08160430231.

Uchechi, 36, a graduate, tall, fair, needs a tall, fair, graduate, Igbo evangelist, pastor or God fearing Igbo man for marriage. 08052366993.

Wunmi, works in Lagos, needs a working Yoruba man from 32-45 years who attends Cherubim & Seraphim for marriage. 09075839386.

Joy, 30, graduate, tall, light in complexion, from Kogi, living in Kaduna, wants a responsible graduate, Christian man within 35-42 years for marriage. 08127651483.

Lora, graduate, works, HIV Positive, based in Jos, wants a HIV positive man of 35-40 years for marriage. 08090925014.

Dear Love Doctor,

I

dated a girl for two years, providing for her and telling her that I need to have a golden marriage.

No pre-marital sex. She came pressing me to have sex with her but I refused. I later gave in to her in order to show I’m not impotent. As we dated, she kept on deceiving me by saying that it was not yet time for me to see her parents.

After ‘eating’ (squandering) my money, I heard she was telling people how foolish I am, according to her. Later, someone showed me her wedding invitation card. I confronted her and she said that since I’m from another tribe she cannot marry me.

She even called me a coward, saying that there is nothing I can do since she is going to marry another man, and that her people are ready for me with machetes. I was shocked because she claimed to be a born again Christian. What do I do now?

Thanks, Joe.

Love Doctor’s Advice: Dear Joe,

H

ow can you date a girl for two years without realizing that she doesn’t love you and is only after your money? Not wanting pre-marital sex is good, but that girl was only pretending in order to deceive you. It’s common knowledge that many people who claim to be religious are mere hypocrites or pretenders.

Open your eyes next time. Don’t be deceived. Some men think because they’re rich, they can buy the love of any girl. Maybe you thought you could win her heart by providing for her. You didn’t know she had other plans.

Announcements Taking care of a girl won’t make her love you. Money can’t buy love. Go for hard-working girls.

Experienced married men will tell you that a girl who depends on a man to take care of her is lazy and will never make a good wife.

A wife material is hard-working and undemanding. Girls who think they’re smart and play on the intelligence and hearts of men later meet their Waterloo in the hands of another man.

Don’t make trouble with her. Let her go. Have faith in God and keep

AUGUST CELEBRANTS! If your birthday is in the month of August, send your beautiful birthday pictures and let’s celebrate you! Send your birthday pictures now to ireto007 @yahoo.com searching for your ideal woman. In due time, you will find the one that is perfect for you.

Do you have advice on this problem? Please share your thoughts. Call 07031028714 or 08131161840.

Email: ireto007@yahoo.com Do you have a marriage/wedding, birthday, anniversary or club or town meeting announcement to make? Call 07031028714 now!

Roseline, 38, chocolate, from Cross River, living in Port Harcourt, needs a honest, mature, caring, god-fearing and well-to-do man of 40-50 years for marriage. 08180072310.

Blessing, 33, from Imo, in Lagos, fat, busty, single mother, needs a matured man of 45years+ for marriage. 08025117116, 08053407885.

E-Mail: ireto007@yahoo.com Go to foodstuffs. com.ng. Call Love Doctor: 07031028714, 08131161840.

Men seeking relationship/ marriage A 36-year-old man wants a very fair, beautiful, working class graduate lady between 23-30 years for marriage. 09035867445.

Amara needs a mature woman who can help him. 08142372211.

Lanre, self-employed, needs a very fair girl who is ready to have a baby and start a family. She should either be Yoruba or a Northerner. 07030595988.

Emmy, tall, handsome, works in Lagos, wants a mature, sexy, nurse or working lady from 23-35 years in Lagos for a relationship leading to marriage. 08077821830.

Uche needs a tall, busty, working lady in Lagos between 20-40 years. 08131161840.

Chigozie, 37, from Ebonyi, fair, 5.6ft, works in Lagos, needs a God-fearing, working class lady for a relationship leading to marriage. 08164630953.

John, 52, a widower with two kids, from Edo, in Lagos, needs a fair, plump, Christian woman.

08025313929.

Ogbonna, 40, from Ebonyi, in Abuja, business man, needs a working class lady between 30-40 years for marriage. 09069054706.

36

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

It happened to me:

I was a one-night stand sugar mummy

M

y husband, Terry and I have been married for 13 years and we have three little boys aged 8, 10 and 12 years. We are by no means rich, but we are not poor either; we have just enough money to pay our bills, and also good savings at the bank.

Our three boys are happy and carefree, and Terry is a deeply caring, attentive husband and father. I know that I am a very, very lucky woman.

However, ever since our first boy was born twelve years ago, Terry gradually lost interest in making love.

We have not made love regularly since the youngest was conceived over eight years ago.

It is not as if Terry has another woman or anything like that. He just isn’t interested in sex at all. It seems that our three boys are all Terry ever really wanted out of our marriage, and now his world is complete and he doesn’t want anything more.

He is such a wonderful father that for the sake of our boys I’d rather not rock the boat. Besides, I want to feel wanted and desired as a woman.

Simply telling Terry how I feel seems pointless if he’s not interested in making love anyway. I’m sure he just assumes that I am not interested in sex either and that everything’s just fine.

So about a year ago, I decided I needed to find a solution to the lack

of sex in my marriage.

I wanted a simple, no-strings attached solution that wouldn’t risk my marriage or hurt and embarrass Terry and the boys in any way. We live in Lagos and walls have ears. I didn’t want anybody to start spreading rumours about me and hurting my family.

During the Easter break, I convinced my husband to travel with the children to the village for the weekend and leave me at home in Lagos to attend to some businesses.

So when Terry my husband took the boys away to the village, I first thought of talking to one of the young men in our neighborhood. But I was scared of having a boyfriend so close to my husband’s house. So I decided to do my hair first and think of an alternative.

I was doing my hair at the local hairdressing salon when the hairdresser offered me a newspaper to glance through.

I was browsing through the link up pages of the newspaper when I spotted the advertisement of a muscular guy looking for a sugar mummy.

The advert said this guy needed a woman or sugar mummy for a “discreet relationship”. I quickly checked to see if anyone was looking. When I was certain no one was looking, I tore out the advertisement and slipped it into my purse.

That evening, I dialled the advertised number. A deep, sexy male voice answered. He was called Anthony. We arranged to meet at a nearby hotel. So I booked a room in the hotel and gave him the room number and said i would be there waiting for me.

I didn’t want anybody to see us together at the hotel lobby. I couldn’t afford to take any chances. That’s why I told him to come up straight to the room and meet me.

At the hotel, a tall, dark and muscular young man greeted me at the door. I was already feeling horny even before I opened the door for him, because it had been quite some time since I had been intimate with a man. Besides, the excitement from my expectation of him turned me on.

As soon as I opened the door, Anthony smiled into my eyes and hugged me. He was so handsome!

We chatted for some time because I wanted to know a few things about him before I could fully open up to him. When I was sure that he was quite a responsible person and not a criminal, I told him I wanted to take a shower first before we get down to business.

So Anthony gently took my hand and led me into the bathroom. He undressed me and bathed me by himself. It was so romantic watching this young man wash my body.

Even my husband had never given me a bath in all my years of marriage.

I’ll never forget the rest of what happened that day! For one night only, I was a cherished and desirable woman.

After the show, I paid the young man a few thousands as expected of a good ‘sugar mummy’. I told him that whenever I needed his services, I would call on him. I warned him never to call me, especially when I was at home, to avoid my husband having knowledge of what I had done.

The young man respectfully and humbly agreed to abide by my instructions and since then, our relationship has truly been discreet.

When I first married Terry, I never thought I would be the kind of wife who would pay like a sugar mummy to have sex with a young man, especially a man so much younger than me. But I do know that I am more content and a better wife and mother because of that one special night when that young man gave me real sexual satisfaction for the money. I was a one-night stand sugar mummy, but I have no regrets about it!

• Do you have a story or comment about this confession? Call 07031028714.

The Oracle Today

News

37

Wednesday August 8, 2018

Eni to double Okpai power generation capacity

By SOPURUCHI ONWUKA

I

TALIAN oil multinational company with business interest in Nigeria, ENI, has declared intention to double its power generation capacity in Nigeria following increasing stability in the Niger Delta.

The firm which owns local Agip companies in Nigeria stated that the prevailing security and social stability in the region has given reason for further investment in plant capacity expansion at its combined cycle thermal power generation plants at Okpai in Delta State.

Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Eni, Mr. Antonio Vella, commended government and the

company’s industry partner, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on committing efforts towards restoration of peace and social stability in the operating environment.

He said NNPC deserves commendation for the improved security situation in the Niger Delta which has rubbed off positively on the operations of international oil companies.

Mr. Vella, who led the management team of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on a courtesy visit to the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, in Abuja Tuesday said the prevailing peace and security in the region had increased investors’ confidence in

Nigeria’s petroleum industry, adding that his company was considering doubling its investment in the country.

“The steps the GMD has taken have greatly improved security in our area of operations, that is very important to us as it has given us confidence to come back strongly and raise oil and gas production.

And that is what we are doing, we are increasing our budget in Nigeria because we have confidence in Dr.

Baru and the entire system”, he said.

Mr. Vella disclosed that NAOC was redoubling efforts on the ongoing expansion of the Okpai Independent Power Project and the Zabazaba Project to achieve early completion as a result of the improved operating environment.

According to him, the Okpai IPP expansion would be completed by the second quarter of next year and would raise the power generating

capacity of the plant by over fifty percent.

On his part, the NNPC GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said his management was focused on making the operating environment safe and conducive for more investors to come in.

Dr. Baru expressed optimism that the increase in production achieved

by Agip would boost the nation’s chances of meeting production and reserve targets.

Lagos begins campaign against sexual harassment in workplaces

L

AGOS State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) says it has commenced its “Lagos Says No to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”, to proactively address sexual harassment in the workplace.

State Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said, Tuesday in Lagos that sexual harassment was a crime, adding that the state government reserved a right to intervene.

Vivour-Adeniyi said a survey was conducted on the impact of domestic violence on the workplace.

According to her, majority of the results indicated that victims cannot concentrate as a result of the issues they faced at home.

“Majority of women sampled also said they recorded a number of mistakes, felt tired at work due to sleep deprivation and generally unable to work well.’’

She, however, encouraged corporate organisations to put structures in place for reporting.

“Corporate organisations, therefore, need to be awakened to the reality that this and more can be hidden issues in workplace wellness and productivity,” Vivour-Adeniyi said.

She said that workers of some of the multinational companies were recently engaged in several related issues including sexual harassment,

steps to take to report and the role of corporate organisations in ensuring safe spaces.

The state coordinator of DSVRT said the workers were also engaged on the impact of sexual harassment, some of which include depression, posttraumatic stress disorder.

Vivour-Adeniyi said that DSVRT engaged over 100 Human Resource Professionals and psychologists from various corporate organisations at a workshop organised by the Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

She said that the engagement was focussed on the impact of Domestic Violence on the Workplace.

“The participants were informed of what domestic violence is and the negative impact of domestic violence on survivors.

“Some of these include inability of victims to fully participate in the workforce, reduced productivity, frequent absenteeism, loss of jobs, potential harm to employees, coworkers and/or customers when violent abusers enter the workplace.

“This can be dangerous, as companies may be held liable if violence erupts in their premises,” the DSVRT coordinator said.

She said DSVRT could be reached on 0813-796-0048 or by dialling *6820#, adding that it was readily available to assist.

FG rakes in over N747bn from oil tax, royalty – DPR

By JEROME USHAKANG

T

HE Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said the Federal Government earned N747.6billion from taxes and royalties paid by oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria in 2016.

