Tue 03 June 2014

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Vol. 30, No. 12,940

www.ngrguardiannews.com

N150

‘NPA failed to remit N713b to govt in six years’ • Panel condemns N174.6b aviation debt From Terhemba Daka, Karls Tsokar, John Okeke and Omotola Oloruntobi, Abuja N the last six years, the I(NPA) Nigerian Ports Authority has failed to remit N713 billion into the federation account, according to the National Conference Committee on Finance and Revenue.

It was also learnt yesterday that the Ministry of Aviation was owing N174 .6 billion.

A delegate to the conference and Chairman of the NationCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

BRING

...DAY 50

BACK

OURGIRLS

Director in FIQH Academy, Dr. Ahamed Abdel Aleem (left); Foreign Affairs Minister, Aminu Awali; Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Eyad Ameen Madani; President Goodluck Jonathan; Vice President Namadi Sambo and OIC Director, African Affairs, Yahya Lawal during the solidarity visit of the organisation to the State House, Abuja .. yesterday. (Inset) Newly elected Malawian President, Arthur Peter Mutharika with the Sword of Command bestowed to him by Malawi’s Defence Force Commander, as Botswana’s President during Mutharika’s official inauguration as Malawi’s President, at the Kamuzu stadium in Blantyre…yesterday. PHOTOS: PHILIP OJISUA and AFP

Death toll in Adamawa terrorist blast hits 65 From Mohammed Abubakar, Karls Tsokar, Kanayo Umeh , John Okeke (Abuja), Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi (Jos) Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri) and Emmanuel Ande (Yola) HE death toll in last SunT day’s bomb blast in Mubi town in Adamawa State may have risen to 65, The Guardian learnt.

However, the Defence Headquarters said that only 18 persons died in the blast contrary to media reports which put the figure at 40 and above.

In a related development, gunmen suspected to Boko

• Only 18 died, says military • 13 feared killed in Borno violence • Govt denies knowledge of latest B’Haram video • OIC says insurgents not true Muslims • Police ban ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ protest in Abuja • Ezekwesili, Keyamo condemn action Haram members on Sunday attacked a church in Attagara village in Gwoza council of Borno State, killing nine worshippers and torching many houses.

But, in a counter attack, four

of the fleeing insurgents were killed by youths in the community.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has denied seeing a new video released by the Boko Haram insurgents,

which purportedly showed the abducted school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok looking unhealthy and begging for their release.

Similarly, the Organisation

of Islamic Countries (OIC) yesterday expressed outrage at the activities of Boko Haram, saying that their members were a band of criminals who were misrepresenting Islam.

Also, security operatives yesterday averted what would have turned into a bloody clash in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

In the same vein, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has ordered an indefinite ban on all protests in Abuja calling for the release of the over 250 girls kidnapped CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

• Stakeholders list expectations as CBN governor Emefiele, resumes today – Page 4

• Confusion over govt’s six months ultimatum on national shipping line – Page 5

• Osun guber poll stories –Page 88

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

2 Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Panel condemns N174.6b aviation debt CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 al Conference Committee on Finance and Revenue, Adamu Aliero, disclosed in Abuja yesterday while presenting his report before a plenary session that the NPA was operating under a faulty framework which should be amended to ease its work and make it transparent and accountable.

According to statistical findings by the committee, in 2009, the NPA generated N91billion but remitted N5.2 billion, and in 2010, it made N102 billion and remitted N3.5 billion.

In 2011, N120 billion was generated but a paltry N1billion was remitted, in 2012, it got N128 billion but remitted N17.8 billion, while in 2013 the agency generated N131billion but remitted N3.2 billion.

As at May 2014, N172 billion has so far been generated although no remittance has been made to the federation account.

Aliero cited lack of information on the form and content of concessioning agreement as part of the fraud in the sector.

He observed that the level of remittance when compared to revenue generated was

ridiculously low and unstable despite the authority’s claim that a large percentage of the revenue was expended on operating cost and capital expenditure.

Part of the recommendations of the committee before the plenary was that the enabling law of the NPA regarding remittance of its surplus, be amended to remove any provision that contravenes Section 162 of the 1999 constitution.

The committee also recommended that the concessioning agreements be revisited to address any provision and clause that are not in the interest of the nation.

“The laws of the Nigerian Port Authority and Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency should be harmonised to avoid conflicts and promote collaboration and synergy,” the Aliero-led committee proposed.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who spoke in Abuja yesterday during a visit to the Ministry of Aviation, questioned the Minister of Aviation , Samuel Ortom, on what gave rise to the high debt profile of the sector.

“It is worrisome that you are presenting a debt profile of N 174.6 billion. One will be tempted to ask, where are you going to get this money? How did you secure such a debt?

From where and on what? It is very worrisome in as much as you have set up a ministerial committee to look at those issues.

“I will wish to state here that the committee is frowning on such profile because we know that money has been appropriated for most of the issues on what you have been doing in aviation.

“And if you just paid sixty something billion and presented the debt of N174.6 billion, then it is a very serious issue. It is very critical. And so we will need to have details of these projects and we will conduct a new examination on the debt and even the one you have paid N81 billion on. I don’t think it is right at all. It is scaring to have a N174.6 billion debt profile in the Ministry of Aviation.

“It is obvious that in the next five years the ministry will be busy settling the debts of those that they are owing and this will draw the work of the ministry backward,” she said.

She added: “The National As-

sembly is determined to support the transformation agenda of the current administration. One way of doing this is to ensure that the figures made available and presented before the committee during this period are truthful, factual and evidencebased.”

Responding, the Supervising Minister of Aviation, Samuel Ortom, stressed that the projects were awarded during the tenure of his predecessor, Stella Oduah.

He, however, said that the ministry was developing strategies for debt repayment and urged the Federal Government to come to their aid.

“We are also working on establishing an airport development levy in line with international best practice.

And we think when this is done it will raise money to be able to pay the loans.

“We also urge the Federal Government to bail us out.

We are looking for partnership that will bail us out from this indebtedness that we have here.

“Even now some of the contractors we are owing are threatening to sue us,” he added.

Govt denies knowledge of latest B’ Haram video CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in April from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State by the insurgent group Boko Haram.

According to a Mubi resident, Mr. Robert Audu, who said he lost three of his relations during the blast, told The Guardian that when he visited the Mubi General Hospital, the mortuary was filled with dead bodies.

“I am shocked to hear that some security agents are claiming that only 14 or 16 people died, it is a lie, I went to the hospital myself and the dead bodies I saw on ground alone were more than 40”, he added.

Another resident who identified himself as David Dauda, said he saw corpses litter the ground, stressing, “ I saw over 30 dead bodies in the affected area ,while others were rushed to the hospital.’’

Also, a survivor of the blast, Abubakar Jika, said that the dead bodies he saw loaded in vehicles were more than 40 and that four of his neighbours who were injured died yesterday.

However, when The Guardian contacted the 23 Armour Brigade Yola Army Public Relations Officer, Captain Nuhu Jafaru, to confirm the number of the casualties yesterday, he said, ”I am not in Mubi, call the Brigade Commander, he is in Mubi.”

The blast came less than 48 hours after a letter purportedly written by suspected members of the Boko Haram threatening to attack the Adamawa State University (ADSU) Mubi was discovered.

As a fallout of the Mubi blast and the rumoured threat to attack some parts of Yola, the state capital, the police yesterday beefed up security in the metropolis.

Attagara is a border village with Cameroun and 129 kilometres southeast of Maiduguri, the state capital.

According to an eyewitness, Hamba Wisso, some armed men stormed a local church

at Attagara village and opened fire on worshippers while the Sunday service was going on at about 9.30 a.m.

“Nine people were killed in the church, while the community youths mobilised and killed four of the attackers, and eight others fled on motorcycles towards Kughum, a border village with Cameroun,” said a police source involved in the on going operations at Sambisa Forest.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja, Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade also denied knowledge of any negotiation between the Federal Government and the insurgents.

Olukolade also confirmed the attack in Mubi town in Adamawa State, adding that a suspect in the attack was apprehended by security agents.

According to Olukolade, the attack at a bar and football viewing centre in Mubi resulted in the death of 18 persons with 19 others injured.

He said the injured are currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, as investigations to determine the culprit in the bombing are ongoing.

He added that ongoing air and land surveillance by security agencies has resulted in the killing of five terrorists in Biu and Kauri in Benue State.

Reacting to reports of military operations by the Camerounian forces, which led to the death of 40 suspected members of Boko Haram sect, who crossed over the border, Olukolade insisted that only the Camerounian authorities can confirm or deny such report.

He, however, added that countries in the West Africa are still collaboration in the war against terrorists.

Responding to a question on the terror suspect, Sadiq Ogwuche, who is one of the masterminds in the Nyanya bombing, Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mbah said

the paper work for his return to Nigeria was almost complete.

The Secretary-General of OIC, Eyad Ameen Madani, who led a delegation from the 57member organisation on a condolence visit to President Goodluck Jonathan over the several deaths and destruction caused by Boko Haram activities in Nigeria, said the activities of the sect was in sharp contrast to the teachings, philosophy and ideals of Islam.

Speaking with State House correspondents after his closed door meeting with Jonathan, Madani, a former Hajj Affairs Minister of Saudi Arabia, said the activities of Boko Haram had no place in Islam and should be clearly seen for what it is, a criminal activity, that were simply misrepresenting Islam.

He added: “We are also here to express our solidarity with Nigeria in facing up to this terrorist organisation and to condemn the terrorist act they have been committing, and to show our condolences to the Nigerians and to the families of those who were affected.

“The OIC has issued statements that we are very clear, that these people are outlaws, what they do is a criminal act, it has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, Islamic teachings, the history, the culture, the civilisation of Islam and we should identify them for what they are as a terrorists group.

“So we listened to the President and we offered what OIC could do in terms of expressing its support, its willingness to be actively involved in facing up to this terrorists group.

Asked to specify in specific terms, what form of support the OIC was planning for Nigeria, Madani said such crises were multi dimensional and needed to be tackled as such.

“We are willing to, if Nigerian government would allow us

to, convene an inter-faith dialogue, because we feel that there is a lot to be said about these claims, and to show the many aspects of similarities and living together between not only Christians and Muslims but between all faiths convictions. and “Africa, we keep saying, is a model of such tolerance, its history is a history of tolerance, of living together and that African tradition has done thing that needs to stay and this is where the principles of OIC position is.”

Besides, he said the OIC, through its different organs could be available to the request of the Nigerian government in any way it can do to help out alleviate the social and economic conditions in any area where these eleoperate may ments Foreign Affairs Minister, Aminu Wali, who accompanied the delegation, expressed Nigeria’s appreciation to the OIC for its support, noting that it showed the organisation was ever willing to come to the aid of member states.

Trouble began when some youths in Bukuru took to the streets over a dead body discovered yesterday morning area. their in A resident of the area, who simply called himself Dadut, told journalists, “we were at home when we saw a group of youths armed with sticks dangerous other and started who weapons, protesting, and we the youths in our area had to come together quickly prevent them from attacking us.”

He further said it took the intervention of the men of the Special Task Force (STF) deployed to restore law and orarea. the in der Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Felicia Anslem, said that there were skirmishes around the locality in the morning but they had been put under control.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 | 3

News Insecurity In The North-East

Borno to relocate returnee Chibok schoolgirls From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri HE 57 Chibok schoolgirls, who escaped from their captors last week, would be relocated to others schools in Zaria, Abuja or Lagos to complete their secondary education, the Borno State Government has said.

Also, American counseling experts on trauma would be in Maiduguri to attend to them, as their parents do not want to part with them yet.

The state’s plan was made known yesterday at the Government House in Maiduguri, where Governor Kashim Shettima had a closed door meeting with parents, Chibok council chairman,

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Bana Lawan, and the schoolgirls.

“The abduction of the schoolgirls by the Boko Haram gunmen does not only affect parents here present in this council chamber but all of us,” Shettima said. “I have daughters too, and as a leader, people’s lives and property must be protected, and the traumatized girls and their parents rehabilitated.

“These girls have no other place to go to. We also have no plans to politicize the abduction of the 219 innocent schoolgirls from their school.

If any person doubts their abduction, let him or her go to the affected town and meet their parents.”

Shettima said of their education: “We will not disclose the name of the secondary school where they will complete their secondary education, as it has been interrupted by their abduction since April.”

He further disclosed that each returnee schoolgirl complete her secondary education at the cost of N1.5 million, while their parents would be consoled, until the remaining schoolgirls are rescued.

He also directed the council chairman to meet all the affected parents in Chibok and console with, while an undisclosed amount of money would be disbursed to each parent.

Cleric urges unity against terrorism

By Kenechukwu Ezeonyejiaku RELATE of the Methodist P Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche, has called for unity of purpose among Nigerians, irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation, to fight the scourge of terrorism ravaging the country.

Speaking in Lagos on Sunday during the church’s prayer session and rally for the abducted schoolgirls, Uche said the events of the past

week had made it clear to all that the insurgency being experienced in the country was past religious and political affiliation and as such, everyone should unite to fight for the return of peace.

According to him, the peace and unity of the country should be of utmost importance to everyone because politics can only be played if the country exists. Uche said: “We are depressed over what is happening in the country; we need God, and it is only Him that can save us now.

“It is not about religion, it is not about politics because it is above both. We need God to save Nigeria because people are wishing us evil, people want Nigeria to be a failed state but God will never allow that to happen.

“This calls for unity. Now, those who were laughing at Christians being abducted and killed have now seen that it is beyond fighting against Christians - they are now killing emirs, imams and the clergy. Who knows who the next person would be?

Troops arrest Mubi bombing suspect KEY suspect in the terror A bomb explosion that rocked the Kabang commu-

nity in Mubi, Adamawa State, on Sunday evening has been arrested by troops deployed to fight terrorism in the North-east, who swiftly cordoned the area after the explosion.

Meanwhile, as part of the strategies lined up in the ongoing war against terrorism, the Nigeria Police yesterday commenced an extensive counter-terrorism campaign nationwide.

Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.D Abubakar, has called on the citizenry to partner the Force and support its ongoing Counterterrorism Enlightenment Campaign (CEC). He further urged the citizens to pay attention to the security and safety tips contained in the counter-terrorism leaflets.

According to a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. A.C. Olukayode, which was made available to The Guardian yesterday, the suspect was nabbed as members of the public confirmed sighting him alight from the vehicle used in conveying the device that was detonated shortly before the explosion.

So far, the 19 persons wounded in the explosion have been evacuated and are receiving medical attention in hospitals while 18 others have been confirmed dead. The statement added that patrol troops successfully repelled an ambush in Buratai community in Biu, Borno State.

The troops, who fell into

the terrorists’ ambush while on patrol, engaged them “in a decisive fire fight, killing four of them and capturing one alive.

Also in Kawuri in Borno State, troops on patrol killed five terrorists in a shootout and also captured two AK 47 rifles and two vehicles used by the terrorists.

Ex- factional chairman of NURTW in Oyo State Mukaila Lamidi a.k.a. (Auxiliary), during his appearance at Iyaganku Magistrate Court, Ibadan… yesterday.

PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

NLC seeks probe of security financing, operations in North-east

By Yetunde Ebosele

ORRIED by the continW ued killings and general insecurity, especially in the North-east, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to commence a full scale transparent, thorough and unbiased investigation into the activities and challenges of the security forces.

In a statement yesterday, NLC President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, also called on the National Assembly to probe the financial allocations to the military and the “utilization of these allocations,” noting that “clearly, the murder of the Emir of Gwoza has exposed the soft underbelly of these operations.”

The union reiterated its

call for morale boosting and proper equipping of the security personnel, adding that the central labour body was disturbed that despite huge resource allocations, security remains a serious challenge in Nigeria “with the recent ambush and assassination of the Emir of Gwoza, Idrisa Timta, who was in company of two other emirs on their way to Gombe.”

According to Omar, it is worrisome that these attacks were increasing, “even as the Minister of Finance recently announced that N130 billion had been spent on security, especially on the military, which has been saddled with confronting the prevailing armed insurgency in the North-east, led by the Boko Haram elements.”

He said the ease and precision with which the attacks were being carried out, despite the numerous security checkpoints and the number of personnel deployed in the zone, was “worrisome and unjustifiable.”

The statement read in part: “If high-profile traditional rulers could be attacked so casually just as villages and towns are being razed, even in broad daylight, what would be the fate of ordinary citizens?

“We believe the authorities need to demonstrate a high level of commitment to safety of lives and property in the country generally, and especially in the North-east, by carrying out deep investigations into the activities of security operatives, including military personnel.”

It added: “It is already a national embarrassment that the school children abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, over six weeks ago are yet to be located and rescued even as multinational interests in the rescue operations increase.

“That these children are yet to be rescued and delivered unharmed to their parents question the commitment and credibility of those saddled with the search and rescue operation and negatively impact on our national image.

“We are confident that our security agencies, including the military, can effectively route the insurgents if well equipped and motivated.

After all, these same personnel not only rendered a good account of themselves

in foreign operations, they also played decisive roles in ending conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali, among others.

“Though this war is slightly different, we are concerned that these same forces are finding it difficult to confront insurgency back home.

We believe that government, and indeed all Nigerians, must take interest in what could be the obstacles to our collective resolve and commitment to the war on terror that has all but brought socio-economic activities in parts of the country to a halt.

“We, therefore, call on President Goodluck Jonathan, to institute a full scale transparent investigation into the activities and challenges of our security forces, especially in the North-east.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

4 NEWS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

14 suspects arrested over Arepo pipeline vandalism While launching the public enlightenment material yesterday, Mba said the campaign would witness massive distribution of information, education and communications (IEC) materials across all strata of the Nigerian society and it is expected to be sustained until every citizen of the country is well informed of their responsibilities in this age of terrorism.

“The public enlightenment materials, which are factsheets containing distress call numbers of the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and that of the office of the National Security Adviser

From Karls Tsokar, Abuja O less than 14 suspected persons have been arrested with three assorted rifles in connection with last Thursday’s petroleum products ‘scooping’ in which nine policemen were killed in Arepo/Abule Oba coastal communities at the boundary between Ogun and Ondo states.

Meanwhile, the Police High Command has initiated an aggressive educational campaign to create awareness among all citizens on how to participate in the fight against terror.

The Police Public Relations

• Police launch counter-terrorism campaign

APGA receives defectors, explains posture

APC wants govt to account for monthly allocations HE All Progressives ited to the state governments vision of social amenities, T Congress (APC) has chal- alone. creation of jobs and infra‘’Yes, Nigerians should seek structural development. lenged the Federal

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From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia BIA State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) at the weekend held a rally at Okeikpe in Ukwa-West Local Council Area where it welcomed some defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). It said its near-comatose position is changing for active politicking.

While the PPA defectors were led by the former UkwaWest Council chairman, Sylvernus Nwaji, those of the PDP were led by Mr. Harcourt Enwereji.

They gave reason for joining APGA as having not got what they expected from their former parties, describing APGA as their new hope for getting what eluded them in their erstwhile parties.

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Officer, Frank Mba, while briefing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, said the Command has 14 suspects in its custody who allegedly participated in the adventure, which resulted in the death of some policemen last week.

He stated that “three assorted rifles have been recovered from the suspects who are being interrogated, even as investigation is still ongoing”.

On the allegation that the pipeline vandals have more sophisticated weapons than the police, Mba said the diffi-

Government to account for the huge budgetary allocation it receives monthly from the Federation Account, in view of its poor record of development.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said while the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was right in asking Nigerians to challenge their state governors to account for their monthly allocations, such challenge should not be lim-

culty of the terrain complicated the operation. He noted that the Marine Police could not access the area due to the shallow waters and the helicopters could not easily land because of the high-tension electricity wires, which crisscrossed the area.

“No machine propelled. Boat cannot access that place because of the shallow waters and our helicopters could not as well go near there because of the high tension cables and poles around there. So, it was not a question of superior gun-power”, he said.

accountability from their state governments, but it is important to note that the biggest challenge should be directed at the Federal Government, because it takes the biggest chunk of the monthly budgetary allocations. ‘’While all the 36 states together collect only 26.72 per cent and all the 774 local councils collect a total 20.6 per cent, the Federal Government alone takes 52.68 per cent, hence it bears the greatest responsibility to Nigerians in terms of the pro-

‘’Since education, agriculture and health, for example, fall under the concurrent list, Nigerians must - in addition to challenging their state governments - ask the Federal Government what it has done with its huge chunk of federal allocations, against the background of massive unemployment, dilapidated infrastructure and the poor health facilities that have seen public officials, including the President, scurrying to foreign hospitals for medical treatment. ‘’It is therefore imperative

(NSA), are carefully designed by the Police to educate the general public on their basic roles in the fight against terrorism and how to identify terrorists’ subterfuge and other known modus operandiof criminals.

“This is expected to help in protecting citizens from falling victims to crimes, thereby improving overall sense of communal safety. Meanwhile, the fact-sheets have been translated into major Nigerian languages for wider reach. So far, the fact sheets have been translated into Fulfude, Hausa, Igbo, Kanuri and Yoruba languages”, he noted.

that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands, and that those who point a finger at others must realise that four others are pointing at them. It is not just enough to say certain states have received certain allocations, Nigerians also want to know how much the Federal Government has received in total to date and what it has done with it. ‘’The Federal Government must lead the way in ensuring accountability for the funds from the Federation Account, just as local and state governments have a responsibility for accountability”, the statement said.

Stakeholders list expectations as CBN gov, Emefiele, resumes today

By Chijioke Nelson S the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, resumes today, stakeholders in the financial sector have expressed optimism that the new leadership will enthrone fresh ideas, even as they raised multiple tasks for him.

Already on Emefiele’s table seems to be a myriad of challenges that could be summed up in credibility issues of the apex bank, public confidence in the nation’s monetary policy and evolving a new method of leadership that is

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effective without raising general anxiety.

The Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Limited, Bismack Rewane, while speaking with The Guardian, said the CBN will surely move to the next level going by Emefiele’s track record as the former Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. He, however, pointed out that he would soon face a tough battle as the CBN governor and how he handles the situation may be an indication to further analysis of where the economy is headed and will determine the success or otherwise of his tenure.

He said: “I am confident that he will not entertain risky bets and he will make sure that banks are well regulated.

But let us give him time to settle down and study the environment and possibly, unfold his own agenda.

“Markets have been in a ‘wait and see’ disposition, anticipating Emefiele’s resumption. The conflicting trends of core and headline inflation since January 2014 will have to be put in perspective as well as the eroding fiscal buffers.

“He was made in the system and came from there as well, but managing a single bank which asset is about N1 trillion or a little above, is different from managing a nation’s money supply that is worth over N15 trillion. Basically, the information at his disposal will direct his decisions.

“Of course, the issue of depleting foreign exchange reserve is a course for worry and a source of pressure on the naira value. This should be one of his targets and almost immediately. It is important to sustain the

price stability.”

According to a report, Afrinvest, a research and investment firm in Lagos, has challenged the new governor to ensure that the gains in price and exchange rate stability are preserved and therefore maintain the previous regime’s hawkish stance.

“In view of the 2015 campaign spending, we anticipate further liquidity tightening by an additional increase in the CRR on public sector deposit to 100 per cent before the end of 2014 and a subsequent reduction post the 2015 election,” the company said.

Presently, the credit developments in the country have sustained pressure on investors, as access to facilities by small businesses remain elusive, hence a need for balance between monetary tightening and business/employment growth.

For the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the expectations from the new CBN governor are to sustain the legacies of his predecessor in areas of the cash-less policy, promotion of the use of electronic transactions, increased risk management standard and heightened corporate governance standards.

The Director-General of LCCI, Muda Yusuf, who made the charge while speaking with The Guardian, said that investors are still concerned about high interest rates in the economy, which is largely ascribed to the tight monetary policy stance of CBN. He said: “We therefore hope for a review of the tight monetary policy and solution to the causative factor of the regime of high interest rate to enthrone a reign of reduced cost of fund and stimulate

economic growth.

“Small and Medium Enterprises also have serious challenges in accessing credit. They account for over 80 per cent of the jobs in the economy, yet enjoy less than 10 per cent of the credit facility in the banking system. This lopsidedness needs to be reviewed and for the objective of inclusive growth and job creation to be achieved, the credit conditions in the economy need to improve.”

Also, the Abuja-based Development Consultant, Jide Ojo, expressed optimism that Emefiele, being adjudged a conservative, is not ready to “rock the boat”, but will sustain the subsisting policies on price stability, inflation and liquidity tightening.

Jide said: “He should balance monetary policy with job growth, interest rate on savings and loans, coupled with the process of obtaining loans.

“The issues in microfinance banks operations have not settled, in fact, their mandates are still not attended to. Bureau de Change operators are still not co-ordinated as many ugly things are happening in that system.

“It is time for him to prove himself different from others, especially on the recurring allegations of money laundering and connivance by the deposit money banks and their officials. The system must be tightened with enforcement of rules and bad eggs exposed.”

But a Lagos-based economist, Henry Boyo, said if there would be difference in status quo, it may be the strengthening of the processes in which the nation’s commercial banks benefit unduly from the system.

RCCG inaugurates social board HE Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) T Province 42 has inaugurated the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) board of the church.

The Pastor-in-Charge of the Province (PICP), Pastor Ola Martin Erogun, is the Chairman while the Assistant Pastor-inCharge (APICP), Pastor Olawanle Moronkeji, is the Vice Chairman.

Presenting the board members to the Pastor-in-Charge of the Province, the APICP (CSR) said the members were carefully selected across the Province.

They are: Oluwayemisi Olatokun, Adebukola Babalola, Omoniyi Olowe, Olamiji Olawuyi, O. Akanle, Adesanya Adekunle, Prince Adewunmi, Adedeji Ajewole, Idemudia Olita, Oluwakemi Omisore, Ajibade Omisore, O. A. Akinyemi, Wole Adenekan, Olajumoke Ajayi, Pius Falola, Francis Ayilaran and Oluwawole Soluade.

Govt shuts gas plants for maintenance HE Minister of Power, Prof.

T Chinedu Nebo, has announced the planned shutdown of gas infrastructure for supply to Utorogu and Ughelli East in Delta State.

The minister said the action was in line with efforts to consolidate on the successes recently recorded in improved electricity supply to homes and businesses in many parts of the country.

A statement signed by Prof.

Chidiebere Onyia on behalf of the minister, which was made available to newsmen in Abuja, said the planned shutdown which began yesterday, June 2, 2014, would be completed on June 22, 2014.

The statement promised that at the completion of this scheduled maintenance and upgrades, the facilities will be re-commissioned hence it will improve gas production and ensure quality output from the lines to the power plants.

INEC declares Yobe bye-election best so far • Reiterates commitment to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa polls From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared last Saturday’s bye-election into Nangere Constituency in Yobe State House of Assembly as its best since the tenure of its Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

The election was conducted following the death of Adamu Degubi, who was killed by gunmen in June 2012.

Jega, who made this declaration yesterday in Abuja, stated that the success of that election is an indication of INEC’s resolve to conduct polls in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in spite of the state of emergency declared in the areas.

The INEC boss, who spoke while receiving national leadership of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) at the INEC Headquarters, assured that despite the security challenges in the North-East, the Commission would go on with its released time-table, adding that elections would take place in the states in February 2015 as planned.

“I am very pleased to say that from all the reports we received, it was one of the best elections we have conducted so far in terms of turn-out and commencing on time. In fact, all polling units were prepared for the election by 7:30 am, he said.

T

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 | 5

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ISSUES IN THE NEWS

Confusion over govt’s six months ultimatum on national shipping line

President Jonathan

By Moses Ebosele PLAN by the Federal Government to float a A new national shipping line before the end of the year has generated controversy among stakeholders in the maritime sector.

The Nigeria National Shipping Line (NNSL) was liquidated in controversial circumstances in 1995 over allegations and counterallegations of wide spread corruption among officials of the Federal Ministry of Transport, its agencies and some highly placed individuals charged with the responsibility of managing the defunct national carrier.

Speaking in Lagos recently, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, decried alleged corrupt practices in the management of the liquidated shipping line.

Obasanjo, who spoke at a forum put together by stakeholders in the maritime sector said: “Where are the 19 ships? If we are going to get it right, we must refer to history. History points to where we are going. One was sold as scrap for half a million dollar. Government later bought same ship for $2 million. It was repaired for a million dollar.”

Various maritime stakeholders, including indigenous ship owners, economists, among others who spoke with The Guardian yesterday called for caution on the part of the Federal Government especially with regards to the six-month time frame.

Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, who made the Federal Government’s position public in Lagos, recently, disclosed that the agency has been directed by President Goodluck Jonathan to commence work on the national carrier.

He explained that the Federal Government opted to partner the private sector as part of measures to avoid the pitfalls of the past.

Akpobolokemi said: “When the NNSL got liquidated, it was because it was managed by government. So, in the next six months, working with the private sector, we want our shipping line back.”

He added: “When this comes on board, it solves the challenge of securing seatime for

Akpobolokemi, DG NIMASA

Jolapamo, President NISA

There are so many unanswered questions. Who are the stakeholders that met with the Federal Government before a six-month time frame for the carrier to take off was arrived at? Any lessons from the past? Any transparent feasibility study? Who carried out the feasibility study? How do we as Nigerians eliminate corruption in the proposed process? Is this another opportunity for civil servants and politicians to make quick money before 2015 elections? How many people are in jail for running aground the defunct NNSL? Why now? Election is around the corner. Why now and within six months? cadets. Right now, we are investing so much in seatime training. We may just spend little of this money if we train them locally in addition to wealth creation. Therefore, we are determined by the grace of God that in the next six months, we want to make sure this national carrier comes back.”

But Secretary General, Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Capt. Niyi Labinjo, who spoke in a chat with The Guardian yesterday, described the proposed national carrier as a wrong step on the part of the government.

Labinjo, who spoke in his private capacity, also faulted reported plans by the government to partner with investors under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

He said: “The Federal Government is divesting its interest from different sectors of the economy. Why is the same government interested in partnering with the private sector in putting in place a national shipping line”?

Labinjo added: “The Federal Government has done it before and failed. Government is a bad manager. They did it in Ajaokuta and failed. They tried with Nigeria Airways and failed.

With NITEL (Nigeria Telecommunications), they failed. In the liquidated NNSL, they failed. What makes you think they will succeed this time around?”

Speaking in a similar vein, an economist, Matthew R. Otoide, also in a chat with The Guardian yesterday, faulted the six-month

time frame for the project to take-off.

He said: “There are so many unanswered questions. Who are the stakeholders that met with the Federal Government before a sixmonth time frame for the carrier to take off was arrived at? Any lessons from the past?

Any transparent feasibility study? Who carried out the feasibility study? How do we as Nigerians eliminate corruption in the proposed process? Is this another opportunity for civil servants and politicians to make quick money before 2015 elections? How many people are in jail for running aground the defunct NNSL? Why now? Election is around the corner. Why now and within six months?”

Otiode also used the opportunity to advise President Goodluck Jonathan to “play down” government involvement in the proposed national shipping line.

He added: “Let’s be sincere with ourselves.

The less involvement of the government, the better for everybody. Corruption is a problem in this part of the world. Our civil service structure is very corrupt and ineffective. To get a lasting result, we must do things differently.”

Former President of the Nigeria Association of Master Mariners, Capt, Adewale Ishola, is of the opinion that the Federal Government should be commended and supported under the proposed arrangement.

President of NISA, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, also in a chat with The Guardian, disclosed that the group has scheduled a meeting later this month, adding that a public statement is expected at the end of the meeting.

Advising the government on how to ensure a successful national carrier, the Chief Executive Officer of Ships & Ports, Bolaji Akinola, said excessive interference by government played a major role in the eventual demise of NNSL. He said: “Excessive interference by top government officials played an important role in the eventual demise of defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line. It was seen as a cash cow. Federal Ministry of Transport officials found every excuse to meddle in its affairs and thus circumvent important decisions.

“The management of NNSL was changed as often as Transport Ministry officials liked.

Every NNSL Managing Director who was seen as uncooperative by the ministry officials soon found himself in the labour market,” said Akinola.

Tracing the genesis of NNSL woes, Akinola said: “Another major factor which compounded NNSL’s woes especially in the 1980s and 1990s was that services performed for other arms of the Nigerian government by the company were not paid for in time. Such services rendered by NNSL vessels to government were paid for in local currency while the company racked up operational expenses incurred in foreign currency.

“NNSL ships played vital role in moving troops and materials into Liberia during the Nigeria-led Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) operation, which was established in 1990 to restore peace to Liberia during its civil war.

Not a dime was paid for this service.”

“Accumulated debts of NNSL to trade creditors originated from government’s failure to pay NNSL for the shipment of government project materials such as Aluminium Smelter Company, Ajaokuta and Aladja Steel projects.

Efforts made by the management of the company to diversify into ancillary activities such as terminal operations, clearing and forward-

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6 | Tuesday, June 3, 2014

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ISSUES IN THE NEWS

Anxiety over deadline on indigenous shipping line CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 ing, oil tanker operation among others were not approved,” Akinola added.

On the way forward, he said: “I strongly recommend the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model for the structure of the new national carrier. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns 49 percent of NLNG while Shell, Total and ENI own 25.6 percent, 15 percent and 10.4 percent of the entity respectively. A structure like this has ensured the buy-in and ownership of the NLNG project by critical industry stakeholders.

