Wed 21 Aug 2013

Page 1

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Vol. 30, No. 12,655

www.ngrguardiannews.com

N150

Anxiety as deadline for payment for electricity utilities ends today From Emeka Anuforo (Abuja) and Roseline Okere (Lagos) ODAY is the deadline for the preferred winners of the country’s electricity distribution companies to pay the required 75 per cent balance amid anxiety over a seeming impasse between government and the buyers. The buyers last week gave strong indications that the date would not be possible, urging government to consider a further shift. Going by

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• Buyers pledge to pay 75% balance • Reserved bidders may take over the pleas tendered by the buyers, delay in labour settlement makes the matter more serious, as lenders who had hitherto given them assurances of mobilising funds are now skeptical. In a twist to its earlier stance, the Roundtable of Distribu-

tion Companies (Discos), a body of private investors, said yesterday that it was working to ensure compliance. Its Chairman, Dr. Ransom Owan, told The Guardian yesterday that efforts were being made to pay up. On its part, the Bureau of

Public Enterprises (BPE) said on Monday that it would not extend today’s deadline for the payment of the outstanding 75 per cent of the bid prices for the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) by the preferred bidders.

BPE said if they failed to pay by 5.00 p.m. today, they would lose the bids, while the reserved bidders would be invited to take over the assets. The Head of Public Communications at BPE, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said the agency did not have the power to extend the payment deadline. His words: “The BPE does not have the power to extend the deadline. It is the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo that has

the power to do that. This means that the council will have to meet on Wednesday to extend the deadline; but as I speak, I am not aware that such a meeting has been called.” Anichebe said government would abide by the terms and conditions in the purchase agreement. He said that as at Friday, August 16, a total of 20,304 of the 40,000 members of staff of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote (left); Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema and Minister of Communications, Omobola Johnson, during the bell ringing at the NSE in Lagos.

Jonathan to lead govt, ASUU talks From Mohammed Abubakar, Karls Tsokar, Kanayo Umeh (Abuja) and Inemesit Akpan-Nsoh (Uyo) TRONG indications SPresident emerged yesterday that Goodluck Jonathan may have personally taken charge of efforts aimed at getting striking university teachers back to work soon. Besides, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Federal Government to hon-

• APC wants 2009 pact honoured • Varsities get deadline on admission our its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in order to end the industrial action. Meanwhile, the Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has appealed to the ASUU to accept the offer made

by the Federal Government and call off the strike. He spoke at the African Regional Centre of Enterprise Workshop yesterday in Abuja. And the Registrar/Chief Executive of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB),

• Gunmen kill two policemen in raid on station -Page 3

Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, has directed all universities to conclude admissions on or before October 31, 2013. Jonathan met yesterday for more than two hours with the Federal Government’s officials engaged in the negotiation

with ASUU at the Presidential Villa. At the meeting were Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Anyim; Benue State Governor, Dr. Gabriel Suswam; Ministers of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala; Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i and Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu; Executive Secretary of the Na-

• GTB earns N124b -Page 15

tional Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, as well as the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe. The previous negotiations between the Federal Government team and the union on Tuesday last week and Monday this week at the office of the SGF failed to yield result as the teachers insisted on the implementation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement. Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Suswam, who chairs the imCONTINUED ON PAGE 2


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