This was contained in DPR’s report made available at a workshop organised for ‘Energy Correspondents’ in Lagos over the weekend, adding that figures for year 2017 will soon be released.

The DPR said the revenue represented about 83 per cent of the agency’s target. It also stated that it has renewed close to 25 oil blocks, which had combined revenue of about one billion dollars.

The regulatory agency in addition approved 16 new field development plans in 2017, which would increase the nation’s oil and gas production by 560,463 when completed.

“We renewed 19 expired leases

in 2017 to enhance upstream investment influx and accelerate oil and gas reserves and production growth.

“We actively supported the implementation of a major gas commercialisation programme, which seeks to create a regulatory framework to facilitate gas flare monetisation to end gas flaring by 2020,” DPR said.

The agency said it issued ten licences and approval for development of gas production and processing facilities that culminated in the commencement of the operation of the plant.

The agency said it revised and issued new DPR procedure guide for the determination of quantity and quality of petroleum products in Nigeria.

The DPR said it initiated early lease renewal programme to accelerate revenue generation for government.

•(From left): Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku receiving the former Governor of Jigawa State and Presidential aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Sule Lamido at the Exco Chambers of the Taraba Government House, in Jalingo, Tuesday.

PDP holds hope for Nigeria – Ishaku

T

ARABA Governor, Darius Ishaku has affirmed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), holds the hope for Nigeria.

The Governor stated this in Jalingo on Tuesday while receiving the Former Governor of Jigawa State and Presidential aspirant of the PDP at the Exco Chamber of the Taraba Government House.

According to him, the party must consult widely to pick a competent and credible presidential candidate for 2019.

“At the proper time, God will help us in the PDP to pick an acceptable candidate for the 2019 Presidential election. I want to assure Nigerians that PDP will bounce back in 2019,”

he said.

He described Alhaji Sule Lamido as a true Nigerian and an ambassador of the masses who always puts Nigeria and the masses first.

In his remarks, Alhaji Sule Lamido said Nigerians must flush out Buhari in 2019 for a better, secured and prosperous Nigeria.

He noted that Nigerians have now seen the light and would be in a better place to make real change in 2019.

“We must flush out what is called Buhari for a better, secured and prosperous Nigeria in 2019.

“I want to condole with you over the killings in Taraba. It is unfortunate that Buhari has turned this

Flooding: NEMA warns against dumping of refuse in water ways

N

ATIONAL Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Kano Operations Office has warned residents of Jigawa and Katsina states, especially those living in flood-prone areas to desist from dumping refuse in water ways.

The warning is in a statement signed by the agency’s Head of Operations, Malam Nura Abdullahi in Kano on Tuesday.

He stated that the advice was necessary to avoid another major flood following the recent flood disaster which wreaked havoc on many communities in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.

He added that “we find it necessary to issue this warning because some residents are in the habit of dumping refuse in drains, which can cause flooding.”

The head of operations also

warned residents of the two states, being under the jurisdiction of his office, against erecting structures in flood-prone areas.

Abdullahi noted that the agency would continue to partner with other agencies such as the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), National Orientation Agency (NOA) and media organisations in the two states to sensitise communities about the importance of clearing the drains.

He said mitigation of flood disasters could only be effected through increased awareness and compliance to town planning regulations and due regards to environmental sanitation among citizens.

He added that “disaster management is everyone’s business: we must all play our roles in creating resilient communities.”

country into a murderous field.

“Today, we have to contend with killings in Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and other States of the country, yet the President is not bothered that people are being killed.

“When Gen. T.Y Danjuma called on Nigerians to defend themselves, they attacked him. But this was what the Emir of Birnin Gwari and other Emirs in the north had said before now with no one picking offense.

“It is unfortunate that we have found ourselves here today. The Police has become a political tool used to punish and victimize political opponents,” he said.

While warning Nigerians against falling prey to what he called the APC blackmail, Lamido said his aspiration was born out of the wish to give governance a new meaning and unite the country for the good of all, especially the masses.

Earlier, Director General of Sule Lamido Presidential campaign Organization, Barr. Musa Elayo said they were in the State to consult with the people of Taraba over the forthcoming 2019 Presidential elections and to seek their support for Sule Lamido.

Elayo said Sule Lamido had passion for a united and prosperous Nigeria, adding that if elected President, he would unify the country and redeem Nigeria’s reputation in the global community.

On herdsmen/farmers crisis, the DG said Sule Lamido has what it takes to end the killings given his track record on ending the herdsmen/farmers clashes in Jigawa and preventing Boko Haram from infiltrating the State.

38

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

ENTERTAINMENT

With Douglas Omoyooma

Wrong mindset, poverty, bane of art in Nigeria – Osaigbovo

D

r Theresa Osaigbovo apart from being a lecturer at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, the University of Benin (Uniben), is also a practicing visual artist working with textiles, in addition to finding time to organize seminars, workshops for skills acquisition and capacity building in Edo State.

In this chat with VICTOR NZE, Osaigbovo says a wrong mindset by the people and poverty form the major challenges facing the practice and appreciation of art in Nigeria today. Excerpts...

How would you describe your style? edge and experience on the society?

The main function of a textile art is for apparels or clothing. Hence, I would describe my art a functional art because of its utilitarian value.

You recently stage your fourth solo exhibition, how was the reception?

I recently staged my fourth Solo Exhibition titled; “Iwinaobomwen I” (The Works of my Hands I), at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Benin, Ekehuan Campus, and the reception was very impressive. It had a very warm reception as it was also a show that gave the opportunity for the town and gown to meet and interact. The title of the Exhibition actually attracted so many people from outside the University. They seemed to have been anxious to see as well as listen to the statement I had to make on the need for people to acquire skills in view of capacity building.

From the classroom to practice, how are you able to manage both aspects of your occupation?

Managing classroom and practice is an enormous task. However, it is a task that must be done if you are really passionate about imparting your knowledge on others as well as practice your profession. It is really not easy managing both ends effectively without God’s grace because I find myself working all day either teaching in the classroom or working in the studio. It really takes a lot of sacrifice and self-denial to be able to combine classroom work with the studio practice.

Aside the classroom, how else do you impact your wealth of knowl-

Well, as a trained teacher, I derive pleasure in teaching and imparting of knowledge. The passion I have for teaching does not end within the classroom. I see myself talking to people around me on the need to acquire a skill towards self-reliance and economic empowerment. The skills I have acquired in the area of textile design and other areas of Visual Arts always stimulate me to talk, teach and encourage the youths and women to acquire skills that would make them useful and relevant in the society.

In fact, the statement I want to make is that “irrespective of your area of specialization, endeavor to acquire an extra skill”.

It is like saving for the rainy day.

For example, as a graduate with an additional skill, if the white collar job is not forthcoming, the acquired skills could yield something positive for self-sustenance. The strong message I have for the younger generation is that “there is dignity in labour and every human being is endowed with one form of skill or the other that needs to be harnessed for self-sustenance”. Please go and acquire a skill today for a better tomorrow.

In your opinion, what would you identify as challenges facing the practice and appreciation of art in Nigeria?

In my opinion, the challenge facing art practice and appreciation in Nigeria is essentially that of wrong mindset. The thought of most people towards visual arts in this nation is that “art is for the never-do-wells.

Most persons would rather prefer their children to go for medicine, pharmacy, engineering, law, architec-

• Osaigbovo ture and so on. it seems ridiculous to most parents that their children are exhibition artistic traits not to talk of going to study visual arts in the University. This wrong mindset and poverty seem to be the major challenges facing the practice and appreciation of art in Nigeria.

What solutions would you proffer?

Yes. And that’s because the wind of change blowing in Nigeria today now give credence to creativity and innovation and hand work for people to survive in the harsh economic condition. I see visual arts in the Nigeria as the stone which the builder rejected that has become the corner stone.

People are gradually appreciating the values inherent in the knowledge of visual arts. The green light is gradually unveiling itself in our university, for instance, through the large number of students studying Visual Arts. The number of students has significantly improved.

In terms of exhibitions, what are your plans for the future?

My plan in terms of exhibitions is to take the exhibitions out of the campus to the town so as to make my statement on the need for skills acquisition clearer and closer to the general public.

39

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

Entertainment Chika Ike to wannabes: Sleeping around will not get you anywhere

Tiwa Savage, Teebillz back together

T

iwa Savage and ex-hubby Tee Billz Balogun, recently took to social media to share cute messages as their son Jamil Balogun marked his third birthday.

However, their son’s birthday did not only witness celebration by both his mother and her estranged husband but also brought back sweet memories as Tee billz shared a picture of three of them on instagram with caption: “I see a little more of me in you with each passing year. To the world you’re JamJam but to mummy and I, you are Olaoluwakitan. You’re part of my strength, I pray for incomparable wisdom and knowledge of God upon you. You’ve been a great source of happiness to mummy and I. I pray may you never stop making us happy in Jesus name.”

Tiwa, who became emotional after reading the message responded with her own note, as she recalled moments in the labour room, sharing how JamJam’s heart rate stopped after delivery and how she had to pray more than ever. She wrote: Awww!. And Tee billz went on to reply Tiwa’s post, saying:”@Tiwasavage the honest truth is that when the Doctor said it’s time and I ran out of the labour room, I actually peed on myself “

How I handle cyber bullying – Waje

S

•Chika Ike

E

ntrepreneur, actress and now author, Chika Ike has admonished up and coming actors and actresses who think sleeping around is a shot cut to success and advised them to do a rethink. In a chat during the launch of her debut novel entitled Boss Up, an a tell-allbook, the divorcee and mother declared that sleeping around is not a short cut to success and won’t get you anywhere near your dreams.

S

he said: “To be very honest with you, this kind of situation happens in every movie industry around the world. Whenever a male and female coexist, there is bound to be sexual advances either from the male or the female.

“But sex and sleeping around will never get you anywhere; it can’t get you as far as you want because success is built on passion and drive and not sex. You have to identify your dream and follow it passionately by focussing and pursuing your dreams.”

Boss Up In 2005, the actress known as Chika Ike made her debut in Nollywood and ever since it has been a roller coaster ride of success, heartbreaks and betrayals. However, she has held her chin up and risen above her adversaries and today, there is no gain saying it, she is an icon as far as Nollywood is concerned starring in a number of movies and also successfully floating her relayty TV show, African Diva currently in its forth season.

Consequently, in a desire to share her success nuggets, she has written a book, Boss Up, which was published recently and which tells the story of her life including her triumphs and shot comings.

“Boss up is a 41-chapter book that covers some of the obstacles we go through in life. With Boss

up I revealed a lot about myself.

I gave a guide to how you could conquer your fears and live your best life. People say I always live my best life. I try to because life is short. Life is full of ups and downs. Life is a journey and you’re probably not going to live as long as you want so you have to embrace every moment and make the most of it.

“In the book I also talked about the society because it plays a huge role in determining who you become. I also talked about family and relationship. I exposed so much about my family. My father was a very good husband and a father to us, but I didn’t have a good relationship with him while growing up. That was when I realized that in this world, you have to consciously fight for yourself because at the end of the day if you don’t, you are alone.

“I talked about myself growing up, the challenges I faced. The rejection I faced from my family. I talked about the pressure, fear and self-esteem issues that I faced. I also talked about business. People say I like money.

Well, I grew up with nothing and I don’t want to be a failure. That is why I keep on pushing myself to be the person everyone doubted I could be.

“The book is all about me and I talked about everything concerning me including my ex husband.