“My suggestion therefore will be that the NNPC, which is the cargo owner that the new national carrier is targeting, should own 21 percent share, indigenous ship owners under the aegis of the Nigerian Shipowners Association should own 49 per cent while

How do you intend to float a national shipping line in six months? Floating a shipping line is not all about buying the ships. Because money and the reputation of the country is involved, we need to plan and plan very well too. We should be more transparent. That is the only way to get lasting results.

A cargo ship

three oil majors – it could be the three mentioned above – should own the remaining 30 percent share.

“I will not advise NIMASA to own shares in the new venture because it is a regulatory agency. Its role in the entire arrangement should be that of a facilitator in line with its mandate of promoting shipping development in the country,” said Akinola.

Managing director of a prominent firm operating in the sector, who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity yesterday, accused the government of allegedly not doing enough to inspire investors’ confidence and ensure transparency.

He said: “Shipping is a serious business across the world. Floating a national shipping line is serious business. I’m worried. This is not how to do things. How do you intend to float a national shipping line in six months?

Floating a shipping line is not all about buying the ships. Because money and the reputation of the country is involved, we need to plan and plan very well too. We should be more transparent. That is the only way to get lasting results.”

Coastal and Inland Shipping (CABOTAGE) Act, 2003 Making reference to the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, he said implementation was difficult because, “We (Nigeria) did not do our home work in terms of implementation.”

According to the Act, which was enacted on April 30, 2003, foreign vessels are not allowed to partake in any domestic coastal trade except a waiver is granted by the minister of transport Speaking at an interactive session with various stakeholders in Lagos, the Minister of

Another major factor which compounded NNSL’s woes especially in the 1980s and 1990s was that services performed for other arms of the Nigerian government by the company were not paid for in time. Such services rendered by NNSL vessels to government were paid for in local currency while the company racked up operational expenses incurred in foreign currency. NNSL ships played vital role in moving troops and materials into Liberia during the Nigeria-led Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) operation, which was established in 1990 to restore peace to Liberia during its civil war. Not a dime was paid for this service.

Transport, Idris Umar, said the Federal Government is addressing relevant aspect of the law as part of measures to boost local capacity in the sector.

He urged stakeholders to make constructive suggestions on the way forward, adding that meetings and consultations are ongoing.

According to the minister, President Goodluck Jonathan is doing everything possible to push through various reforms in the sector.

“The reform has commenced. The industry is key. There is no sector that the president is not passionate about. Meetings and consultations are going on,” Umar assured.

Indeed, the liquidation of NNSL in 1995 is believed to have paved the way for foreigners who, presently, allegedly struggle to outwit

one another in a bid to consolidate operations in Nigeria thereby contributing to capital flight in the sector.

But some observers are of the opinion that the inability of Nigeria to operate a national carrier is as a result of neglect, lack of political will and alleged corruption over the years.

Lack of Nigerian owned vessels plying international waterways was one of the issues that took the centre-stage at the presidential retreat on maritime held in 2012.

At the end of the one-day deliberations, which had in attendance President Goodluck Jonathan, some members of the economic management team and strategic stakeholders, resolutions were reached and forwarded to the Federal Government for endorsement and ratifications.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

7

EKITI 2014

INEC predicts high turnout of voters at poll

INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega Stories by Muyiwa Adeyemi Ado Ekiti HE Independent National T Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that there has been a tremendous improvement in the collection of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) by Ekiti electorate.

The state Resident Electoral

Fayose

Fayemi Commissioner (REC), Alhaji Halilu Pai, who gave the hint yesterday in Ado Ekiti, expressed optimism that the election will witness large turnout of voters contrary to widespread believe that apathy may set in.

The REC, however, insisted that those without the PVCs won’t be allowed to vote dur-

ing the June 21 governorship poll.

Pai, who spoke through the Commission’s Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Taiwo Gbadegesin said the electorate has been responding well to the collection of their PVCs, which he said has further strengthened the INEC’s believe that the poll will be

Bamidele promises to return varsity to Ifaki ABOUR Party (LP) goverLOpeyemi norship candidate, Bamidele has criticised Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi over what he called “the governor’s hurried educational policies”.

Bamidele attributed this to why Fayemi, in less than a year in office changed the names of some existing tertiary institutions in Ekiti and left them without proper funding.

He spoke yesterday in Ifaki Ekiti where University of Science and Technology, Ifaki Ekiti (USTI) was initially sited.

Bamidele who promised to return the university to Ifaki Ekiti within the first quarter of his first year in government also added that this would come with proper autonomy and adequate funding.

Residents had earlier complained to the politician of

how relocation of the university in 2012 to Ado Ekiti and renamed Ekiti State University (EKSI) is affecting commercial activities in the town.

According to him, “the university that was taken away from Ifaki Ekiti shall be returned in our first quarter in office and commercial activities shall be returned to your domain.”

“Ask the current administration what it has achieved with their hurried educational policies that took away the USTI from you. The only thing is that they have left the state-owned institutions worse than they met them.”

“As a former student leader who has understanding of university administration over the years; my government will return your university to you with proper funding and full autonomy.”

He said his government would further expose Ekiti State to global educational opportunities instead of narrowing it as being done by Fayemi’s government, despite Ekiti’s thirst for knowledge.

Bamidele also promised to revive the state-owned radio station once located in Ifaki Ekiti but abandoned by the current administration.

The monarch of the town, HRH Oba Gabriel Agbaje who earlier hosted Bamidele along with his team of campaigners assured him of support from Ifaki Ekiti.

Agbaje also acknowledged Bamidele’s capability for the governorship job when he noted, “I believe Bamidele is a man of great intelligence, I first met him through a book he wrote and distributed to us the monarchs in Ekiti, and I’m sure he is capable of doing this job,” he added.

successful.

It will be recalled that the REC had revealed a couple of weeks ago that a total of 285,574 PVCs are yet to be collected by registered voters, expressing fear that such could create apathy and low turnout of voters during the election.

To correct the seeming lackadaisical attitude of the electorate towards the collection of the PVCs, Pai urged the political parties to embark on

membership when over one thousand of its members dumped it for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The defectors, who were led by a former deputy chairman of the party, Mr. Ojo Ademola, Mr. Adedamola Tayo, Hon. Ajiboye, Ojumoola Olayemi, Comrade Sola Ajayi, Mr. Peter Ademilua and Faleyimu Ademilua, said they were leaving the LP because its national leadership had sold the party to the highest bidder, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, without recourse to any democratic principle and the party constitution.

The former deputy chairman of the party, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said the so-called present members of the Labour Party in Ekiti State were a few disgruntled PDP members whom Bamidele brought with him when he joined the LP, adding that original members of the party had all left due to the commando-like manner in which Bamidele hijacked the party structure.

Ademola said he was shocked when Bamidele, who complained of being stifled in the defunct ACN, joined the LP, and out of desperation to contest the governorship election in the state threw all cautions to the wind by subverting

democratic principles to install his cronies who were hitherto PDP members as executive members of the Labour Party.

He added that they chose to join the APC because of the excellent performance of the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who, according to him, is the only governorship candidate in the state who has demonstrated seriousness through the public presentation of his second term manifesto.

The other candidates, he said, have been busy trying to mudsling the governor and have not been able to tell the electorate in specific terms what they would do better if elected.

“As far as I am concerned,

massive voters’ education, which he said has been yielding positive results.

Pai said, “The collection of voters has been encouraging. People are now trooping out on daily basis to have their cards. The collection has reached about 66.5 per cent and by the end of this week it would have reached 70 per cent, which is a pass mark.

“We are still not relenting on our sensitization and collab-

oration with political parties for intensive voters’ education for this election to be a success.

“What we have gathered from our findings was that, some of those who have not collected their PVCs were those who registered in Ekiti in 2011 and had relocated out of the State.”

Pai reassured all the political parties of the commission’s neutrality, saying INEC will make Ekiti election a reliable foundation for the 2015 general polls.

Fayose chides Fayemi for doctors strike HE Peoples Democratic T Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has berated the state governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi for the strike action embarked upon by all doctors in the state.

He said; “The governor’s refusal to pay doctors in the State General Hospitals the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) is a show of insensitivity to the plights of the people.”

Reacting to the doctors’ strike through the Director General of the Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation (AFCO), Chief Dipo Anisulowo, the PDP candidate said it was wrong for the

Former LP dep chairman, others defect to APC HE Labour Party (LP) in T Ekiti State at the weekend suffered a decrease in its

Bamidele

they have been providing us comic relief. The other thing that I notice they have been doing is going about with imported thugs to unleash terror on Ekiti people,” Ademola said.

Receiving the defectors who were decked in APC T-shirts and full of excitement, the Interim Chairman of APC in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe, promised that they would be treated as equals with other members of the party.

Awe said the first-term achievements of the Fayemi administration would be nothing compared to the goodies that await Ekiti people during the second term of the administration.

governor to have stopped the payment of CONMESS that was being paid before he became governor.

Doctors in the State General Hospitals embarked on an indefinite strike action last week Friday, to demand for the payment of CONMESS, while their colleagues in the State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti joined the strike yesterday.

Fayose said; “With the strike action, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ido-Ekiti is the only public hospital functioning in Ekiti State, and what sick people and their relations will be going through now is better imagined than experienced.

“Painfully, Fayemi is going on

as if nothing is amiss simply because, himself and his family members are not affected with the strike.

“In Ekiti state today, pensioners are being owed their pension and gratuity, students are being owed bursary, health workers are not paid their Consolidated Health Salary Structure, doctors are not being paid their CONMESS, Civil Servants and Local Council workers are being owed leave bonus, yet Fayemi is spending billions of public fund on his re-election.

“Ekiti people should therefore vote out Fayemi and his oppressive and inhuman government on June 21 and return PDP to power so that our people can begin to enjoy what is due to them.”

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NEWS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Senate, NIIA begin appraisal of Nigeria’s foreign policy

By Olalekan Okusan HE Senate Committee on T Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) yesterday commenced a move to appraise the country’s international policy to reflect contemporary realities.

The two-day retreat tagged “Aspect of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in Contemporary Times” brought together former ambassadors, members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, scholars among others.

Speaking at the opening of the retreat, Senate President, David Mark said the forum has demonstrated the strong commitment to the pursuit of common good and a better Nigeria.

He described foreign policy as a fundamental element of any government’s strategy, which cannot be underestimated.

To Mark, foreign policy is much more than a nation’s diplomatic strategy in communicating with other countries.

“It is indeed the collectively chosen self-interest strategies by the state, agreed upon by law, to be used to defend national interests, protect citizens and foster national development and international relations. It is central to a country’s operation, survival and growth as a sovereign state,” he said.

Mark, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Ambassador Anthony Manzo, however, admitted that these strategies naturally have to be revisited and improved upon in the face of changing times as well as pressing

challenges.

In his remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Matthew Nwagwu, said the forum was organized to examine some aspects of the policy in the ever-changing world, adding that it is timely considering the challenges facing the country at present.

“The shaping of a country’s foreign policy is a dynamic process involving interaction between internal and external environments. The challenges facing Nigeria today which have attracted global

attention on our country, requires all and sundries to critically address some of these ills for us to make adjustments on some aspects of our policy that will enable us participate favourably in global politics,” Nwagwu said.

For his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Nnena Elendu-Ukeje, the Nigeria’s foreign policy has been the subject of many varied conversation, which she said could be attributed to its ineffective articulation.

“In a world that is currently

faced with global insecurity, the links between Nigeria’s foreign policy and her defence policy, her climate change policy, her migration policy, and her development policy must be intertwined and articulated to reflect the interdependency of the above and the mutual importance of all, not one acting in isolation of the other or given more prominence than the other. This will probably be the most profound pronouncement of the interdependency between Nigeria’s

foreign policy and development policy,” she said.

For the chairman of the event, Professor Jubril Aminu, the staging of the forum should be commended even as he hopes for fruitful outcome to ensure a robust and standardized foreign policy for the country.

In his remarks, Director General, NIIA, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, said the review cum appraisal of Nigeria’s foreign policy has been long overdue considering the present challenges facing the country.

A

O sustain Nigeria’s Gross T Domestic Product (GDP) and growth profile, the need for improved broadband penetration in the country has been stressed.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which raised the argument in Lagos, at the weekend, at a broadband forum with the theme: “Broadband Penetration: Opportunities for Business Growth and Sustainability,” increased penetration of broadband access is critical for business development and competitiveness in today’s world.

A recent World Bank report showed that every 10 per cent

PEAKER of the House of RepSTambuwal resentative Aminu Waziri has urged the people of Gombe State to cooperate with the Ibrahim Dankwambo led administration in selecting a new Emir that will replace the Late Emir, Shehu Usman Abubakar who died last week in a London hospital.

Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal gave the advice in Gombe weekend during a condolence visit to government and people of the state.

Honourable Tambuwal, who was in Gombe alongside some members of the National Assembly to offer condolences to the state over the recent demise of the 10th Emir of Gombe, late Shehu Abubakar, described the death an act of God.

From Charles Coffie Gyamfi Abeokuta UT of the N1 billion Central O Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan granted to Ogun State farm-

Chairman, Industrial Arbitration Panel, Prince Dunama Dzarma Azura (5th left), Chief Registrar, Industrial Arbitration Panel, Hajiyah Hajara Usman (left), Abitrator, Mrs. Helen Oloja (4th left), and other Arbitrators in a group Photograph after it’s inauguration meeting in Abuja yesterday.

PHOTO: LADIDI LUCY-ELUKPO

(Ohens) said they were “amused” that the defectors left a people-oriented government to join another party, which they said could not make any impact for almost ten years in the saddle.

They said the Governor has performed beyond the expectation of people in the state and earned their support.

“For sometime now, we have been observing the decamping of some APC members to the opposition Party. Do not allow such melodrama to be a worry to you in any way; this is because our association is

solidly behind you.

“The defectors need to be reminded that the opposition couldn’t establish masses-oriented programme for the almost ten years they were in power but as soon as your government came into power, you swung into action by transforming the entire state into enviable heights that could be a point of emulation by other states of the federation.

“Before your coming as Governor, our state capital could not be compared to some local government headquarters in the country, due to the ab-

sence of a good leader.

“Sir, your tenure as Governor of the state made us to realise that a state could be developed even with scarce and lean resources. Majority of the indigenes never knew we could have six-lane roads in any part of the state, or having walkways for the pedestrians in all the major roads and adjoining streets. They also commended the governor on efforts at enhancing security in the state.

They said irrespective of the defection, “Over 99 per cent of the entire indigenes of the

state are solidly behind you due to the way and manner you have transformed the state.”

Responding, Oshiomhole thanked the Association for the trust and confidence reposed in him. “Let me assure you that you have just encouraged me to do more. I know that much is yet to be done, but by the grace of God all the projects embarked upon by my administration especially the Storm Water Master Plan will be completed before the end of my administration,” he said.

How improved broadband penetration can boost GDP, by NCC

By Adeyemi Adepetun

From Ali Garba, Gombe

Ogun disburses N101m loan to 1,771 farmers

Benin elders back Oshiomhole, chide APC defectors From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu Benin City N association of elder statesmen in Benin Kingdom, Ohen-Igie n’Ogbeson led by Chief Igbinokhuae Ediagbonya yesterday hailed Governor Adams Oshiomhole on his developmental strides in Edo even as they urged him to ignore defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying they have no value to add to the development of the state.

At a courtesy visit on the governor in Government House the elder statesmen

Tambuwal urges co-operation in selecting new Gombe emir

points increase in broadband penetration leads to a 1.3 per cent growth in GDP. The report noted that the impact of broadband penetration on national development is immense; stressing that some of the positive economic impact of broadband can be seen in entertainment, agriculture, commerce, education and energy management.

However, despite levels of investments in Nigeria, the country’s broadband penetration is put at six per cent, which according to the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson is unacceptable. As such, the Federal Government has developed a National Broadband Plan, which targeted a five-fold increase,

70 per cent broadband penetration for the country by 2017, she revealed.

Already, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry is said to be contributing over eight per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which according to the minister could be doubled soonest if the growth in the technology sector is sustained.

Speaking at the broadband forum, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, represented by Assistant Director, Technical Services at the commission, Bako Wakil said that the commission is faithfully implementing the Open Access Framework towards expedit-

ing the penetration of broadband services in Nigeria.

Juwah noted that the increase in scale for businesses and the growth of new industries in the new broadband space is providing employment opportunities in both existing and new companies springing up to take advantage of the opportunities and benefits being offered by the increasing access to broadband services.

“This increased business activity leads to an increase in the country’s GDP, increased tax revenues for government and better quality of life for the citizenry,” he stated.

Explaining the importance of broadband to agriculture, the NCC boss said its access provide agriculture busi-

nesses the means to get relevant and timely information on weather updates, since the quality of crops and other tasks depend in large part on weather.

According to him, the proper timing of planting activities in line with favourable weather conditions often promotes high yield.

“Fast online access to websites that share best practices makes it possible for farmers to learn about farming management practices. The potential market for the produce from agric-based businesses increases dramatically with access to broadband access, where different content depicting the produce available in these businesses can be marketed online.

ers, the state government has so far disbursed N101, 050, 000 as loans to 1,771 beneficiaries, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun has disclosed.

The Commissioner, who spoke in Abeokuta at a press briefing on activities of her ministry, also added that in order to enhance farm mechanization and agricultural best practices by farmers, the government had accessed part of the fund to purchase agricultural land clearing equipment and tractors for hiring to farmers at subsidized rate.

According to Sokefun, 10,000 hectares of land had been allocated to interested agricultural investors by the government “While enumerating crops were carried out on over 10,000 hectares of agricultural and non- agricultural land since inception of this administration three

College of Education registrars urge teachers to end strike From Ali Garba Gombe HE Conference of Registrars T of Colleges of Education in the country have appealed to the striking unions in the Colleges of Education who have been on strike for over five months now to quickly resolve all issues in dispute to enable the reopening of the colleges.

The Registrars made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of its 44th meeting held at the Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe.

The communiqué, which was signed by its National Chairman, Muhammad Sani Musa also commended Gombe State Government for establishing the state-owned College of Education in Billiri and the transformation taking place at the School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Kumo, also owned by the state.

The body, while also commending the establishment of 17 large model primary/junior secondary schools and the rehabilitation of secondary schools across the state recommended the setting of targets to tertiary institutions in areas of need.

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Tuesday, June 3, 2014 | 9

PHOTONEWS

Country Representative, UNAIDS, Dr. Camara Bilali (left); DG, National Centre for Women Development, Onyeka Onwenu; Country Representative, Management Sciences for Health, Nigeria, Zipporah Kpamor, and Leader, Network of People Living with HIV, Lagos, Nigeria, and communities delegation to the global fund, Ibrahim Umoru recently at Friends Africa - Africa Health Innovation meeting, Abuja

Principal Partner, Alegeh & Co, Austine Alegeh SAN (left); Regional Partner, West Africa & Country Head, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, Uyi Akpata, his wife Obosa, and Principal Partner, George Etomi & Partners, George Etomi, at a dinner hosted by Austine Alegeh (SAN) in honour of Uyi Akpata, to mark his 50th birthday

Marketing Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Manpreet Singh (left); winner, 2014 Osun State Spelling Bee Competition, Miss Olawale Zainab, Public Relations/Event Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Tope Asiwaju, and Co-ordinator, Spelling Bee Competition, Akin Olu-Philips, during a courtesy visit of the winner of the Spelling Bee Competition to Dufil Prima Foods Plc head office in Lagos

Head, Business Development and Training Unit, Deloitte Corporate Services Limited Oluseun Oluwole (left); Managing Director, Bisi Adeyemi, and Manager, Tade Owodunni, at the briefing on DCSL Corporate Governance Academy scheduled to commence in June 2014 in Lagos PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

PSN Liason Officer, Ibrahim Maigari (left); Deputy President, PSN, Idris Pada, CEO,NHIS, Femi Thomas, President, PSN, Olumide Akintayo, and National Chairman, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Femi Adebayo, during a courtesy call on the executive secretary/CEO of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Abuja

Marketing Manager, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Olajumoke Okikiolu (left); Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Brovo Kim, Samsung Electronics Brand Ambassador, Kate Henshaw, and Director, Information Technology and Mobile, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Emmanouil Revmatas, at Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy 11 World Tour in Lagos PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Brand Building Director, Foods, Unilever Nig. Plc, Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe (left); the 1st position winner in the Pears Baby of the year, Miss Somekene Chukwuka-Eze, carried by her mother, Mrs Ihunanya Chukwuka-Eze; Category Manager, Skin Care and Deodorant, Unilever, James Inglesby, and Brand Building Director, Unilever, David Okeme, during the prize presentation in Lagos PHOTO; SUNDAY AKINLOLU

Representative of Managing Director,First Deepwater Discovery Ltd., Ebele Omani (left), Managing Director, Hadeart Petroleum Ltd, Titilayo Jimoh, Petroleum Truck Driver, Zonal Finance Secretary, Olufemi Olorunfunmi, and Head, Marketing, Zenith Bank (Abuleado Branch), Victoria Okoli, during the official opening of Hadeart Petroleum ultra modern office complex in Lagos.

PHOTO:AYODELE ADENIRAN

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

WorldReport AU peacekeepers accused of abuses in CAR, as PM urges voluntary disarmament FRICAN Union peacekeepA ers from the Republic of Congo operating in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been accused of abuses, including torture, killings and detentions, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister has called for voluntary national disarmament next week in a bid to halt a worsening cycle of violence that threatens to drive Muslims from the West of the country.

The allegations - from witnesses, residents and local officials interviewed by HRW during an investigation by its staff - are likely to embarrass the AU peacekeeping mission, which suffered a blow to its legitimacy in April when Chadian forces were accused of killing 30 civilians.

Chad denied the allegation, saying its forces opened fire after being ambushed by Christian “anti-balaka” militia.

About 6,000 AU peacekeep-

ers, known as MISCA, are working alongside French and European Union troops to try to restore order in the nation, where months of ethnic and religious violence have killed thousands and made nearly a million homeless.

HRW said that on March 24 a group of Congolese troops surrounded a house belonging to an anti-balaka general and captured at least 11 people, including four women.

The incident, which took place about 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangui in the town of Boali, followed an attack on a Congolese vehicle by anti-balaka troops.

“The African Union needs to say what happened to the group that was detained and taken by the Congolese peacekeepers,” said HRW emergencies director Peter Bouckaert said in a statement.

HRW said that MISCA had agreed to an investigation of the incident which it said could be a violation of inter-

national law.

The rights group also said it had received reports that Congolese troops had tortured to death two anti-balaka leaders following the lynching of a Congolese soldier in the northern town of Bossangoa in December.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Andre Nzapayeke declared June 8 would be a day for all citizens to hand in their weapons, after a spike in sectarian tensions in the majority-Christian capital Bangui following an attack on a church by Muslim gunmen on Wednesday.

Spain’s King, Juan Carlos (left) with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy after he handed over a letter of abdication, at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid…yesterday. King Carlos announced his abdication in favour of his son, Prince Felipe, ending a 39-year reign that guided Spain from dictatorship to democracy but was later battered by royal scandals.

PHOTO: AFP

Russia allows fighters to cross into Ukraine, says U.S. ESPITE sanctions aimed at D punishing it for its alleged interference in its neighbor, the United States said yesterday that Russia is continuing to support the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine.

“There is evidence that

Russia continues to allow the free flow of weapons, funds, and fighters across its borders and President (Vladimir) Putin’s next steps are still not clear,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said, in a speech in Washington.

Lew said the United States had worked with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and its G7 partners to coordinate a response to the crisis and provide Ukraine with financial and technical assistance.

“Our goal was to impose a cost on Russia for its occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea and to deter Russian military intervention in Ukraine,” he said, according to prepared remarks for an event at the Center of Strategic and

International Studies.

Lew said the Treasury’s coordinated and precise sanctions had put “enormous pressure” on Russia, with limited collateral damage to the US, European and global economies.

President Barack Obama, he said, “has given us the authority to take even more powerful action if Russia continues to support armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.”

Russia has insisted it is not destabilizing Ukraine and has demanded that Kiev halt its military operations in the eastern part of the country.

Fighting in the region has left nearly 200 dead soldiers, rebels and civilians since it broke out on April 13.

Lew also said that US-led international sanctions

against Iran, to convince Tehran to abandon its program to develop a nuclear weapon, have produced positive results.

“Currently, Iran is at the negotiating table for the first time in a decade and progress on Iran’s nuclear program has been halted while key elements of this program have been rolled back,” he said.

“All options remain on the table to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but we have a chance to resolve our differences peacefully and without the use of force.”

Iran denies allegations it is developing a nuclear weapon, insisting the aims of its nuclear program are entirely peaceful.

Malawi president seeks ‘new friends’ in China, Russia ALAWI, traditionally M dependent on Western aid donors, will look for “new friends” in countries such as China and Russia, newlyelected President, Peter Mutharika said at his inauguration yesterday.

The ceremony at a stadium in the commercial capital Blantyre was boycotted by outgoing president, Joyce Banda, who was soundly beaten by Mutharika in disputed elections held on May 20.

Mutharika, who takes power in one of the world’s poorest countries where 40 percent of the budget comes from aid, said the donor nations were “welcome to stay here”.

Foreign policy would be based on what is best for Malawi, he said.

“We will continue with traditional relationships, but we are now looking for new friends in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Russia.”

Mutharika said he regretted Banda’s absence, saying she had “declined to come here

and hand over power to me.

“I was looking forward to shaking her hand and burying the past. I have an olive branch in my hands.”

A spokesman for Banda said: “She was not officially invited and her official presidential

convoy was withdrawn early hours of Saturday as soon as it was announced that Peter Mutharika had won the presidency.

“It would have been difficult for the outgoing president to travel to Blantyre.”

UN raises the alarm over Somalia HE United Nations food T agency, the FAO, yesterday issued a stark warning over food security in wartorn Somalia, launching an urgent appeal for $18 million to stop hunger spreading.

Last year’s harvest was already poor and prices are rising as food stocks from 2013 are being rapidly depleted, the FAO warned in a statement.

The situation has been exacerbated by late rains, erratic weather and the conflict wracking the impoverished African country, the FAO said.

The agency estimated there were 860,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, including

200,000 malnourished children under the age of five.

It said it was “urgently seeking” $18 million (13 million euros) to scale up what it called “rapid interventions” to prevent the food security situation getting even worse.

“Conditions are expected to improve slightly in August and September when the harvest is ready for consumption, but the positive impact is likely to be moderate given the unfavourable prospects of the current season,” the FAO judged.

Prices for staples such as maize and sorghum have risen by as much as 60 and 80 percent compared to April last year.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 | 11

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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Politics THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE DEBATE

‘BringBackOurGirls protests oil Boko Haram propaganda’ (2) Olufemi Mimiko, Professor of International Relations and Comparative Political Economy and a delegate at the National Conference, advises protesters demanding the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls to change their approach to prevent being a tool for the insurgents in their bloody campaign against Nigeria. The Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, spoke to Tunde Akinola.

I wouldn’t understand why anyone would condemn that. In international Relations, we have a popular maxim that no nation is an island; there is no nation that is powerful enough to be able to stand completely on its own.

So, what is the sense in the criticism that we shouldn’t have invited those who can help us? I find such denial of our limitation as infantile. We simply do not have the wherewithal to fight this war alone, and in the interest of our citizens and soldiers who are dying daily, there should not be a place for any ego voyage.

What I would counsel, however, is that we should take care not to completely expose our security underbelly to these helpers, who, of course, would be looking, and legitimately, too, for some quid pro quo.

CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY HAT is your impression on the extenW sion of time granted to the Conference?

I really am not sure if I wanted the extension. I have a work to do back home, and I am eager to go back to it. Thank God one has a good team back at home in the University.

But then, there is the perspective that the remaining weeks we had left were not going to be enough. I really do not believe that.

The major work of the conference had been accomplished at the committee level. All that remains is to take the issues at Plenary, which does not need to take so much time.

I just hope the leadership of the conference would do the needful in terms of directing affairs appropriately; otherwise, even the four-week extension would still not be enough.

So, if the conference is unable to finish its work according to schedule, it is the leadership I would blame. You know everybody, especially the politicians among us, like to talk, oftentimes with their eyes on the media, not necessarily on the conference, but it is left for the Chairmen to use the gravel.

If they don’t and allow people to just ramble on and on, even one year would not be adequate to make our report ready.

Some delegates have accused the leadership of harbouring a regional agenda. Do you subscribe to that claim?

I keep my eyes open widely. I have attended all plenary sessions. I also ensured I attended all committee meetings. I have not, sincerely, seen anything suggesting to me that there is a decided position on the part of the conference leadership to pursue a Northern agenda, as I read in the papers. When one rears its head, we should be able to recognise and tackle it.

Rather, I think the desire not to offend the delegation of a particular region, which probably had been most vociferous on this threat to work out, is so clearly evident. I hope that does not get deepened into a ‘Napoleon is always right’ type of situation, which would be rather unfortunate because it would be roundly resisted by other delegations.

I also notice that the leadership, for whatever reason, finds it extremely difficult to realise that the conference is not just made up of people, who are privileged to be seated directly in front of the high table. It is so frustrating for those of us on the extreme left of the Chairman being passed over oftentimes while those directly in his front are favoured to speak several times.

Sincerely, I do not know how that is going to be corrected; maybe it would now be that those who intend to speak are made to write down their names. But all attempts made thus far in that direction have failed.

THE security situation in the country is getting increasingly worrisome. What do you think of government’s efforts at bringing it under control?

I think both the government and the security forces are doing well. What most people did not realise is that this type of challenge, I mean this urban guerrilla warfare, is facing the country for the first time, and it is understandable if it is taking the security forces some time to reconfigure the security architecture to be able to cope.

By and large, I think they are doing well. I am vehemently opposed to this tendency to take the security people to the cleaners. I think it is not only improper; it is, indeed, irresponsible. You do not do such a thing when a nation is at war and people, both in and out of uniform, are being killed in their

Mimiko hundreds, virtually on daily basis.

I find it so, so bad that some political operatives are quick to seek political advantage in the misfortune of the nation, using this as an opportunity to berate the President and the soldiers. Even if you have issues, at a time like this, you do not readily rush to the press.

This is why I would have loved to see the democratic structures in the affected states suspended for full military operations to take place. It is evident now that the governors, virtually all of them, in the affected states are not one with the Federal Government on this war against terror.

It is incorrect to say the 1999 Constitution did not provide for this type of action. In an emergency situation, the President is expected to take what the Constitution refers to as extraordinary measures to bring the situation under control.

This, for me, is elastic enough to accommodate the suspension of democratic institutions in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, especially Borno. I hope we would not wait to have the Boko Haram people flush everybody out before we come to our senses on this.

The press, too, in a situation of warfare, is not usually allowed to say it all. There is a level of self-censorship called for that I have not seen. And if it is not there, I think the President has a duty to compel it in the larger interest of the motherland.

Didn’t the government act a little too late in the case of the kidnapped schoolgirls?

Not exactly! The thing I quarreled with, however, is the decision to go to Kano for a rally when the news broke that our children had been kidnapped by these elements. It was patently ill-advised.

But I am happy that the President has realised this, and that must be why his party called-off a campaign rally, I think in Ekiti,

after the Jos mayhem. It is the decent thing to do.

THERE seems to be so much acrimony in the system, especially among politicians across the nation as 2015 draws nearer. Has Nigeria a chance of survival with this particular election?

One thing that makes presidential elections here so contentious is that there is so much power and resources concentrated at the centre. In the context of what Larry Diamond calls prebendal politics, you cannot but have the contest for this office so divisive.

That is why it is so important that we devolve power and resources to the federating units, by whatsoever name called so that the attraction in the centre would reduce.

I just hope the National Conference would move in this direction, and effect would be given to its decision before the 2015 elections. The nation has so much to gain thereby and so little to lose.

Should President Jonathan run?

I think he is empowered to run by the Constitution. You see, what is quite interesting about politicians is this: Some say the President has not done well. Some even claim he has no clue at all.

My reading is that if this were true, the opposition should actually be praying that he should run so that they make mincemeat of him. But you say your opponent is no good, still you do not want him to be on the ballot. It’s so funny.

In other places, if you say an incumbent has not done well, you pray that his party fields him so that you beat him so easily at the elections, but here, they say Jonathan has not done well, yet they are afraid of him running.

Can you see the contradiction?

There appears a growing emergence of coup d’état across the world, from Egypt, now to Thailand. Are you concerned for Nigeria?

Any serious-minded person should be concerned for Nigeria, especially in the context of the evident single-minded pursuit of power by some elements, in which it would seem there is nothing too sacrosanct to kick.

It is also in this sense that I condemn any attempt to ridicule the military in the ongoing war on terror as ill-advised. I hope everybody would play the responsible and allow this democracy project to remain on track.

There is nothing to envy or pant after in Egypt, or now in Thailand. I do not intend to see democracy suffer any reversal, not in Nigeria, not anywhere in Africa again.

Look at Egypt, when Mohamed El-Barradei was dancing around with the junta, I granted an interview, yes, I think to The Guardian, and said he would regret his action.