I won’t talk about my life without talking about my ex-husband. It is

my journey and my truth.

The book is quite revealing. Isn’t she making herself vulnerable before the public? “God makes you go through a lot of things in your life for you to share. People always have a perspective about people. I have gone transcended that phase of being scared. Once you realise that you can’t control people’s thoughts you will be at peace.”

Harvard A while ago, the actress graduated from the prestigious Harvard Universty after she was rejected a couple of times. She opens up on the experience: “I didn’t understand the selection process in Harvard until I got there and realized that even the children of the professors and lecturers don’t get automatic selection into the school.

“I wanted to go to a business school. Not just any business school. I wanted to go to Harvard because I thought Harvard was part of my reach. I didn’t grow up wanting to go to Harvard, but at certain point in my life I thought if I want to go to a business school then I should go to the best business school because I deserve it.

So that’s why I kept trying.

“I eventually went to Harvard business school and it was a lot for me because I was in the same room with professionals and intellectuals and it meant a whole lot to me.”

inger, Waje has opened up on how she handles cyber bullying. In a chat, the talented singer revealed that she doesn’t really take cyber bullies seriously as she feels that she is a loveable person which is why they don’t get to her “I understand that you don’t know me so your comments is just a comment, you don’t know me. Because if I am standing right in front of you, you will love me, I get it a lot. There are people that come in front of me and be like Oh My God Waje, so if you are standing in front of me, you won’t say it.

“So half the time it is attention you are looking for or maybe it is a bad day for you or you are just a hater. And it is ok! Everybody cannot be loveable, for love to exist, hate has to exist so, I can understand. There are times when I’d just ok, I’ll reply them,” she said.

P Square war rears its ugly head again

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espite reassurances from the pair, it is obvious that peter and Paul Okoye of P Square are still at war and any hope of reconciliation soon may be very remote.

After a concert in Kenya recently, Peter while reacting to a question on their reunion insisted that will only happen if his twin brother gives his wife 100 per cent respect.

He said: “P Square can only come back if the respect is returned 100 per cent. I don’t disrespect my brother’s wife or his family but he does that to me.”

Reacting, Paul in an interview had stated that he was confused and shocked by his brothers allegations.

Once NIgeria’s hottest singing duo, the pair finally parted ways last year to pursue separate careers due to irreconcilable differences.

Again, MI announces new date for Young Denzl

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apper, MI has once again announced a new release date for his much-awaited fourth studio album titled Yung Denzl.

The rapper shared on an Instagram post recently stating the album will now drop August 24 as part of a rollout schedule that will unveil three music project of which he is the Executive Producer.

This will be the third time the rapper will be announcing a scheduled release date for the album which he first talked about in 2016.

In early February while announcing that the album had been scheduled for May, MI said he wasn’t in a rush to drop the project. In the post dropped on his Instagram, it read, “Every project for me is a piece of my life…I will never rush music because I respect my fan base too much”.

MI failed to drop the album on its May 18th scheduled date and once again got fans agitated and disappointed.

We hope that this time, Yung Denzel is dropping for real.

40

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Extra World Bank, Enugu Govt. earmark N40m for projects in 4 communities

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he World Bank, in conjunction with Enugu State Government, has earmarked N40 million for developmental projects in four rural communities in the state, Dr Maximus Asogwa, the General Manager, State Agency for Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) said.

Asogwa made this known on Monday in Enugu at the presentation of the first tranche of the fund to the communities, adding that the projects were in line with the policy thrust of the state government.

He said that the projects to be sited in Umualor, Amede, Olido and Umuadonuowo in Isi-Uzo and Igboeze North local government areas, would include provision of Primary Health Centre (PHC) facilities, electricity, housing and water projects.

The general manager urged leaders of the benefitting communities to use the fund for the projects and commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for providing the counterpart fund, as well as creating an enabling environment for accelerated rural development in the state.

He added that the projects were community-driven as the communities were allowed to choose the projects they needed and handle the construction of such facilities.

“These projects, namely: boreholes, extension of electricity, schools and others, are to be maintained by the communities.

The funds are disbursed in three tranches, which are 30 per cent, 50 per cent and 20 per cent. This is to make sure that the funds are not diverted.

“Today, we present the first tranche of about N3 million to each community involved,” he said.

The various community leaders who reacted to the gesture, lauded the World Bank, the Enugu State Government and CSDP for providing funds for their “key need’’ projects.

Traditional Ruler of Olido Community, Igwe Augustine Ageshi, who spoke on behalf of the befitting communities, said: “we cannot thank you enough for providing us the opportunity to get the second necessity of life after the first, which is air.’’

Ageshi, whose community got borehole projects, said that the only way of showing appreciation to the government would be to ensure massive vote for re-election of Gov. Ugwuanyi.

Each of the four communities will get N10 million worth of project totalling N40 million with the projects scheduled to be delivered within six months.

S’East for Buhari’: Ebonyi APC faction dissociates self from campaign

By CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki

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inister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu’s faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ebonyi state, has dissociated itself from the recently-launched campaign movement, the South East for Buhari (SEB), headed by the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, describing it as a pressure group.

The state Publicity Secretary of the faction, Chika Nwoba, also disclosed that his superior group

which the faction had floated has slated to hold a mega rally in Abakaliki on August 4.

SEB had scheduled to hold a rally in Abakaliki for President Muhammadu Buhari on August 4 but postponed it to August 11 on reasons not disclosed to Journalists at press time.

The August 4 rally, according to a statement issued by Nwoba, would attract President Muhammad Buhari; APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomole and his NWC, Onu; former Abia state governor, Orji- Uzor

Kalu; Oil magnate, Samson Uche Ogah, Senator Hope Uzodimma, Former Ebonyi governor, Martin Elechi and other stakeholders from the South east zone.

Other APC personalities like Senator Julius Ucha, National Coordinator of Initiatives for Demonstrating Change, Comrade Chinedu Ogah, Senator Azu Agboti have since dissociated themselves from the Onu’s led group, describing the proposed rally as misleading, mischievous and an attempt to sabotage the fortunes of APC in the state.

• Vice Chancellor of the institution Prof. Zana Akpagu with the Ambassador of Korea to Nigeria, Prof. Lee, In-Tae during a Public lecture delivered by the ambassador with the theme: “Growing the Nigerian Economy through Education: The South Korea Model”, held at the institutions International Conference Centre

Shell to build gas line in Abia

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hell Gas Nigeria Limited, Tuesday, said that plans were underway to construct a gas line around key industrial areas in Abia.

Managing Director of Shell Gas Nigeria Limited, Mr Ed Ubong, who disclosed this when he visited Governor Okezie Ikpeazu at the Government House in Umuahia, the state capital, said the decision to build the gas line was informed by the desire of the organisation to contribute to the development of the state and nation at large.

“We want to build a rail around key industrial areas in Abia such as

Ogbor Hill, Osisioma and Ariaria Market.

“We want to make sure this state becomes the industrial hub in the East and would like the governor to visit a construction site where a 10km gas line that will take gas to Osisioma is being constructed.

“This gas line will allow us to construct another line which will be used to move gas to Ariaria market and provide power to the market,” said Ubong.

The Shell boss said the visit was also an avenue for the organisation to seek ideas from the state on how

to achieve an improved relationship with the government and its people.

Responding, Ikpeazu said there was the need for a direct relationship between investors and their host communities.

“If we don’t have the benefits of the gas resources, it will be challenging to build the kind of infrastructure that the state government wants to build,” he said.

The governor said that the plans of the organisation were in tandem with the state government’s development agenda for the state.

Active mobile lines hit 162.3 million in June – NCC

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igerian Communications Commission (NCC) says active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria have increased to 162.30 million in June.

NCC said in the monthly Subscribers Operator Data posted on its website on Tuesday that the mobile lines figure at the end of June was 162.30, adding that it rose from 162.07 million recorded in May. With 162,307,346 lines in June and 162,075, 116 in May, the increase in the number of lines was 232,230.

However, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for active mobile lines had 217,566 users in June, same as in May.

The report said the number of fixed wired/wireless for active mobile lines in June was 140,627 compared to May, which had 137,010 lines, indicating an increase of 3,617 lines.

According to NCC, the number of Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) was 97,941 in June compared to the 93,080 recorded in May, an increase of 4,861.

It also revealed that Teledensity in June rose to 116.26 as against 116.09 in May recording an increase of 0.17.

Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area and it varies widely across the country.

NCC also said the number of connected mobile lines in June decreased to 239,339,812 from 240,259,751 in May, recording a decrease of 919,939.

“The CDMA for connected lines for June was 3,586,095, the same figure with May,’’ the subscribers’ data revealed.

The report said the number of fixed wired/wireless for connected lines in June was 350,644 compared to May which had 345,210 an increase of 5,434 lines.

It also showed that the number of VOIP for connected lines in June was 642,734 as against 611,376 in May rising by 31,358 lines.

Both SEB and the Ucha’s faction of the Ebonyi state Working Committee of APC led by Dr. Sylvester Nwambe are not happy with the development.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, SEB, Dr Steve Egbo noted that though President Buhari is a leader everyone respects and follows and people are free to express their support in various forms and guises, “it was important to warn such groups not to engage in deliberate misinformation of the public or in acts that portray them as enemies to the general interest”.

He explained that the period now was not for impetuosity and grandstanding as the business of re-electing the President had commenced and those who wish to constitute clogs in the wheels of progress should desist from further mischief.

“SEB is an open movement aimed at mobilizing the Igbo nation along the path of reason. All these renegade groups should eschew the spirit of bitterness and rancor and join the SEB efforts. They can be sure they would be adequately accommodated.

“The general public and and all parties concerned are by this notice advised to discount other information or misinformation purporting an APC rally anywhere in Ebonyi state on August 4th because such a rally does not have the approval of the National Chairman or the major stakeholders,” said Egbo.

Also reacting, Nwambe explained that the purported rally as announced by the Publicity Secretary of Onu’s faction in the state where they described SEB as a pressure group showed that the Minister and his cohort have completely annihilated themselves from the activities and directions of the APC. Nwambe accused the group of sabotaging the efforts being made by party stakeholders in the state in advancing its fortunes in 2019 general elections.

He alleged that the Onu’s group had opposed the emergence of Oshiomhole as the national chairman and would do anything to destabilize the party to score cheap political points.

“We therefore call on all our members and supporters of APC in Ebonyi state to disregard the announcement as stakeholders mentioned as part of those that will grace the purported rally on August 4, were not consulted and are not aware of the said rally.

“The maiden rally was held in Imo state which was a carnival of whois-who in APC including the representatives of President Muhammadu Buhari, governors, members of the Federal Executive council, national working committee led by our national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

“The purported rally as announced by the publicity secretary of the group loyal to the minister of Science and Technology. Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, one Chika Nwoba where he described SEB as a pressure group shows that the minister and his cohort have completely annihilated themselves from the activities and directions of our great party.

“This development also shows that Onu’s group is seriously determined to frustrate and sabotage all efforts by leaders and stakeholders of our party in the southeast to advance the victory for the party in 2019 general elections”.

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Police confirm theft of 3-year-old twins in Bayelsa

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olice Command in Bayelsa has confirmed the theft of a set of three-year-old twins, Monday by unknown persons at a motor park in Yenagoa.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident in, Tuesday, in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Butswat said the incident occurred at Ekeki Motor Park in Yenagoa Local Government Area and that it had been officially reported to the command.

“According to the report, the assailants stole the babies and ran to an unknown destination.

“We have alerted our tactical team for investigations and the perpetrators will be brought to book,” he said.