Not long after that, he discovered he could not cope with the shenanigan of the coup plotters and had to quit. Our politicians should be more circumspect.

THE ‘BringBackOurGirls’ rallies are spreading across the world. Is this not an indication that people are not convinced the government is doing enough?

Sincerely, I am not sure I understand this fondness for rallies on this matter. What these elements, eager for a circus show that the rallies have become, fail to understand is that they are unwittingly serving the interest of the terrorists thereby.

Everybody should know that what terrorists want most is publicity of their dastardly acts. So, when you go out into the streets everyday under the guise that you are concerned; that does not make you more concerned than the next guy around.

And asking government to bring back our girls, it is as if the girls were kept in the Villa in the first instance.

What you are doing is adding tonic to the devilish agenda of the terrorists who, I am sure, would be so delighted now that otherwise respectable people have become their megaphone.

It is this thought, for instance, that made Obama direct that Osama bin Laden’s body be cremated and its ashes spewed into the ocean, so that you do not create an unnecessary rallying point for his followers who are wont to see him as some form of symbol.

So, my advice is, let the campaigners think of more serious things to do on this issue rather than cramming the streets every day and giving the impression of a band that had lost focus. Such can only serve the interest of the terrorists.

It is also amusing now that even some government officials do partake of such rallies!

The President asked for foreign support.

There is the perspective that this is not healthy for the nation, or is it?

CONCLUDED

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 13

‘Jonathan’s government has done more than previous administrations’ (1) As President Goodluck Jonathan marked the third anniversary of his administration, Prof. Sylvester Monye, his Special Adviser on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME), and a key member of his Economic Management Team (EMT), told Mohammed Abubakar in Abuja that even in the face of challenges confronting the nation, the government has delivered on its promises and, indeed, expanded business opportunities for Nigerians than the previous administrations. our current challenge of insecurity; it has not deterred investors, who are coming in because they see Nigeria as a very serious, credible and profitable marketing destination and the result is that we have attracted more investments than any other country in Africa.

It is on record — this is not political gimmickry; this is a fact — that using UNCTAD figures, you now know that we have attracted more investments than any country in the world.

We have had a very robust growth rate of over six per cent per annum for the last five years or so. That is a major achievement by any standard because not many countries have been able to achieve that feat.

In fact, it is reputed that Nigeria is about the third fastest growing economy in the world and, indeed, you know about the MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey) — recognition by the global community.

So, there is a lot going on for us. It is on the back of that, that we decided to do the rebasing of our economy, which has thrown us up as the largest economy in Africa and, indeed, the 26th largest economy in the world.

HAT does your job entail as a W presidential aide?

My job as Special Adviser to the President on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation means in effect is that I’m able to advise Mr. President on how the government is doing in various sectors of the economy.

As you well know, in the past, it was very difficult to assess performances of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) or indeed, ministers without some specific deliverables.

One of the things we have achieved over the last few years, for the first time in the history of this country, is to set up parameters for the assessment of performance. That included the issue of performance contract by ministers.

I’m sure you are aware that for the first time in the history of this country, ministers signed performance contract with the President, and it is from that contract, the deliverables, the indicators that we measure the performance of ministers in order to identify the extent to which the deliverables are being met. So, to that extent, it is a substantial piece of assignment.

It might also interest you to note that I was Executive Secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC) and in that role, we midwifed the Vision 20:2020 and Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda.

So, the transition has been easy for me because I was part of the development of Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda. Now, I am monitoring the implementation of those policy documents.

To what extent would you say that the performance contracts have been implemented?

First of all, that is the good thing about having key performance indicators. When you have such performance indicators, you know exactly what you are looking for; it is not a case of hear say.

In the past, performance was measured on the basis of whether you were very popular or whether you appeared in the media or whether you had a likeable personality or face. Or people would say, oh, he is a nice guy because he is always accessible to us.

But today, what we measure is actual deliverables - performance as defined in your contract. For instance, if I tell you the nature of the economy today and indeed all facets of that economy, you will make the judgment for yourself.

If you look at the road sector, for a start, you will see that I don’t think there has been any time in the history of Nigeria that people have come together in unanimity to say this administration is working on the roads.

The perennial difficulty we have had with the Benin-Ore road has been solved. The Lagos-Shagamu road is under serious assault by Julius Berger; it is being done. We have the Onitsha-Enugu road, which is being fixed. We are increasing our momentum on the Kano-Maiduguri road; we are pushing heavily the work on the Ife-Ilorin road.

There are different parts of the country that are receiving massive attention at this time simultaneously. So, on the road sector, you can see for yourself what is being done.

If you go on the transport section, you can see that there is a lot that is going on in that sector. For the first time in so many years, we have trains back on our tracks. People can now travel by train from Kano to Lagos.

Besides, work is nearly at the completion stage on Lagos-Kaduna railway standard gauge. In the Federal

Jonathan, Monye Capital Territory (FCT), we have our monorail, which should become operational by the end of next year.

Thus, on the rail side, you can talk a lot on what has been achieved and you can see it for yourself. It is not government propaganda; it is something you can verify yourself.

Still on transport, you see that there is a lot of work that has gone in ports reforms. Before now, it took an average of 39 days to clear goods at our ports, but since this President came in, he has pushed us very hard to do extensive reforms at the ports.

One of the first things we did was to reduce the number of security and government agencies at the ports from 15 to about seven. That has given us immediate deliverable of achieving a reduction in the number of clearing days from 39 to about seven days. Of course, our target is 48-hours, but you can see the massive or what you can call the quantum leap in progress.

We also have made significant progress in the area of education.

You know part of the difficulty and,

indeed, challenge we have in the North is indoctrination and lack of education.

One of the things the President has done is to say, ‘I’m going to establish a university in every state in Nigeria.’

And today, for the first time in the history of the country, there is no state that has no federal university. It is all part of the deliberate policy to bring education to the doorstep of every Nigerian.

Of course, it is generally known and believed that knowledge is power.

When people are educated, the way they behave and conduct themselves will be different from how they would conduct themselves if they were not educated. So, the President is facing that squarely.

We are also going down to the grassroots and I’m sure you will agree with me that for the first time, government is making concerted efforts in the development of Almajiri Schools. It is a very serious project for this administration. So, a lot is happening on education side.

If you look at the power sector, you

will see, for the first time in the history of this country, we have been able to privatise both the generation and distribution components of the power.

Of course, for strategic reasons, the transmission is still held by the Federal Government but with international management consultants managing that process on behalf of Federal Government.

This is the first we are doing a privatisation of all aspects of power, minus transmission, in a transparent and credible way that nobody has ever criticised. What this simply means is that once the sector takes off, we will begin to enjoy power just the way we enjoy the GSM. We also have massive success in the area of the economy. We have achieved incredible stability over the last few years, and in all measures across the world, Nigeria is adjudged to be one of the best-run economies.

This is despite our challenges of inadequate supply of power and needed infrastructure, coupled with

One of the things the President has done is to say, ‘I’m going to establish a university in every state in Nigeria.’ And today, for the first time in the history of the country, there is no state that has no federal university. It is all part of the deliberate policy to bring education to the doorstep of every Nigerian. Of course, it is generally known and believed that knowledge is power. When people are educated, the way they behave and conduct themselves will be different from how they would conduct themselves if they were not educated. So, the President is facing that squarely. We are also going down to the grassroots and I’m sure you will agree with me that for the first time, government is making concerted efforts in the development of Almajiri Schools. It is a very serious project for this administration.

So, a lot is happening on education side.

WHAT were the challenges so far, because there is no way you will set an exam for say about 40 students, and you will not have those who have performed below average?

Well, I don’t agree with you. If you send quality students to, say Oxford University or Harvard University, the chances that everybody will pass and pass well are there, because ab-initio, you have a good team, the admission criteria has been strong and good.

It is on record that this is one of the strongest cabinets ever established in this country; there is no doubt about that. Secondly, it is also important to say that the basis of assessment for ministry A is not the same thing as ministry B. Let me give you a good example of Foreign Affairs, which is about our diplomatic relationship with the rest of the world. Now, how you measure its performance is different from how you measure the performance of the Ministry of Works, which deals with roads construction or the Ministry of Transport or Aviation.

But let me give you a good example of how you can assess the performance of our Foreign Affairs Ministry.

One, Nigeria reacted to the deportation of Nigerians by South Africa.

Nigeria was very clear in its role, which is to protect the interest of Nigerians anywhere and everywhere in the world.

The second thing that you need to do is to say how many international positions has the ministry been able to push Nigerians to in terms of gaining international appointments? The number is staggering.

Then, there is also another important consideration. I want you to look at — and that is that within a short period of time — how many times has Nigeria headed the Security Council?

The answer is that in about three or four years, we have headed it twice, whereas in about 40 years, we headed it only once. So, something is happening.

If you go to sports, you see the remarkable feats that Nigeria has achieved in a short period of time: we won the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 19 years. So, there is a lot you can put on the table.

Where you have a performing set of ministers, you have healthy competition among the ministers as to who will out do the other. It is good for the country and it is good for Africa.

TO BE CONCLUDED.

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

14 | Monday, June 3, 2014

Conscience Nurtured by Truth

FOUNDER: ALEX U. IBRU (1945 – 2011) Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it. Uthman dan Fodio 1754-1816

Editorial Implementing the Nigerian Content Act OUR years after the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content FDevelopment Development Act (NCA) and assumption of office of the Nigerian Content and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerians deserve access to the full report on the performance level of all operators in the oil and gas industry regarding the Nigerian content level in the Schedule to the Act. Industry operators are required to be Nigerian companies and a Nigerian company, as interpreted in Section 106 of the Act, “means a company formed and registered in Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act with not less than 51 per cent equity shares by Nigerians.” Local and international operators and providers of relevant services have of course, entered into various working arrangements in the wake of the Nigerian content law. Nigerians, therefore, eagerly await the NCDMB’s report.

Meanwhile, there is growing perception that the NCA has led the international oil companies (IOCs) to divest from several oil blocks thereby making it possible for Nigerian firms to increase their share of the volume of crude oil and gas produced.

However, available facts do not fully support this. In fact, the divestitures have come about reluctantly. That is not surprising because the IOCs have been opposed to plans since 2001 to carry out reforms in the petroleum industry. The ensuing Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) containing the proposed changes and which was first presented to the lapsed Sixth National Assembly has yet to be passed, no thanks chiefly to the machinations of the IOCs. Several factors are responsible for the divestiture by the IOCs. First, marginal oil fields that are near the end of their production life lost their attraction and were, therefore, farmed out to firms that could make do with meager takings. Fortunately, there have been unexpected oil finds in some of the sold oil blocks. Secondly, the hands of IOCs were forced by growing youth unrest and clamour by host communities for a better deal and an end to the environmental degradation brought about by the poor mining practices of the oil majors. Thirdly, as an apparent deliberate government policy since 2008 pending the passing of the PIB, renewal of any expired licence was delayed and any further extension limited to one year at a time and on ad hoc basis. The IOCs are actually encouraged to farm out to ready developers any mining licences based onshore and in shallow waters and which had been left unused till their expiration.

The divestitures, however, raise some issues. Even if the IOCs whose mining licences remained unused and had expired have the right to first refusal, why do they still have a say in the who subsequently acquires the oil blocks? The divestitures involve the 45 (or 40) per cent stake held by the IOCs in the joint-venture oil blocks. The NNPC’s original 55 (or 60) per cent holding goes to its subsidiary Nigerian Petroleum Development Company thereby giving rise to NPDC/new buyer joint-venture operation. Thus virtually all companies that succeeded in acquiring the IOC stake in divested oil blocks do not qualify as Nigerian companies under the NCA. That is so because the companies or substantial portions thereof are listed in foreign stock exchanges.

And their private foreign partners (they are practically dictated by the IOCs) control some 49 per cent share of the divested IOC stake. Such new oil operators are clearly either majority equity or wholly foreign corporate entities. They are progenitors of capital flight and endless balance of payment difficulties.

It should be emphasised that the NCA is more than a local content law.

Consequently, it is imperative that the successor NPDC/joint venture operators and other NCA-inspired working arrangements should be Nigerian company-compliant without fail. As things stand, the share of the 2013 actual crude oil output of 2.3 mil-

LETTER

Where does Nigeria’s wealth go?

IR: Nigeria’s economy was eign interests and nationals tracts to groups whom in collabrecently rated the biggest in to siphon Nigerian oil rev- oration flush the money out of SAfrica, surpassing that of enue to private bank South Africa. So far, the richness of the country has no semblance on the life of the ordinary citizen. At least, South Africans, in comparison, can boast of steady power supply whether rich or poor. Also like a pauper salivating at a banquet table, he watches the rich and powerful lavish Nigeria’s wealth.

The silent killer of Nigeria’s economy is the siphoning of the nation’s wealth to foreign shores by the privileged ones. This is sabotage, as the wealth that should have been used to build a strong Nigerian economy is transferred overseas to the advantage of the host country.

Nigeria generates billions of dollars in crude oil trade yearly. Somewhere between the oil shores and the foreign banks, the financial leakages begin.

The leaders collude with for-

accounts. One can logically assert that the revenue due Nigeria is not diligently applied to better the lots of the generality of the citizens.

Else, an infusion of billions of dollars yearly into the national treasury ought to yield a better growth of the economy and improve the life of the masses.

One hears of billions of naira contracts the government awards regularly for various projects like power supply, road and bridge constructions, education and health services and other infrastructural developments. If these projects are properly executed, one will be singing of a Nigeria where riches are rolling on wheels. Rather, the leaders and their cohorts share the money for the projects like a booty. They assumedly award the con-

the country to be secured for them.

Imagine that all the crude oil revenue from foreign transactions flows back into the country, and stays, one can be sure the shores will be brimming with hope. The economic theory of velocity of money will trigger the circulation through the economy and real growth will be gained. One feels like lamenting: Do not steal, if you do, be patriotic and invest in Nigeria.

The level of ignorance that will allow one to throw away his birthright must be a curse. No foreign country will treat one like his. The wealth of Nigeria should be used to make living in the country the envy of the world. It is a crime against the land, and the land will mete a just load according to Igbo lore.

Return the stolen money.

• Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State.

lion barrels per day is roughly 88.0 per cent for IOCs, 5.5 per cent for NPDC and 6.5 per cent for other operators which are dominated by majority or wholly foreign firms. It is unacceptable that 56 years after commercial oil production began, NNPC (or NPDC), the majority joint-venture partner accounts for a mere 5.5 per cent of oil output. In order to grow the Nigerian share of oil production, we strongly recommend that as oil and mining licences held by IOCs expire, all oil blocks based onshore and in shallow waters should be transferred to NPDC and/or Nigerian company-compliant oil firms to operate.

Towards facilitating the realisation of some aspects of the NCA schedule, the NCDMB Executive Secretary Ernest Nwapa convened a linkage programme with other agencies in Abuja early in May at which he said, “Finance is a major issue. We need financial engineering to fund the acquisition of big ticket assets like marine vessels and rigs. It is a matter of national security to ensure local ownership of these assets”. It is trite to add that bank financing is not readily available for even small ticket projects. But why was the CBN not invited to the forum?

The NCDMB is aware that even routine small ticket bank loans for patently bankable oil and gas service contracts secured by indigenous companies require being guaranteed. The Board earmarks 70 per cent of its Local Content Fund for that purpose because of the high interest rates and short tenures of commercial bank loans.

NCDMB was forced by circumstances to deal in financial brokerage. In this regard, it may be inferred that the need to circumnavigate unfriendly business conditions partly informed the decision by some Nigerian investors to have their firms quoted on foreign stock exchange while their main business activity takes place in Nigeria.

For NNPC and its subsidiary NPDC, to fund their share of joint-venture projects constitutes a paralyzing big ticket issue. For want of funds, the majority oil joint-venture partner literally begs the minority IOC operators to secure requisite financing for the execution of joint projects. As a result, the corporation pays the costly price of having to mortgage and trade away upfront at hefty discount a portion of its share of future crude oil production. The question that arises is: What makes it impossible for NNPC to borrow from Nigerian banks to fund its share of viable oil projects that are certain to produce crude oil and gas for many years after they come on stream?

The converse economic scenario will arise from financial engineering that guarantees access to bank loans at internationally competitive interest rates for small and big ticket assets required for the actualization of the NCA and the rejuvenation of all economic sectors. All that will only begin to be manifested when the CBN abides by its enabling law and ensures that the country’s supply of foreign exchange (the bulk of which is derived from the oil and gas industry) is correctly infused into the economy, which has not been the case for over four decades throughout which period the economy consistently underperformed.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Opinion Has modern man relapsed to primitive savagery?

By Luke Onyekakeyah HEN the ancient Hebrew prophet, Jeremiah W (647 BC) said that the heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know it, (Jeremiah 17:9), he rightly stated what many people don’t know; the fact that man, left on his own, is a depraved creature that could perpetrate evil, bizarre and monstrous acts. This does not negate the fact that man is also good. Man was created good but wickedness crept into his mind somewhere along the line and corrupted what otherwise would have been the cynosure of all creation.

Jeremiah must have been agitated by the savagery and wickedness that pervaded his time. He witnessed torture, murders and brutality meted by the invading Babylonian army on Jerusalem.

Being in constant friction with the authorities for speaking against evil, he was accused of treason.

Arrested and convicted, he was tied with rope and thrown into a dry well to die. By divine intervention, through one man, he was later pulled out and sent into exile to Egypt.

Jeremiah was not alone in attesting to the inherent wickedness of man. The ancient Greek philosopher and thinker, Aristotle (384-322 BC) also wrote that man is wicked and should be treated as such. The two men lived many centuries apart but had similar experience in human wickedness.

History is replete with all manner of savagery including cannibalism, slaughters, burning at stake or roasting people alive in blazing furnace, crucifixion, and other human atrocities committed by men against fellow men. The Rwanda genocide of 1994, in which Hutu militias massacred between 500,000 and one million Tutsis in just 100 days was, perhaps, the most atrocious mass murder in contemporary times. The two World Wars, innumerable wars between nations, the Hiroshima atomic bombs that snuffed life out of thousands and rendered millions debilitated, the crusades, the jihads and the inquisitions have gory accounts of savagery and human wickedness.

Today, savage rape, murder, torture and genocide is taking place in Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, DR Congo and Nigeria, among others. There are few countries on earth that have not been involved in primitive savagery

against a section of humanity. The decent to savagery is growing by the day. And this is worrisome.

I have been aroused to delve into this subject because of recent happenings in Nigeria, Sudan, India and Pakistan. The incidents, grave and shocking, as they are incomprehensible, show that modern man has unwittingly relapsed into primitive savagery from where he emerged many centuries ago. Modern savagery is monumental compared to what happened in the past.

For instance, on April 14, 2014, Boko Haram insurgents battling the Nigerian state stormed Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State and abducted about 300 students (all girls), from their dormitory to an unknown destination. The girls, who were in school for their final examinations, have not been seen ever since.

About three weeks later, Boko Haram provoked the world when they released a video showing the girls seated on bare ground in a forest, all clad in Muslim hijab, reciting the Koranic chants.

The incident has fired global outrage, forcing America, Britain, France, China and Israel to rally round Nigeria to look for the girls. The question is: what evil did the innocent schoolgirls commit to warrant the trauma and torture they have been subjected to all this while?

Second is the Sudanese case which seems like a story from a primitive barbarian community. Reports say a Sudanese pregnant woman, Meriam Ibrahim, was sentenced to death for alleged apostasy for marrying a Christian man, Daniel Wani, against Islamic injunction. The heavily pregnant woman, who gave birth last week to a baby girl, was kept in chains. Her husband told a British newspaper, The Telegraph, that his wife gave birth with her legs shackled! This is shocking and unbelievable. The Igbo say an adult does not stay at home and a goat delivers in tether.

That means even lower animals that are usually tethered have respect and dignity and are released at the point of giving birth. Keeping Meriam Ibrahim in chains while going through the pangs of child birth is subhuman and barbaric. I don’t think that even primitive cultures ever did that under any circumstance.

The Indian horror is another incident that shook humanity. The story has it that two innocent teenage girls (14 and 16 years old), were

gang-raped and hanged in a village in Uttar Pradesh, Badaun District, northern India. The girls’ offence was that they went to a nearby open plot to relieve themselves at sunset, a practice that is normal in the blighted community that has no private or public toilets. The girls were discovered in the morning, hanging on a tree! These incidents are said to be commonplace in the area, putting women in constant danger.

And in neighbouring Pakistan, a similar barbaric incident took place. A young pregnant woman, Farzana Parveen, was reportedly stoned to death in broad daylight in front of a Lahore court by her own relatives who were furious that she married against their wishes. Her husband told the BBC that police simply stood by during the attack. Though, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described the incident as “totally unacceptable” and ordered a full investigation, the truth is that this is a cultural practice that sends thousands of women to their early graves or into forced marriages. How is the Prime Minister going to contain this savagery?

It is obvious that modern man has descended into primitive savagery at a scale never experienced before. History has documented 10 little known most barbaric men who ever lived. The men were Lope de Aquirre (madman of El Dorado), Fernando Alveres de Toledo (3rd Duke of Alba), Antipope Clement VII, Basil the Bulgar Slayer and Talat Pasha. The others were Lothar von Trotha, Tomasde Torqumada, Godfrey of Buillon, Sawney Beane and Gilles de Raise. The history of these men is a history of genocide, serial killings, rape, torture, incestuous living, and morbid bizarre acts of monstrous dimension.

These men rank with African tyrants such as Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (DR Congo) and Jean-Bedel Bokasa of Central African Republic (CAR). Hitler’s holocaust, which saw the suffocation of six million Jews in gas chambers during World War II under the Nazis, is epochal and remains a classical case of savagery against a section of humanity by a supposedly modern man.

It was because of such men that Jeremiah once questioned God as to why He seems to have planted wicked and dishonest men and allowed them to prosper while the righteous suffer. (Je-

remiah 12: 1-2). What an irony? But is God really responsible for mankind’s wickedness? The answer is capital NO. Man’s freedom, greed and selfish desires are at the root of human wickedness.

William Golden in his famous book Lord of the Flies, laments that man is an ignoble savage. He said that man is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, and unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved. He concludes by saying, “I’m interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it’s a true picture of him.

And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure”.

Jamie Frater noted that such men are corrupt in nature and will do everything within their power to kill anyone to get what they want and often for sheer enjoyment. He says they personify the word “bloodthirsty” and at times share traits with the most savage beasts. He says that these men prove that humans aren’t so different from animals. That man has natural inclination to do evil is not in doubt.

From that angle, what we call civilization is a farce. As a matter of fact, civilization has become dangerous and is the root of modern savagery that employs weapons of mass destruction. What we call modernity is a figment of our imagination. Our technological advancement has not removed the ancient gene that flowed though our forbearers. The difference is that we’re better equipped to commit evil than the early man. We can move faster, see farer and clearer. Rather than these developments helping us to improve the lot of mankind, they have turned out to be instruments of domination, discrimination, torture and annihilation.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that the savage gene that flowed through our primitive ancestors is very much alive in all of us. Burnham and Phelan called it mean genes. Without a deliberate attempt to tame it, these genes could be destructive. They have the capacity to control any man no matter his status. This ancient living particle inside all of us engineers the savagery being perpetrated around the world. We need a new civilization that is founded on love and peace without weapons. We need a demilitarized world. Only then can we claim to be civilized modern man.

Contribution to the national question (2)

By Onoho’Omhen Ebhohimhen • Continued from yesterday APITALISM, despite all the pretensions to the contrary, is fighting hard to find strong footing as it keeps limping in unhappy coexistence with feudal, tribal and other forms of pre-historic economies in Nigeria. The neoliberal model of economic reforms seems to further hamstring the prospects of capitalist triumph as the fundamental structures are being distorted with the privatisation exercise and the consequent asset-stripping and diminution of the state economic investments.

The other drawback in Nigeria was that everywhere, the struggle for modernization of the old system is historically, usually conducted by the urbanised elite. In independence struggles, the internal urbanized elite of the oppressed nation led the fight against the external elite of the foreign and dominant nation. In the instances of the struggle against feudalism, the rural elite waged the struggle against internal landlords and any perceived dominant external oppressors. Thus, the ruling of the nobility and dominance of external elite over the internal class leadership was overthrown by liberal and independent nationalism.

Here in Nigeria, the historical process flowed irregularly in contrary direction. While the urbanised elite, mainly professionals and traders, led the struggle for self-rule and independence but the triumph of the struggle witnessed the enthronement of the pre-colonial and pre-capitalist ruling class. Hence, the emergent post-colonial ruling class was the resurgent rural elite and not the urbanized counterpart. In other words, the challenges in the creation of the Nigerian nation and the development of the political cultures are also in the problematic of the transformation of market. However, the political power of the elite to compete in the international market has been circumscribed by the domination of the rural over the urban elite.

Yet another challenge is that although the working people of Nigeria carried and promoted the banner of self-rule and independence, the outcome of the struggle fell short of the historical role appropriation of the class of professionals, businessmen and intellectuals. The nationalist struggle in Nigeria in consequence also negatively impacted the development and trajectory of class divisions, class consciousness and manner of organization of the working people.

With the clarification of the issues, we can deduce the historical development, character and content of the national question in Nigeria. It goes without saying that every nation in history has the right to determine its own destiny. This includes, the right to or-

C

ganise its life but without encroaching on the rights of other nations. The problem in Nigeria is that in organizing national life, the forms of organization of the nation have not been fair and beneficial to all social forces in our defined territory. Thus, Nigeria should recognize autonomy of every group while distinguishing self-determination from separation. In other words, the lesson of the civil war in Nigeria proved the point that autonomy and organisational federalism cannot be conflated with the presumption of availability of the indices and characteristics for secession.

In the dialectical flow of this logic, the development of the economic, political and cultural conditions of the Nigerian nation represents the most viable options to attempt the resolution of the national question. How our country should arrange her life and what forms and constitution to adopt flows concomitantly. In other words, the view should be clarified that the right of nations to self-determination is non-negotiable as it is conditional on the contents of nationhood.

The point should be clear also that it is not the division between nations that defines the crisis of nationalism, ethnicity and even religion. Indeed, it is not the national but the political and economic questions, which determine the damning fate and lack of progress in our country. The national question has always been historically subordinated to politico-economic purposes. So, to fundamentally resolve the national question in Nigeria requires reorganization of the socioeconomic system. Here, we are not yet concerned with the socialization issues in economic relations but the modernization of the mode of production and democratisation of politics.

Nigeria as a nation cannot rise to her full logical heights in the midst of the crises of mode of production and underdevelopment of politics. The concrete socioeconomic conditions in our country relate in dialectical interconnections with the peculiar construction of the national question. This recognition is central to resolving the national question in Nigeria.

The National Conference can, therefore, make efforts in three areas to resolve the challenges of our country. First, is cultural autonomy or the exercise of indigenous talents and attributes for the development of the peculiarities to develop indigenous culture, language, religion and to live in peace and mutual coexistence.

Historically, the concept of cultural autonomy is applied in spreading literacy, ensuring better access to medical care, preservation of indigenous knowledge, promotion of arts and protection of artefacts. In some branches of knowledge, cultural diversities enjoy places of high premium as applied in the management sciences to explain the varied morals, efficiency inducing characteristics, etc. which each different cultural employee brings

to the organization.

In Nigeria, cultural autonomy needs to be promoted in the methods and language of instruction in lower levels of education, for enriching, development, total democratisation and restoration of cultural heritages. We need cultural autonomy to highlight and promote the international tourism potentials of Argungun, Osun, etc., festivals. But these cultural activities as rudimentary utility vehicles of cultural expressions are only slides in the entire cultural mosaic. We must vigorously pursue the development of writing in indigenous Nigerian languages, documentation of cultural heritages, employing the mother tongue to teach mathematics and science, promoting hygiene and access to better medical care, etc.

The continued witting or unwitting neglect of the modern trend is hurtful even to the ululating and water-based sports, rituals and mythologisation.

The second issue is to tackle the basis of cultural discrimination and indigene-settler tensions. It has more to do with the conditions of search for livelihood and consequent cultural dispersal against the peculiar sociological inability to immerse in the cultural habitudes of host cultures. This is compounded by the aggravating attitude of failure and disconcerting proclivity of the Nigerian state towards imposition of the English language. Of course, Nigerians inflict on the English language their cultural idioms and as they intersperse among otherwise alien national cultures, some imported lingos become absorbed into the urban linguistic expressions. But this should not be construed to mean that Nigerians would rather speak Pidgin English at the expense of their mother tongues. Other than English as the language of governance, social mobility, economic and modernizing interface, it holds very little cultural attraction to express our inner selves.

The spread of population, economic quest for greener pastures and so on have eternally divided the various cultures in Nigeria and resulted in cultural group dispersal all over our country.

Therefore, the emergent crises in the consociation of the migrant cultures are due to the atavistic cultural inflexibility of some cultural groups to settle among other definite national communities and refuse to immerse in the cultural and traditional habitudes of the hosts. This is largely, the source and form of the conflicting status of minorities or indigene and settler antagonisms. The resultant distinction as minorities representing separate political category and cultural expressions could only have led to the migrant cultural groups suffering by reasons of location and sometimes, threats to the local national majorities.

• To be continued tomorrow.

• Ebhohimhen lives in Benin City

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Opinion Before the hangman consumes FRC

By AbdulGaniyu Aminu HEN the Fiscal Responsibility Act was enacted W in 2007, there was great optimism that it would herald a period of sustained economic performance and promote macroeconomic stability.

The expectation was not misplaced. Essentially, the Act was enacted to provide for prudent management of the nation’s resources and ensure long term macroeconomic stability. Other objectives of the Act were to secure greater accountability and transparency in fiscal transactions as well as promote the national economic objectives as set out under Section 16 of the 1999 Constitution. Five years down the line the unthinkable has happened! The Federal Government in deference to Orosanya Committee Report, issued a White Paper upholding the Orosanya Committee Recommendation that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission be scrapped.

What could have informed Orosanya Committee’s recommendation and, by extension government’s apocalyptic white paper stridently advocating the scrapping of the Commission?

Could it be that the Commission failed to perform its duties or did the Commission’s function overlap those of other government bodies? Many questions, you would say. Before we proceed, the white paper on the Orosanya Report may not necessarily be the last word on the issue considering that white papers are mere tool of inclusive democracy and not an unalterable policy commitment.

White papers have a dual role of presenting government policies while at the same creating awareness among the critical public so as to invite sound opinions and analysis. In this wise, it is apposite to raise issues and critically examine the wisdom or otherwise that informed the Orosanya Report.

Before the creation of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Fiscal policies had in the past been characterized by poor planning, massive waste and wrong priorities.

Since the inauguration of the Commission in 2009 by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, it has not been business as usual for most Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The Commission rose to the challenges of its mandate in various spheres even at the risk of stepping on so many powerful toes.

For instance, the Commission ensured that the all-powerful Ministry of Finance now complies with the provision of the FRA, 2007 with regards to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)

has been acclaimed as a powerful strategy for economic and fiscal management. It is essentially aimed at integrating the policy, planning and budgeting, process of the government for efficient and effective delivery of public goods and services.

It consists of bottom-up estimation of the cost of existing and future policies usually of 3 – 5 year period. And these costs have to be matched with available resources. The aims of MTEF are to achieve macro-economic and fiscal objectives of government, improve economic growth and lower deficits and debts.

The consistent production of MTEF/FSP since 2009 (when the Fiscal Responsibility Commission was inaugurated) is a telling indication of the willingness of the federal government to abide by FRA (2007) and also adopt Medium Term Planning and Budgeting. Nigerians expect no less because the present Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonji-Iweala was the moving force behind the enactment of Fiscal Responsibility Act. It is indeed a tribute to her economic management acumen that she has bought into the MTEF in budgetary planning as recommended by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

Since July, 2009 when it was first produced, MTEF has become a recurring decimal in our annual budget planning. Furthermore, in line with its mandate, the Commission has ensured that scheduled corporations listed under the Act remit their Operating Surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund as and when due. Hitherto, the office of the Accountant General of the Federation was saddled with the task of mopping up all outstanding liquid funds at the end of each financial year. Because these government agencies were not properly monitored, many resorted to cutting corners by retaining substantial amount in their coffers. This practice has now become a thing of the past.

Through its well-thought out template, the Commission was able to compel many such scheduled corporations to cough out substantial amount to the coffers of the government. Through the efforts of the Commission, the sum of N22 billion was remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund as Operating Surplus by scheduled corporations in 2009 alone. This has been appreciating over the years. To date, more than N149 billion has been remitted to the consolidated Revenue Fund by government agencies since the Commission came on board. The former management of the Commission tried its best despite all odds at laying a solid foundation for the Commission. Starting without

a template, it exerted its authority to ensure that the government establishment adhere to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The present management under the dynamic leadership of Victor Muruako has brought to bear a vibrant youthful vigor, panache and a rare administrative dexterity to the governance of the Commission.

Despite its lean budget, the Commission has not relented efforts in monitoring federal government projects in the six geo-political zones. This is an important mandate of the Commission aimed at keeping tab on the implementation of MTEF and to also ensure no project is abandoned.

Its paucity of funds notwithstanding, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission has investigated several breaches of the Act while also promoting citizen participation in the enforcement of Act as outlined in Section 51 of the Act. It is, therefore, curious that at a time the Commission is mounting serious advocacy campaign to ensure more state governments adopt the Fiscal Responsibility Legislation in their various states; someone would contemplate scrapping the Commission. Needless to state that more than 50% of federal allocation goes to the states and local governments, it is apposite they adopt fiscal responsibility so as to promote sound macro economy for the nation. At a time when Fiscal Responsibility best practices are being embraced by most emerging economies like, Brazil, India, including South Africa, tinkering with scrapping the FRC is indeed anomalous. The application of Fiscal Responsibility in Brazil and India is responsible for their strong economic growth. What the government needs to do is to liaise with the National Assembly to ensure that the amendments initiated by it on the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 are eventually effected. As it is, the Commission appears to be a toothless bulldog. Beyond naming and shaming culpable organizations and reporting them to the Attorney-General for prosecution, the FRC can do no more. This has greatly hamstrung its effectiveness.

In the areas of fiscal and financial studies, the Commission has been up and doing. The Fiscal Responsibility Act empowers the Commission to undertake fiscal and financial studies, analysis and diagnosis and disseminate the result to the federal government. The Commission had commissioned studies on Excess Crude Account (ECA) and low capital budget implementation. It is observed that there is skewed government performance against the execution of capital projects when compared with its implementation of recurrent budget. While it is observed that over 80% of recurrent expenditure is spent, the actual execution of capital projects

is less than the proportionate performance.

The argument that scrapping the FRC would save the Federal Government substantial amount does not hold water. This is because despite its paltry allocation, it has, through its oversight function, succeeded in forcing agencies to pay huge amount to the coffers of government. So, why kill the goose that lays the golden egg – most of these agencies would rather retain their operating surplus than return it to the federal government.

In the final analysis, the purpose of government anywhere is to maximally deliver dividends of existence like education, healthcare and infrastructure to the people. Governments can only succeed in doing this when there is prudence and transparency in fiscal operations. Nigerians have a right to know how their monies are being dispensed by the government. It is bodies like Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau etc in partnership with Civil Society Organizations that have the mandate to investigate and query government and the MDAs on the way public funds are being spent.

Section 51 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 gives ample power to individual citizens, corporate bodies, and civil society organizations to enforce the provisions of the Act. It specifically states that “A person shall have legal capacity to enforce the Act by obtaining prerogative orders or other remedies at the Federal High Court, without having to show any special or particular interest.”

This section, coupled with the Freedom of Information Act is imbued with a transformative potential in this democratic era. If properly harnessed by the citizens, it would go a long way in complementing the Transformation Agenda of the federal government. And the Commission is already partnering with some Civil Society bodies, faith based bodies and community based organizations in monitoring projects and federal capital budgets implementation. A body like the Fiscal Responsibility Commission can be described as a pro-active organization set up to nip financial sleaze in the bud before it rears its ugly head. If properly funded and supported to carry out its functions, there may be little or no need for reactive agencies like EFCC and ICPC. Top echelon of our officialdom are always wont to applaud the seeming efficiency of metropolitan capitalist nations like USA and Europe without tarrying to note that what makes for progress in these climes is the systems put in place to check the inanities of potential pen robbers.

The Federal Government must therefore rethink its decision to scrap the FRC. It is like throwing away the baby with the bathwater.

Jonamisogyny in Tambuwal’s House

By Ikeogu Oke NEW word is eager to come into existence and enrich our poA litical lexicon. The word is “jonamisogyny”. It is coined from Jona (often used in social media as a diminutive for Jonathan, the surname of our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan), and the English word “misogyny”, defined by my Wordweb dictionary as “hatred for women”.

The prefix Jona puts misogyny in a special category as “hatred for women associated with Jonathan” – an approximate definition of the new word. For the actual definition of “jonamisogyny”, as deducible from the exposition that is to follow, is “hatred for women serving in Jonathan’s government”.

Like the recently coined word “Sanusisation” (from Sanusi, the first and last names of the suspended Governor of our Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi), which means “engaging in unabashed self-contradiction” or “unabashedly making self-contradictory claims about the same matter” – as Mr. Sanusi did by giving $49.8 billion, $12 billion and $20 billion as the amount he alleged was missing from our nation’s coffers under the Jonathan administration – I think “jonamisogyny” would be a good word to add to the English dictionary for general use.

That’s besides its local identification with an era in our political evolution, in which undermining the incumbent President either directly or by demoralising his appointees has become a major index of political “astuteness” for those who engage in such conduct and their supporters, a trend that sparked national outrage with the directive of the opposition party to its federal legislators to block the 2014 budget, signalling the subjection of national interest to petty partisan politics.

The new word has arisen from the attitude of the House of Representatives, which Hon. Aminu Tambuwal heads as Speaker, to three distinguished female appointees of President Jonathan, namely, Ms. Arunma Otteh, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke.

First, Otteh: As Director General of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), she openly accused a member of the House of Representatives, of dealing corruptly with SEC. Without negating the allegation, the House recommended Otteh’s sack at the end of its seemingly distractive “investigation” of her that followed; the “investigation” had to do with allegations of mismanagement and corruption against her. And after President Jonathan refused to re-

move her from office as recommended by the House, the House withdrew SEC’s allocation from the 2013 budget, apparently to starve the organisation of funds and frustrate her out of office.

Curiously, Hon. Tambuwal later alleged that President Jonathan’s body language condones corruption, while seeming oblivious that his ignoring the House’s sanction on Otteh after she accused one of his colleagues of corruption could be interpreted as a sign of his encouraging corruption by his own body language.

And here’s what a former National Youth Service Corps member with SEC, writing in Nairaland Forum, said of Otteh in response to the allegation of corruption against her: “…that lady is one fine anticorruption Amazon. They want to frustrate her out of office so it will return to business as usual”. (Source: http://www.nairaland.com/994380/why-fg-reinstated-arunma-oteh) Enter Okonjo-Iweala: The Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, chaired by Hon. Abdul-Mumini Jibrin, invited her for a presentation and having arrived she pleaded with the committee for another date to make the presentation, citing ill-health. But rather than grant that simple request, even on compassionate grounds, Mr. Jibrin responded to her with a brusqueness that included these words: “Listen, you can decide what will happen only in the Ministry of Finance but not in the Committee of Finance.”

Who can read Mr. Jibrin’s remark closely and his disposition as he uttered it and not notice the male chauvinism behind it, of a man who believes in promoting male domination rather than merit in public service, who feels his ego threatened in the proximity of an accomplished woman, and so betrays impulsive animosity towards her as a symbol of the empowerment of her gender as “rivals” to men like him who would rather return us to the pre-affirmative action era, when un-progressive men would deny a woman the opportunity to occupy an important office even if she was the most qualified person?

Yet, we have a sign of the worsening of the antagonism of the House (under Hon. Tambuwal) to women in Jonathan’s government in its recent directive to its Committee on Public Accounts to investigate the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, for “the alleged squandering of N10 billion over a two-year period on the arbitrary charter and maintenance of a Challenger 850 aircraft for unofficial use”, following a motion by Hon. Samuel Babatunde Adejare (APC, Lagos), as reported in This Day of March 21, 2014.

The This Day report further states that “the House also mandated

its Committee on Natural Gas to scrutinise the non-remittance of funds accruing from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) to the Federation Account from 2004 to date,” as Hon. Adejare further alleged against Mrs. Allison-Madueke, and that the House was “acting on what it termed reliable evidence.”

Indeed, nothing may be said against an arm of government acting as if it seeks to extract probity from a public servant, even as Mr. Hembe’s case suggests that it would rather not point its searchlight for probity on its own members. But when that acting reveals prejudice against a potential or current subject of an investigation, it becomes deserving of the critical attention of people like this writer, who believes that institutions of state should not be reduced to avenues for promoting bias, or that the temple of justice, at whatever level, should not be allowed to be desecrated by the chauvinism of those who seek to administer justice in whatever form.

The prejudicial and therefore defective nature of the House’s case against Mrs. Allison-Madueke is apparent from its reference to her alleged charter of the aircraft as “arbitrary” and the supposed evidence against her as “reliable”. Two seemingly plain words but heavily laden with significance, especially when one considers their implication that the House has ruled on the culpability of the accused even before investigating the allegations against her. As a mark of neutrality, which is necessary for fair hearing, the House should have waited to arrive at the conclusion as to whether the charter was “arbitrary” or not, and the “evidence” reliable or otherwise, after an investigation at which she makes her full defence. Not before, as in the present case.

Isn’t the behaviour of the House like that of someone asked to conduct a national census, who then makes a comment suggesting which part of the country is more populated even before he has commenced the exercise, justifying his being divested of the responsibility for that prejudicial comment?

Faced with such glaring institutional prejudice, would the accused be wrong in believing that she cannot be given fair hearing by her would-be investigators? I think not. It remains to state my conviction that the House’s “case” against Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, like those against Ms. Arunma Otteh and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is in furtherance of the negative politics of trying to undermine the Jonathan Presidency directly or by demoralising people, especially women, in his government – a manifestation of chronic “jonamisogyny”.

• Oke wrote from Abuja.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 17

THE GUARDIANwww.ngrguardiannews.com

Focus Nigeria attracts global business community

By Tope Templer Olaiya th

FTER successfully hosting the 24 edition of the World Economic Forum on Africa A (WEFA) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory amid grave security concerns, the stage is now set for the Greater London Business Conference on Nigeria, holding in September. The conference is being anchored by the Nigerian London Business Forum (NILOBF).

NILOBF, a registered United Kingdom (UK) non-profit organisation, in conjunction with the Nigerian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Nigeria, seeks to promote bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries by bringing together business people from Nigeria and the UK to seek new investment opportunities, develop long term business relationships and finalize existing business contracts.

It is also the official business chamber and trade association, comprising Nigerian, British and non-British companies doing business with Nigeria, including subsidiaries of Nigerian companies/institutions doing business in the UK. While the bloody terror attacks at Nyanya Motor Park, Abuja and the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls at Chibok in Borno State cast a huge shadow of insecurity on the conference, the incidents ended up becoming the tipping point in Nigeria’s battle with Boko Haram, leading to massive international outrage.

Although WEFA was a continental showpiece, Nigeria as the host emerged the ultimate beneficiary. It galvanized the world against the insurgents that have made economic and social life unbearable in some parts of the north. It unified global voices and action against the kidnap of the schoolgirls.

This is aside the commitment from investors across the globe pledging to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria’s critical sectors such as energy, agriculture, healthcare and infrastructure, among others.

On September 17 & 18 at the Royal National Hotel, London, the world will gather in London and the subject of the two-day conference would be Nigeria in the MINT – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey – predicted as the next most powerful economic bloc According to the country director of the forum in Nigeria, who is also the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), Dr. Chris Onalo, “the forum intends to capitalize on this current issue very quickly to further influence British trade and investment with Nigeria, especially going by the notion that UK companies are yet to view Nigeria as an important business and investment destination.

“Also, high profile Nigerian businesses and investment organizations are scrambling to buy a space of prominence to showcase their business services to the international community during the conference expo.”

The term, MINT, was originally coined by Fidelity Investments, a Boston-based asset management firm and was popularized by Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, who had created the term BRICS, an acronym for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group of developing or newly industrialized countries was originally known as BRIC before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010.

The nomenclatures of economic trading blocs are becoming numerous: it all started with G8 (the great eight largest economies), G20 and then BRICS. The emergence of MINT has affirmed Nigeria as one of the four countries with bright economic prospects, where smart money should be invested. Of the MINT countries, he singled out Nigeria as having the ‘wow’ factor.

Jim O’Neil would be the keynote speaker at the event, which will provide him the opportunity to share his globally-acclaimed economic view at the Greater London Business conference. Alongside O’Neil are other globally respected speakers, including Prof. Pat Utomi, Prof. Sam Ohuabunwa, former president, Nigeria Economic Summit; John Momoh, chairman/CEO, Channels Television; Engr. Emeka Unachukwu, managing director/CEO, Morflex Energy and Power ltd; and Simon Brown, senior manager for East and West Africa, UKTI, London.

Tafida This is how Jim O’ Neil introduced MINT in his article in Bloomberg, which he delineated as the potential emerging investment destination: “I spent last week in Indonesia, working on a series for BBC Radio about four of the world’s most populous non-BRIC emerging economies. The BRIC — Brazil, Russia, India and China — are already closely watched. The group I’m studying for this project — let’s call them the MINT economies — deserve no less attention. Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey all have very favorable demographics for at least the next 20 years, and their economic prospects are interesting.

“Policy makers and thinkers in the MINT countries have often asked me why I left them out of that first classification. Indonesians made the point with particular force. Over the years I’ve become accustomed to being told that the BRIC countries should have been the BRIICs all along, or maybe even the BIICs. Wasn’t Indonesia’s economic potential more compelling than Russia’s? Despite the size of its relatively young population (a tremendous asset), I thought it unlikely that Indonesia would do enough on the economic-policy front to quickly realize that potential.

“Nigeria that has been denied membership of various neologisms of emerging economies including G20 and BRICS has finally made the list of MINT nations. Being given the due respect that Nigeria has been searching for does not transpire that the country has finally arrived. But making the list of MINT speaks volume and acknowledges that Nigeria is in the right direction. Nigeria is getting her economic house in order and doing those things she needs to do to be seriously noticed by frontier investors and money managers around the world.

“Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communications and entertainment sectors. It is ranked 30th (40th in 2005, 52nd in 2000), in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product at purchasing power parity as of 2012, and 3rd largest within Africa (behind South Africa and Egypt), on track to potentially becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. Its re-emergent, though currently under-performing, manufacturing sector is the third-largest on the continent, and produces a large proportion of goods and services for the West African

Oneil region.

“It is self-evident and a fact that Nigeria is potentially a wealthy nation that can make it to an industrialized economy but she has not been serious and has drowned herself in corruption and inefficiency, wallowing in selfpity and grandiose perception of her place under the sun. But Nigeria, once referred to as “sleeping giant” is steadily and gradually waking up from her sleep and commences turning a new page this time around.”

Interestingly, of the four MINT countries, Nigeria’s population is projected to outstrip other MINT countries by 2050 with population set to hit 402 million people. Of the four countries, Nigeria and Indonesia have the most consistent GDP at around six to eight per cent. The two countries have the lowest GDPs of the four MINT countries, at $1,555 and $3,557 per capita respectively, compared with $9,749 in Mexico, $10,666 in Turkey, and $51,749 in the United States of America, according to 2012 figures from the World Bank.

Jim O’ Neil’s views on Nigeria got a boost by the recent rebasing of the country’s economy.

After months of faltering, owing to the complexity of the task, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers. Nigeria‘s GDP has not been rebased since 1990, contrary to global best practice of re-benchmarking every five years. This implies that the country has had to rely on outdated figures for the last 24 years. The year 2010 was adopted as the base year for the revision and more recent economic activities have been captured in sectors such as telecommunications and entertainment industry.

As a result of the rebasing, the size of the Nigerian economy has grown by 89 per cent to N80.3 trillion ($509.9bn). This ranks Nigeria as the world’s 26 largest economy, the largest economy in Africa, bigger than Angola, Egypt and Vietnam put together, and 12 times the Ghanaian economy. The 89 per cent jump thumps the expectations and forecasts of analysts who projected an increase of between 40 and 60 per cent from the rebasing.

The Greater London Business Conference on Nigeria is coming on the heels of a recently concluded United Kingdom-Nigeria Trade and Investment roundtable, held in London

It is self-evident and a fact that Nigeria is potentially a wealthy nation that can make it to an industrialized economy but she has not been serious and has drowned herself in corruption and inefficiency, wallowing in self-pity and grandiose perception of her place under the sun. But Nigeria, once referred to as the ‘sleeping giant’ is steadily and gradually waking up from her sleep and commences turning a new page this time around

by NILOBF in conjunction with the Business Chamber Trade Association of UK. Nigeria’s ambassador to the UK, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, had set the tone for discussions in his keynote address on activities of the Nigeria High Commission, London in the promotion of bilateral economic relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

According to him, Nigeria and the UK have continued to enjoy cordial bilateral trade and economic relations due to historical antecedents and shared ties in language, education and legal system, which have reinforced the robust relations and positively impacted on the economic prosperity of the two countries.

He said: “Presently, Nigeria is UK’s second largest trading partner in Africa after South Africa and it is 32nd largest worldwide. The drive for improved trade and economic relations made the leaders of the two countries, President Goodluck Jonathan and David Cameron in June 2011 set an ambitious goal to double bilateral trade to eight billion pounds by 2014. Nigeria and the UK are very well on the way to achieving and possibly, surpassing the ambitious goal set by the two leaders.

“It is instructive to note that in 2011when the goal was set, the volume of bilateral trade was about four billion pounds and rose to seven billion pounds. There is also a conscious effort on the part of the two countries to diversify and shift focus from oil, financial services and food products, which had dominated Nigeria-UK trade relations in the past to the non-oil sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure, creative industry, information technology and retail business.”

But the events of the past two months – the bombings, the Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping, the government’s half-hearted response and the arrival of US, French and Israeli military advisers to attempt a belated rescue – have all served to expose the hollowness of Nigeria’s prosperity.

Scratch the surface and look beyond the boldfaced numbers, and it quickly becomes evident that long before these horrific recent developments, Nigeria was grappling with poor governance and failing institutions.

In reality, the growth story was never so simple. Inequality has long been part of the subtext.

The majority of Nigerians have actually grown poorer as the country thrived, exacerbating tensions between the rich and the poor.

“Maintaining the status quo is not tenable,” says Elsie Kanza, Africa Director of the World Economic Forum. “It is not tenable to leave populations out of the growth process.”

A few numbers illustrate this point all too clearly. Nigeria’s growth averaged 7.4 per cent over the past decade. In that period, the number of Nigerians living on less than $1 a day rose from 54.7 to 60.9 percent. And these disparities do not show signs of improving for the next generation.

18 Tuesday, June 3, 2014

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TheMetroSection Killed over N500 bribe…

Briefs

•Tanker drivers demand justice over their colleague allegedly shot dead by security agents

ADAM Alice Okeke OluM molu (nee Onaiyekan), the foster mother of Francis

The late Lawal

By Isaac Taiwo HE Petrol Tanker Drivers’ branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is calling for justice over the gruesome murder of their colleague, Olalekan Lawal, who was recently murdered by a trigger-happy security agent for refusing to part with N500.

Lawal, a native of Ibadan in Oyo State, father of three and last born of his parents was driving a tanker with vehicle registration number LSR 724SJ, when he became another unfortunate victim of Nigeria’s law enforcement agents’ killer bullet.

T

According to the National Public Relations Officer, Petrol Tankers Driver Branch of NUPENG, Atanda Adebayo, a member of NUPENG, Lawal was brutally killed by men of Operation Messa, a constituted security body comprising the Nigerian Navy and Nigeria Police. He was shot on April 25, 2014 around 2.00 a.m. at Tin Can Island Expressway, Lagos.

“We feel pained to disclose that Olalekan was on his legitimate duty when he met his untimely death.

The officials of Operation Messa shot him at close range for refusal to part with an illegitimate fee of N500.00, a practice that is common among the

officials.”

“We also wish to bring to public notice, the constant harassment, brutalization and extortion of our members by officials of Operation Messa and other law enforcement agents, a situation which is already taking its tolls on us as a union” he said.

Adebayo lamented the circumstances that led to Olalekan’s painful, harrowing and untimely death, which he described as “unfortunate” and “unbearable” to say the least.

“A situation where a young man’s life full of promises was abruptly terminated and cut off from a fresh

Alice Okeke Olumolu for burial June 6

family life made up of a young wife and little kids over a meagre amount of N500.00 is disheartening and we would appreciate the government looking critically into the matter to effect justice” he said.

Adebayo disclosed that on a number of occasions, the Union had drawn the attention of the government to series of high-handedness of law enforcement agents against their members without any cogent response.

He added that, were it not for the intervention of Lagos Zonal Officers of NUPENG, who were at the scene on the fateful day, the situation would have degenerated into an unprecedented level. “Our officers’ investigation confirmed the killing of Olalekan by officers of Operation Messa.”

He listed the demands of the Union to include compensation to the family of the late Lawal and prosecution of the officer concerned to serve as deterrent to others.

He concluded that based on the Union’s communication with the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola , generally accepted as a listening governor as well as the friend of the Union, the Union has decided to put all actions on hold with the expectation that the Union’s demands would be met.

The Zonal Public Relations Officer, NUPENG, Tayo Aboyeji said he was called at about 2.00 a.m. on the fateful day to be told that a tanker driver was shot dead.

“On getting there, I realized that the incident had drawn a large crowd including tanker drivers who were outraged over the killing of their colleague because of ordinary N500.00.

“Witnesses kept on shouting “OP Messa,” but were unable to take the number of the vehicle.

Trinity Police men came to the scene but were unable to calm the situation.’ They eventually depended on us and by God’s grace, we succeeded in calming down the drivers while Olalekan’s body was taken to Isolo General Hospital where the autopsy actually revealed that a shot at close range tore his intestines.”

“We referred the matter to the Naval Base, NNS Beecroft and we were told that they have commenced investigation. They showed concern,” he said.

The brother to the deceased, Taiwo Samuel said the incident threw the entire family into mourning and confusion when someone called at about 2.00 a.m. informing them of the incident.

“The wife, because of the shock, has since relocated to the mother-in-law’s house,” he said.

To fight malaria, Ogun distributes two million treated mosquito nets to councils the Society for Family Health (SFH) to distribute the nets.

He further revealed that cide Nets to all local councils over 57,000 rapid diagnostic test kits were procured by of the state to reduce the the government and distribprevalence of malaria uted to primary health faciliamong citizens. ties to curb the disease.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, Soyinka, in a statement by the ministry’s Press Officer, who disclosed this during the recent ministerial brief- Mrs. Seun Makinde, stated that the Central Medical ing to mark the third anStore has been computerniversary of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s adminis- ized while drug procuretration at the Governor’s Of- ment has been reorganized, fice Press Centre, Oke-Mosan, thus saving millions of naira from yearly drugs bill.

Abeokuta stated that the government partnered with He disclosed that the state HE Ogun State governT ment has distributed two million Long Lasting Insecti-

has also partnered with various local and foreign NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) to provide over 5,000 free medical, surgical, treatment and diagnosis for the residents at the state hospitals in Ota, Ijaiye Abeokuta and IsaraRemo.

Soyinka said some of the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) were resuscitated and provided with medical equipment, boreholes and generating sets to enhance service delivery, adding that six state-of-the-art ambu-

lances were procured and four inherited from the previous administration refurbished.

He pointed out that the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrone (HIV/AIDS) in the state was now 0.6 percent as against 3.1 percent and stressed that “we continue to remain below the national average and are constantly increasing our ability to prevent HIV infection, treat and care for those affected.

“We are working with our partners to upgrade and equip selected state health facilities to Provide Prevention of Transmission of HIV from Mother to Child (PMTCT) and Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) services, constant capacity building of health workers on HIV services as well as procurement and distribution of HIV test kits and consumables to various health facilities, resulting in a significant increase in the number of people accessing HIV services,” he submitted.

Onaiyekan, communications consultant and visiting member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, will be buried on Friday, June 6 at Kabba, Kogi State. She died on March 19, at the age of 102.

A devout Christian of the Anglican Communion, a Christian wake holds at 5.00 p.m. on Thursday, June 5, at her residence, followed on Friday, June 6, by a funeral service at St. Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral, to be followed by interment at the Church cemetery, and a reception at the Cathedral hall.

Olumolu

Zuriel appears on three DSTV programmes in May and June S part of their efforts to A show a new breed of outstanding personalities making an impact on the African landscape, DSTV in collaboration with Africa Magic and other broadcasters on their platform have featured Nigeria's Zuriel Oduwole on three programmes.

Earlier on May 26, she was featured as an example of a young African in remarkable achievements on the programme 53 Extra on Africa Magic. Also on the same day, she was featured on Ebony Life TV's The Spot, targeting Africa's youths between the ages of 12 and 25, on her journey and ability to inspire children across the continent.

Yesterday, June 2, she was the special guest for the 'full hour' on Moments With Mo, on Ebony Life TV to talk about her documentary film making, Presidential Interviews to rebrand Africa, and her other initiatives. The programme’s demography is primarily women between the ages of 18 and 65, which is a group that has taken to Zuriel very warmly. Zuriel is the youngest feature on that Award winning programme.

She was featured on the cover of Today’s Woman magazine in October 2013, because Nigerian women see her as someone they want their daughters and sons to emulate, or be inspired by.

Zuriel

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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

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Ibusa professional women offer free screening to 300 women From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba HEIR facial expression said T it all. There were the old and young with different ailments. While some came from near, others came from afar. They came from all the 10 quarters of Ibusa Community, Oshimili North Council of Delta State.

The venue at St. Augustine Catholic Church on the main street of Umuadafe was jampacked as women from all walks of life swooped there.

There is no doubt that it is a thing of tremendous joy for one to reach out and touch people’s hands and make the world a better place for all to live in. So it was recently when a group, Ibusa Professional Women came to town with the proverbial basket full of goodies in an attempt to give back to the society that has given them so much.

With millions of Nigerians unable to afford health care as a result of grinding poverty, the initiative by the women to carry out a healthscreening programme at the Church hall was heaven sent as people rushed in to take advantage of the free health care.

Miss Martha Ukabuegwu, 40, from Umueze, Ibusa, was so glad when news of the free screening exercise filtered in.

With no job, the secondary school graduate was right on time, on May 17, to check her health status. The early bird who heard the news from her aunt promptly joined the line when she came and did all the necessary checks which included hypertension; blood test to ascertain if she is diabetic; her Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) status, eye disease and cholesterol level.

The matter with Martha had to do with her eyesight as she suffers from astigmatism. She went home with brand new glasses. She seemed to savour every moment when she

A nurse speaking to participants wore it and moved freely about, with a broad smile.

Beaming with smiles, she was full of praises for the organizers: “They have done so well by bringing this kind of initiative to our community.

Many of the beneficiaries are poor people who cannot afford good health care. It is a good idea.”

At 90, Mrs. Catherine Adichie, a mother of six said she learnt of it through an announcement at the local Catholic Church. Speaking through an interpreter, the impecunious widow said that with failing health she had eye operation before but the problem still persists.

Adichie could hardly believe it when she heard the news of the free health screening by the Ibusa women. With a chest problem also and some hungry grandchildren who live with her, it was the chance of a lifetime.

She said: “The organizers should keep it up. It is a good

HBF inculcates soft skills in indigent youths

By Joe Adiorho HE Hope Builders Skill Development and Acquisition FoundaT tion (HBF), a non-government organization, has emphasised the need for self-development among unemployed youths instead of the continuous expectation for white-collar jobs.

Speaking during a seminar organized by the organisation for qualified, but unemployed youths in Alimosho Local Council, the Executive Director HBF, Mrs. Adu Folayemisi Benedecta, said the aim was to inculcate in the youths soft skills that could, not only help them secure, but create jobs in the era of few collar jobs in Nigeria The seminar entitled: “Employability Skills and Alternative to White-collar Jobs,” was also aimed at imbibing the indigent youths and less privileged women with skills not contained in the curriculum that secure them the certificates they are presenting to the employers of computer age. The director said the vision was to reduce poverty by empowering less privileged youths and women.

“Our mission is to empower the less privileged through skill acquisition, entrepreneurial development, scholarship grants and micro credit scheme,” adding that the organisation was birthed in January 2003 to address the prevalent problems of poverty and unemployment in the nation and has empowered over 5,000 youths and women in the last 10 years. “Many have been set free from the path of poverty with various programs tailored towards self reliance and wealth-creation. We educate, train, develop and mentor individuals with our various ingenious programmes.”

According to her, part of the main programme of HBF is to empower the youths in soft skills like learning foreign languagesFrench, Spanish German, Chinese and others to add to their skill.

“We found out that there are a lot of people scrambling for the available few jobs, so we empower them with soft skills that will be an addition to the certificates that they have obtained.

“We also have personal empowerment training in public schools. We empower young school leavers who have finished secondary school and are waiting to get admission into tertiary institutions. We try to bridge the gap by introducing the personal empowerment training. We put them under different vocational trainings such as catering, fashion designing, hairdressing. We keep them under our trainer for one year. After the training some of them get employment and some others are able to pay their way through school, because we deal mostly with indigent students. We have been working with Educational District One at Agege that covers Alimosho, Ijaiye, Agege and Ojokoro. We are in about 68 public schools under the district,” she said.

A medical practitoner attending to one of the patients thing that they remember poor widows like us. God will replenish them. They will never lack.”

At 19 and a sophomore at Delta State University, Abraka, Mary Mokogwu, a Microbiology major said that she came visiting her hometown for the weekend and learnt of the programme through a chance meeting with her aunt.

With constant headache and poor eye- sight, the young girl confessed that it was the grace of God that saw her through high school. With poor parental background, she couldn’t afford to go hospital for treatment and had to make do with Paracetamol tablets. She was not disappointed as she went home springing with a pair of glasses.

From the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojoo, Lagos, Dr. Franca Awurum, a Public Health optometrist said that she felt good with the large

turnout but disclosed after a thorough examination of many patients that the major cases were pres-byopia and cataract.

For those who have glaucoma, they were referred to government owned hospitals while those who needed reading glasses and drugs for minor ailments like allergies were freely given.

The President of the association, Dr. Ifeoma Utomi, said that it was the desire to touch the lives of the ordinary young girls from age 18 and women at Ibusa that made the young upwardly mobile women to organize a healthscreening programme for 300 women.

Mrs. Utomi, a consultant orthodontist said that not even the quest for money to get by could deter them from abandoning their busy schedule in Lagos to travel all the way to their hometown to mobilize the womenfolk to test them for hypertension, dia-

betes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) status, eye diseases and cholesterol level.

She said that glasses were given to those in need after being screened for eye diseases like cataract, glaucoma, general eye problem and visual impairment by the 20man medical team which comprised of 10 nurses, three doctors and seven optometrists. Some of the doctors were flown in from Lagos while others were recruited from hospitals at Ibusa, the state capital of Asaba and neighbouring Ogwashi Uku. Mrs. Utomi, wife of Director of Lagos Business School, Prof. Pat Utomi, said the Lagos-based association is focused on the girl-child and women and that the overall goal is to cater for the general well being of Ibusa people.

She said: “Ibusa Professional Women is an association of Ibusa women either by birth

or marriage. The determination to give back to society is the reason for organizing the programme. Our overall goal is to cater for the wellbeing of Ibusa people generally, but our primary focus is on the girl- child and women. It is a non-partisan organization that came into existence about one year ago.”

With a membership of 25, she said that the love of people was the primary reason why the women had to deep their hands deeper into their purses to finance the project, which of course caused some millions of Naira.

With a lot of enthusiasm, she expressed optimism that the health screening programme which targeted 300 Ibusa women will be an annual event and not a one off but pleaded passionately for government and corporate bodies support to make it grander next time around.

Honeywell fetes children, orphans on Children’s Day society, and our own way to alONEYWELL Flour Mills Plc good organization should tors were full of praises to leviate poverty, suffering in H has restated its commithave a corporate social respon- Honeywell commending it for the land,” he said. ment to positively impact on sibility on its objectives bethe humanitarian gesture, humanity by giving back to the society through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

Managing Director, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, who stated this recently during a visit to some orphanage homes in Lagos where the company donated its products, equipment and cash, noted that Honeywell Flour Mills will continue to support good cause in the society especially those that have direct impact on human development.

The event also coincided with the Children’s Day celebration where the company sponsored a jolly train ride with children of select schools in Lagos. The train ride, which took off from Ebute Metta Station went through Oshodi, Ikeja, Abule Egba to Ijoko and back to Ebute Metta. Jaiyeola described this as a delightful experience for the children who mingled together to have great fun.

Honeywell, according to him, will continue to seize the opportunity to make its impact felt in the society, listing such opportunities to include support provided sporting events, entrepreneurship programs, vulnerable groups, etc. “It is our own way of adding value to the people that we believe should have needs within the

Among beneficiaries of the company’s latest gestures were the SOS Village, Isolo, Little Saints Orphanage and Bethesda Home for the Blind.

Giving further explanation on the company’s CSR, Executive Director, Marketing, Mr. Benson Evbuomwan said “every

cause we cannot do anything without the people we are serving. Everything is not just about buying our products, we should also be seeing to be improving the welfare of the people we are serving.”

At the orphanages visited, the founders and administra-

while also listing their areas of need that require further attention. Common among their challenges include the need for more funding, renovation and building of new structures as well as more support from the government, individuals and corporate

Head Prefect, Bethesda Home for the Blind, Master Emmanuel Ikpamueze; Managing Director, Mrs Chioma Ohakwe and Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola during donation of products and equipment to the Home in Lagos

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BUSINESS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Kenya seeks Nigeria’s crude oil, gas at concessionary prices ENYA is seeking to buy K crude oil and natural gas from Nigeria at concessionary prices.

This will give the East African country access to cheap hydrocarbons to help it fire up proposed electricity generating plants that are expected to reduce the overall cost of power and therefore of doing business.

A document disclosed by The EastAfrican, a Kenyan publication, showed that the government of Kenya made request for preferential treatment by Abuja three weeks ago in a deal that could see Nairobi cede oil blocks to Nigeria.