Narrating the incident, the victims’ eldest sister, Fumi, said it took place at a time their mother, Mrs Modupe Joseph, went to a mini market in the area to buy salt.

She said, “Our mummy went to Etegwe-Tombia area of Yenagoa to buy salt to cook corn. The four of us were left in the custody of one Aisha Ahmed at the motor park. Suddenly, one man approached me and gave me N200 to buy food for my siblings but I refused and told him that we have already eaten,” she said.

Modupe said that the man persisted and made her to collect the money and proceeded to buy the food.

“Unfortunately, before I could return, the man had carried my twin brothers away,” she said, adding that the assailant came in a black Sienna bus, which he parked nearby.

Girl, 15, electrocuted in Delta From JONATHAN AWANYAI, Asaba

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here were moments of anxiety in Owanta Alosimi area of Ika North East Local Government Area in Delta State as a 15-year-old girl, Vivian Monye was electrocuted while assisting her father in clean-up exercise after the flood that wreaked havoc on their rented apartment.

According to the father of the deceased, Mr Moses Monye, the late Vivian was assisting him alongside the twin brother to bail out water that took over their apartment after the heavy downpour when suddenly the Benin Electricity Development Company, (BEDC) restored power to the area.

He said that the spark that resulted caused panic and while they ran out the daughter got stuck and before they could give any assistance she had given up the ghost.

Vivian who was a student of the community secondary school, the father noted, was the only daughter and had been coping in their upbringing since he lost the wife five years ago.

Meanwhile the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Ernest Ogwezzy, while on condolence to the family, expressed the state government heart-felt sympathy with the family.

Ogwezzy urged the family to look up to God, saying the State government was working round the clock to address the challenges faced by the people.

He said that State government had earlier made provisions for those affected by the rampaging flood caused by the heavy downpour, adding that state had stepped up measures towards assisting them and appealed for their understanding.

FG, Ogun partner on abandoned Ota water project

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ederal Government and the Ogun government on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the continuation and completion of the abandoned Ota Regional Water Supply Project.

The ceremony, which took place at Arobieye- Iju in Ado-Odo/Ota council area of the state, also saw the signing of an agreement for Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH).

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Sulaiman Adamu, noted in his address at the event that the water project which commenced

in 1988 had suffered delays due to neglect by previous administrations.

He also attributed the delay to lack of approval for right of ways for the water transmission pipeline by the Ogun government.

The minister explained that the Federal Government had spent about N811 million on the project.

He added that the project would have the capacity to deliver about 15 million litres of portable water per day to residents of Ota and Ijoko and environs when completed.

“This MoU, which is in accordance with the spirit of President

Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of providing critical infrastructure for the good of Nigerians, will enable the two governments to work together towards speedy execution and completion of the commercially viable project,” he said.

Adamu said that the PEWASH agreement was meant to accelerate access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene in all the rural areas of the state, adding that Ogun was the first state where such agreement was signed.

The minister urged the state government to devote adequate resources to fulfil all its obligations

• Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed (2nd from left) flanked by the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Compulsory Health Insurance Scheme, Doctor Bunmi Jetawo-Winter; Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Professor Yusuf Usman; Lead Health Sector Specialist and Head of the World Bank Group’s Health in Africa Initiative, Prof. Khama Rogo during the official launch of the Kwara State Health Insurance Scheme, at the state’s Banquet Hall, Ilorin.

in the MoU for the water project and the PEWASH agreement.

“I wish to assure you that with the signing of these instruments today, we shall commence all activities on our part for faithful execution of activities,” he said.

The state governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, in his address described the development as a testimony to the commitment of the state government to seek ways of making life more comfortable for the residents of Ogun.

He noted that the water scheme would improve the living standard of the Ota residents and also attract more investors into the communities for increased revenue generation.

Amosun explained that the state government had continued to collaborate with development partners such as UNICEF to pool resources in order to achieve improved water supply and Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in its rural communities.

He urged the residents of Ota and environs to take ownership of the water scheme after rehabilitation and the entire people of the state to embrace the PEWASH programme.

“Let me assure our people of Ogun that even as we approach the expiration of the tenure of our administration, we do not intend to take our foot off the pedal.

“Our people can expect more legacy projects by our administration till the last day, last hour and even last minute of our tenure,” he said.

Mr Sola Lawal, the Board Chairman of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (ORBDA), at the programme pledged total support for the success of the project.

New army training school in P/H to improve troops in N’Delta -- COAS

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hief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the newly-created Army Training School in Port Harcourt was established to improve proficiency of troops in the Niger Delta.

Buratai, who inaugurated the training school and other facilities in the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, said the school would be used to train troops on regimentation.

The other facilities inaugurated are accident/emergency unit; an expanded divisional hospital; four blocks of six-one bedroom quarters and military cemetery, among others.

Buratai, represented by the outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, said the projects were initiated and completed through direct labour.

“The training school will go a long way in enhancing the basic training and skills required of our young soldiers in order to develop their capacities in the field.

“We are aware of the security challenges in this (Niger Delta) region and indeed in the nation at large, and, as such, we must continue to be professional in our callings and remain apolitical.

“The only way we can achieve this is by giving our officers and men

quality training which the school aimed to provide with assistance from other Nigerian Army training institutions.

Buratai said the school is equipped with learning facilities that would enable officers and soldiers to acquire knowledge and skills in the discharge of their service to the country.

“The training school will run various courses that include Basic Infantry; skill at arms/weapon handling; radio operator basic course; com-

puter training and combat life saver.

“I enjoin the beneficiaries of the training school to utilise the opportunities to improve on their individual and group skills to be better trained and professional soldiers,” he advised.

Buratai, who commended the outgoing GOC of 6 Division, Maj.Gen. Musa Yusuf, for completing the projects within few months, expressed commitment to improved welfare of troops.

Yusuf, now the GOC of 81 Divi-

sion, Lagos, said he executed the projects so as to improve the operations of the division.

“It remains inevitable that welfare and good administration of troops are the most important elements of leadership and man management.

“The effort of the Chief of Army Staff to support the division with massive resources to embark on quick impact projects has made completion of the facilities possible,” he added.

Presidency berates ‘evildoers’

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pecial Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, says those who rupture the peace in different parts of the country will not have the last laugh.

Adesina stated this when he received members of Junior Chamber International (JCI), Ikoyi, and Orji Kalu Foundation, who were at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, as part of a Peace Rally.

“For those working against peace in our country, I have news for them. They will never win. Nigeria will have peace, and if the evildoers don’t settle for peace, that peace will be attained without them.

“Whether they like it or not,

peace will return to Nigeria inspite of the difficult times we are passing through now,’ said Adesina.’

According to him, diversity should be a source of strength, rather than a centrifugal force, adding that ethnicity, religion, language, and political differences need not lead to animosity and shedding of innocent blood.

At the event, Hon. Damian Igbokwe, read a speech on behalf of Chief Orji Kalu, former governor of Abia State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, one of the brains behind the Peace Walk.

Kalu lamented that the country had over the years been in the grips of ethno-religious crisis, agitations,

hatred, distress, insecurity, disunity, violence, hardship and general failure.

He said: “Peace is not just a word, it is an act. It is not enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it.

And it is not enough to believe in it, one must act on it.’’

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

Crime Stories by XAVIER NDAH

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he Nigeria Customs service has warned smugglers to desist from attacking its officials as it was determine to fight smuggling to a standstill by engaging smugglers fire for fire and bring their illicit dealings to a standstill.

Making this known was the Controller Federal Operations Unit, Zone a, Ikeja Lagos, Comptroller Mohammed Uba in an interview with The Oracle Today in Lagos during the week.

Uba said the service is disappointed over the incessant attacks on officers of the commission, adding that the service will not treat such actions with kid gloves.

“Just as the CGC has directed, we will continue to make sure we defend ourselves at all times. Hence element that will dare officers on patrol is like embarking on a suicide mission. We won’t tolerate such excesses from smugglers and their accomplices. I also wish to advise the general public, not to allow themselves to be used as shield by smugglers most especially the host communities. No amount of resistance from the smugglers and their mob accomplices will deter us from performing our statutory responsibilities in all aspects especially in anti- smuggling operations within southwest zone” he stated.

The controller said the service intercepted various contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) N1,120,714,338.12 after intensifying and reviewing its operational modalities between June 13th 2018 to July 24th , 2018.

He said the seized items include “21 exotic vehicles, 9,504 bags of foreign parboiled rice (15 trailers),436 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 333 cartons of frozen poultry products, 287 bales of used clothing, 198 pieces of used tyres, among others.

Just as I told you in our last meeting, it’s our obligation to support the Federal Government policy on Rice, encourage local rice farmers, the millers and patronize our

Customs to Smugglers: We shall respond fire for fire

From left Comptroller Federal Operation Unit Zone A. Nigeria Custom Service, Compt. Mohammed Uba; Deputy Comptroller of Customs Enforcement, Deputy Comptroller Yayaha Biu and Officer in charge of Custom Warehouse Ikeja Lagos, Assistant Comptroller of Customs Usman Mohammed and Assistant Legal Adviser, Mr. Shehu Bodinga during the Press Briefing/ Inspection of Seized of Country bands Foreign Vegetable Oil Items imported into the Country by Comptroller FOU Zone A. in Lagos.

Photo: Sunday Eshiet.

own nutritional rice which by significance will create employment opportunities for our unemployed teaming youths. “ Among the detained vehicles include 1 Mercedes benz G-500 (2016), 6 Toyota Hiace Bus (2018), 3 Lexus Jeep GX460and Lx570 (2017) 1 Toyota Hilux (2017 ), 1 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado,(2016) 1 Toyota Hilux bullet proof (2014) , 1 Toyota Corolla (2018), 2 Toyota Camry (2016) 1 Honda Civic (2016), 1 Honda Accord (2016), 1 Dodge Charger (2016), among others.

These 21 Exotic Vehicles have a duty paid value of N484,458,778,92) only. While some of the vehicles

were intercepted along Ijebu Ode Expressway, 10 were evacuated from Oluwalogbon Motors at 164 Awolowo Way Ikeja, based on credible information “As I speak to you, nobody has come to claim ownership. Let me use this opportunity to urge the owners of these vehicles to come forward with valid Customs clearance documents otherwise they will be liable to Seizure and subsequent Forfeiture to the Federal Government in-line with laws of the land. For the avoidance of doubt, our action is in-line with the provisions of Sections 147 of Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap 45, Laws of the

Federation of Nigeria 2004 (power to search premises), Section 158 of CEMA, Cap 45 Laws of Federation of Nigeria (power to patrol freely).

“Remarkably among the seizures was the interception of an Iveco Truck with registration number LAM283 LG along Ijebu Ode- Ore Road carrying 498 cartons of CSP Codeine Cough Syrup 100ml with each carton containing 200 bottles. You will recall that the Federal Government banned any importation of cough syrup that contains codeine. The substance is valued at One Hundred and Ninety Nine Million, Two Hundred Thousand Naira only (199,200,000.00), with two

Couple nabbed for kidnapping children in Lagos

ouples alleged to be kidnapping C children in Lagos are being interrogated in Lagos by the Inspector-

General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Lagos State.

The Oracle gathered that the man, John, and wife said to be involved in many cases of kidnapping and armed robbery who were arrested during the week are being questioned on the whereabouts of many cases of child abduction associated with them.

A police source at the IRT said their mode of operation, was that the man registered a company’s name and advertised with an online shopping platform for the hiring of house-helps.