It was part of the discussions between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Nigerian counterpart, Goodluck Jonathan, during the former’s state visit to Abuja this year that saw the two governments signing deals on technology transfer and capacity building in oil and gas-related skills.

Nigeria sought investment opportunities in areas of petrochemicals, oil exploration and production, including acquisition of interest in oil and gas acreages.

While details of the deal have not been firmed up, the two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding, setting the tone for negotiations that could see Kenya offer vacant oil blocks- with at least six due for auction.

“The MoU gives us a starting point... We are now trying to agree on terms like pricing, duration of the concession...” Amina Mohamed, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, told The EastAfrican.

Kenya and Nigeria also signed a trade and immigration agreement, which provides for protection of investment and removes visa requirements for prominent businessmen vis-

iting either country.

They also sealed agreements covering areas deemed to be of mutual interest- such as trade, tourism, education, technical co-operation and high-level diplomatic engagements.

The concessionary crude oil would help Kenya rein in its import bill given that petroleum products are its single largest import item. Fuel imports account for at least a quarter of Kenya’s total imports.

Over the past six years, landing prices for Murban Crude at the Mombasa port have doubled from $62 per barrel to around $113.

Moreover, the growing economy is expected to fuel a steep jump in consumption, with the government estimating that the country will be using six million tonnes annually by 2016, up from the current 4.5 million.

Last September, Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-

Madueke, ruffled the Kenyan government’s feathers when he told his country’s media that Nairobi had allocated oil blocks to Nigerian investors during President Jonathan’s visit to the country. The Kenyan government has denied doing so.

The six blocks due to be auctioned fell vacant following the announcement in 2012 of new rules requiring exploration firms to cede 25 per cent of their licensed acreage if they failed to work on the sites in the stipulated time. Once auctioned, the blocks will increase Kenya’s exploration areas to 52 from 46.

The auction is also expected to trigger a fresh scramble by oil exploration majors keen on tapping into Kenya’s nascent oil and gas sector, which has in the past two years attracted huge interest following finds by Tullow Oil in at least seven wells in the county.

Vice President, Flight Operation, Arik Air, Ado Sanusi (left); Leader State of Entertainment (Ice Prince), Mr Tobi Sanni Daniel; Senior Vice President, Commercial, Arik Air, Siva Ramachandram; and the Director, Consumer Protection of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA), Adamu A. Abdullahi, during the draws for the Brazil 2014 promotion held at Arik premises, Airport, Ikeja.

PHOTO: SOLA OJEDOKUN

Oil prices fall as Libya opens terminal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 themselves in places like Libya, the market will come under further pressure.”

OPEC’s production rose by 75,000 barrels a day to an average 29.988 million last month, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil companies, producers and analysts on May 29. Saudi Arabia, the group’s biggest producer, bolstered output by 70,000 barrels a day to 9.67 million, the country’s first gain this year.

OPEC ministers will next meet on June 11 in Vienna to discuss production targets.

In Libya, the Hariga port is projected after the government approved salary for guards,’’ Mohamed Elharari, a spokesman for National Oil Corp., said by phone from Tripoli. The nation has become the smallest producer in OPEC during the past year as unrest disrupted output and shipments.

BUSINESS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

21

Business Govt regrets N1.6tr investment on privatisation

By Roseline Okere (Lagos) and Anthony Otaru (Abuja) HE Federal Government T may have regretted expending N1.6 trillion for the creation of 600 public enterprises in all sectors of the economy before privatisation, as the investment has now been assessed as drain pipes.

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Benjamin Dikki, gave this assessment, explaining that there have been no corresponding returns on the investment over the years.

He added that the “public enterprises consumed over $3 billion (about N480 billion) yearly in subventions

and subsidies, tax deductions at source were not remitted to the tax authorities and no dividends were received or reasonable service provided by them despite their monopoly status”.

Dikki said that despite such huge investment, these enterprises remained drainpipes in the country.

The Director-General, who made a presentation titled: “The Nigerian Reforms & Privatization Policy, Processes, Gains, Challenges and Prospects” to members of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) International Golf and Country Club, Abuja last week, said in addition, only

500,000 jobs were created even as these enterprises had over 5,000 board seats.

Dikki disclosed that a substantial part of the then nonperforming debts owed to the London and Paris Clubs were mostly loans to these enterprises which also owed salaries and left huge pension liabilities amounting to over N2 trillion to the be borne by Federal Government.

The BPE boss noted that the twin policies of government direct investment in the Nigerian economy and an attempt to indigenise the economy did not produce the desired economic results as these enterprises could

hardly break-even and became a huge burden on the government budget.

“Nigeria’s economy experienced declining growth, increasing unemployment, galloping inflation, high incidence of poverty, worsening balance of payments, debilitating debt burden and increasing unsustainable fiscal deficits”, he stressed.

Disenchanted with the poor performance of the PEs, Dikki said that the Federal Government, from 1969 to 1984, commissioned several studies whose findings revealed that the PEs were inefficient, corrupt, misuse monopoly powers, depend

heavily on treasury, have defective capital structure and suffer incessant political interference.

He said the setting up of the Technical Committee on Commercialisation and Privatization (TCPC) in 1988, which later metamorphosed into the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), was to free government from businesses and to bring in private hands.

He listed the gains of privatization as the utilization of proceeds for other socio-economic objectives, non-allocation from the treasury to privatized enterprises, payment of corporate tax and heavy investments by the

new owners that grew the companies and the economy.

On the power sector reform, he said that an estimated 90 million Nigerians were living without access to electric power and government did not have the resources to reach them, thus the need to privatize the Power Sector to increase the reach.

Dikki added that the reforms carried out in telecoms, pensions, debt management and other sectors were impacting positively on the Nigerian economy even as he informed that the Bureau had lined up several reforms in the years ahead.

Oil prices fall as OPEC’s output rises HE Brent crude dropped T to the lowest level in almost three weeks as the

Head Research and Planing, Odu’a Investment Company, Sina Araoye (left); New Group Managing Director, Odu’a Investment Company, Adewale Raji; Immediate past, Group Managing Director, Dr. Adebayo Jimoh; and Executive Director, Finance and Planing, Alhaji Niyi Badmus, at the formal presentation and resumption of the new chief executive at Corporate Office, Ibadan.

PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

EITI: Countries declare $1.2tr oil revenue in eight years

By Roseline Okere N the past eight and a half Iclosed, years, 35 countries have disin 200 reports over $1.2 trillion worth of revenues from oil, gas and mining, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has stated.

According to the international watchdog, many EITI countries are undergoing significant resource booms while others are being hit by declining commodity prices.

Specifically, the report, which was made available to The Guardian, stated that Nigeria has recovered $443 million of the $2.6 billion owed to the government as revenue by oil and gas companies.

•Nigeria recovers $443m missing funds EITI pointed out that disclosure of government oil revenues in Nigeria uncovered vast discrepancies between what the administration has received and what it should have collected.

It added that for the threeyear period of 2009 to 2011, these Nigeria EITI reports revealed that a company owed tax payments adding up to $8.3 billion, which it said is more than the Federal Government spent on education in the same period.

It stated: “As a consequence of Nigeria EITI shining the spotlight on these missing oil revenues, $443 million have already been recovered

into state coffers. Nigeria EITI is committed to conduct further investigation of the missing payments in collaboration with tax collection agencies.

EITI said that the move to increasing transparency in the governance of natural resources is gaining momentum, as can be seen in the steep graph above.

It disclosed: “In the first four years (2005-2009) 50 reports were published, and in the next four and a half, 150 more followed. 36 reports were publicised in 2013 alone.

“Publishing revenues is the first step to seeing results for

those living in the countries blessed with resource wealth. Doing this can be a considerable feat.

“Take Indonesia. The country has 245 million people living in 497 districts, across 13,000 islands and 750 spoken languages. The decentralised nature of Indonesia’s physical and political landscape poses a challenge to record keeping and coordination between the multiple government entities.

“Despite the long and complex process of documenting revenues, Indonesia has gone further than many in company reporting. It was the second EITI country (after East Timor) to demand that the over 70 companies active in resource extraction

give a detailed account of payments made to the government on a project basis as opposed to providing an aggregate number for all their activities in Indonesia.

This information allows the decentralised governments to better track their income.

Citizens, in turn, learn on how much revenue is generated in their region”.

It noted that while the Indonesia’s account on resource revenues will be scrutinised as much as any other EITI Report, it being the 200th report allows us to take stock of the development in reporting since the first EITI Report was submitted in February 2005 by Azerbaijan.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production climbed and Libya said an export terminal would reopen.

The European benchmark’s premium to West Texas Intermediate oil narrowed.

OPEC crude production increased in May for the first time in three months, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Brent for July settlement fell 67 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $108.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:07 p.m. in New York.

Futures touched $108.71, the lowest intraday price since May 13. The volume of all futures traded was 2 per cent below the 100-day average for the time of day.

WTI for July delivery slipped 57 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $102.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Volume was 33 per cent lower than the 100-day average. Prices are up 3.8 per cent this year. The U.S. benchmark crude traded at a $6.60 discount to Brent, down from $6.70 on May 30.

Brent, which is used to price more than half of the world’s oil, is typically more sensitive to changes to the global supply-anddemand balance.

Libya’s Hariga port is set to resume operating within two days after authorities approved salary payments to Petroleum Facilities Guard members who are preventing loadings, according to the country’s National Oil Corp.

“Rising OPEC production will help keep a lid on prices,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “As things right

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

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23 | BUSIENSS Tuesday, June 6, 2014

SMEDAN: Showcasing Nigeria’s investment opportunities

By Abdullahi Yusuf XPERTS say, with an estiE mated population of over 160 million, large oil and gas reserves, agricultural resources and mineral deposits; Nigeria possesses abundant investment opportunities waiting to be harnessed.

They say that these opportunities need not only to be showcased to local and foreign investors in order to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but also require competent government organs to execute the task.

That responsibility falls within the mandate of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), established by the SMEDAN Act of 2003,to promote the development of micro, small and medium enterprises [MSME] sector of the Nigerian economy.

The agency positions itself as a One-Stop Shop for MSME development.

Alhaji Bature Masari, the Director-General of SMEDAN, at a recent interactive session in Abuja with Japanese investors showcased the investment potential in Nigeria.

The interactive session was organised by the Japanese Trade Mission to Nigeria and the Embassy of Nigeria in Tokyo, Japan.

About 44 chief executives of 29 Japanese companies attended the session.

In his paper titled: ``Investment Opportunities in the Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Sub-Sector,” Masari said the sector hold the key to Nigeria’s industrial development.

He informed the session that there were currently 17.2 million MSMEs in Nigeria that accounted for 80 per cent of the total number of enterprises in the country and 75 per cent of the nation’s total employment base. ``The sub-sector has been identified as one of the

important elements to achieving the Nigerian Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda of Mr President,” the DirectorGeneral said.

He said that the MSMEs were spread across economic sectors with the highest proportion being in the agricultural sector.

According to him, majority of the MSMEs are located in Lagos and Kano States due to the ``large population of the two states, awareness and exposure and the availability of ready markets.’’

Masari said that President Jonathan had on Feb. 11, officially launched the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP), aimed at generating five million direct and indirect jobs.

NEDEP, according to him, is meant to revitalise the rural economy, improve employment opportunities, create wealth and alleviate poverty in rural areas. ``This will be done through the establishment of sustainable MSMEs in the 774 local government areas in the country, based on comparative and competitive advantages. ``NEDEP will also help to entrench entrepreneurial culture, industrialisation of rural areas, enhanced industrial cluster development, increased MSMEs contribution to GDP, increased export potential,” he said.

According to him, there are vast investment opportunities under NEDEP that were embedded in the nation’s Vision 20:2020. ``The vast investment opportunities exist in ICT and modernisation of existing value chain in the agro and agro-allied sector, with regard to production and processing,’’ he said.

The Director-General listed some of the agro and agroallied products for both domestic and exports market and the states in which they were found.

Masari informed the session that fish, coconut and raffia palm could be harnessed in Lagos State, palm oil in Abia;

There were currently 17.2 million MSMEs in Nigeria that accounted for 80 per cent of the total number of enterprises in the country and 75 per cent of the nation’s total employment base. `The sub-sector has been identified as one of the important elements to achieving the Nigerian Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President. and fish and plantain in Bayelsa.

He also said that leather, groundnut oil and rice were being produced in Kano State, while Kaduna State produced millet and ginger and Niger produced yam, shea nuts and groundnut oil. ``You will also find tie and dye and timber in Ogun, solid minerals, potato and tomato in Plateau, cotton and leather in Katsina State, and shea nuts and fruits in the Federal Capital Territory,

Abuja. ``The other vital area is storage, packaging and marketing as well as distribution of food-related items,’’ Masari told the session.

He also informed the Japanese investors that the role of SMEDAN was to coordinate and facilitate the development of the MSMEs sub-sector. ``The potential of the MSMEs sub-sector are huge, both for social and economic reasons, implying a vast

landscape for investing in small businesses, whether to achieve Millennium Development Goals or to create employment and wealth to reduce poverty. ``The economic reform programme of the Federal Government, especially Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda, is making the environment even more friendly and rewarding,” he said.

In his opening remarks, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ryuichi Shoji, said the Japanese Government would continue to invest in Nigeria.

Shoji told the session that the Japanese Government would also encourage its citizens to invest in Nigeria, describing Nigeria as a huge market.

He said his country would also help Nigeria to develop its market and boost its economy.

The development of the economy would indeed help to check the current security challenge, as it could be attributed to unemployment.

Alhaji Muhammad Nadada Umar, a former DirectorGeneral of SMEDAN, had advised stakeholders to give attention to job creation, as a way of tackling the challenges facing the country.

He said that developing MSMEs was the best crusade ever undertaken in the country.

Umar added that it had become imperative to tackle the problems of poverty and unemployment for peace to stand a chance in the country.

“And without peace, neither the small nor the big businesses would grow or survive in Nigeria.” he said.

Mr. Yusuf works with NAN

24 | Monday, June 3, 2014 BUSINESS

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Oxfam scores Nigeria low on farm input distribution From Joke Falaju, Abuja study conducted by Oxfam, an international NGO committed to ensuring food security, has fault transparency in the country’s agricultural spending, alleging that less than 2 percent of Nigerian farmers have so far benefited from the Growth Enhancement Support Programme (GES).

Oxfam campaigns manager,

A

Tomi Ademokun who disclosed this at a media parley in Abuja queried authenticity of the huge figures claimed to have benefited from the federal government largess in distribution of input to farmers.

Ademokun said the GES, which tries to simplify redemption of farm Inputs for farmers is a good scheme on paper, however only quality and transparent spending in the agricultural sector would

Dangote to partner N’ East in agric development scheme HE President of the T Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko

Dangote, has pledged to partner with state governments in the North East to develop the area.

Speaking with journalists during a condolence visit to the palace of the late Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, the business mogul said he would invest in agriculture to ensure the development of the geo-political zone.

Dangote said he had spoken with the late emir about six months ago when they discussed the potentials of investments in the state.

He said he had promised the emir that he would come to the state to concretise the discussion but that he could not do so before he died.

He, however, assured the government and people of the state that he would redeem his promise to invest in the state.

“We will still come. We have to make sure that we empower our people mainly in the northern

part of Nigeria where the need is there.

“We will definitely look at the best way to help and mobilise our people to at least get a daily income,” he said.

The billionaire said the easiest way to assist the people in the North East zone was by helping the farmers to access credits to boost agricultural production.

“Even when you have the farm, you have the will to go into farming, unless you are helped financially, there is nothing you can do about it.

“We will look into that.

We will partner with the government because nobody can do it on his own; not even the government, not even the businessmen,” he said.

Dangote had earlier condoled with the Gombe emirate, the government and people of the state over the death of the emir.

He described the late emir as a great leader who was respected not only in the North East but across the country.

drive a huge investment in the nation’s economy.

She alleged that most of the farmers under its auspices are yet to be registered and the registered ones are yet to get access to improved fertilizer and seeds.

She noted that the organization has Association of Small Scale Farmers of Nigeria (ASSAPIN) and the Female Food Hero (FFH) under its auspices and none of them have been able to register or get access to seeds and fertilizer.

She noted “I have tried several times to use the website link to register but its not working, some of our members that went to their office to obtain the form have not received any message on their mobile phones asking them to come and pick up their seeds and fertilizers” “If government says it has registered 10million farmers, they should be able to publish the name so that people

would be convinced and no that the Growth enhancement support scheme is not only in the book”.

Washington Coordinator of OXFAM Mr. Gawain Kripke in his remark called on government in African countries to implement the 2003 African Union (AU) declaration on food security so as to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the continent.

The Maputo Protocol stipulates that at least 10 per cent of annual national budgets of African countries should be devoted to agricultural development.

Kripke who is in Nigeria to participate in the World Economic Forum on Africa maintained that there must be adequate budgetary allocation to drive agriculture in Africa, adding that foreign investment in the local agricultural sector would not achieve much without increased budgeting.

Speaking specifically about Nigeria, Kripke said it was unfortunate that the Nigerian government is under performing in the area of budgetary allocation to the sector.

He also observed that there a high level of discrimination against Nigerian women in agriculture.

“In Nigeria there is a big problem, which is discrimination against female farmers, we must step-up agricultural as an industry like the Oil&Gas, that is what we will be trying to do in the next few days,” he stated.

This according to him hinders the food security in the country, as he said female farmers who constitute a larger agricultural labour force than their male counterparts produce 20 per cent to 30 per cent lesser than the male farmers.

“It is not enough to talk about investment in the agricultural sector, we must

ensure increased budgetary allocation and participation of women. The Agric Minister talks so much about the future of agriculture in Nigeria, this could be true, but there should be enough budget to make the transformation possible,” he said.

Kripke explained that equal opportunities for female farmers in terms of land ownership and loan facilities would improve the country’s economy.

“Women are undervalued resources in agriculture and they make-up of more than half of the workforce, because they do not have access to same resources with men, female farmers produce 20-30 per cent less than the male farmers. We can increase their production rate by changing roles, and ensure that they have access to land and others resources, we are talking about feeding 100-120 million more people,” he added.

Importer blames govt’s new import policy for high cost of goods ``But may be because N importer, A C h u k w u e m e k a there was no smooth transiEgwuonu, yesterday, tion, the agencies that were blamed the Federal Government’s new import policy for being the major cause of the rising cost of goods in the country.

Egwuonu made the blame in Calabar while fielding questions with journalists on the current economic situation in the country as part of the celebration of 15 years of unbroken democracy.

He said that in addition to the increase in import charges, the new policy was also creating delays in clearing of goods at the ports. ``The current import policy in the country affects our business in terms of prices. Before, we used about N1.3 million to clear a container. ``But now, there is an addition of over N600,000 which raises it to between N1.8 million and N1.9 million to clear a container. ``So, what we do is to split the increased charges on the goods and the masses bear the burden,’’ the importer told NAN. ``Also, in terms of easy clearing of goods, it is worse now than before because the Nigeria Customs Service has taken over the duties of the agencies that were operating in the ports.

handling the process well did not want the customs to know the process. ``So these lapses are causing a lot of delays in the clearing processes. ``We are suffering these lapses because before you know it, your goods have entered demurrage and in that case there is no bargaining, you must pay it.’’

Egwuonu said that there was the need for government to explore all channels before coming out with policies that would affect the masses. ``My advice to the government is that whenever they want to embark on any major policy decision that affects the masses, there should be a kind of gradual process,’’ he said.

He disclosed that importers were making more money now than before but regretted that this was at the expense of the masses. ``As importers we make more money now because of the process but this boils down to the masses, they are the ones suffering it. ``I can tell you that I make more profit now than before but I have sympathy for my fellow citizens. So, I am not happy that things are going that way,’’ Egwuonu said.

Citi’s Sub-Saharan Africa Treasury and Trade Solutions Head, Peter Crawley (left); Citi’s EMEA Head of Payments and Receivables, Ms. Karin Flinspach; Citi’s EMEA Liquidity Management Services Head, Amit Agarwal and Citibank Nigeria Limited, Treasury and Trade Solutions Head, Segun Adaramola, at the Citibank Treasury and Finance Conference in Lagos.

Caverton wins Total’s contract extension, expects new Aircraft

By Bukky Olajide N the heels of its recent O listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Caverton has won a two-year contract extension with Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and is expecting a new AW139 helicopter which will be devoted to its long-term contract with Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Caverton Offshore Support Group, a leading provider of marine, aviation and logistics services to local and international oil and gas companies in Nigeria, last Tuesday listed its 3.35 billion shares on the Nigerian bourse, making history as the first Nigerian oil services company to go public and increasing market capitalization by N31.8 billion.

It would be recalled that Caverton had won a three year contract with Total in 2011 for the operation of four helicopters into Total’s off-

shore fields. That contract would have come to an end this year but Total has exercised the option to extend the contract by two years, which puts Caverton in contract with the oil company till 2016.

In reaction to the extension, Caverton’s Chief Executive Officer, Olabode Makanjuola, said: “We are pleased to continue rendering offshore and onshore oil field logistics to Total. This contract extension demonstrates Caverton’s service reliability and our commitment to provide safe and efficient services to our clientele.

We are confident that this will positively impact our revenue over the next few years”.

In a related development, Caverton is expecting a new AW139 helicopter from AgustaWestland, the AngloItalian manufacturer of commercial and military aircraft.

The new helicopter will be dedicated to the Shell Petroleum Development

Company contract which Caverton won in 2010 through a competitive bidding process.

The expected aircraft will ramp up the number of AW139 in Caverton’s fleet to seven and is part of Caverton’s earlier stated plans to embark on fleet expansion.

At the moment, Caverton has the largest fleet of AgustaWestland aircraft in sub-Saharan Africa and was two years ago designated a regional service centre for AW139s by the aircraft manufacturer.

The Shell contract, valued at $648 million, is on record as the biggest ever awarded to an indigenous company by the oil giant.

The Shell contract opened the floodgate for Caverton, with more contracts pouring in from other oil majors such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total and Addax Petroleum.

In 2013, the company com-

menced its first international operation after it won the contract to provide passenger transfer and pipeline surveillance services to the Cameroon Oil Transport Company (COTCO), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil.

The expected aircraft was manufactured in Italy and is pre-equipped with the Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) camera, which allows airborne pipeline surveillance to be carried out and images streamed in real time to base stations. It also has thermal imaging systems which are used for surveillance and threat detection.

The Caverton team was at Agusta Westland’s factory early this month to inspect the aircraft and to ensure that it fully complies with the latest stringent requirements in terms of performance, safety and operational specifications. The aircraft is expected to commence operations before end of next month.

Monday, June 3, 2014 BUSINESS | 25

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National confab and key constitutional omissions, issues impacting OPS

By Ikenna Nwosu COMMEND President Goodluck Jonathan for instituting the Ilution National Conference as a consultative process for facilitating resoof contentious national issues, addressing existing constitutional inadequacies, and filling existing gaps in the constitution amendment process.

I also commend the President for allocating eight delegates’ slots to the Organised Private Sector (OPS) at the conference.

With two delegates each from NACCIMA, MAN, NESG and NECA (which is a major improvement on the four OPS slots at the last Constitutional Conference in 1998), this Presidential move signposts a paradigm shift in Government’s appreciation of the role of the OPS in nation building, particularly as 2014 marks the centenary of commercial/business development in an amalgamated Nigeria, and the output of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2014 provides evidence – based proof of the power of private enterprise in sociopolitical and economic development.

The role of the private sector in constitution making is thus the focus of this Memorandum to the National Conference.

The decision of the Justice Idris Kutigi–led leadership of the National Conference to establish a Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment (under the Chairmanship of Mrs. Bola Shagaya) to obtain OPS inputs for due consideration in the final output of the conference is singularly commendable for the following reasons.

First, the 1999 constitution has left the private sector vulnerable and marginalized in several respects I shall highlight below and the committee will be pivotal in redressing this situation.

Second, the OPS will now be self – compelled to assume greater responsibility in adumbrating complex national issues and galvanize her membership to play leading roles in fashioning amendments to the constitution – which is the source of power for the Nigeria Industrial Relations System (arbitration, wages, labour, among others).

Third, collectively NACCIMA, MAN, NESG, NECA, NASME and NASSI, who are the traditional “voice” of the private sector boast a combined membership strength of over 15,000 businesses spread over every nook and crany of Nigeria.

When combined with organized labour (NLC, TUC) and the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) which includes professional bodies for all professions (Lawyers, Doctors, engineers, architects and the like) the OPS is then better appreciated as a major constituency in nation building, and electioneering decisions, hence their inputs in constitution– making at the National Assembly and via the National Conference is not only imperative but could be positively game – changing in radically changing the way that all tiers and arms of our government operate so that governance processes become more participatory, effective and impactful.

The OPS issues for consideration are as discussed below: The right to own moveable property such as shares and stocks is not guaranteed under the constitution which guarantees only the right to own immovable property; the right to establish, own and operate any legitimate business (subject to any legislation of the NASS regulating ownership structures) is not guaranteed; and the OPS knows that a sound political structure is the foundation for stellar economic policy formulation/development, socioeconomic stability, economic prosperity and social harmony.

Has the Presidential system of government under the current constitution met these benchmarks, especially since the present political structure is characterized by value of distribution of income from the Federal Government to states, rather than emphasizing productivity of the component states? Is there any more viable political structure that could deliver on these benchmarks? Should there be adjustments to the current structure?

Others are: The National Economic Council is recognized by the constitution as the highest authority on economic policy/implementation for Nigeria. The primary target in the execution of this function is the OPS – so, the OPS should be represented on the council, which is simultaneously a consultative/advisory/decision making body.

This is a key advocacy issue for the OPS; to ensure that States Governments pay more attention to economic development, the OPS should advocate for a constitutional prescription for states to have States Economic Councils (whose composition could be prescribed – perhaps headed by the Deputy Governor, since the Vice President heads the National Economic Council); in view of the manifest benefits to Nigeria and the OPS of Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala’s functions, should the constitution specifically prescribe the appointment of a Coordinating Minister for the Economy” to simultaneously hold the Finance Ministry portfolio? Should a similar office be created at states levels to ensure that states governments pay more attention to private sector development? Or should this decision be left as an administrative option for the President or State Governor?

Also, considering the demonstrated benefits of the establishment of a National Economic Management Team (NEMT), should the body be constitutionally prescribed at Federal, States and Local Government levels to ensure sustained economic planning and development at all tiers of Government? The constitution should prescribe that the Team must include at least five members from the OPS – whatever tier of Government is establishing its Team; the constitution should specifically prescribe that the President, and all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal, States and Local Governments must consult the organized private sector as a condition precedents to the formulation, update, and implementation of policy. This has the advantage of the process and output being organic, participatory and collaborative with greater assurance of success; a constitutional provision should be inserted mandating the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to consult with the OPS as a condition precedent to advising Government on issues concerning fiscal efficiency in the national economy – because the OPS are major players in the economy; and the constitution should specifically prescribe the establishment of States Police in all states and the FCT so as to curb crime and thus promote industry, trade and investment.

Should a bill become law (especially economic bills) if after 30 days of presentation of the Bill by the NASS to the President or the State House of Assembly to the State Governor, the President or Governor neither signifies that he assents to the Bill or that he with-holds assent?

In order to enable sufficient stakeholder inputs, should Notices of Public Hearings by the NASS or State Assemblies be advertized in the print and electronic media at least 21 days before the date of the public hearing on the Bill – so as to ensure sufficient stakeholder inputs, especially by the OPS? The is vital as several economic bills hardly have sufficient OPS inputs arising from insufficient notices for public hearings!

The OPS has occasionally raised issues about the accessibility of land for business development in Nigeria under the Land Use Act (LUA).

Accordingly, key issues arise from the OPS as to whether the LUA

should remain an entrenched legislation in the 1999 constitution requiring special majority at the Federal and States levels to effect an amendment. Also, does the LUA require any amendments so as to make access to land easier for Nigerians and Foreigners alike?

The Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment needs to critically examine the necessity for the constitutional establishment of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) since ALGON presents a veritable platform for business and industry to constructively engage the third tier of government on issues of mutual concern.

Additionally, as a member of the NESG, Nigerian – American Chamber of Commerce, Lagos Chamber of Chamber of Commerce, and a Council member of the Nigerian – British Chamber of Commerce, I believe that the OPS is substantially united in the opinion that the performance of Local Governments in Nigeria will be significantly improved if the distribution of monthly allocations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund is directly remitted to Local Governments as against remitting same to joint States/Local Government Accounts.

The NASS has listed a number of items currently on the Exclusive Legislative List (ELL) for removal to the Concurrent Legislative List (CLL) to enable both Federal and State Legislatures to legislate on the subject-matter. The OPS and Bola Shagaya’s committee thus need to consider whether it is wise to remove the following from the ELL – Pensions, gratuities and other like benefits payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for any other funds of the Federation; Prisons; Railways; stamp duties; Aviation; Tourism/Hospitality; Labour/Minimum wage amongst others. Global best practices appraisal is vital for consideration by the committee.

The committee needs to specifically review the uncoordinated and conflicting benchmarks for hotels grading at States levels since the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria that the power to

license and regulate hotels and other tourism/hospitality outfits across the country resides with States Governments as the matter is NOT included in either the ELL or the CLL– hence it is a residual matter over which ONLY States Governments have regulatory and legislative powers.

This decision led to the invalidation of the sections of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Act which vested the NTDC with these licensing and regulatory powers. The potential impact of this state of affairs on domestic/ foreign investment in Nigeria could be telling – justifying the call for “Licensing and Regulation of the Hotels/ Tourism/ entertainment/, hospitality and creative industries” to be included in the ELL by the National Conference. The time is not optimal now to decentralize these powers as obtains in some developed countries.

The National Conference delegates also need to critically consider the wisdom of the move by NASS to remove “Labour” and “National Minimum Wage” from the ELL and place same in the CLL. In the USA, labour and minimum wage are federal issues. So, why not in Nigeria where we have scan the disparate implementation of the minimum wage across states.

Should, Arbitration/ Environment/ Healthcare/ land/ agriculture/ public complaints, road safety and youth remain in the ELL or be moved to the Concurrent Legislative List (CLL)?

The OPS, in other countries that I have researched, played leading advocacy roles in constitution making. Nigeria should not be different. The eight OPS delegates to the National conference, along with representatives of organized Labour and other professionals, should push the OPS issues to ensure that thee final amendments to the Nigerian Constitution will adequately respond to OPS concerns.

Dr. Nwosu, President/Chief Executive Officer, Mooregate Limited, sent this memorandum to the Chairman of National Conference.

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AfricaEconomy Tanzania’s poor suffer from trade tax theft ANZANIA’S mining revenues are touted as a Trade mis-invoicing is different. It involves tanT key way to reduce reliance on foreign aid gible goods that are shipped across borders, and and pull people out of poverty, but experts the activity is therefore a lot easier to spot. argue companies are swindling the government out of at least $248 million a year.

The East African nation topped the worst of a list of nations across the continent examined by the watchdog group Global Financial Integrity (GFI), with nearly $19 billion (14 billion euros) in illicit flows over the past decade, the equivalent to over seven percent of the country’s total government revenue.

“There’s a narrative in the development community that there’s something wrong with developing countries, because we keep pumping money in, and they’re not developing as quickly as we’d like them to,” said GFI economist Brian LeBlanc.

“The reality is that we’re draining money out, and we’re doing it at an increasing rate.”

The Washington-based GFI’s examination of trade mis-invoicing reveals stark figures.

Mis-invoicing occurs when businesses deliberately lie about the value of the goods they’re importing or exporting. There are a lot of illegal reasons to do this, including tax evasion and money laundering.

Globally, trade mis-invoicing is a $424 billion a year problem, and makes up about 80 percent of all the money that flows out of developing countries illegally, GFI said.

Numbers like this, when compared to aid, mean there’s far more money draining out of Africa than going in.

Much attention has been given to transfer pricing, when multinational companies employ accounting tricks to shift profits into countries where they’ll pay less tax.

The researchers simply looked at the value of goods sent to or received from developed countries — where customs officials tend to be more rigorous — and compared it to the values declared in developing countries.

In Tanzania, the report discovered that, rather than undervaluing imports, corporations were overvaluing them.

In the case of fuel imports, overvaluing allows companies exempt from paying fuel taxes — such as mining companies — to reduce on paper the profits they will be taxed on, with GFI calculating as much as $248 million a year in revenue was lost.

In total, at least $8 billion was illegally drained out of the Tanzanian economy over just 10 years, said LeBlanc.

“These critical resources could have helped to create more jobs, to fund greater access to social services to improve the lives of average Tanzanians, and to improve infrastructure that is vital to additional economic development,” he said.

But it wasn’t all money going out. The report identified nearly 11 billion in export over-invoicing, which may be a sign of money-laundering and payments for illicit goods.

The port of Dar es Salaam is a major hub for the illegal export of wildlife products like rhino horn and ivory, as well as drugs and gold.

Stronger and more specific laws can help tackle the problem, the report added.

They also suggest that customs officials have access to up-to-date pricing data, to allow them to flag questionable exports and imports.

African women set for leadership symposium in Senegal From Oludare Richards, Abuja REPARATIONS have been concluded to provide women at the local government and grassroot levels in Africa with leadership and advocacy skills that would enable them further contribute meaningfully to the democratic space.

A two-day capacity building symposium has been scheduled to hold on the 4th and 5th June this year in Dakar, the Senegalese capital for training of women on strategies that will reposition them as leaders, while participating effectively in the political and socio-economic development of their society.

“The Symposium, themed ‘Women’s Leadership In Democracy: Engendering Nation Building At The Grass Root Level’ will bring together all female political politicians; legislators, heads of local government councils, coun-

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cilors, wives of local government heads, heads of women associations and NGOs across subSaharan Africa,” Henrietta Akaakar, coordinator of the program said.

In collaboration with Observatorie National de la Pariti of Senegal, the capacity building event is organized by Africavance Nigeria.

“The choice of Senegal as the host country for this symposium is because of its commitment to gender issues. Senegal has domesticated a parity law whose implementation is monitored by the key partner of this event, Observatorie National de la Pariti,” Akaakar said.

Senegal’s ‘gender parity law’ came into strength in 2010 requiring political parties to ensure that at least half of the candidate participation in local and national elections is women.

The law was viewed by many as a necessary step to drive change in the country.

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Business Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Basel Two: Path to compliance by banks

By Bukky Olajide S the Nigerian banking sector races to become Basel 2 compliant, innovation becomes critical in helping banks establish more efficient processes, increase transparency and become more customer centric. SAP Africa strives to provide the banking sector with agile financial solutions designed to deliver detailed regulatory reporting, on a single data platform , with the ability to handle mass analysis within seconds.

Countries all over Africa – including Nigeria which is

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the largest economy - are making every effort to increase their levels of regulatory compliance to keep up with legislative and economic requirements for analysing financial data, including threats and risks.

“SAP Africa, in partnership with EY (Ernst and Young), are committed to transforming the banking sector in Nigeria to become Basel 2 compliant and take advantage of the Big Data analytics solution for real-time reporting,” says Darrel Orsmond, Head of Financial Services for SAP Africa. Through this

technology, the banking sector will be in a competitive position to provide rapid assessment of capital, reporting to the Regulator for compliance and delivering of reports in real time, according to Orsmond.

Orsmond adds, “The average timeframe for banks to become Basel 2 compliant can be as much as 18 months, and banks should start preparing well in advance for Basel implementations. These preparations should include technology investments in risk management, real-time reporting,

data analysis and cleansing capabilities.”

“By identifying and eliminating risks in advance through the use of real-time reporting, banks can satisfy the needs and demands of stakeholders thereby reducing risk and increasing regulatory compliance.”

Orsmond commented,” Banks that are not Basel 2 compliant could run the risk of not pricing their loans correctly, thereby not holding the appropriate levels of capital.”

He further added that accurate bank data is vital to

reach Basel 2 compliance and often the biggest challenge and cost of implementation is not the software itself, but rather the time it takes to implement, caused by inaccurate bank data and a shortage of the required mathematical and modelling skills.

Precise records of losses and the legal processes involved, are essential inputs to ensure the accurate prediction of potential losses. Banks need to hold just the right level of capital, and poor data usually leads to Banks having to carry excess levels of capital.

The average timeframe for banks to become Basel 2 compliant can be as much as 18 months, and banks should start preparing well in advance for Basel implementations. These preparations should include technology investments in risk management, real-time reporting, data analysis and cleansing capabilities

Winners emerge in Standard Chartered promo AGOS based Mrs. keeping true to its promLErefaa Teniade Macaulay and ise.

Emine Tom-Jack, of Present at the draws Port Harcourt, Rivers state were among big winners in the Standard Chartered Bank mega promotions when the first draws were held weekend at the banks’ corporate head office on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island.

Both Macaulay and TomJack won one million Naira (N1, 000, 000:00) each. Other prize winners include Ajayi Oluyinka Timothy and Kess & Rilwan Momoh, both won iPads.

Also, Eyitemi Mojuetan and Margaret O. Kitchener both won Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Engr. Tom-Jack, who was at a family member’s wedding engagement in Port Harcourt exclaimed and expressed surprise at the prize when Diran Olojo, head of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered called him to announce his N1 Million winning.

Likewise, Mrs. Macaulay expressed cautious joy when she was called by Mr. Olojo for her prize.

Olojo assured her that the prize was real and she thanked the bank for

include Messrs Mayowa Okuyiwa, senior executive officer, Lagos state Lotteries Board (LSLB), Ozobialu Olisa, head of ICT at LSLB and Ita U. Calix, deputy manager, National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

Olojo assured customers and the public that Standard Chartered has a history of “transparency, integrity and an uncompromising stand in corporate governance. What we promise, we deliver.”

The Mega Promo will climax in August 2014 with a Cayenne Porsche SUV car up for grabs. Before the grand draws, there will also be another mini draw in June where two other persons will also win N1 million each. Ipads will also be available for grabs.

To qualify for the grand draw, a customer needs to deposit and maintain a minimum daily balance of N50, 000:00 for three months. Olojo stated that the “more times a customer deposits the eligible amount, the better his or her chances of getting rewarded.”

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U.S. seeking more than $10 billion penalty from BNP NP Paribas SA fell the most in 15 months in Paris tradB ing after a person familiar

with the matter said U.S. authorities are seeking more than $10 billion to settle federal and state investigations into dealings with sanctioned countries including Sudan and Iran. Bloomberg’s Keri Geiger reports on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop.”

BNP Paribas SA (BNP) fell in Paris trading after a person familiar with the matter said U.S. authorities are seeking more than $10 billion to settle federal and state investigations into dealings with sanctioned countries.

The shares declined as much as 6.1 per cent, the largest intraday drop since February 2013, and closed 2.4 percent lower at 51.37 euros.

BNP Paribas, the largest French bank, has fallen 9.3

Etihad Airways takes steps toward Alitalia investment TIHAD Airways said it had E set the terms for investing in loss-making airline Alitalia and was looking to conclude the deal, as the Abu Dhabi carrier expands its reach in Europe.

Both airlines will proceed with final documentation to complete the transaction once the board and stakeholders in Alitalia confirm acceptance of the terms, it was announced in a joint statement at the weekend.

Etihad, which already has stakes in Air Berlin (AB1.DE) and Aer Lingus (AERL.I), could invest more than 500 million euros ($682.3 million) in exchange for a 49 per cent stake in the Rome-based airline, sources have said.

No details of the terms of deal or size of investment was provided in the statement.

Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi told state television that Etihad was ready to invest around 600 million euros in Alitalia. He also said the deal would not entail creation of a separate company to hive off its bad debts.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has been looking at the possibility of an investment in Alitalia since the start of the year. But the prospect of large job cuts at Alitalia as well as its debt of at least 800 million euros have been major hurdles in the talks. One source familiar with the talks said an agreement had been reached that would involve reducing Alitalia’s payroll by as many as 2,800-2,900 jobs, at least part of which may be covered by a state-sponsored layoff scheme.

Major job cuts are likely to stir opposition from Italy’s unions.

The deal included a compromise over Etihad’s request for a high-speed rail line to the Fiumicino airport in Rome after Italy said it could not be done quickly, the source added. “We are delighted to be able to move forward with this process and look forward to the successful conclusion of the proposed transaction with Alitalia,” Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan said in the statement.

Alitalia Chief Executive Gabriele Del Torchio said the deal would provide financial stability to the airline.

per cent this year, compared with a 3.8 per cent increase in the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.

A final deal between BNP and the U.S. is probably weeks away, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public. The amount to settle has escalated: the bank said in April that it might need to pay far more than the $1.1 billion it had already set aside for the case. Prosecutors are also pressuring the company to plead guilty to moving funds for clients in violation of sanctions against Sudan, Iran and Cuba, people familiar with the matter have said.

“Beyond the uncertainty related to the potential financial settlement, the key issues remain the type of potential charges and impact on BNP’s operational

capability,” Kinner Lakhani, a London-based analyst at Citigroup Inc., said in a note.

Jean Pierre Lambert, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in a May 21 report that he expected BNP to pay a fine of about $7 billion to avoid being excluded from the U.S. dollar payment system.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that prosecutors were seeking more than $5 billion.

Negotiations are being handled by Leslie Caldwell, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, is also involved in the discussions, along with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury

U.S. authorities are seeking a record fine against BNP that would make it the first French bank since President Barack Obama took office to be penalized for doing business with sanctioned countries. The French government hasn’t been involved in the U.S. discussions over Paris-based BNP and views the case as a legal matter that must follow its own course, three people familiar with the government’s position have said.

Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Spokesmen for BNP Paribas, the Justice Department, the Fed, the Treasury, Lawsky, and Vance declined to comment. The amount requested by the U.S. was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is taking a tougher stance following criticism from lawmakers for settlements that let banks escape

criminal charges while paying fines, admitting wrongdoing and improving controls.

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) agreed on May 20 to pay $2.6 billion and have a unit plead guilty for helping Americans evade taxes.

Shares of the second-biggest Swiss lender have gained 2.1 percent since the settlement was announced, while the bank has won “a number of new mandates” in private

and investment banking, Chief Financial Officer David Mathers said this week.

U.S. authorities are seeking a record fine against BNP that would make it the first French bank since President Barack Obama took office to be penalized for doing business with sanctioned countries. The French government hasn’t been involved in the U.S. discussions over Paris-based BNP and views the case as a legal matter that must follow its own course, three people familiar with the government’s position have said.

The National Front, the antieuro party that won the most votes in France in European parliamentary elections on May 25, in a statement today pressed the government of President Francois Hollande to defend French interests in the BNP case.

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Senate to ensure completion of aviation projects

By Ibe Uwaleke HE Upper Chamber of the National Assembly has promised to ensure that all ongoing projects in the aviation sector will be completed in good time.

To this end, it has assured the Ministry of Aviation and its parastatals that it will continue to capture enough funds in the budgets to the sector to enable them complete the projects.

This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Aviation, which came on inspection tour of the parastatals and the projects embarked upon by them at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, led six other members to inspect the projects which include the new terminal

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building of MMIA under construction, the executive jet terminal project, which has reached 90 per cent completion and the hotel complex being built by Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), at the MMIA terminal which has reached 50 per cent.

Other areas visited by the team were General Aviation Terminal (GAT), the runways to inspect the floor lights, the Aerodrome, Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (ARFFS) and the arrival hall of MMIA to inspect the escalators that has now become disused. The tour also took the committee to the new built power house with seven installed giant generators.

At the end of the inspection the committee met with the heads and directors of the parastatals to make its observations known to them and take feedback

MMIA terminal building at Ikeja, Lagos.

from them for further actions on the ongoing projects.

Addressing journalists at the end of the inspection, Senator Uzodinma said his committee came for the inspection as part of its routine oversight function on the agencies.

He also said their visit was to find out the performance of the 2013 appropriation to the parastatals as approved by the Senate and the extent of utilization and the possible impact on the overall development of the aviation roadmap.

As he put it, the essence of governance, is the overall interest of the people which is the reason President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is paying so much attention to the aviation industry and putting so much money for its development.

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Appointments Labour issues take centre stage at ILO confab From Collins Olayinka, Abuja HE yearly International labour conference organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) took off in Geneva, Switzerland last week Thursday and as usual, core global labour issues took the centre stage at the forum.

In his usual characteristic, the Director General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, seized the momentum when he promptly reminded the world at the opening ceremony that the time to build a future with decent work has indeed come.

Issues that are expected to be tackled at the 103rd edition of the confab by the delegates that are drawn from workers’ unions, employers and governments from the 185 member States include labour migration and employment strategies, ways out of informality and strengthening ILO Convention 29 on forced labour.

ILO Director General posited that migration is too often associated with the abuse of vulnerable workers and poses major policy challenges around the world in his address at the opening ceremony last week Thursday.

His words: “Migration is taking place on a large and growing scale. Its patterns are becoming more complex, its nature is evolving. We all agree that is has the potential to contribute very considerably to growth and development.”

Ryder submitted that cases of ill treatment of labour migrants continue unabated even as global efforts to stem the practice grow.

He added: “Lamentably it continues in too many cases to be associated with the

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unacceptable treatment and abuse of some of those who are the most vulnerable women and men in our labour markets.”

The Director-General’s report to the conference this year, entitled “Fair migration, setting and ILO agenda” is slated for discussion at the plenary this week.

With an estimated 232 million migrant workers around the world, the report points out that ever more people are crossing borders in search of employment. It sets out policy recommendations that respond to globalization, demographic shifts, conflicts, income inequalities and climate change.

In setting the agenda for this year’s conference, Ryder also called for more determined action to end forced labour.

“There are today 21 million victims of forced labour in the world. And if we take a hard look at this disturbing reality we have to conclude that this is not simply the residue of abuse from a past era. Forced labour is mutating, it’s recreating itself in the most virulent of forms,” said Ryder.

The ILO Chief stated that forced labour is big business, generating a whopping $150 billion.

The ILC is due to discuss strengthened action to end forced labour and supplement the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention 29, with particular regard to prevention and victim protection and compensation.

The ILO is th4 Chair of the United Nations’ Global Migration Group for 2014.

Away from migration, in his goodwill message to the labour confab, Pope Francis,

lamented the mass movement of people who are in search of means of survival.

He said: “The sheer numbers of men and women forced to seek work away from their homelands is a cause for concern. Despite their hopes for a better future, they frequently encounter mistrust and exclusion, to say nothing of experiencing tragedies and disasters.”

The Pope declared that human labour is part of God’s creation and continues God’s creative work.

“Indeed, labour is not a mere commodity but has its own inherent dignity and worth. The Holy See expresses its appreciation of the ILO’s contribution to upholding the dignity of human work in the context of social and economic development through discussion and cooperation between governments, labourers and employers. Such efforts serve the common good of the human family and promote the dignity of workers everywhere.”

He said.

Pope Francis maintained that the 2014 conference is taking place at a crucial moment of social and economic history, one that presents challenges for the entire world.

He said unemployment is tragically expanding the frontiers of poverty, saying this is particularly disheartening for unemployed young people who can all too easily become demoralized, losing their sense of worth, feeling alienated from society.

The Pope stated that in working for greater opportunities for employment, “we affirm the conviction that it

is only through free, creative, participatory and mutually supportive work that human beings express and enhance the dignity of their life.”

He also pointed at migration as a formidable challenge confronting the world today.

“The sheer numbers of men and women forced to seek work away from their homelands is a cause for concern.

Despite their hopes for a better future, they frequently encounter mistrust and exclusion, to say nothing of experiencing tragedies and disasters. Having made such sacrifices, these men and women often fail to find dignified work and fall victim to a certain “globalization of indifference”. Their situation exposes them to further dangers such as the horror of human trafficking, forced labour and enslavement. It is unacceptable that, in our world, slave labour has become common coin.”

The religious leader declared that the practice could not be allowed to continue, saying, “This cannot continue!

Human trafficking is a scourge, a crime against the whole of humanity. It is time to join forces and work together to free its victims and to eradicate this crime that affects all of us, from individual families to the worldwide community.”

According to him, now is the time to reinforce existing forms of cooperation and to establish new avenues for expanding solidarity.

To wage a winnable war, the Poke called for a renewed insistence on the dignity of every person; a more determined implementation of international labour standards; planning for a focused development on the human

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person as its central actor and primary beneficiary; a reevaluation of the responsibilities of international corporations in the countries where they operate, including the areas of profit and investment management; and a concerted effort to encourage governments to facilitate the movement of migrants for the benefit of all, thus eliminating human trafficking and perilous travel condit i o n s .

He stressed that effective cooperation in these areas will be greatly assisted by defining future sustainable development goals.

He reiterated his conviction that a sustained future can only be achieved if it is built on global generosity and courage.

His words: “Future sustainable development goals must therefore be formulated and carried out with generosity and courage, so that they can have a real impact on the structural causes of poverty and hunger, attain more substantial results in protecting the environment, ensure decent work for all, and provide appropriate protection for the family, which is an essential element in sustainable human and social development.”

He therefore stated that the social teaching of the Catholic Church supports the initiatives of the ILO, which aim to promote the dignity of the human person and the nobility of human labour.

At its 317th Session (March 2013), the Governing Body decided to place a standardsetting item on the agenda of the 103rd Session (2014) of the Conference with a view to supplementing Convention

No. 29, to address implementation gaps to advance prevention, protection and compensation measures, to effectively achieve the elimination of forced labour. The Governing Body also approved a programme of reduced intervals for this item, to allow the Conference to deal with it at this session.

Turning to unemployment, the ILO chief warned: “With world unemployment at record levels and still growing despite timid recovery in economic growth, with young people its primary victims, jobs have to be front and centre in our work.”

Ryder declared that quality jobs - decent work – as enunciated in the 2014 edition of the World of Work report, entitled ‘Developing with Jobs’ are a crucial driver of development and that this key message of the report will influence the discussion at the conference on the transition from the informal to the formal economy.

“Formalization brings protection and improved conditions to workers. It brings fair competition and improved sustainability to enterprises.

And it brings revenues and strengthened authority to government,” he said.

Ryder spoke also of the need to have decent jobs and social protection included as explicit goals in the UN post2015 Development Agenda.

Daniel Funes de Rioja, who is the President of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), was elected the Chair of the 103rd edition of the ILC. Funes de Rioja is also from Argentina and has been participating in the ILC since 1976.

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Court confirms Okoronkwo as new IPMAN president

By Sulaimon Salau HE crisis rocking the leadership of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) may have taken a new twist as a High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, nullified the election of Chief Obasi Lawson as the National President of IPMAN. In his verdict, Justice V a l e n t i n e Ashi,held that Lawson’s election was a product of illegality which arose from his contemptuous disregard of the motion on notice for a restrained order against the conduct

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of the election.

According to copies of the judgment made available to the media, the judge restrained Lawson from taking any step or doing anything that is capable of prejudicing the hearing and determination of the pending notice of appeal at the Federal High Court Port Harcourt in suit number FHC/PH/CS/12/14.

He held that Lawson is restrained from organizing or conducting any election into any national executive office of IPMAN in clear disregard of the order pending motion on notice for an order of stay of execution or injunction pending appeal.

Imoke reiterates commitment to boost human capital development OVERNOR of Cross River G State, Liyel Imoke has reiterated his commitment to reduce poverty among the people in his state before leaving office in 2015.

The governor, who spoke recently while presenting his scorecard with theme “Building a Foundation for Good Governance and Sustainable Development between 2007 and 2014”, described human capital development as key in all in all aspects of developmets.

Imoke said: “The government is bound by a social contract to dictate the pace of socio-economic development to uplift the state to a greater pedestal. So, Cross

Riverians should embark on massive and aggressive development of their potential for the needed development.”

The Special Adviser to Governor Imoke on Economic Planning, Prof.

Ndem Ayara, said the state had become a centre for winning of laurels in sporting events.

Ayara said such strides across Cross River State had recorded an increment of 450 per cent, adding that urban renewal development was ongoing across the state.

According to him, the phase one state housing unit for civil servants had been completed and allocated to deserving civil servants.

According to him, “Chief Obasi Lawson, the defendant thereof, by claiming to have assumed office as the National President of IPMAN, despite him having notice of a motion for an order of stay of execution or injunction restraining him from assuming office as President of IPMAN, pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the judgment and orders of Justice Lambo Akanbi of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division in suit number FHC/PH/CS/12/14 whereof he was appointed the National President of IPMAN, has acted in breach of the law as laid down by superior courts in several cases.”

Eleven officials of IPMAN, including Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, Alhaji

Abubakar Maigani Shetima and Alhaji Danladi Pasali had approached the court for a declaration that the immediate past leadership of the association, who are judgment debtors but have a pending appeal and a motion for injunction pending appeal/stay of execution and whose tenure has ended can conduct an election to fill vacant positions in the association.

The plaintiffs sought a declaration that Lawson, who is a judgment creditor and whose judgment has been appealed along a pending motion for injunction pending appeal/stay of execution is bound to await the outcome of the pending appeal and motion for injunction pending appeal /stay of execution.

They further prayed for

The judge restrained Lawson from taking any step or doing anything that is capable of prejudicing the hearing and determination of the pending notice of appeal at the Federal High Court Port Harcourt in suit number FHC/PH/CS/12/14. perpetual order restraining the defendants whether by themselves, agents, officers and privies from interfering with or disturbing the operations, activities and affairs of the plaintiffs as the national executive/officials of IPMAN .

Moreover, the court declared Mr. Chinedu Okoronkwo as the authentic national president of IPMAN. The judgment was given in a suit marked FCT/HC/CV/4141/2014, filed by Okoronkwo and 10 others against the Obasi-led nation-

al leadership of IPMAN. Justice Lambo Akanbi of the Federal High Court Port Harcourt had in March nullified the appointment of the former national president of IPMAN, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir and subsequently declared Obasi as the substantive national president.

Following Justice Akanbi’s ruling, Okoronkwo and his group filed a notice of appeal and a motion on notice for stay of the Federal High Court’s judgment.

Dangote empowers Borno women, youth with N540m cash transfer intervention In his response, Governor of OREMOST industrialist Programme, to provide cash Programme is national in Borno State, Kashim Shettima, FGroup, and President of Dangote transfers to select poor and scope, adding that it will sys- commended Dangote for the Aliko Dangote has vulnerable Nigerians. empowered vulnerable women and youths of Borno State with the sum of N540 million.

The programme is organised through a micro-grant national programme instituted by Dangote foundation.

Dangote who spoke at a ceremony in Maiduguri, explained that the foundation in response to the widespread poverty in Nigeria, in 2011, instituted a cash transfer intervention called the Dangote Micro-grants

The disbursement is scheduled for completion within 24 months.

Dangote said: “Our Programme provides a oneoff grant that enables recipients to grow or start an enterprise, invest in product assets, improve the health of their families, and/or take on new activities that reduce their vulnerability and enhance their economic standing. It has successfully assisted women and their families in Kano and Jigawa States.”

Dangote explained that the

tematically cover all the 774 local government areas of Nigeria, working through partnerships with state governments.

Explaining further, the industrialist said: “This is in keeping with Dangote Foundation’s belief in working through partnerships for effectiveness, scale and impact in tackling the challenges that we face as a nation. This is a key feature of the Programme which aims to support and compliment state governments’ poverty reduction efforts.”

gesture.

Shettima said: “In line with his enormous contributions to humanity, especially the less privileged, Alhaji Aliko Dangote through the Dangote Foundation, donated N540 million in the form of N10, 000 direct transfer to 54, 000 vulnerable women and 13, 000 across Borno State’s 27 local government areas.

“We are grateful the disbursement is ongoing with payments being made in batches, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria”.

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NDE offers jobs to 740 graduates under attachment programme From Collins Olayinka, Abuja HE National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has offered 740 graduates opportunity for permanent jobs under its Graduate Attachment Programme (GAP).

Speaking at the flag-off of the programme in Abuja, the Director General of NDE, Abubakar Mohammed, said the programme provides a window of opportunity for fresh graduates to enter the employment arena.

He explained: “In October 2006, the NDE conceived the Graduate Attachment Programme and invited employers of labour to provide opportunities of attachment for fresh graduates in their companies as a way of fighting unemployment with its associated high noise level.

GAP has a life of its own and means a lot to the Nigerian graduates who are victims of unemployment. To them, it symbolizes the feature that characterizes the unemployed graduates’ world – the interval between the world of school and the world of work, empty interval between the world of unemployment and employment and that void that separates frustration and fulfilment.”

Mohammed posited that GAP provides an opportunity for the beneficiaries to make him or herself indispensable to the employer through his or her contributions to the value chain while the employer closely watches him or her

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and evaluates his or her contributions within the period of attachment .

He listed the objectives of GAP to include providing the participants the psychological satisfaction of having a place to go to daily and something worthwhile to do; restore to the participants, a sense of dignity and self-worth that is usually threatened by prolonged period of unemployment; help the participants maintain the integrity of the quality of character and learning imparted at school but which

is threatened by prolonged unemployment; give the participants the opportunity to prove self so that the organization may discover a valuable material worthy of retention; bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and the world of work; assist young graduates to acquire working experience and develop necessary skills that will make them employable through training at minimum costs for direct/self- employment; contribute to the salvaging of the national investment in educa-

tion; to reduce the vulnerability of unemployed graduates and to sustain the critical manpower and capacity required for national development.

In his goodwill message, the Minister of Works, Mike Onolomemen, who lauded the initiative, described it as a journey that will enable the beneficiaries acquire necessary work skills.

He urged the beneficiaries to put in their best effort and assured them of space for them in their postings after the completion of the attachment programme.

Servicom reiterates commitment to imbibe service delivery principles in youths From Collins Olayinka, Abuja N its bid to ensure Nigerians imbibe the culture of service delivery, the Servicom Office has reiterated its commitment to inculcate the spirit of service delivery in Nigerian youths.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President and National Coordinator of Servicom, Sylbriks Obriki, added that the feat would be achieved effective collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Obriki stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the NYSC Director General, Major General Johnson Olawumi in Abuja.

His words: “Service delivery is crucial to productivity, hence the need for a catch-them-

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young approach by way of inculcating in our youths the SERVICOM Principles which emphasise on professionalism, accountability, staff attitude, complaints handling and timely delivery of service.

There is no significant time to reach them than during the one year compulsory national service in order to expose them to good work ethics and ideals that will enable them to deliver effective and efficient service when they join the workforce after their service year.”

According to him, the Servicom NYSC Vanguard, which was created as an enlightenment platform for the service delivery initiative in NYSC orientation camps across the country, would be

explored to maximise its impact and reach.

The National Coordinator noted that continuous service improvement planning and complaints management were crucial for customer satisfaction in any organisation, and urged the NYSC to review its service charter, which according to him was obsolete.

In his response, the Director General of NYSC, Major General Olawumi explained with delight that the Servicom NYSC Vanguard was one of the remarkable initiatives he met on ground when he assumed leadership over the establishment, and assured that all would be done to revamp and sustain it.

Lagos CJ swears-in new magistrates

By Yetunde Ayobami, Ojo O discongest court and to T aid dispensation of justice in the state, the Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Philips has swornin 12 Magistrates.

The swearing- in ceremony was held at Court 1 of Lagos High Court Ikeja.

In her welcome address, the CJ said the appointment of the 12 new Magistrates was to decongest courts, to ensure speedy and prompt dispensation of justice in the state.

“Your appointment was done to decongest the court and ensure speedy and prompt dispensation of justice especially in relation to inmates awaiting trial in our prison” The CJ also expressed her enthusiasm, adding that the newly sworn-in magistrates

Philps

would excel at their duty having being selected from the best crop of learned minds.

She therefore charged them to engage in prompt and regular sitting at 9 am, adding that, they should moderate their social activities to suit their new role.

The newly sworn-in magistrates include, Onirogbo Adenike, Owolabi Latteef, Adepoju Jolade, and Judge Feyikemi also, Ariyo Kofoworola, Olagbende Olanike, Davis Abimbola, Derele Oluwakemi, Oshinbajo Omonike, Tayo Olufunmilayo, Layemi Akinola and Oluwasheun Adeola.

Owolabi Lateef on behalf of other Magistrates however promised that they would preserve, protect and defend the Law of Lagos State.

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PTDF reviews policy on scholars allowances From Collins Olayinka, Abuja

THE Technology

Petroleum

Development Fund (PTDF) has adopted a new system for the payment of the allowances of its scholars

FG to train 46 performance auditors before end of 2015 From Anthony Otaru, Abuja HE Federal Government is T 46 train to set Performance Auditors before the end of 2015 following the of Memorandum [MOU] Understanding signed between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) Nigeria and Namibian in 2012 for capacity building audit. performance The Auditor General for the Federation, Samuel Ukura made this known while declaring open a one week Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI) Regional Course in Performance Audit holding in Abuja.

The Performance Audit is expected to examine the economy, efficiency and effectivenes with which resources available for governance are deployed to bring about improvement in citizen’s lives.

Ukura stated’ ‘’ I resolved on my assumption of duty as the Auditor General for the Federation to provide for systematic and guarded auditing principles in line with international best practices’ According to him, ‘’these positive steps had produced 22 trained Performance Auditors who had carried out performance audit in several areas like food security in Nigeria, Feeding scheme in Nigeria prisons, Millennium 2: Goals Development Impact ofmFederal Teaching Scheme in selected schools in Nigeria, Police Service delivery, impact of skills acquisitions by NDE’’, stressing that these reports were being processed.

He also said that some of the Performance trained Auditors had been assigned to participate in joint audit with other SAIs within the region.

One of such collaborations, the was said, he Environmental Audit on the drying Lake Chad, with a focus on water resources

The Performance Audit is expected to examine the economy, efficiency and effectivenes with which resources available for governance are deployed to bring about improvement in citizen’s lives. quantity management by the government 2008- 20013 under AFROSAI-WGEA. “ We are here today, for the opening ceremony of another face of capacity building for performance audit, this regional AFROSAI-E 3 Module Course in Performance Audit in Nigeria is being conducted by seven facilitators with 30 participants from four SAIs within the region, including Nigeria’’, he stated.

Giving the details of participants, the Auditor General said 20 Nigerians, four Liberians, three Ugandans and three Gambians were involved.

In his opening remarks, he Director of Programme and Performance Audit in the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, Olushola Ajao said that the modern emphasis in the Audit profession is on Performance Audit which enhances the realization of the 3Es in the use of resources, both human and material, if the primary role as auditors remains to ensure that public purse is utilized for purposes intended by underlying accountability and transparency in the conduct of public or even private businesses. “ The Auditor General makes sure that Nigeria identify with the league of other progressive SAIs in the region and before us is one vivid manifestation of the efforts’ he noted.

ICA inducts 111 new members

By Toyin Olasinde HE Institute of Credit T Administration (ICA) has advised its new set of inductees to adhere strictly to the ethics of the profession and make practical contribution towards the growth of the nation.

Speaking at the induction recently, ceremony Managing Director, Mobil Adetunji Nigeria, oil Oyebanji who spoke on the theme,“Credit Management in Oil and Gas in Nigeria”, said Credit management is the process for controlling and collecting payments from customers.

He explained that a good credit management system would help to reduce the amount of capital tied up with debtors and minimise exposure to bad debts.

ICA Registrar, Chris Onalo also used the opportunity to advise inductees “to be well behaved in their professional dealings and spheres of influence and exemplify the values of the institute.”

Onalo added that the objectives of Credit Management is ‘Not to minimise credit loss but to help maximise profits’’ He then advised the inductees that when dealing with customers there is always need for monitoring outstanding payments to ensure that payments are made as agreed.

He added that the ethics of the institute is very important to achieving success and overcome challenges associated with business operations.

who are studying in foreign Universities under the Overseas Scholarship Scheme of the Fund.

At present there are about 605 scholars under the sponsorship of the Fund at undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels in various Universities abroad.

Under the new policy, payment of scholar’s allowances, which has been in foreign currency, shall henceforth be made in local currency, the Naira.

The Fund said this step was influenced by difficulties encountered in accessing foreign exchange due to its scarcity, and the high cost of processing foreign exchange. All these contributed to delays in the remittance of the scholar’s allowances.

The Executive Secretary, Dr

Oluwole Oluleye who disclosed this during a monitoring visit to beneficiaries of PTDF Overseas Scholarship Scheme studying in the United Kingdom, said effective immediately, payment of the quarterly allowances of PTDF overseas scholars shall henceforth be made via Naira Master card Accounts that will be prepared in the individual scholars name.

He said the policy will affect on-going and new scholars.

“Please note that although the MasterCard is in Naira, you will be able to spend the pounds equivalent of your allowances in the UK at the government approved exchange rate”, he said.

He promised that the Fund will continue to do its best to provide the necessary

incentives under the scholarship scheme for them to excel in their studies and return to Nigeria and contribute to the development of the various strata of the oil and gas industry.

He hinted that already, the Fund has developed an initiative aimed at utilizing the potentials of its ex-PhD scholars in some of the activities of the Fund.

He explained: “This year, six of our ex-beneficiaries took part in the PhD selection interview, while a number of them were also involved in the research grant competition as well as our previous induction programmes.”

Dr Oluwole Oluleye who marked his one year in office as Executive Secretary of the Fund in May 2014, has within the

period succeeded in refocusing the Fund, built the confidence of stakeholders and brought about stability in the system.

Part of the refocusing of the Fund manifested in the expansion of the scholarship scheme to new frontiers which according to him is to generate a broad spectrum of experiences in the oil and gas sector.

As a result, PTDF now has scholars in China, Malaysia, Dubai, Norway, South Africa and U.S.A while efforts are on-going to forge new partnerships in France, Sweden and Australia.

Allthese he said “are geared towards aggregating resources and experiences to maximize Nigeria’s input in the global oil and gas trade.”

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Osun assures teachers of job security From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo EACHERS in Osun state T have been assured of job security and improved welfare despite the dwindling resources being experienced by states across the country.

The State Deputy Governor

and Commissioner for education,Titi Laoye-Tomori gave this assurance during a one day workshop organised for selected teachers from the 30 local government areas of the state held at the GMT Event Centre, Osogbo .

The workshop, entitled

Uduaghan offers hope on youth employment Cautions politicians on 2015 polls ELTA State Governor, Dr. D Emmanuel Uduaghan at the weekend said the monster of youth unemployment confronting the nation would soon be a thing of the past in the State.