It was gathered that through the online portal, people requested for house-helps and he would send his wife to clients seeking house-helps.

According to a police officer who preferred anonymity, the suspects will hire his wife to unsuspecting members of the public who requested for his service.

“His wife would give fictitious names, address and data. After some days, the woman who would have understudied the household and the environment would steal

the little children in the house, money and other valuables.

“They were responsible for the stealing of the celebrated Olukoya twins in 2014. “Since 2014, we have been looking for them. They were tracked after they stole two kids.

“We are investigating to know how many children they have stolen, where and who they sold the children to.

“We are calling on members of the public who employed a woman that eloped with their children to come to IRT office, Command Headquarters, Ikeja, for proper identification. You may be lucky to be reunited with your stolen child.”

The suspect John said he was responsible for the kidnap of the celebrated Olukoya children. They were returned to their parents when the pressure was too much from all quarters, especially from the press and the police and they had to return the children.

‘I have repented of crime for a long time now. It was the Devil that pushed me again. What the police told you is the truth. They told you everything.I recruited my wife for the job because she is the only per-

suspects in our custody. The drugs and the suspects will be handed over to NAFDAC for further investigation and possible prosecution in a court of competent jurisdiction.

The fight against drug abuse and illicit drugs is a collective effort and if all hands are on deck, we will make our nation a drug free society. “ Also, Two containers were seized. While 1/40ft container no.

PCIU922650/8 was seized for carrying 525 bales of second hand clothing as against used motor cycles declared in SGD, 1/40ft Container no PCIU871664/5 was seized for carrying 11 jumbo bales of jeans, 365 cartons of new slippers, 145 cartons of new bags as against adhesive dressing. This is clear case of false declaration, which is tantamount to seizure. We are still investigating this and anyone found culpable will face the full wrath of law. “.Within the period under review, we have also recovered N67,375,670.5 making a cumulative of N1,188,090,009.Ten suspects have been arrested in connection with these 143 seizures” he explained.

Uba said following the Presidential directive, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) has directed the evacuation and distribution from “our warehouse the following items for onward delivery to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State by Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport (NACST); 11,579 bags of foreign parboiled rice 50 kg each, 627 and 485 jerrycans of vegetable oil 25ltrs and 5ltrs respectively, 248 bales and 219 sacks of used clothing, and 33 sacks of used shoes” he disclosed.

Tight security at Ladipo market …as spare parts dealers holds crucial election

presence at the Ladipo spare parts market, arguably the largest Pspareolice parts market in sub-Saharan Af-

son that I can trust. She is a qualified nurse, so she would be able to take care of little children.

“It was not our intentions but it was hardship and the Devil that sold the idea to us. We wanted to do genuine business, but along the line, I sold the idea to her.

“We registered online and people seemed to believe me when I give

them my price. My wife would understudy the people she would be working with and strike.

“I regret committing the acts, but I want to disagree that my wife used to steal money and trinkets.

Not really, she wouldn’t have the time to do all those things as our major concern was children.” He said.

rica was intimidating during the market’s leadership election which took place during the week.

The market notably for its volatile nature in hostility for years now was reduced to its lowest ebb as police officers were dispatched to scene to ensure orderliness.

The election which always attracts a high level of participation amongst the Igbo traders whose multimillion investments in spare parts businesses are involved was surprisingly peaceful without any rancor as the market leaders put everything at stake to ensure that it was free and fair.

It attracted a high level of security presence from the Directorate of security services, DSS, contingents of Police drafted from the Area ‘D’ command, led by the Area D commander, Akinboyo Olasoji, whose track record in sanitizing turbulent areas preceded him. In the end, the election was adjudged to be peaceful, free and fair.

The Divisional Police Officer Ladipo Division, Superintendent of Police, SP, Falowo Timothy and his men were

Cont’d on page 43

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

Crime ‘We will reposition the police’ …new Police Service Commission Chairman assures Stories by XAVIER NDAH

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he new Board of the Police Service Commission has formally assumed duties with a promise to reposition the Nigeria Police Force for optimum efficiency and effectiveness.

The new Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police said there was much work to be done stressing that the new team will immediately hit the ground running as there was no time to waste.

“We are starting work immediately and will work many hours every day for us to effectively discharge our constitutional mandate” the Chairman said at a reception held in his honour and Members of the Commission in Abuja.

He noted that the new team will work to build capacities in the Commission adding that with team work, “we will give our country men and women a Police force they will all be proud of.” Alhaji Smith disclosed that the current state of the Nigeria Police Force has continued to agitate Members of the new

Board. “We have continued to discuss the current state of the Nigeria Police and the state of Nigerian security” He assured that the Commission will place high premium in the recruitment of quality personnel for the force and will also expose these officers to structured and quality training.

He promised to work closely with the Ministry of Interior and Nigeria Police Force to ensure that “we have in place a police force that is effective, efficient and humane and can also stand international scrutiny”.

The Chairman made a case for modern gadgets for the police, stressing that modern policing call for modern gadgets. He promised that the new team will engage the government for proper funding of the police.

The Board has also received briefings from the Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Musa Istifanus.

In fulfillment of the desire of the new Board to start work immediately, they visited the Commission’s

corporate office headquarters under construction in Jabi, Abuja.

The Chairman was accompanied on the visit by Members of the Commission; Hon. Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Alhaji Bawa Lawal, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Naja’tu Bala Muhammad a woman activist and first female Senator from Kano State, Mr. Austin Adogame Braimoh, a seasoned Media Manager and former General Manager African Independent Television, AIT, Barrister Rommy Mom, an activist, international Development Expert and President of Lawyers alert and Dr. Nkemka Osimiri Jombo – Ofo, a leading Nigerian Entrepreneur and Management Consultant. He was former President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

The Chairman and Members of the new Board expressed satisfaction with the quality and state of completion of the new headquarters building, promising to ensure that the balance of N798.4million required in completing the building is released.

•Smith

The new Board Members represent different Interest groups.

Justice Ogunbiyi represents the Judiciary; Alhaji Lawal, the Police and Naja’tu Bala Muhammed, women.

Mr. Braimoh, represents the Press, Barrister Mom, Civil Society and Dr. Jombo-Ofo, Organized Private sector.

Girl 35, bled to death after abortion

…as doctor and nurse arrested for interrogation

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medical doctor and a nurse are in trouble for allegedly conducting an abortion on a middle aged girl who bled to death.

Police sources said the suspects one Dr, Olawale Raji and a nurse Olusegun Funmilayo were arrested by the police for carrying out an abortion that led to the death of the deceased one Aminat Iyanda Atisola. It was gathered that the suspects were arrested following a complaint by the the sister of the deceased one Bose Kazeem of No 6, Ireakari Street Atan Ota who reported that her deceased sister was two months pregnant.

She said the deceased contracted the service of the two suspects who are working in a private hospital for the abortion of the pregnancy.

According to the complainant, the suspects carried out the unlawful act right inside the house of the deceased.

It was gathered that trouble started when the deceased started having complications shortly after the abortion and she was rushed to the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta for treatment but she died on the way.

Police sources said on receiving the report, the Divisional Police Officer Onipanu division Superintendent of Police,SP, Sangobiyi Johnson led his team of detectives to the scene where the two medical practitioners were promptly arrested.

The suspects we gathered are under interrogation while the corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the general hospital morgue for post mortem examination.

Meanwhile,the Police Public Relations Officer Ogaun State Abimbola Oyeyemi told the Oracle that the Commissioner of Police,CP, Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered that the suspects be transferred to Homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for proper investigation and prosecution.

He said he has equally warned that abortion remains an unlawful act and whoever is caught engaging in it without any medical justification will have the law of the land to contend with while appealing to members of the public to always seek lawful professional advice on any health related issue.

•The doctor and nurse

LASG trains task force police personnel

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he Lagos State Government is set to train Nigeria Police personnel attached to the Lagos State Task Force on ‘Active Combating and Readiness’ The training programme which would be in 4 batches commenced on at Police Training School, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Olayinka Egbeyemi disclosed that as crime become more

complex, the officers charged with enforcing our laws must be open to new and constantly evolving policing philosophies.

He disclosed further that the training programme would help Officers to override natural inclinations, biases or reservation they encounter while in the performance of their duty.

Commissioner of Police, CP, Lagos State Edgal Imohimi commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for

supporting security personnel with modernised equipment and relevant training programme.

The CP disclosed that adequate training and provisions of modernised security equipment by the government had brought about massive reduction in the rate of crime across the State.

According to the CP “the very nature of policing requires officers to interact with the general public, and they should have problem-solving

skills, while being polite and professional at the same time” The Commissioner of Police however mandated all officers divided into different batches to fully participate at the training programme The training programme which will be in 4 batches will last for one month and will be coordinated by Lateral Techniques Company and Senior Instructors from the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) and Police Mibile Force (PMF).

43 Tight security at Ladipo market Continued from Pg 42 also there for a show of strength which wades off any planned troubled in the market till the end of the election which lasted from 8am till 10.45pm.

After the elections, Mbamala Emmanuel Ngozichukwuka, popularly known as PDP, emerged as the new President of group. He beat three other contestants to cling the position.

He takes over from Cyril Chukwujindu onyemaechi, aka CY. Nnaji Victor Ikechukwu became the Secretary, while Nkemakolam Chigozie was elected as the Financial secretary and Oputa Malachy was also elected as the treasurer.

A total of 29 candidates participated in the election, vying for various positions. 2,364 accredited voters were able to cast their votes. The exercise was coordinated by the electoral Committee chairman, Chukwudi Kingsley.

Reacting to the election, the outgoing president, Cyril Onyemaechi, expressed his gratitude to the traders and particularly the security operatives led by Akinboyo olasoji for a peaceful election.He was specifically grateful to the Area D Commander, bearing in mind the tension that preceded the election. “My major interest is to hand over to the incoming leadership through a free and fair process without rancor or any form of violence. I am happy that has been achieved”, he said.

Previous elections in Ladipo spare parts market have been held under tension and threat of violence.

Reacting to the election, a former President of the market and the first elected president of the market who is highly regarded as the father of all in the market Mazi Jonathan Chibuzo Okoli otherwise known as Ojukwu or Japan because of his unusual bravery and courage in defending his people in the market was full of happiness for the peaceful conduct of the election despite what he said was manipulated in certain quarters to edge out the winner of the election but God prevail and made him victorious.

Okoli charged the new management to be of good behavior and provide good leadership as expected of them by the people who elected them.

“They should know that a lot is expected of them and they should not fail the people who voted them in because they believe in them” he stated.

Meanwhile, the incoming presidents Mr Mbamala Emmanuel popularly known as PDP was full of praises to God and thankful to the market member for electing him and promise that there will be a change in his leadership.

“I want to extend my hand of fellowship to all most especially those that contested and lost. It is victory for all, it is everybody’s government.

No victory no vanquish. We are here to build this market together it is our own and all hands must be on deck to achieve this. He said.

Listing his transformation agenda for the market the President said he was determined to ensure a clean market by flooring the market, ensuring safe electricity wiring lines and ensuring a crises free market through

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The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8 2018

NEWS Police arrest pregnant grandmother for selling grand-daughter, 275 others From INI BILLIE, Uyo

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he Akwa Ibom State Command of the Nigeria Police has arrested a grandmother, Ekaette Obot, for stealing and selling her grand-daughter for N200,000.

Obot who claims to be 27 years old said she sold the child to free her daughter, 18 year-old Blessing Okon of burden.

The grandmother said she weeds for people for a fee, and noted that she was planning to sell the baby she was carrying once she was delivered of it.

Speaking on Tuesday in Uyo, Police Commissioner, Mr. Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, said the police also arrested 275 other suspects for offences ranging from murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, to cultism.

He said most of the suspects had been charged to curt while others are being investigated, and that the police had already prosecuted 193 cases and secured 23 convictions.

He noted that 19 locally-made pistols; one pump action gun and one AK 47 rifle; one Toyota Camry saloon car with Reg. CAL 584 NF; one Toyota Corolla vehicle with Reg. No. AA 50 NRJ and a total of 52 ammunition were recovered from the hoodlums.

Ogunjemilusi said the police had also rescued one Mrs. Comfort Joshua from kidnappers den in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area, adding that two of her abductors were killed during the exchange of gunfire with the police.

“An 83-year old woman, Mrs. Comfort Joshua was rescued from

kidnappers den in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area on Thursday, July 19 and two of her abductors gunned down during exchange of fire with the police.

“We also rescued a two-year, four months old child, Miss Testimony Bassey ‘f’ from her abductors in Abia State where six suspects were arrested in connection with her abduction.

“A four-year old child, one Bright Monday, ‘f’ was rescued from her abductors along Aka Road, by IBB Roundabouts, Uyo, and four suspects have been arrested,” he stated.

Ogunjemilusi further added that three criminals specialising in vandalising and stealing of transformer armoured cables; solar panels and street lights, were also arrested and their loots recovered from Ikot Abasi and Abak LGAs. He said the command is determined to sustain the tempo in fighting crime and protecting lives and property in the State.

He mentioned that the police have increased visibility policing across the state to reduce the response time to distress calls.

He also noted that the command’s community policing approach has attracted them to the populace and created confidence in the minds of Nigerians.

He appreciated the State government and the people for their support to the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in reducing crime to the barest minimum in the state.

THE ORACLE BUSINESS ARENA

• Vice Chancellor, Akwa Ibom State University, Prof. Eno J. Ibanga, flanked by other Principal Officers of the university including; Deputy Registrar, Establishment, Principal Assistant Registrars, Assistant Registrars, as well as Administrative Staff as they turned up to celebrate the birthday of institution’s Registrar, Mr. John E. Udo.

Ijaw in Delta endorse Okowa for second term From JONATHAN AWANYAI, Asaba

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he Ijaw in Delta State have endorsed Dr Ifeanyi Okowa for second term as Governor saying that he has ‘done a lot for their community.’

Umbrella body of the people in the state, the Delta Ijaw Political Assembly (DIPA) led by its National President, Chief Julius Government also observed that Governor Okowa was passionate about the development of Ijaw land with an unprecedented record of providing infrastructure in Ijaw land.

The group made the endorsement, Tuesday, in Asaba during a courtesy call to the governor.

“We formed this body to assist in seeing that you are returned for second term, we are solidly behind you, we will do everything within our powers to ensure your victory

in 2019.

“We will partner with you to sustain the peace and security in Ijaw land, you have done a lot for our people, provided roads and other infrastructure, you have given a lot of appointments to Ijaw sons and daughters,” Chief Government said, adding: “As a group, we have come to pledge loyalty, partnership and we say congratulations. Be rest assured that we will do whatever that will make you succeed in the 2019 elections.”

Responding, Governor Okowa commended the formation of the group and expressed confidence that the group will “add strength to the politics of Ijaw nation.”

“It is important that as leaders, the people should continue to trust you, and have confidence in your leadership. Always know that politics is more about rendering

service to the people at the end of the day,” he said, asserting, “as a group, you should be that voice that build peace, not shying away from attracting development to the people,” he said.

While expressing gratitude that his administration’s developmental projects in Ijaw land were being recognised, Governor Okowa commended the Ijaw ethnic nationality for ensuring that contractors handling different projects in the area were not disturbed.

“As a government, we are committed to developing infrastructure in Ijaw land and every part of Delta State within available resources and I hope DIPA will remain united,” the governor said, adding: “Delta State is becoming more peaceful, we will continue to support DIPA and other such groups in the state as they will help us in our peace building.”

Man pleads guilty to stealing cooking pot

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22-year-old man, Adekunle Olukoya, Tuesday, pleaded guilty to stealing a cooking pot valued at N70,000.

Olukoya who was arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court on one-count of stealing, pleaded guilty to the charge.

The Police prosecutor, Insp. Ol-

adele Adebayo, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 27, at 7.00 a.m., at 99, Borno way, Ebute Meta.

He said that the accused stole the cooking pot valued at N70,000 belonging to the complainant, Taiwo Kareem.

The offence contravened Section

287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State that prescribes a seven year jail term for offenders.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr O.O. Olatunji, ordered that the accused be remanded in Ikoyi prison and fixed August 13 for facts and sentencing.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known as ONOCHIE JANE NGOZI now wish to be known as UGADU ROSE NGOZI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note

I formerly known as OKORONKWO FLORENCE NKEMAKONAM now wish to be known as ILOABANAFOR FLORENCE NKEMAKONAM. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

This is to confirm and clarify that EZUGWU CHISOM CHARLES and EZUGWU CHISOM CHARLES-PETER are one and same person, now wish to be known as EZUGWU CHISOM CHARLES-PETER. All former documents remains valid. Banks and general public take note.

I formerly known as MISS OHAM BIBIAN AZUKA now wish to be known as MRS KATE A OHAM UMEJIAKU. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public remain valid

I formerly known as ISIOFIA SYLVIA OBIANUJU now wish to be known as ISIOFIA SYLVIA OBIANUJU IKWU. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public take note

I formerly known as OKONKWO IJEOMA FLORENCE now wish to be known as NDUBUISI IJEOMA FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid. Please Banks and General Public take note.

I formerly known as IBEKWE CHIDIMMA SALOME now wish to be known as OKOLIE CHIDIMMA SALOME. All former documents remain valid, West Africa Examination Council and General Certificate Examination, Anambra State College of Health Technology Obosi, general publictake note.

I, UDOCHUKWU FAVOUR ULASI, now wish to be known and addressed as UDO FAVOUR ULASI. All former documents remain. US Government, take note.

I formerly know, called and addressed as AYODELE RUKAYAT now wish to be known, called and addressed as AKINGBOYE RUKAYAT TITILAYO. All former documents remain valid. The general public please note

45

The Oracle Today Wednesday AUGUST 8, 2018

SPORTS

Return to Westerhof’s national team management, Amuneke tells Rohr, NFF Stories by MADUABUCHI KALU

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ORMER national team and FC Barcelona winger, Emmanuel Amuneke has urged the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and the Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr to return to the national team management style of Clemence Westerhof.

According to a member of Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Technical Study Committee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, there is need for Rohr and the NFF to pay attention to local league players and build standby team of homebased players.

He explained that by so doing, there will be a turnaround of the league as many players will tarry before making any move to play abroad unlike what is happening now.

According to the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup winning coach, during the era of Westerhof as the Technical Adviser of the national team the Super Eagles, which he happened to be privileged to be a part of as home base player, they are always in camp but will travel to their various club at the weekend to join their teammates to play for their various club and after the league matches on Sunday,

by Monday they are back in camp where they continue to train.

The Imo State born sweat merchant said doing so would go a long way in building confidence in the home-based players as it happened to them during that period.

He explained that there is no serious country that neglects her domestic league and give priority to foreign league saying if the domestic league is revived, it will attract foreigners and more money would flow to the country as the local players who have distinguished themselves will attract good offer from good clubs.

“My take on the way forward for Nigerian Football is for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the national team gaffer, Gernot Rohr to look back at the management style

•Mike Obi and father of Clemence Westerhof for the national team,” Amuneke began.

“During Westerhof’s era, there was a standing home-based national team in spirit and body. I happened to benefit from this Westerhof’s national team management style.

“He was going to almost all the league venues to watch the local league matches and that was how some of us were discovered and drafted to the national team. We were playing abroad before joining the national team. We were playing in the local league and some of us were discovered from our various club and asked to join the national team. That is the way it should be.

“There is no serious country that neglects her domestic league. Even here

on the continent, you could see how strong the northern African clubs are. It is not by accident that they are dominating club football on the continent. Their leagues are very strong and you could see a club like Al Ahli, Zamaleke and a few others in Egypt contributing most of their national team players.

“Even in Algeria, it is the same likewise in Tunisia, Morocco, and Sudan etc. They don’t rely 100 per cent on their foreign based players to prosecute their national team assignments.

“During out time, we were discovered and asked to join the national team camp where we undergo training from Monday to Friday and on Friday we depart to our various clubs to play for our clubs and after that we

return to the national team camp.

“We did not start playing for the national team as foreign based players rather became foreign based players after having been national team players but today, our players are desperate to play abroad because they believe that once they play abroad they have the opportunity of playing for the national team which is the dream of every football player,” Amuneke explained.

“I believe if we could return to that era where we have a truly homebased players, it will positively impact on our league and by so doing add value to our players. So instead of our players going camp in hand looking for a foreign club that they would play for, it is these foreign clubs that will be camp in hand looking for them.

“They will be able to attract good clubs in Europe and not leagues that the NPFL are even better than. It will not only impact positively on the players, it will also impact positively on the economy of this country because they clubs that will be coming for the services of our players will be coming with good money and the ripple effect will be felt in the economy,” Amuneke explained.

It is recalled that the former Super Eagles’ and FC Barcelona forward played for the defunct Julius Berger Football Club of Lagos before he moved to Zamaleke of Egypt and capped it up with a move to FC Barcelona before injury cut short his glorious football career. He was once the coach of his former club, Julius Berger FC. He was assistant coach to Manu Garba when Nigeria won the Under-17 FIFA World Cup for the record four times. He later took over as the head coach of the team and spear headed Nigeria’s fifth Under-17 FIFA World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

Amuneke’s last assignment before he was appointed into the 2018 FIFA World Cup Technical Study Group, was as Head Coach of Sudanese club, Al Khartoum SC.

CAF Conf Cup: Enyimba suffer 0-2 defeat to Williamsville

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IGERIA’S only surviving club on the continent, Enyimba International Football Club of Aba at the weekend suffered a 0-2 defeat to Williamsville Athletic Club of Cote d’ Ivoire in their CAF Confederation Cup Group C clash at the Robert Champroux Stadium in Abidjan.

Reports have it that a goal in each half from N’da Jean-Willy and Guy Serge Cdric Yameogo condemned the two time African champions their second defeat in group C. Enyimba could only manage one shot on target in the first half as against their hosts four clear chance of scoring before the interval.

Willy scored in the 31st minute to give the hosts a one goal lead into the interval.

In the second half, Yameogo doubled Williamsville’s lead in the 77th minute of the encounter.

With this result Enyimba have condemned to third position in their group C with six points from four matches.

Their opponent, Williamsville Athletic Club, however, have moved up to the summit of the table with seven points from the same number of games following their win.

In the other group fixture, CARRA from Congo Brazzaville defeated Djoliba of Mali 1-0.

Carra Brazzaville are now second with a superior goals difference than Enyimba, while Djiloba of Mali are fourth in the standings with four points from four games.

Enyimba, who are the only Nigeria’s representative in the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup competition will play their next match against Djiloba of Mali away on match day five on August 19.

Team Nigeria wins 105 medals at Africa Youth Games .As Egypt wins AYG with 162 medals

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HE 3rd edition of African Youth Games (AYG) came to a glorious end Saturday in Algiers the Algerian capital with Team Nigeria pocketing a total of 105 medals from 19 sports.