The governor who offered the glimmer of hope on unemployment during the 8th Convocation ceremony of the Delta State University, Abraka, also used the occasion to warn governorship aspirants in the 2015 polls to pursue their ambitions peacefully, devoid of violence.

Besides he congratulated the graduands and assured them that with the Delta Beyond Oil programmes, a lot of private investors were coming into the state that are providing job opportunities in the state.

“We have unemployment challenges in the world, not only in Delta State and Nigeria but with the Delta Beyond Oil, our people are keying into the non-oil sector to become employed and employers of labour.”

According to him the Delta Beyond Oil initiative was designed for the Delta State economy to be private sector driven and ensure that unemployment was reduced to the barest minimum.

He explained that the scheme has started offering job opportunities for young graduates and entrepreneurs and in the future guarantee sustainable means of livelihood and address the challenge of unemployment.

He admonished the governorship aspirants to go about their ambitions with all sense of responsibility and avoid acts and utterances capable of overheating the system.

He also emphasised that he was not against the ambition of anyone but that as the chief security officer of the state he would not sit idle and allow any politician to temper with the peace and security in the state, which his administration laboured hard, to secure.

He assured that his administration would sustain the tempo of security activities in the state until every criminal and those with criminal intentions relocated from the state.

He however warned criminals and those with criminal intentions to be positively engaged because his administration, which has peace and security on thee front burner of its three-point agenda, has no place for criminal elements, stressing, “we will not sleep till crimi-

We have unemployment challenges in the world, not only in Delta State and Nigeria but with the Delta Beyond Oil, our people are keying into the non-oil sector to become employed and employers of labour. According to him the Delta Beyond Oil initiative was designed for the Delta State economy to be private sector driven and ensure that unemployment was reduced to the barest minimum. nals are removed from all parts of Delta State.”

Uduaghan thanked, the ProChancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University, Tony Elumelu for the transformation being witnessed in the University and his interest in investing and attracting investment to Delta State, noting that Elumelu has contributed immensely to the absorption of the unemployed by the private sector.

He also congratulated the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Eric Arubayi for effectively managing the affairs of the multi-campus institution for the past five years and also stamping out cultism from the school.

Elumelu at the occasion thanked Governor Uduaghan’s administration for his interest in the development of the education sector, disclosing that the Tony Elumelu Foundation was also in the vanguard of the development of the sector.

Prof. Arubayi in his address had said that 8, 049 students obtained the bachelors degree and diploma certificate while 2,166 had masters and doctoral degrees for the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 sessions.

“The Delta State University through the unflinching support of the Visitor, His Excellency, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has successfully scaled through the accreditation of the National University Commission and with the result, the university has 93 per cent overall accreditation performance,” Prof. Arubayi said.

“Water Education for Teachers”{WET} organised

by Nestle Nigeria Limited in conjunction with Osun state government was intended to train teachers on management and sustenance of of fresh water who are expected in turn to train students in public schools in the state.

The Deputy Governor, who said government, would continue to develop human capacity of teachers through training and retraining of the teaching workforce noted the current administration would also accord teachers priority in the scheme of things.

She however sought the understanding of teachers on the late payment of salaries saying the ugly development was caused

by drastic shortfall in allocation from the federal government.

She underscored the importance of water to the survival of humanity and plants saying the e state government would enter into partnership with stakeholders on how to engender effective and efficient management of water resources.

The permanent Secretary, Osun state Universal Basic Education Board, Fati Kolawole said the workshop would enhance knowledge on water education and improve on health of citizens.

In a keynote address, the Country Business Manager of Nestle Waters Nigeria, Adewale Ojo said WET was one of the company’s shared value

initiatives aimed at fulfilling its commitment to to responsible water stewardship in Nigeria and the world as whole.

He noted that “For 20 years,Nestle Waters has worked with project WET, an international NGO, to help educate children and teachers Worldwide on issues such as hydration and health, water use and environmental stewardship” According to him, project WET programmes have been implemented in 16 countries around the world in partnership with Nestle Waters in realisation of the important role water play in the life of mankind.

“Year after year we raise awareness about water among children and in our communities.We

believe it is best to catch them young .It is best to build alive-saving culture in our children that will help to preserve the limited fresh water that is available for generations to come”, he said.

He noted the project had made useful impact since October 2012 when the company first kicked off the campaign in Lagos state adding that WET is currently being taught in five local councils in Lagos while 25 Schools, 86 teachers and 3,124 pupils had been reached within 18 months.

The Nestle chief projected that by the end of 2014,water education would have reached at least 10,000 pupils both in Lagos and Osun states.

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Nexus between quality jobs and economic growth, by ILO From Collins Olayinka, Abuja new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) reveals that countries that invested the most in quality jobs from the early 2000s grew nearly one percentage point faster every year since 2007 than other developing and emerging economies.

The report further adds that this helped cushion the impact of the global crisis, which erupted in 2008.

The report, entitled, “World of Work 2014: Developing with Jobs report”, which provides an in-depth analysis for 140 developing and emerging nations, shows for the first time that investing in quality jobs, reducing vulnerable employment and tackling working poverty leads to higher economic growth.

It also finds investment in high quality jobs tends to associated with lower income inequalities.

In his comment on the findings of the report, the Director General of the ILO, Guy Ryder said: “Development doesn’t happen through such things as exports, open trade and foreign direct investment on their own. Social protection, respect for core labour standards and policies that promote formal employment are also crucial for creating quality jobs that raise living standards, increase domestic consumption and drive overall growth. Decent work opportunities for women and men help trigger development and reduce poverty.”

Specifically, the report cites Senegal as one country where growth increased as a result of focusing on quality jobs. The country increased its share of wage and salaried workers from around 12 per cent in 1991 to 26 per cent in 2013. The share of the working poor decreased by 34 percentage points over the same period, while productivity increased by an average of 0.5 per cent per year.

Peru is another country where the share of wage and salaried workers increased by an estimated 15 percentage points, from 34 per cent in 1991 to 49 per cent in 2013. In the same period, productivity grew by an average of 1.8 per cent per year, and the share of working poor decreased by 23 percentage points.

In Vietnam, the share of wage and salaried workers rose 22 percentage points, accompanied by a dramatic decrease in the working poor to one-third of the 1991 level by 2013, and productivity grew rapidly.

The Director of the ILO Research Department, Raymond Torres stated: “Improving the quality of jobs is also essential to tackle underemployment of both youth and adults, which is a major economic problem in many emerging economies and developing countries. In view of the evidence, it is essential to make decent work a central goal in the post-2015 development agenda. Over the

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next decade, developing countries will need to create around 40 million new jobs every year in order to keep up with the growing working age population.”

According to the report, social protection indeed has a key role to play in the overall efforts of providing quality jobs. The report stresses the importance of combining well designed social protection with a strategy to increase the productivity of agriculture and invest income from oil and other natural resources into the rest of the economy. It means governance measures to provide an enabling environment that can facilitate the creation and expansion of businesses. This includes simplifying administrative procedures, as Uruguay has done with a “single tax” social protection scheme for the self-employed, leading the way to formal entrepreneurship.

Ryder insisted that decent work opportunities for women and men help trigger development and reduce poverty.

Deputy Director of ILO’s Research Department and lead author of the report, Moazam Mahmood, said the research team noted there are two very different phenomena going on at the same time.

He added: “Many developing countries, notably in Latin America and Asia, are making efforts to tackle inequalities and improve job quality as well as social protection. By contrast, a number of advanced economies, notably in Europe, seem to be going in the opposite direction.”

The 2014 edition of the World of Work discusses the importance of job qual-

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun (second left), presenting a computer to the Principal of Community Secondary School, Aka-Offot in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Jones Obobikpe(second right); Senior Prefect of the school, Joshua Tom(left); and another student, Miss. Rachael Dickson(right) as part of the Bank’s support for financial literacy among the students. ity amid somewhat positive tries, where unemploy- will present his report on financial crisis, there is South-South global employment devel- ment will reach 8.3 per cent migration to the growing opments. Reflecting a in 2014.

International Labour migration. There is also smaller increase than previ- Over the next five years, 90 Conference, which starts extensive reporting of eduous projections, global per cent of jobs will be cre- on 28 May in Geneva. The cated youth from crisis-hit unemployment stood at ated in emerging and devel- ILO is currently chair of the developed countries that just under 200 million in oping countries. This is Global Migration Group. emigrated to emerging 2013 and is expected to rise expected to have a signifi- On migration matters, the economies in recent years.

In order to maximize the by 3.2 million in 2014. By cant impact on migration report finds that, in 2013, development impact of f l o w s .

2019, given current trends 231.5 million people were Mahmood added: living in a country other migration the report recand policies, unemployment will reach 213 million. “Migration patterns look than the one in which they ommends these broad poliGlobal joblessness is pro- set to change as emerging were born. The total num- cy measures: promote ecointegration of jected to remain broadly at and developing countries ber of migrants has risen by nomic the current level of 6 per make further progress in 57 million since 2000. migrants to allow for improving the quality of Nineteen per cent of this increased legal migration’ cent until 2017.

The highest unemploy- jobs. Already, South-South increase occurred within implement initiatives to ment rates, in North Africa migration is on the rise the past three years. combat xenophobia, disand the Middle East, are while workers are also leavDeveloped economies crimination and abuse; expected to remain at 12.3 ing advanced economies, and the European Union introduce measures to pre-departure and 11.1 per cent in 2014. The particularly some hard-hit (EU) continued to be the improve largest increase in 2014 is European countries, for main destinations, with 51 information for migrants, estimated for Central and work opportunities in per cent of all migrants liv- and improve job quality in South-Eastern Europe and developing countries.” ing in this region. However, all countries, so as to ensure The ILO Director-General since the start of the global more orderly migration former Soviet bloc counflows.

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Labour ASCSN threatens strike over appointment of PCC’s boss

By Yetunde Ebosele EMBERS of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) have threatened to embark on strike if the Federal Government fails to reverse what it identified as “the offensive and illegal appointment” of Peter Nwakpa Nwafia as Secretary to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

According to ASCSN’s Secretary-General, Alade Bashir Lawal, members of the union are worried about the “level of impunity in respect of appointment of officers into the higher echelon of the Service”, adding that the development “is becoming unbearable, intolerable, and embarrassing”.

The Union in a statement signed by Lawal, alleged that Nwafia who was “compulsorily retired” by the Ebonyi State Government was “smuggled into the Federal Civil Service as a Director when most of his seniors were still Assistant Directors and Deputy Directors in the Federal Civil Service”.

Lawal added: “As if that was not enough, Nwafia after spending just few months in the Federal Ministry of Labour as a Director was appointed the Secretary to

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the PCC, a post equivalent to that of a Permanent Secretary whereas the PCC has 17 substantive Directors who are by far senior to Nwafia who by normal standard practice should not have been considered for the position at all”.

Explaining further, Lawal said: “In order to redress the ugly situation, the union held a meeting with the Chief Commissioner of the PCC on the matter and explained the anomaly in the appointment but instead of listening and bowing to the voice of reason, he (the Chief Commissioner) turned the meeting to a question and answer session”.

The statement recalled that after the aborted meeting, the union declared a 21-day ultimatum within which the management of the PCC should remove Nwafia as the Secretary of the Commission or face series of Trade Union actions that had been lined up to tackle the situation.

According to the ASCSN, it was at that stage that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity intervened in the matter in line with the Trade Dispute process.

Lawal said: “Since the intervention by the Labour Ministry, three meetings had been called but the Management of PCC had deliberately refused to attend

any, instead it has been boasting that there is nothing anybody can do since Nwafia was forced on the PCC in the first instance by a top ranking Senator from the South-East.

“Now that it is very clear that the powers that be are not prepared to toe the path of reason by revoking the appointment of Nwafia, the Union had concluded plans to call its members in the Federal Civil Service out on strike to protest the injustices being meted out to them through the smuggling of all manner of people

into the Service”, said the union.

ASCSN lamented that because of “this culture of impunity, there are now cases where graduates of 13, 14 and 15 years of post-graduation experience are being brought into the Federal Civil Service as Directors thus killing the morale of genuine and committed officers who have spent over 30 years of meritorious service and are yet to become Directors.

“The most bizarre aspect of Nwafia’s appointment is that apart from the fact that he was smuggled into the

Federal Civil Service in violation of all relevant laws and procedures contained in the Public Service Rules, guidelines for appointment, promotion, and discipline in the Public Service, he is drawing two salaries from the Federal Government, first from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity where he was initially smuggled into and second from the Public Complaints Commission,” the Union alleged.

Lawal said in addition to the trade union actions that have been lined up by the

Association to seek redress, the Union has equally decided to petition the International Ombudsman in Vienna, Austria and the African Ombudsman in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to draw their attention to the alleged abnormalities that are taking place in the PCC and also bring pressure to bear on the Nigeria’s ombudsman so that succour and relief can come the way of senior employees who are being “dehumanized, traumatized and humiliated by the Management of the Public Complaints Commission in

New Automotive policy will generate more jobs, says Aganga BOUT 700,000 direct and Company has also setup automotive industry in dedication to building busiA indirect jobs would be cre- Automotive Academy for Nigeria’’. nesses within Nigeria and the ated in the country through manpower development, He noted that Precision Tune Federal government’s Automotive policy agenda, the Minister of trade and investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga has said.

Aganga who represent president Goodluck Jonathan at the launch of precision Autocare in Lagos recently noted that with the recent implementation of thee policy about 2,500 jobs have already been created.

Also speaking at the event, the Chief operating Officer of the Company, Nicholas Ledingham stated that the

which will help build automotive industry in Nigeria so as to train Nigerian youth in the automotive industry where there are opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship through the innovative franchising scheme According to him, “Precision has 35 years of taking care of cars and now services over 2.5 million vehicles every year around the world; we take pride in the fact that Auto Nation is responsible for bringing international standards of care and trust to the

Auto Care West Africa is a world leading automotive quick service brand, which began as a small tune-up shop in Texas and has grown to 350 service centers operating in 6 countries.

He also noted that the center also futures a purpose built Employee Accommodation, a 6,000 square meter Central Warehouse facility, and a modern infirmary.

Ledingham stressed that the Group is committed to youth development in Nigeria and Africa as well as an unrivalled

African continent. “The Automotive arm of Kunech concentrates on high levels of Institutional sales, backed up by a new, high quality Aftersales Facility delivering while-you-wait service and OEM standard Body Repair facilities.

“These facilities will be the centre of Customer Excellence for our Brands in Nigeria as well as hosting our fully dedicated Training Centre, purpose built Employee Accommodation and a 6,000 square meter Central Warehouse facility.”

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Subsidy removal recommendation brews discord at confab From Terhemba Daka and Karls Tsokar, Abuja ECOMMENDATIONS by the National Conference Committee on Pubic Finance and Revenue that subsidy on petroleum products be totally removed, threw delegates into emotional expression of divergent opinions.

Presenting the committee’s recommendations on the floor of the house yesterday at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) Abuja, the Chairman, Adamu Aliero said there is need for total removal of subsidy of whatever kind because such a move will ensure product availability at all times, significantly mitigate illicit cross-border activities and eliminate sabotage.

Explaining further, Aliero said subsidy is anomalous and encourages smuggling of government resources which should have been used to undertake more developmental projects that would have being utilised to provide for the less privileged.

But the Chairman of the Conference Justice Idris Kutigi’s call for intervention from delegates was opportunity for diverse reactions that cut across political and economic lines, bordering on personal experience and exposure.

As would be expected, a delegate representing the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Mr. Isah Aremu while rejecting the recommendation accused the committee of trying to mislead

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•Delegates say corruption mars regime the conference, saying: “This should be removed as a matter committee should stop mis- of urgency and the money leading the conference. The saved therefrom, channeled devil is in the detail. Subsidy re- towards developing inframoval is an academic issue structure. that needs a lot of debate. It Another delegate Professor should not be tolerated nor ac- Anya Anya, was of the opinion cepted.” that the argument should not Also speaking against the rec- be reduced to whether you are ommendation, a delegate rep- against or in support of subresenting Plateau State, sidy removal, but what the Professor Dakum Shown said country needs to do which, acremoval of subsidy will bring cording to him, is to make the untold hardship to Nigerians. refineries work.

The university don faulted the Anya also made a case for a manner over which subsidy comprehensive national plan had been removed in the past that will position things for without considering the effect better, saying: “ We have reit will have on the populace. duced the argument to ‘I supAlso, a delegate representing port’ or ‘I am against subsidy’.

North East Zone, Ambassador Adamu Aliyu who faulted the lapses in the oil sector and the revenue being withheld by the Nigerian National Petroleum From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Hacourt Corporation (NNPC), said subRADITIONAL Rulers of Oil sidy needs not be removed toMineral Producing Commutally, but has to be done nities of Nigeria,( TROMPCON ) gradually for people to adjust has decried the stance of northern delegates at the National accordingly.

“The administration of sub- Conference on resource control sidy has gone awry. Look at and their demand for the diesel, do you know they are scrapping of the Niger Delta DeCommission still paying subsidy for it”, he velopment (NDDC), Niger Delta Ministry said.

But a delegate representing and a downward review of the Ondo State, Remi Olatubora , 13 per cent derivation. who supported the recom- In another development, the mendation noted that those Rivers State Governor, Chibuike who are benefitting from fuel Amaechi has urged the people subsidy regime are the rich of Kalabari Kingdom to defend few. He said that subsidy their rights to ownership of the

Refining is the simplest thing to do. When you process a product, you increase the gain to 700 per cent. We need a comprehensive national plan.

Half educated Nigerians are refining petroleum, we need to develop them and from there we can move forward” the Abia State-born economist said.

Also speaking, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Haruna Sanusi, who represents Retired Civil Servants in the conference, listed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and

Customs Service as “the rogue agencies of the country being used as conduit pipes by people for looting funds.”

Some of the delegates were of the opinion that if the illegal refiners in the creeks of Niger Delta are encouraged, they would be able to salvage the country and improve the employment situation in the country.

“Government should leave refinery in the hands of business men who would manage their businesses and operate for profit. Foreign ships berthing at the illegal refineries should be encouraged so as to build on their illicit technology and also expand employment, legitimate employment.”

For King Alfred Siege Spiff, the corruption in the management of the subsidy regime is unprecedented and therefore must be reviewed for the true concept behind the subsidy reign to prevail.

He exposed that most of the ships that come with oil do not offload the goods, instead they return with the products, make a come back, pretending as if it is another consignment, only to mark twice or more. He said the deception is on the poor people and not the rich.

“If we must have subsidy, the true implementation should be done, instead of what obtains at present where we have ships engaged in roundtripping”, he explained.

TROMPCON decries northern delegates’ stance on resource control

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disputed Soku oil wells.

In a statement issued at the end of their meeting in Port Harcourt, TROMPCON’s National Chairman and King of Ohaji/Egbema in Imo State, Eze Raphael Ikegwuruka, said those demands were not only provocative but also obnoxious, grave and unrealistic.

He noted that it was disheartening for delegates to the conference from the North to have presented a position paper where they insisted that for the South-South to enjoy resource control, the Federal Government must have to scrap the

NDDC and the Niger Delta ministry.

“We note with surprise that while Mr. President and his cabinet are on the progressive lane, some leaders from the northern bloc tend to be on the reverse, particularly judging from their call for the proscription of the NDDC, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and downward review of the 13 per cent derivation fund.

“TROMPCON therefore seizes this opportunity to call on the concerned leaders to listen to the voice of reason and immediately retract their non-palatable request,” he said.

The monarchs expressed sadness over the prolonged Boko Haram insurgency which has kept citizens of the north eastern states under siege.

They, however, lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for declaring a total war on the insurgents and implored all Nigerians to support the President to restore stability in the country.

TROMPCON appealed to President Jonathan to intervene in the three year-old court case it filed in court against the Federal Government over the poor funding of the NDDC.

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Mimiko tasks media on security issues NDO State Governor, O Olusegun Mimiko has charged media practitioners on the need to treat security issues with utmost confidentiality.

The governor made the charge at the church service marking the World Communication Day held at

the Sacred Heart Cathedral Akure on Sunday.

Represented by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, the governor admonished media practitioners to embrace developmental journalism in place of sensational and sentimental Journalism. He stressed that journalists have a role to play by ensuring that they put social responsibility above sentimental journalism especially in the face of the country’s political, economic and security challenges.

Full of praises for journalists in Ondo, whose developmental journalism helped shape the state into becoming the most peaceful in the country, Mimiko, however, bemoaned what he described as “undue exposition of our nation’s security.”

Insisting the practice must change if the country must overcome its security challenges, Mimiko said the issue of security is better kept secret adding that not all information are discussed on the pages of newspapers.

“We must have a collective fight against terrorism and correct the wrongs in the society by practising the right journalism,” he said.

In his sermon, Most Rev. Jude Arogundade, the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Ondo, said every tribe in the country are guilty of the

shame that has become of the nation.

He said no tribe is exempted from the ills that have suddenly befallen the country of late, adding that if it is Boko Haram in the Northern part of the country, the South –South and South East are guilty of kidnapping with the Southwest now ravaged with cases of ritual killing.

Pleading for unity among the people for an end to come to the problem of the nation, Rev. Arogundade said those heaping the blame of the nation’s problem on President Jonathan are “missing the point.”

According to the cleric, the problem of Nigeria is not that of President Jonathan, he submitted however, that “President Jonathan is just a man, who cant do anything without us.

“We need the sincerity of purpose and the desired unity to fight against the c o m m o n enemy for President Jonathan to succeed. The task is for all of us. Enough is enough,” he warned.

The cleric pleaded for prayers from the populace so that God can remove the shame that has come upon the nation.

“Ten years ago, suicide bombing was a taboo among us but today the story is different. I beg you for prayers for our nation bearing it in mind also that the world is looking at us,” he said.

In his own sermon to the globe on the Communication Day celebration, His Holliness, Pope Francis said the walls, which

divide the nations can be broken down only if “we are prepared to listen and learn from one another.

“We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect.”

The Pope said further that” a culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive” adding that “media can help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances.”

The 48th World Communication Day celebration is with the theme: Communication At The Service of An Authentic Culture of Encounter.

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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

MarketReport EQUITY MARKET SUMMARY

AS AT 02-06-2014

PRIMERA AFRICA www.primera-africa.com

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

MARKET INDICATORS

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 75

AS AT 02-06-2014

PRIMERA AFRICA

Market capitalisation up

by N8 billion Forte Oil tops gainers’ chart

By Helen Oji ORTE Oil traded higher at the end of transactions yesterday on the equity sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It led 30 others with N21.91 kobo to close at N235.79 kobo per share.

Following Forte oil yesterday was Nestle Nigeria Plc, adding N16.99 kobo to close at N175.00 per share.

Other stocks that recorded price appreciation were Seplat Petroleum Development, Nigerian Breweries and Total Nigeria Plc, which improved by N12.05 kobo, N4.91 kobo and N1.96 kobo, to close at N671.00per share, N181.00 per share and N168.01 per share.

Oando also added 1.74 pert cent to close at N19.95 per share.

On the contrary, Dangote Cement led losers’ chart, declining by N5.50 kobo to close at N229.50 per share.

Guinness Nigeria Plc trailed, shedding of N4.99 kobo to close at N175.00 while Mrs Oil depreciated by N2.57 kobo to close at N48.92 kobo.

Other companies that recorded price depreciation Guarenty Trust Bank and Zenith International Bank Plc which dropped by N0.62 kobo and N0.39 kobo respectively to close at N29.30 kobo and N25.01 kobo.

Consequently, market capi-

F

talisation of listed equities appreciated by N8 billion to N13.703 trillion from N13.695 trillion recorded previously.

Similarly, the NSE All Share Index grew by 26.60 basis points to 41501.00 from 41474.40 points traded on Friday.

Investors bought 418.490 million shares worth N11.542 billion in 6063 deals against 671.260 million shares valued at N11.872 billion exchanged hands on Friday in 5869 deals.

Financial Service industry was most active sector in volume terms, accounting for 324.993 million shares valued at N4.279 billion in 3705 deals.

Banking sub-sector was investors delight in the sector with a total of 209.631 million shares cost N3.160 billion in 2275 deals.

Access Bank Plc traded the highest volume of stocks for the day, recording 65.123 million shares worth N651.558 million in 314 deals, FBN Holdings followed with account of 62.297 million shares valued at N994.160 million in 807 deals while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) sold 35.791 million shares worth N646.191 million in 317 deals.

GTBank took fourth position having accounted for 32.376 million shares valued at N947.638 million in 509 deals and Zenith exchanged 25.792 million shares worth N652.057 million in 403 deals.

Oteh commends EAX on support for small farmers IRECTOR GENERAL of the Securities and Exchange D Commission (SEC) Ms. Arunma Oteh has congratulated the East African Exchange (EAX) for their initiatives that has been supporting to support smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest losses and improve their income as well as progress in linking commodity markets across the East African Community area.

Oteh who spoke when a delegation SEC paid a visit to the East Africa Exchange (EAX) during the 49th Annual African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings in Kigali, Rwanda last week also expressed delight at the activities of EAX in promoting cross border trade across the region.

Oteh who called in to acquaint her group with the Exchange’s Operations as well as witness the progress the Exchange has made since it began operations in 2013, stressed that Nigeria has a similar effort and the two countries can share common experiences.

The CEO of the East Africa Exchange, Paul Kukubo who briefed the delegation on the Exchange’s current activities in Rwanda and expansion strategies for the East African region, explained the Exchange’s regional focus and launching of new offices in Kenya and Uganda.

Kukubo also explained that the Rwandan government has recently made available 13 warehouses located in several grain production sites of the country in support of farmer cooperative groups. Among others, the Exchange will sup-

port farmers to address postharvest losses through better storage and collateral management.

The Exchange he said has signed up Collateral Management International, a highly reputable collateral manager worldwide to support the farmers in addressing post-harvest losses and improve farmer’s income.

“The Exchange will also provide the farmers access to finance, linking them to Banks through its electronic warehouse receipts program, as well as providing a trading platform for the farmers to trade their product.

An electronic warehouse receipt represents commodities stored in an exchangeaccredited warehouse with specific quality, quantity, ownership, and reference location stated on the receipt.

The integrity of the receipt is guaranteed by a collateral manager who maintains the quality and quantity of stored commodities” he added.

During the visit, the EAX Trading Manager Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju demonstrated the use of the NASDAQ trading platform, and explained that so far over 200 users including farmers have been trained and used the platform for trading since the Exchange operations commenced.

Also visiting was Samuel Nwanze, a board member of the Exchange and Finance Director of Heirs Holdings (Nigeria) - one of the Exchange’s key partner and Mr. Christopher Marks, former Global Head of Debt Capital, BNP Paribas Bank (France).

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GlobalStocks Unstoppable $100 trillion bond market renders models useless F the insatiable demand for bonds has Iyou’re upended the models you use to value them, not alone.

Just last month, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York retooled a gauge of relative yields on Treasuries, casting aside three decades of data that incorporated estimates for market rates from professional forecasters. Priya Misra, the head of U.S. rates strategy at Bank of America Corp., says a risk metric she’s relied on hasn’t worked since March.

After unprecedented stimulus by the Fed and other central banks made many traditional models useless, investors and analysts alike are having to reshape their understanding of cheap and expensive as the global market for bonds balloons to $100 trillion. With the world’s biggest economies struggling to grow and inflation nowhere in sight, catchphrases such as “new neutral” and “no normal” are gaining currency to describe a reality where bonds are rallying the most in a decade.

With the Fed paring its $85 billion-a-month bond buying program this year and economists calling for the five-year-long U.S. expansion to finally take off, Wall Street prognosticators said at the start of the year that yields were bound to rise as central banks began employing tighter monetary policies.

Instead, investors poured into bonds of all types as global growth weakened, disinflation emerged in Europe and tensions between Ukraine and Russia intensified.

Globally, bonds have returned an average 3.89 per cent this year for the biggest year-todate gain since 2003, index data compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch show. The advance decreased yields on 10-year Treasuries by more than a half percentage point to 2.48 per cent, the fastest pace over the same span since 1995, while borrowing costs for the riskiest U.S. companies tumbled to a record 5.94 percent last week.

Benchmark Treasury 10-year note yields rose one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 2.49 per cent as of 8:02 a.m. New York time.

In developed countries, benchmark yields in 24 of 25 nations tracked by Bloomberg have fallen this year, with those in Italy and Spain closing below 3 percent for the first time.

“I don’t expect the consensus to be right, I’m just surprised by how wrong it has been,” Jim Bianco, president of Chicago-based Bianco Research LLC, said by telephone on May 28.

The seemingly unstoppable rally has caused bond-market professionals to reassess whether they’re using the right tools.

At the New York Fed, researchers Tobias Adrian, Richard Crump, Benjamin Mills and Emanuel Moench on May 12 released an updated methodology for a metric known as the term premium, which can be used to determine whether 10-year Treasuries are cheap or expensive relative to short-term rates.

After stripping out all human predictions and using only market prices to calculate future expectations, the researchers found the extra yield longer-term Treasuries offered has been “considerably higher since the onset of the financial crisis” than previous models,

according to their blog post that included the data. That may be because the metric now suggests the Fed’s short-term interest rate may not rise as high as survey-based results predicted, wrote the economists.

Based on the old model, last updated on March 31, the term premium on 10-year notes was 0.25 percentage point, versus 0.96 percentage point on the same day using the current methodology. The reading was at 0.67 percentage point last week.

The researchers declined to comment beyond the blog post, according to Eric Pajonk, a spokesman at the New York Fed. Bank of America’s Misra says she stopped looking at the gap between the rate on 10-year interest-rate swaps and yields on benchmark government debt as a measure of risk.

The gauge, which usually widens as investors seek out haven assets in times of stress, is being distorted as those betting on losses in Treasuries have unwound their trades, she said.

Hedge funds and other large speculators cut their net short positions in 10-year note futures by the most since February as of May 27, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Primary dealers, which had net short positions in March for the first time since 2011, have since reversed those wagers, data com-

piled by Bloomberg show.

“Everyone is short and they are forced to cover,” Misra said by telephone on May 28.

While economists and strategists have reduced their yield forecasts, they’re still sticking to the view borrowing costs will end the year higher as the economy gains momentum.

They now see yields on 10-year Treasuries rising to 3.25 percent by year-end as the economy accelerates 3.1 percent in 2015, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show. At the start of the year, the median yield forecast was 3.44 percent.

Investors risk becoming lulled into complacency by six years of near-zero U.S. interest rates at a time when yields are so low, according to Zach Pandl, the Minneapolis-based senior interest-rate strategist at Columbia Management Investment Advisers, which oversees $340 billion.

Pandl, who developed his own version of the term premium, maintains that U.S. government bonds are too expensive.

“The Treasury market is overvalued,” he said by telephone on May 28. “The funds rate has been at zero for so long so it becomes difficult to envision it being higher at all. Monetary policy is closer to exit.”

Traditional models are failing to explain the resilience of fixed-income assets as central

banks led by the Fed pump trillions of dollars into their economies and suppress shortterm rates at historical lows, according to Bianco.

The Fed, Bank of Japan and Bank of England all have quantitative-easing programs in place, while at least two dozen nations have dropped benchmark rates to 1 percent or less.

“The biggest mistake for people is they think interest rates are merely a projection of where the economy is supposed to go,” Bianco said.

“It’s the Fed and the way they have changed the marketplace.” He foresees that yields on 10-year notes will end the year at two per cent to 2.5 per cent.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on May 7 there will be “considerable time” before the central bank raises its benchmark rate as slack in the jobs market keeps inflation below its two per cent target.

Household spending declined in April, while the world’s largest economy contracted in the first quarter for the first time since 2011, government reports showed last week.

“Given the outlook for the global economy and inflation, bonds are not a bad place to be,” Gary Pollack, the New York-based head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s private-wealth management unit, which oversees $12 billion, said in a telephone interview on May 28.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, yestreday

PHOTO: REUTERS

Dollar higher, euro undermined by ECB rate-cut expectations HE U.S. dollar rose on Monday, aided by T subdued German inflation figures and slower-than-expected manufacturing growth in the euro zone, both of which piled pressure on the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy aggressively this week.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.36 per cent on Monday against a basket of currencies from its main trading partners .DXY. The index is hovering at a two-month high.

Attention remains squarely on the ECB's policy meeting on Thursday and the U.S. payrolls report for May on Friday.

"The euro has been trading on the softer side in general as we go into the ECB meeting as there is some level of caution here," said Alan Ruskin, global head of G19 currency strategy

at Deutsche Bank in New York.

Currency speculators increased short euro positions to 16,633 contracts from 9,220 last week, according to data for the week ended May 27 released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday.

The ECB is preparing policy options for its June 5 meeting that include cuts in all its interest rates, Reuters reported last month.

The euro was at $1.3599, down 0.23 per cent in New York trade.

Germany's annual inflation rate rose 0.6 percent, less than the 1.0 percent expected in a Reuters poll and the lowest reading since February 2010. Euro zone inflation data is due out on Tuesday. ECONEZ "Soft inflation now reinforces the point of

view that the ECB will remain dovish and remain ready to ease policy in the future.

That's negative for the euro," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York.