According to the breakdown of the country’s medals haul, the biggest Black nation on the planet won 29gold, 33silver and 43 bronze medals, with weightlifting giving her the richest haul of a total of 18medals, comprising 12gold, 5silver and a bronze medal.

Wrestling came second as it gave Nigeria more in terms of quantity, even though it was in fourth place in terms of quality, winning 19 medals made up of 3gold, 10silver and 6 bronze medals.

Athletics was second behind weightlifting, and ahead of canoe/ kayak in third place, having given Team Nigeria 5gold, 3silver and 5bronze.

Nigeria won 4gold, 3silver and a bronze from canoe/kayak, while badminton gave it 2gold, 2silver and 7bronze, while boxing won 2gold,

2silver and 2bronze.

Nigeria, however, failed to win any medal from hockey, beach volleyball, tennis and swimming at the Games which was held from July 18 to July 28.

Meanwhile, Egypt emerged tops at the just-concluded AYG after the North Africans amassed a total of 161 medals made up of 86gold, 45silver and 32bronze medals according to the press release by the of Egypt’s team.

The medallists include Sara Gouda, who achieved first place in female wrestling for under 43 kilograms, Ahmed Al-Badwihi, who swooped gold in kayaking, Abdallah Shaaban, who achieved first place in the Roman Wrestling competition, and swimmer Sandy Ayman, who topped the 400-meter freestyle swimming competition.

Amr Kamal and Nihal Tarek also won first place in the ten-meter team shooting competition, while the men’s volleyball team placed second. As for table tennis, Youssef Al-Hedebi and Nihal abdel Aziz took

first place in the teams’ competition. Egyptian players earned more medals in men’s sabre (a fencing category), winning the final. Finally, Seif Abu Senna won the gold medal for the 10-meter competition.

Egypt has a 370-member mission at the games, in which around 3,000 athletes aged 15-18 have flown from 54 African states, according to MENA.

•Dalung, Sport & Youths Dev. Minister

•Anyansi

Okpekpe race given clean bill of health

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HE annual Okpekpe International 10 Kilometre Road Race in Edo State has been given a clean bill of health by IAAF after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) returned a negative verdict on the drug tests for the race which held in May. As a result of this negative verdict by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the Okpekpe 10 Kilometer International Road Race has been given a Silver Lable and this is being celebrated by the organisers.

This cheering news was broken to the media after a one day meeting by the organizer in Lagos by the race spokesman, Dare Esaun. He revealed

that the result of the doping control carried out on the race team May 12th, has returned all negative.

In a good will massage to the promoter of the race, Mike Okpomawa said the IAAF Integrity Reform confirmed that none of the samples taken at the event tested positive for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.

Meanwhile, Nigerian quarter Miler, Orukpe Erikan has definitely vowed to salvage a medal in the highly competitive 200m event at the African Athletics Championship billed to start today in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Orukpe who was dropped from

the Nigerian Team after it was alleged to have spearheaded the protest by the athletes out there in Asaba during the trials. But after he was been reinstated he expressed his readiness to fight for a medal at the championship.

•Edo State Gov. Godwin Obaseki

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The Oracle Today Wednesday AUGUST 8, 2018

SPORTS

NFF offers to train, absorb Ikeme into Eagles’ technical crew Stories by MADUABUCHI KALU

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HE Nigerian Football governing body, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have come to rescue of former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, who was diagnosed of Leukemia last year as the Glasshouse has offer to give the retired Super Eagles’ safe hands a coaching education as a goalkeeper trainer and then absorb him into the technical crew of the senior national team.

It is recalled that Ikeme had Friday announced his retirement from football in accordance with the advice of his doctor. The Nigeria and Wolveshampton Wanderers goalkeeper was said to have made tremendous recovery from the ailment as the remaining cancer virus in his bone marrow at the moment does not pose any major risk to his life and has subsequently, he has been discharged from the hospital where he has been receiving Chemotherapy.

The effect of effect of the Chemotherapy treatment he has received en route to his recovery can be seen all over him; as his head is without any strand of hair at the moment.

The NFF’s intervention for the reliable goal tender was announced by the General Secretary of the NFF,

Dr. Mohammed Sanusi even as he also disclosed that the Federation have been in contact with him before now.

“Carl Ikeme was an embodiment of absolute dedication, commitment and patriotic fervour in the games that he played for the Super Eagles.

The circumstances of his retirement from the game are somewhat depressing, even as we thank God for his life,” Dr Sanusi began.

“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will find the resources to send him on a coaching course, and afterwards absorb him into the technical crew of the Super Eagles. That is the least we can do for such a dedicated patriot,” Sanusi declared.

Speaking further, the NFF’s scribe revealed that the NFF knew about Ikeme’s plan to retire from football.

“A few weeks ago, he had spoken on phone with the NFF President and first Vice President of CAF, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, to intimate him on his (Ikeme’s) desire to retire.

“Despite Amaju being sad about it, he commended Ikeme’s fighting spirit and respected his decision, and also said he would rather allow the player or his club to break the news.”

Ikeme, diagnosed was diagnosed with acute leukemia in July 2017, but who entered into complete remis-

Asaba 2018: Hayatou, Ahmad Ahmad, Mutola, others storm Delta State capital

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HE MUCH awaited and publicized Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Senior Athletics Championship tagged “Asaba 2018” will kick off today, Wednesday August 1, 2018 at the newly completed Stephen Keshi Stadium, along Nnebisi in Asaba, even as top sports personalities have stormed the Delta State capital to grace the occasion.

Some top sports administrators and athletes on the continent who are already in Asaba to grace the Senior Athletics Championship include the immediate past President of Confederation of African Football (CAF) Issah Hayatou and his wife, the current President of the continental football governing body, Ahmad Ahmad and former continental and world 800mtrs champion, Maria Mutola.

The two football administrators are coming on the invitation of the continental athletics governing body (CAA) and they are expected to stay till the end of the championship on Sunday, August 5th, 2018.

These continental sports personalities who were led by Maria Mutola arrived Asaba the Delta State capital on Sunday according to a statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) tagged Asaba 2018, Olukayode Thomas.

It is recalled that Mutola was a former continental and world champion in the 800m and was fondly called ‘Maputo Express’ during her active days on the track.

According to Thomas sports personalities that stormed Asaba on Sunday were not limited to the continental figure as the President of International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Sebastian Coe, is expected to come in with 11 other officials of the world athlet-

ics governing body.

Other sporting legends that are expected to have stormed Asaba include Nawal El Moutawakel, a former hurdler and Olympic Gold medalist, as well as Kenya’s David Rudisha and Hicham El Guerrouj.

Meanwhile, it is also expected that those to be inducted into the CAA Hall of Fame equally arrived at the weekend.

The list of those to be inducted into the CAA Hall of Fame includes Tirunesh Dibaba from Ethiopia and her compatriot, Mesert Defar.

Other Ethiopians on the list include Genzebe Dibaba, a world record holder and champion; Almaz Ayana, an Olympics and World champion; and Kenenisa Bekele, a legend in long distance, road races and marathon and world record holder.

The South African duo of Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk, both Olympics and World champions, will also be inducted alongside Nigeria’s Olusoji Fasuba and Blessing Okagbare among others.

It is noted that the Anambra State born goalkeeper, was in goal for the Super Eagles in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Swaziland home and away, and away to Zambia; the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania home and away, and against Egypt at home, and; in friendly matches against Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

It is true that Ikeme played 11 matches for the Super Eagles; Nigerians love him so much for coming to the Eagles’ rescue after the sudden retirement of former goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama following disagreement with former captain and coach, Sunday Ogochukwu Oliseh.

Ikeme warmed himself to the hearts of Nigerians with his performances during his brief but fruitful stay with the national team. It is good that the NFF have come up with this plan for the man who sacrificed everything for the country.

•Carl Ikeme sion only last month, announced his decision to retire from the beautiful game on Friday. He played 191 matches for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, and was pivotal in the

ORMER national team utility player, Garba Lawal has described as risky, any discussion about the unabated leadership crisis rocking the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Lawal stated this in exclusive telephone interview with The Oracle Today Sports on Monday.

The Kaduna-based former international told The Oracle Today Sports that he has refused to have any form of discussion about the leadership crisis at the Glasshouse because nobody knows the truth about the matter.

According him, he will wait until what transpired in court on Monday is made public since both parties are to have their day in court on Monday.

He explained that another rea-

•Dr. Mohammed Sanusi

Udeze lampoons Lakosa on Norway trial •Says “his action is a disgrace to him and Nigerian League”

F

ORMER national team defender, Ifeanyi Udeze, has come hard on Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) top scorer, Junior Lokosa, for going on trial to lowly rated Norwegian League.

Udeze was miffed that Lokosa in his desperation to join a foreign club has disgraced himself and the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) where he is the top scorer. He said he got the news of Lokosa’s Norwegian trial with sadness because Norwegian League is not even among Europe 10 leagues.

According to him, Lokosa has belittled himself by using his hard earned money to pay for flight to go on trial to Norway instead of the club he has gone on trial to, to come to him with contract papers for him to consider whether he will join them or not being the top scorer in the NPFL. He disclosed that desperation

by Nigeria League players to join foreign leagues is not good for the players and the league because those clubs will never accord them

It’s risky talking about NFF’s leadership crisis – Lawal

F

club’s promotion from League One to the English Championship. He is currently being heavily celebrated for uniting a club more renowned for its divisive tendencies.

son he won’t want to say a word about the crisis is because even the main actors in the matter are not saying anything; hence it will be risky for him or any person to come out and start discussing about the matter which is already before the court.

“I have nothing to say about the NFF’s leadership crisis because I don’t know the true position of things as it is,” Lawal began.

“I am saying this because today, you read one thing in the newspaper and tomorrow you will see another thing. Then what of the stories flying on the social media?

So, it is risky discussing about the NFF’s leadership crisis.

“It is based on this that I have decided to stay away from commenting about the NFF’s leadership crisis.”

the type of respect they deserved because they are the people that went to them instead of the clubs coming to them for their services.

Udeze made his position known while reacting to the recent declaration by Lobi Stars’ coach, Solomon Ogbeide that he has not heard from Lokosa since he went on trials to SK Brann in Norway.

“Well, my take on that is that I am not happy that Junior Lokosa, the Nigerian Professional Football League top scorer is not with his team, Kano Pillars at the moment because he went on trials to SK Brann of Norway,” Udeze began.

“As far as I am concerned, the action of Junior Lokosa is a disgrace to himself and the NPFL. How can a top scorer in the Nigerian League abandon his teammates and fly abroad for a trial with SK Brann of Norway?

“If he had gone on trial to Barcelona or Real Madrid it will be understandable. But Norway of all countries and leagues is not good enough for a player of Lokosa’s standing. I am not despising the Norwegian League, far from it but the truth is that the Norwegian League is not there like the EPL, La Liga, and Seria A among others.

“His action is nothing but desperation and that is what is killing our local league players. They lack patience. They want to abroad no matter whether the Nigerian League is better than that league or not; they don’t want to know.

“It is this desperation of our local league players to play abroad that is making them not getting the type of respect that they deserved from these foreign clubs.

“As the top scorer in the Nigerian League, it is the club that he has gone to for trials that supposed to have come to him with contract papers to have his services not the other way round. How will such a club have respect for him? It is not possible and they are not going to

give him a contract befitting of his value because he has shown desperation by going to them for trials not even to sign contract.

“This is a young who has very bright future. He was among two home-based players invited to the national team for the friendly against England and Serbia though he did not future in both games.

But the fact that he was invited to the national team means his efforts have been recognized by the authorities and with time, he will be capped and possibly become a regular in the national team. What else is he looking for? Udeze queried.

“Our boys are too eager to leave this country and we can’t blame them” “During my time, back in 1997, there were no social media and the League was not properly televised, most of us went on trials.”

“Right now, your clips are everywhere, why go on trial? Udeze queried.

Meanwhile, Lobi Stars’ Coach Solomon Ogbeide has disclosed that the focus and priority on foreign-based players in the National team is partly responsible for the desperation from domestic league players’ quest to play abroad.

Ogbeide who was not happy with the disappearance of Lokosa therefore, called on the Nigerian football authorities to look inward for talents and give them a sense of belonging to enable local league players have that confidence that no matter where they are, provided that they are good they will be fished out for national assignment.

He explained that this will stem the desperation on the league player to join the legion of foreign league players.

Hence, it will impact positively on the league. Ogbeide disclosed that the quest to develop the Nigerian League will remain a mirage if not is done to stem the desperation of local league players to travel abroad.

47

The Oracle Today Wednesday August 8, 2018

NEWS

Saraki decamps, Ekweremadu detained Cont’d from Pg 2

of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy. In my role as the head of the legislature, and a leader of the party, I have ensured that this necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber Executive function or correspondingly, undermine the independence of the legislature. Over the years, I have made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and in spite of my personal predicament, to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavoury consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this.

However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself. The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as “corruption fighting back”.

Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the Constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve.

Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rap-

prochement that was desired in the interest of all. But I have no doubt in my mind, that to surrender this way is to be complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy. I am a democrat.

And I believe that anyone who lays even the most basic claim to being a democrat will not accept peace on those terms; which seeks to compromise the very basis of our existence as the parliament of the people.

The recent weeks have witnessed a rather unusual attempts to engage with some of these most critical issues at stake. Unfortunately, the discord has been allowed to fester unaddressed for

too long, with dire consequences for the ultimate objective of delivering the common good and achieving peace and unity in our country. Any hope of reconciliation at this point was therefore very slim indeed. Most of the horses had bolted from the stable.

The emergence of a new national party executives a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the Governors of APC and His Excellency, the Vice President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in

the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation.

However, as I have realized all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists.

These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any

•Vehicle swept into the gutter by flood along Onitsha-Asaba Expressway

FG shops for $3.5b investment in flare gas Continued from Pg 1

needs of the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.

In analyzing the pollution value of gas flare in Nigeria, Mr. Ogunsola said burning the resource at oil production sites pumps whopping 22 million tons of carbon dioxide into the environment while reining the volume into productive use could earn Nigeria a princely $350 million or N126 billion.

“It is in view of these losses and environmental damage associated with flared gas that the Federal government came up with the National Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) to harness the flared gas and put it into productive use. Under the NGFCP, the Federal Government will seek qualified investors with financial, technical and technological expertise to harness the flared gas,” Ogunsola said.

The programme, he said, carries investment budget of $3.5b, which when translated into production could provide six million households access to clean energy and generate over 300,000 jobs in the local economy.

The government has since the 1990’s floated a string of policy

measures to harness associated gas for economic application through various monetization programmes.

Some of the positive outcomes of the policy intervention include evolution of the Associated Gas Fiscal Arrangement (AGFA), which laid out package of commercial incentives that led to oil companies in the country to commit funds to gas investment plans.

There was also the Non-Associated Gas Fiscal and Regulatory Act (NAGFRA), which provided incentives for export projects, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), export pipelines, gas-to-liquid projects, natural gas liquid (NGL) projects and lease condensate developments.

The was also the Nigerian Gas Masterplan (NGMP), which laid the format for commercial investments in national gas reticulation grid network conceived to create industrial development corridors that would be based on sustainable gas energy.

More recently was the Gas Revolution programme designed to position government as lead investor in creation of gas-based industrial parks that would host manufacturing concerns that rely

on adequate energy supply that is founded on gas.

In addition, government enacted new regulations that permit oilfield development approvals only on the basis of no routine flaring of associated gas. This means that new oilfield development projects must carry associated investments in gas utilization projects that would harness associated gas for monetization.

Besides, the existing penal deterrence to gas flaring has been sustained. However, the gas flaring fine which was initially two kobo when introduced in the 1960s, was later increased to N10 in 1979 and remained so for a very long time. But in a recent regulatory directive, N10 fine is applicable for gas being flared below 1000 scf.

Government increased penal sanctions on gas flaring to $2.0 or N720 per 1000 standard cubic feet (scf) in an attempt to enforce zero routine gas flaring at oil production sites in Nigeria. The target of the government is to reduce gas flaring in the country to the lowest ebb by the year 2020.

Despite all the policies, measures and programmes, routine flaring has only reduced but not

stopped as the country still has about 139 gas flare locations in onshore and offshore oil fields across the Niger Delta.

Flared gas constitutes about 11 per cent of the total gas produced.

Ogunsola said although Nigeria’s gas flaring level is dropping, the quantity of gas flared in 2017 was as high as 324 billion standard cubic feet (scf).

According to him, about 888 mscfd was flared in 2017 despite Nigeria’s efforts at increasing utilization and commercialization of associated gas over the years.

The marginal declined in the volume of flared gas has brought Nigeria’s ranking from the world’s fifth highest gas flaring country to the current seventh position.

Mr. Ogunssola stated that government was seeking investors that would take advantage of incentives floated under the NGFCP to deploy technology and expertise in monetizing associated gas in Nigeria.

He explained that the NGFCP is key to Nigeria’s flare-out agenda with a target for zero routine gas flaring in Nigeria by 2020 as well as erase environmental impact on communities in the Niger Delta.w

trust in the process, the story today would have been different.

For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP. In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realized that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realized that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted.

I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria.

What we have all agreed is that a deep commitment to these ideals were not only a demonstration of our patriotism but also a matter of enlightened self-interest, believing that our very survival as political elites of this country will depend on our ability to earn the trust of our people and in making them believe that, more than anything else, we are committed to serving the people.

What the experience of the last three years have taught us is that the most important task that we face as a country is how to reunite our people. Never before had so many people in so many parts of our country felt so alienated from their Nigerianness. Therefore, we understand that the greatest task before us is to reunite the county and give everyone a sense of belonging regardless of region or religion.

Every Nigerian must have an instinctive confidence that he or she will be treated with justice and equity in any part of the country regardless of the language they speak or how they worship God. This is the great task that trumps all. Unless we are able to achieve this, all other claim to progress no matter how defined, would remain unsustainable.

This is the task that I am committing myself to and I believe that it is in this PDP, that I will have the opportunity to play my part. It is my hope that the APC will respect the choice that I have made as my democratic right, and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another.

Thank you.

•Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON President of the Senate

WEDNESDAY August 8, 2018

The

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racle Today

VOX POPULI SACRUM

ISSN: 2545-5869

Don’t panic, it’s a democracy

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•President Buhari

Suppose I prime my supporters (thugs) to disrupt party meetings, raise my voice high enough about the democratic abnegations our great party patronises, and as a respect for the law, file multiple suits against the party, would that be a crisis in the opinion of the law?

Other changes in party affiliations have been the decade-long practices of groups (any associations, or affiliations) gathering a crowd of hundreds or thousands, depending on their resources, to accompany a known political merchant to change his business address. The accompanying crowd becomes his supporters who are

following him to the next party. A close look at some of the faces shows that they have so professionalised political merchandising that their expertise is in assembling crowds for rallies, cross carpeting, and sometimes as thugs.

For many politicians, these moves are pre-election re-alignments. It is a time to re-assess their involvement in the previous election season; time to prepare for a future counted in terms of success at the next election. Nothing could be wrong in these except that they constrict the political sphere and make it indiscernible.

The people do not seem to be a consid-

It is power at all cost, every cost, which could be an appropriate attitude, if you consider that for most parts, no costs are spared in the pursuit of power and its maintenance.

“

HATEVER happens do not panic, it is a democracy, though there are times you think it is a dictator without a ship, meaning once the ship is discovered and attached, we would have a dictatorship. While we are at the search, there is a general feeling that we know who is President, but remain uncertain about who runs the country. The feeling has nothing to do with the President’s health.

It has everything to do with the complicating decisions and indecisions that appear not to serve the President’s interests. We only assume what those interests could be outside the platitudes about loving Nigeria, which translates to patriotism.

One of the drawbacks of the vast expanses that democracy provides for choices are the arguments for the rights of people to make choices that could harm democracy and themselves. The right to association, in particular, subsumes and guarantees the right to any association that we consider “right”, as long as it is legal. In the long drawn efforts to stretch the frontiers of freedom, rights are blurring from both ends – those who say they must be regulated (using noses as boundaries, not good enough for space management) and others who vote for limitless rights, in the perpetual expectations that all their choices would automatically become right.

It is a long way to choices and rights. The circumstances of whose rights are in contention circumscribe the rights of others with the law winking hence they say the law is an ass for all to ride, an uncharitable remark on the law.

Rights that our politicians hold dear include moving from one political party to the other. Spates of crossing from one party to the other are on again. In the legislative houses, there are muffled noises about the propriety of another party gaining seats it did not win at the elections. The position of the law is vacuous.

Crisis in a party is deemed enough reason to move to another party. What is a crisis?

•Senator Saraki

eration until the next election. From the way things are going, the people would not count for much in the elections. All the noise about the importance of the permanent voter’s card, PVC, does not reflect on how the people are treated.

Hunger can do a couple of things to an individual. He could get angry, go for anything to quash the hunger, without minding the conditions or hold on to his convictions, no matter what. Where the hunger for power is involved, our politicians have few qualms if any. It is power at all cost, every cost, which could be an appropriate attitude, if you consider that for most parts, no costs are spared in the pursuit of power and its maintenance. I hope it is clear that we are not discussing electricity.

Power is for their immediate families, and for attainment of positions to oppress others. Compromise has gained more notoriety lately. Serial compromises hold Nigeria down. Joining the ruling party in the local government, State, or at the centre, is an admission that a day is too long in politics. Why wait until 2019, the future, as some euphemistically call it? Ministerial appointments were made. In case someone is evaluating the performances of Ministers, most of who, in fairness to them, are anonymous, it would be the tasking side of democracy.

Board positions remain largely vacant, and 2019 no appear too many months away, politically speaking. The gateways to political appointments may seem shut, but they are never locked. Hopes are high that 2019 would be some people’s year of entry into “the next level” of their political sojourns. Some have waited since 1999, not coming the years of hoping the military would depart. The wait has been long and age is not on most people’s side.

These attainments are expensive. You have to be well-behaved to those who make the decisions. You have to pledge your unflinching loyalty. I have a friend who defines the blindness of his loyalty by the fact that though his sight may be failing, he has refused to wear glasses, in case, he saw something wrong. How does he see the good work His Excellency has done? He explained that he did not need to see them. Whether they existed or not, he said, all that was required of him was to parrot the comments of other mainstream supporters of His Excellency. Blind loyalty is not mere stringing of words.

If the ruling party plays its cards well (poor visibility permitting) it would soon have enough members, coverts, new comers – all steeped in old ways – that fears about the stability of our democracy would heighten. In those doubtful moments, our leaders would paraphrase every speech with, “Let me remind you that we are in a democracy.”

Our consolation would be in knowing, that they know, that we are so steeped in democracy, 19 years into it, yet we need to be reminded that we are in a democracy.

Enough said; enough understood. Whatever happens, nobody should panic, because no matter how democracy is defined, things Nigerian defy logic, possibly our biggest contribution to humanity.

•Honourable Dogara

•Republished

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