The euro also fell 0.18 per cent against sterling to 81.22 pence, with diverging monetary policy outlooks for the ECB and the Bank of England underpinning the pound.

In the United States, the Institute for Supply Management's May data showed manufacturing activity expanded with a reading of 55.4 versus 54.9 in April, just below the Reuters estimate of 55.5. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

ISM initially released incorrect data showing

a slowdown in activity. The original report, for which ISM blamed a computer glitch, was so far off from economists' forecasts that it immediately became suspect.

The original report led to a fall in U.S. Treasury yields as it supported loose U.S. monetary policy. The dollar followed suit, but only temporarily, as questions in the market fueled doubt over the report's accuracy. Treasury yields have since rebounded.

Earlier, the final reading of the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for the euro zone disappointed, slipping to a six-month low.

The dollar held its advantage on the yen, trading at 102.36 yen, a rise of 0.57 percent. The euro rose 0.35 per cent to 139.22 yen.

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Law

Quote of the week Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.

Frederick Douglass

Towards improved access to justice sector in Nigeria The importance of the justice system for healthy socio-economic development of any nation cannot be over-emphasised, especially given the complexity of the institutions that make up the sector. However, access to justice has become a herculean task for ordinary citizens or civil society groups because of some inherent bottlenecks in the system. BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA reports that the recent three-day workshop organised for stakeholders in the justice sector in Lagos by the United Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), in collaboration with the European Union and the Federal Government, aimed at creating a new action plan was a welcome development in making judicial process easily accessible for Lagosians.

FOCUS USTICE is a concept involving the fair, moral Jmost and impartial treatment of all persons. In its general sense, it means according individuals what they actually deserve or merit, or are in some sense, entitled to. Justice is a particularly foundational concept within most systems of “law”. From the perspective of pragmatism, it is the name for a fair result while injustice is defined as “a situation in which people are treated very unfairly and not given their rights”.

However, access to justice in a developing country like Nigeria has become a difficult thing for many citizens, which had led to gradual loss of faith in justice sector that is made up of institutions like the Police, the Judiciary, the Prison Service and lawyers.

Some of the citizens are no longer comfortable with the popular cliché that “wheels of justice, turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine”.

Added to this is the attendant delay that has characterised the administration of justice in the country, which tends to give vent to their search for quicker way to dispense justice in line with the axiom that justice delayed is justice denied. This incidentally has resulted to selfhelp or what many describe as jungle justice.

Jungle justice simply means a form of extra-judicial killing where the victim is deprived the rule of law and justice is meted out in a barbaric and appalling fashion usually through stoning or burning the individual in the full glare of the public.

Thus, jungle justice, which is synonymous with injustice, has become very rampant in Nigeria as the fastest way of meting out justice to criminal suspects caught in the act.

However, in a bid to stop this barbaric, demonic and inhuman form of justice in the 21st Century and enhance improved access to justice in the country, the United Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has, through its “Support to the Justice Sector in Nigeria”, project been cooperating with the Nigerian Judiciary since 2001 to strengthen judicial integrity in the country.

The project, in collaboration with the European Union and the Federal Government, involved a sustainable review of updates of action-plan in 10 states of the country with a view to supporting national priorities of effective coordination and cooperation among justice sector institutions with enhanced legal and policy frameworks, as well as enhancing operational structures and capabilities of officials in the sector and increased access to justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law, especially for disadvantage and vulnerable groups.

Already, the project has recorded improvements in all aspects of justice delivery resulting in an increase of public confidence in the justice system. Example, court users who indicated that they would use the courts again based on their experience, increased from 58 per cent in 2002 to 69 per cent in 2007.

However, despite this progress, data also shows that further advancements remain a must. Still, the percentage of prisoners awaiting trial in remand remains high, adjournments (even if less frequent) unnecessarily prolong disputes, political interference with judicial appointments and judicial decision-making remain an issue, both in the eyes of judicial officers and the Bar, coordination among the various justice sector institutions poses continuous challenges; and while the judiciary was able to significantly reduce the vulnerability of courts to corrupt

Ipaye practices, the problem is not to be considered under control.

With economic growth and social changes, the demands on the justice system by citizens and businesses are on the increase. Thus, improvements might turn out to be insufficient and unsustainable. The need for a functioning court system capable of supporting a rapidly growing economy, guaranteeing basic human and political rights of individuals and providing security and justice to all, makes continuing reforms imperative.

To further improve on this project, UNODC recently organised a three-day workshop in Lekki, Lagos, with the theme: “NGA V18: Support to the Justice Sector in Nigeria” with various stakeholders in justice sector in attendance.

Participants were drawn from Nigeria Prison Service, The Judiciary, The Police, Ministry of Justice, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Human Rights Commission, The Media and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The workshop was aimed at blocking all prevalence lapses impeding access to justice as well as drawing a plan of action for Lagos State in the next four years that will enhance justice delivery in the state.

Some of the issues raised by participants include lack of synergy between enforcement agents, especially the Police and Prisons officials, lack of funding for investigation and prosecution of matters, as well as lack of competence on the part of police in the area of investigation and prosecution.

Identifying improper or sub-standard investigation and prosecution of rape cases as a major problem, they called for specialisation in investigation of rape cases.

Lack of implementation of the articulation of the rights of the defendant, particularly on the part of the Police and rampant cases of intervention of the police in civil matters, were also picked as a problem in the justice sector.

In the area of sentencing, participants called for non-custodial sentencing option in light cases but expressed worries on the inconsistency of the system and improperly trained personnel leading to delay an injustice.

To them, lack of proper documentation, holding back of or giving of inadequate information by court officials, inadequate tracking system for inmates and poor case management owing to

“Stakeholders stated that in community service cases involving generally minor offences, potential offenders are reported to settle with officers at the Police Station (Police get money from the offenders) because of inadequate funding, ignorance of law, lack of allowance for appearing as a witness and inadequate training.”

Ezekwen heavy docket, are hindering quicker administration of justice in state.

Stakekholders at the workshop came out with ways at bettering coordination between justice sector institutions, as well as enhancing training, research and operational capacity in justice delivery.

Participants also came out with ways to enhance access to justice, respect for human rightsm as well as ways at strengthening the accountability, integrity, oversight and independence of criminals justice institutions in Lagos State.

Subsequently, they called for increased awareness of the general public of their rights and knowledge of court process and the need to improve data collection for accountability through biometrics capturing and fingerprints recording.

Stakeholders stated that in community service cases involving generally minor offences, potential offenders are reported to settle with officers at the Police Station (Police get money from the offenders) because of inadequate funding, ignorance of law, lack of allowance for appearing as a witness and inadequate training.

Non-adherence to the code of conduct by the Bar and the integrity issue, involving court registrars when magistrates give community service, Registrars might have settled with the offenders. The result is that, defendants who are sentenced won’t serve their community service.

Absence of performance evaluation system in the magistracy and customary courts, as well as lack of freedom for press coverage of court proceedings as cameras were not allowed in courts, they noted, reduced transparency in the system.

They further called for transparency in the appointment of judicial officers and financial autonomy for the judiciary in the state.

For the Project Coordinator for UNODC, Mr. Ade Omofade, the workshop furthers the practice of encouraging a strategic and sustainable approach towards the justice system as a necessary means of enhancing good governance respect for human rights and the rule of law.

He noted that Lagos was chosen for the workshop because it has consistently blazed the trail in implementing judicial reforms.

Furthermore, he informed the workshop-insession that the European Union and the government in Nigeria have jointly charged UNODC with the onerous responsibility of implementing three projects already being developed in the spheres of justice sector support, drugs, organised crime and lastly, anticorruption.

The justice delivery project, according to him, has three national priorities with regard to

Alakija effective co-ordination and cooperation among justice sector institutions with enhanced legal and policy framework; increased operational structures and capabilities of officials in the sector and increased access to justice and respect for human rights and the rule of law, more importantly, for the vulnerable group in society.

The workshop, he said, tends to review and update the existing action-plan already in place in the state.

He also said the justice delivery programme is being implemented at the Federal Capital and in 10 pilot states, namely: Lagos, Rivers, Imo, Anambra, Benue, Bayelsa, Yobe, Osun, and Katsina.

Representative of the secretary to the National Planning Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Atiata, who commended the European Union (EU) for its financial support to the tune of E27 million (Euro) funds, said government focus of attention is to ensure that there exists a coordinated effort among key players in the justice delivery sector, namely: the Judiciary, The Police, Prisons Service and others culminating in the ‘Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC).

For the Lagos State AttorneyGeneral/Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, “the justice sector constitutes the backbone of civilisation, the quest for democracy, good governance and socio-economic development, which the whole world depends on.”

According to him, “all of us are witnesses to the chaos, destruction and human tragedy on a wide scale, which follow the failure of law and order all over the world, adding that to avoid such descent into anarchy, it is imperative that we focus on the justice system.

He welcomed the programmes embarked upon by UNODC to support the Judiciary, The Police, Prisons Service, Ministry of Justice and other stakeholders in the observance of fair judicial system and to establish the best practices in Lagos as applicable in the most develope justice systems.

As a pilot state, the Attorney said: “We are mindful of the need to get justice reform right, so that other states can benefit from the models we establish and assure that the state has been in the forefront of justice sector reforms” vis-à-vis other states in Nigeria.

Promising to implement the recommendations by the staekeholders to further improve the justice sector, Ipaye noted that Lagos State has initiated various reforms in the civil and criminal procedures, improved case management facilitation, criminal justice sector co-ordination, provision of free mediation services to the public (through the Citizen Mediation Centre), and establishment of Crime Data

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78 LAW Tuesday, June 3, 2014

LawPeople

“The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”

Albert Einstein

‘Why Nigeria needs a constitutional court’

By Bertram Nwannekanma EFORE the beginning of the ongoing National B Conference, many Nigerians have dismissed the ability of the confab to address the nation’s woes because of what they termed as lack of legal framework. Others, however, queried the timing of the conference, the composition of the delegates and the manner of integrating the positions of various interest groups. One of such persons, who felt that the conference was belated, was a Lagos-based constitutional lawyer, James Ezike. The fearless lawyer, who had earlier stated that the discourse was going to be a jamboree and has not been proved wrong, however, gave kudos to the representatives of the South-West, for pursuing what he called the mandate of their people.

He said: “I must give kudos to the South-West delegates, because they are the only people that went with the mandate of their people and are pursuing it.

The South-West delegates had the mandate of their people but they are pursuing their own selfish agenda and not the agenda of the South-East.

“The greatest shock is the South-south, they have no direction. As for the other zones, they are just like the SouthSouth; they have no direction as where they are going. This is supposed to be constitutional assembly or conference; they have turned it into a national conference. They think that whatever they do there is right; as far they just went there to collect their allowances, after all, it is just a conference. But the South-West that was a failure during the Sani Abacha’s conference, went there and pursued from their statements, what I think, it should be. That decision should be taken in the basis of complementarity that you don’t say that decisions are taken on the basis of majority. No decision should be taken like, if people from the South-South say, we want 50 per cent of our oil revenue or 100 per cent of it. If you don’t like it or unable to persuade them to think otherwise, you leave the 50 or 100 per cent for them; that is what complementarity means. It does mean that you will vote and throw him out.

“This is not the first time, this thing is happening all over the world. In the United Nations, it is the members of the Security Council that must unanimously agree before anything is done. If they don’t agree, it is not done. In the European Union, every member-state must agree before anything is done. If they don’t agree, you are allowed to go your own way and still remain a member of the union. So, Britain retains its currency, while the rest of the Union use Euros. That is the only way you can have peace. The greatest shock of it all is that nobody ever thought of creating a constitutional court. It is like building a very big war machine without having the men to operate it. Whatever constitution, you have, it is the court that will perfect it. If you don’t have a constitutional court, it is a bloody waste of time. We must have a constitutional court to work out the constitution.

Ezike also said the issue does not begin and end with revenue, but about the identity of the people.

“The South-East has a booklet, where they wrote all they wanted since the time of Abacha called Okeigbo. It is there in black and white; all they need to do is to present it again, they did not. The South-West now came out with a similar programme; the South-South should have a programme.

“It does not begin and end with revenue, it goes beyond that. If you want to understand how it works, look at Okeigbo, look at what the South-West is saying now, that is how to do things.

“If we have had a proper Federation, we would not have Boko Haram insurgency today. I don’t see any solution to Boko Haram, even in Pakistan; they have local government police and provincial police. So, when there is uprising, you have a local police to handle it. They have Taliban there, but it does not spread throughout the country. Today, what are we going to do to protect the South-West? They have to do something unconstitutional. They have to activate Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), though; they have not done it yet.

The South-East may have also to activate something; otherwise, there will be no peace. Meanwhile, the North has activated Hisba in Kano, this is unconstitutional.

“If a Hisba breaks cartoon or crates of wines or beer belonging to you, that is unconstitutional but they are doing it and getting away with it. That is more dangerous than the consequences of their actions. We are all crying about bombs and all that. But, these are the consequences, when you allow some parts of the country to break the constitution and get away with it.

On whether it was not part of the complementarity he was talking about, Ezike said that it has to be agreed.

“That is how the United States was formed. That is why for instance, the people of Massachusetts called themselves the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and you can also see that California sees itself as a different entity, the same with Texas. You know the state of Wyoming; it does not have up

Ezike to five hundred thousand people. Yet, they have the same number of senators as the rest of the states in the USA. The astute lawyer said the accusation that the chairman of the conference might have be pursuing a northern agenda by insisting that certain issues raised by southern delegates be subjected into a vote, noted that whosoever presides would have face a similar accusation.

“It was at the very beginning that they should have agreed that they want decisions to be based on complementarity and subsidiarity and that they have to create a constitutional court. It is the constitutional court that made the United States what it is today. Ironically, the courts in England have become so good that it is incredible in ordering the society.

“In our own country, I don’t know how a judge, who just finish a criminal or land matter should be asked to deal with constitutional matters. The scholarship is different, the quality of people, who have to be there, will be different. The duty of a constitutional court is not just to make a country a more perfect union but to expand the liberty and rights of the people.

Ezike, however, urged the conference to follow the recommendations of the South-West, which is a voluntary union, where you have your own police in your own area.

“If we don’t follow it, then, we will continue to deceive ourselves as usual. The only people who can come to power at the state and federal levels, will be crooked because you have a crooked country. That is the consequence. I will not advise any sensible person to get involved in politics the way the country is presently structured because everything in the nation happens by accident.

“Nigerians are really doing the impossible, considering our diversity. When somebody said that Nigeria is going to break up, the person is not saying it because he is God. But when you consider the multifarious problems facing us, he cannot understand how it is possible for us to stay together.

“If we don’t correct this now, after Boko Haram, which I did not think is going away, we are going to have another problem and it is nobody’s fault.

“As long as we have the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Governors Forum, northern this, northern that, the country cannot survive because all it takes for the nation to break is to have someone who can organise southern governors forum, southern solidarity forum and when that happens, the consequences are very obvious. We cannot continue having that, if we want unity, and then let us agree to live together but if we decide to organise a group against each

“In our own country, I don’t know how a judge, who just finished a criminal or land matter should be asked to deal with constitutional matters. The scholarship is different, the quality of people who have to be there will be different. The duty of a constitutional court is not just to make a country a more perfect union but to expand the liberty and rights of the people.

other, surreptitiously without agreement, it is not going to work.

On the issue of referendum, Ezike queried the feasibility of holding a referendum in the North-East.

According to him, the conference has been overtaken by events.

“I said in my earlier interview that it was too late. The only option, if they are able to come out with anything, is to amend the constitution through the National Assembly as it is and put it there. But it is going to be a patch-patch work, because it is not a sovereign conference. It should have been sovereign; since it is not, they should keep on patching it but I don’t think it will solve our problems. It can at least postpone the evil days, but the victim of these is President Goodluck Jonathan. Unfortunately, his spokesperson does not have an idea about what to say. Because all they need to be telling the world is that we are faced with a different problem than what all we have in other parts of the world. The best you can express about Boko Haram can be found in an article written by Professor Wole Soyinka in News Week magazine last year. We are dealing with thugs. In Islam, certain things are not done but these people are doing things Islam forbids; we are not dealing with a normal situation.

President Jonathan’s spokespersons are not able to convey it to the rest of the world that we are dealing with thugs. In Islam, you don’t do these things. But we are dealing with criminals who drink alcohols and kill people. It has nothing with Islam, it is criminality, what they are doing here is criminality and that is what they should be telling the world.

The fearless lawyer also queried the capacity of the military to rescue the Chibok girls. He said: “You see, during our own Civil War, all the logistics and strategies were done for Nigerian Army by the British. In Biafra, it was different.

“When there is a war, which is what we are facing, you actually need more intellectuals than you need soldiers. You noticed that in Biafra, all historians and geographers were involved in planning. A rebel army or gorilla army can defeat an army. It, therefore, all depends on intellectuals to strategise and plan.

“So what do you do with an army that announces to the whole world that we have found where the Chibok girls are? Do they understand what they are supposed to do? It is not their fault because we left them to plan. They cannot plan, the people who planned wars are intellectuals in universities but those were institutions during the Ibrahim Babangida era. “The National Institute of International Affairs is a hollow, it is not what it used to be. The Department of Jurisprudence and International Law in the Ministry of Justice does not exist anymore; whatever they are doing in Kuru, Jos, is just to go there, meet people and use the connections. We are not putting our best feet forward, you just told the soldiers to go and stop Boko Haram.

What is the plan, what is the strategy, what is the intelligence? It is more of intellectual thing and we don’t have it and we should not blame President Jonathan for it because we destroyed the whole thing over the years because people want to have power. And, therefore, people who had different views are not tolerated.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 LAW 79

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Banks battle in court over control of new Tejuosho Market FROM THE COURTS Stories by Bertram Nwannekanma HE battle over control of T the new Tejuosho UltraModern Market has assumed a new twist, as Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos struck out the contempt proceeding initiated by Access Bank against the Managing Director of First Bank and the Legal Secretary of the bank, for being incur-

ably defective and incompetent.

Justice Abang, who ignored the protest submission of First Bank's lawyer, Kemi Balogun, in the ruling also struck out the preliminary objection filed by First Bank against the contempt proceeding and fixed June 16, 2014 for hearing of other pending applications.

Both First Bank and Access Bank are locked in a fierce legal tussle over the control of the market.

The ruling, in itself, was in respect of the priority of application to be heard between the contempt proceeding and another motion filed by First Bank to be joined as a party in the suit.

The suit was mainly between Access Bank and Stormberg Engineering Company Limited, the Lagos Stateappointed developer for the new Tejuosho Market.

Counsel to Access Bank, Kunle Ogunba (SAN) and Balogun, had at the last

Court dismisses Bellview's motion against pilot's family’s suit over 2005 crash HE National Industrial tative capacity on behalf of the tion of the Estate of the late Court (NIC) in Lagos has dis- family T members

by Captain Imasuen. missed a preliminary objec- Imuwahen Lenita Imasuen, However, upon presentation tion filed by Bellview Airlines Limited against a suit filed by family members of the late Captain Lambert Imasuen, the pilot of Bellview aircraft Boeing 737-200 that crashed on October 22, 2005.

Family members of the late pilot had dragged the airline before the NIC over non-payment of the compensation due to their late father.

The aircraft was on its way to Abuja from Lagos when it crashed at Lisa Village area of Ogun State, killing all 117 persons on board.

Trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, in a ruling on Tuesday, assumed jurisdiction and dismissed the objection of the airline challenging the authority of the NIC to adjudicate on the matter.

Justice Lifu held that the NIC was the proper court with jurisdiction to entertain and determine the case, being a matter connected with, pertaining to, and indeed, incidental to the contract of employment of the late Captain Imasuen, who died in the course of his employment with Bellview Airlines.

The judge further held that the case involved issues of unfair labour practices, adding that the NIC, under the Constitution, had the jurisdiction to entertain same.

The suit was filed in represen-

who is the eldest child and administratrix of the Estate of the late Captain Imaseun.

Apart from Bellview Arilines Limited, other defendants are Kayode Odukoya, Tunde Yusuf, Gabriel Olowo, Emmanuel Ombu, Abisoye Mohammed, Kola Sobande, Chimara Imediegwu and Alex Iheuwa all directors of the airline.

According to the suit filed on behalf of the claimant by Yusuf Asamah Kadiri of Jackson, Etti & Edu Law firm, the family lamented that despite several demands, the airline and its directors have failed to pay them their entitlements, eight years after their father died while working for the company.

In a supporting affidavit, the claimant (Imuwahen) averred that immediately after the death of her father, she and other family members proceeded to Bellview's office as was required of the victims of the crash, and they were informed of their entitlement to $100, 000 as compensation for the death of Captain Imasuen as a victim of the air crash.

She recalled that the defendant made an advance payment of $10, 000, with the assurance that the balance of $90,000 compensation would be paid upon production of letter of administra-

of the said letter of administration, Imuwahen stressed that the defendants refused to pay the outstanding balance of $90, 000 despite repeated demands.

The family, is therefore, urging the court to compel the airline to pay the said $90, 000 and N82 million damages, as well as the cost of the action and other benefits and entitlement accruing to the Estate of the late Captain Imasuen both as air crash victim and staff of Bellview Airlines.

But the defendants, in their statement of defence, denied admitting to pay the claimant $100,000 compensation, and that there was no time they gave any assurances whatsoever of paying $90, 000 balance.

The defendants added that on December 22, 2005, Bellview Airlines benevolently offered to pay the family of the late Captain Imaseun $10, 000 to alleviate any hardship occasioned to the family as a result of the crash.

They further contended that the suit was brought in obvious bad faith, and that it should be dismissed with substantial cost.

Meanwhile, the matter has been adjourned to July 21, 2014 for definite hearing on merits.

adjourned date, agreed that the court should determine which of the applications to be heard first.

But the judge, in his decision, decided to first entertain the contempt proceeding in line with the Supreme Court decision in Ebodage Vs Okoye, where the apex court admonished all courts to first deal with contempt because it seeks to protect the dignity and majesty of the court.

The court, however, on its own, examined the contempt application and came to the conclusion that Access Bank failed to comply with the rules governing such application.

Access Bank failed to obtain leave before filing the application and according to the court, the bank could do so as of right against First Bank,

having not been a party to the suit in which order was being sought to be enforced.

But Balogun, in protest, urged the court to record his submission after the ruling because the judge had immediately after the ruling, passed the case file to the court registrars without consulting counsel on both side on the next adjourned date.

Balogun said having found that the contempt application was incompetent; the proper order for the court to make was to dismiss the contempt proceeding.

But midway into Balogun's submission, Justice Abang shunned him, and directed the registrars to call the next case.

According to the matter, First Bank, in its motion, had claimed to be the sole finan-

cier of the new Tejuosho Market, which was secured by a deed of legal mortgage executed over the entire property duly stamped and registered as No. 14, at Page 14 in Volume 20e1 of the Land Registry, Lagos and with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

However, the court had earlier refused First Bank's application to be joined in the matter before a consent judgment was entered in favour of Access Bank in a previous case.

After the consent judgment, Access Bank filed another suit before Justice Abang in respect of the same subject matter and the same parties to move against the assets of Stormberg Engineering, including new Tejuosho pursuant to a deed of debenture executed sometime in 2006.

Court hears suit against PENGASSAN June 5 Okon Abang of a JhadUSTICE Federal High Court, Lagos fixed June 5 for hearing in a suit filed against the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) by aggrieved members, over alleged denial of members’ right.

The court will also, on that date, entertain the preliminary objection filed by PENGASSAN, in which it questioned the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

Two members of the Chevron branch of the Association; Messrs. John Nwanosike and Jonathan Omare had commenced the suit by an affidavit urgency on May 26.

They are seeking an order, restraining the defendants from holding any delegates’ conference, pending the hearing of the substantive suit before the court.

Listed as defendants in the suit are: PENGASSAN, its Chevron branch, Mr. Esanubi Frank and Mr. Ayanate Kio. But at the proceeding on Wednesday, counsel to PENGASSAN, Mr. Sola Iji, informed the court of a pending motion

of preliminary objection to the suit.

He said that the motion was challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit, and prayed the court to move same.

However, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mr. Uche Muoneke, objected to the application on the ground that he had just be served with the said processes.

The counsel also informed the court that in spite of an interim order of the court, restraining the defendants from conducting any election pending the determination of the suit, the defendants still went ahead to conduct the election.

Responding to the allegation, Justice Abang urged the plaintiffs’ counsel to do the needful, if he felt that the defendant had flouted an existing order of court and adjourned till June 5, for arguments.

The plaintiffs had in their affidavit averred that they were duly elected as delegates to the conference, adding that their tenure was valid for a term of three years.

They also argued that the defendants cancelled their names as delegates, before the expiration of their tenure,

thereby denying them the right to vote and be voted for at the conference.

The plaintiffs averred that in a bid to also prevent them from exercising their voting rights, the second and third defendants set up a disciplinary committee to try them after they expressed fear that their rights were been threatened.

According to them, the panel declared them guilty even when there was no evidence of commission of any crime.

The plaintiffs, therefore, seeks a declaration that the removal of their names as delegates to the Zonal conference and National Conference, was unconstitutional.

They also seek an order, mandating the defendants to include their names, as delegates, as well as an order of perpetual injunction, restraining them from holding the conference, until the illegality occasioned by their removal is addressed.

At the last adjourned date, Justice Abang had ordered that the Exparte Motion of plaintiff, be converted to a motion on notice, and same served on defendants.

NBA presidency: Adekoya, Alegeh woo Igbo lawyers WO aspirants for the T Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidency, Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN) and Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), at the weekend stormed the monthly meeting of Otu OkaIwu Lagos, a union of lawyers of Igbo extraction, to solicit support for their election bids.

Adekoya, who started by condoling with the union on the demise of one of its elders, Chief Theodore Ezeobi (SAN) and Chief Raph Uwechue, the brother to another elder of the union, Chief George Uwechue (SAN), noted that Ezeobi was a courageous lawyer who was a “ready ally” in raising critical issues that touched on the integrity and independence of the Bar. Informing the union of her intention to contest the NBA presidency, Adekoya stated: “If we are to tell ourselves the truth, the association is declining. The things that our Bar Association should be doing for us are so many and so simple; but we are not doing them.

“I think they are not doing

them because those who seek office have not given them sufficient thought”, she added.

According to Adekoya, many NBA members are unhappy with the hike in practising fees and Annual General Conference fees.

“Many members are disenchanted. Everyone is asking, what are they doing with our money?

“Even me, I don’t know. What I know is that my leadership will take immediate steps to review downwards these fees, which I personally consider as very high. We will also institute a Group Life and Accident Insurance Policy at no extra cost to members by deploying a portion of the practising fees as premium”, she stated.

Adekoya also promised to reverse the ban on nonattendance at National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings by observers, saying the decision is “very unpopular.” She further indicated that her administration, if elected as the president, would prosecute estate agents and sundry practi-

tioners who encroach on work reserved for lawyers, since the conduct infringes the Legal Practitioners’ Act, which bars the practise of law without licence.

The former NBA national treasurer and 1st vice president, said that an NBA, under her leadership would, like the Law Society of United Kingdom (UK), among others, advertise legal services to expand the volume of work available to lawyers.

According to her, the only reason branches are not getting their portion of the practising fees from the national secretariat is because “our branches have been relegated to the background by the national body; we are not important.

Why has it taken branches two years to get their portion of the practising fees?, she asked.

The renowned arbitrator assured that she was not making empty promises, saying: “Everything I have put in my pledge document I have put a date, because I know they can be done and I have said how they can be done.

Responding to questions, she sympathised with members, who felt disenfranchised by the Delegates’ System, adding that she would spearhead universal suffrage where all NBA members can partake in the electoral process through electronic-voting. Adekoya noted that she introduced and demonstrated the efficacy of e-voting as chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria Branch.

On his part, Alegeh told the union that NBA needs “somebody new and fresh with new ideas. I believe that there are changes we need to make in the association and we need a new person to make those changes. I offer myself as that agent of change for the association.”

He said he believed that NBA activities should be “branchdriven,” adding that “the idea of four, five people upstairs forming policies, implementing the policies and when there is change at the helm, these policies are jettisoned, is not good for the association.

Alegeh expressed concerns

that work reserved for lawyers is “being done by third parties and NBA does nothing about it. We have foreign law firms today, which take 80 per cent of our arbitration work.

“We have the Legal Practitioners’ Act which provides that all legal services should be done by lawyers.

How then do we sit down as NBA and allow funds from public corporations to be paid to foreign lawyers in flagrant breach of our laws?”

He promised to refocus the Continuing Legal Education programme to equip lawyers with requisite skills, noting that there are rights that already exist, which lawyers are not sufficiently equipped to pursue.

Like Adekoya, Alegeh also expressed worries that the national body is not speaking when it ought to. “The whole world is agog with Chibok,” he observed, “But can anybody here tell me where NBA stands on Chibok?, he queried.

Nobody can say where we stand. Do we support Boko Haram or do we support

Federal Government? We don’t know where NBA stands.”

He said the NBA should be the “leader of all civil society groups in Nigeria,” adding that “when anything happens in the country, the voice of NBA should be the loudest; currently, the voice of NBA is muffled.”

Alegeh further promised to “refocus" on the welfare of members, saying he is being called a “stranger” by the socalled Bar-men “because I do not join in the chop-chop. To be a ‘Bar-man,’ you have to chop.”

In a vote of thanks, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), who spoke on behalf of the union, thanked Adekoya for acknowledging the relevance of the union, assuring her of “our maximum possible support.”

Describing Alegeh as his “Bendel brother,” Idigbe said the union “feels very honoured that you thought them fit and relevant to consult them,” adding that he had “spoken eloquently” about his plans for the association.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

80 LAW Tuesday, June 3, 2014

FamilyLaw

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a married man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of an heir.”

Julia Quinn, The Duke and I

Obtaining probate in Nigeria:Argument for its retention and modification (3)

By Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe HE provision of sureties by the executor and T or personal representatives is a reasonable mechanism to curtail the excesses of the executor who may want to defraud the beneficiaries and then disappear into the thin air. Of significant note is the procedure that enables other interested parties, particularly the beneficiaries and close relatives of the testator to enter Caveat to address perceived grey areas in the deceased’s Will. Thus, the probate granted in the case of Stephen Dan-Jumbo v. Bernard Dan-Jumbo was set aside by the Supreme Court, on the ground that the probate registrar lacks the power to grant probate without first notifying the caveator and for ignoring the pending appeal in the appellate Court.

This protective role of the court is to the effect that the court without bias considers the facts in issue as contained in the caveat and give both parties to prove or to void the caveat.

Relevant facts and the weight of the evidence before the court will necessarily provide the basis for the court to decide. The court ensures that after granting probate the executor must as a legal requirement file statement of

account to show the state of affairs of the deceased’s estate. This accounted for the requirement that the executor must first prove the Will, provide two suitable sureties, and provide his/her identity, et al.

The procedure is well-thought-out, though not without some administrative compromise as revealed in the Dan-Jumbo’s case and other cases where probate registrar and other Court officials commit administrative irregularity in favour of one or some of the interested parties in the deceased’s estate However the advantages outweighs its disadvantages.

Loopholes abound where fraudulent persons connive with officials of the Probate Registry to grant Probate without diligent in investigating the information and documents supplied by the executor seeking probate.

It is very ideal to retain the procedure for the grant of probate because the process enables the court to figure out the right executors, identify the beneficiaries, creditors and other interested parties stated in the deceased testamentary document. Furthermore, the process also rakes in revenue for the government through the payment of stamp duties, taxes and other levies. It is the law that ten

percent of the total value of the deceased estate accrues to government through the probate registry. No government can function effectively if citizens either corporate or individual avoid payment of legitimate taxes and levies.

Section 4 of the Administration of Estates Law of Lagos State requires a personal representative to exhibit inventory and accounts of the estate under oath whenever he is lawfully required to do so by the court. The section provides: The Personal Representative of a deceased person shall, when lawfully required so to do, exhibit on oath in the court a true and perfect inventory and account of the real and personal estate of the deceased and the court shall have power as heretofore to require personal representatives to bring in inventories.

It flows from the above that a personal representative (executor) may be compelled at the instance of a beneficiary or a creditor to exhibit an inventory. Thus, the court enforces the rules and laws, which protects the estate of the deceased as well as protect and preserve the equitable titles of the beneficiaries and mortgages, where applicable.

I shall now articulate my argument for the modification of procedure for the grant of probate. One aspect of the procedure for the grant of probate that is prone to fraud is the vexed issued of death certificate of the deceased person. The simple requirement that a death certificate be signed by a medical doctor in any hospital whether or not the deceased died outside the jurisdiction of the issuing doctor should be amended. The procedure should be modified to compel a medical doctor from the hospital that issued the death certificate to testify in court that the deceased death occurred in their hospital and that the death was recorded in the hospital records.

Towards improved access to justice sector in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 77 Register, among others, to make justice accessible to majority of her citizens.

According to him, the state has recently established a Legal Advisory Unit and Witness Support Unit to enhance her prosecution service, pioneering community service as an alternative to imprisonment, as well as a ‘One-Stop Child Centre’ to tackle child abuse and other offences affecting children.

Lagos State, the commissioner said, hosts a MIRABEL Centre to assist with cases of sexual offences and plans a database of sexual offenders among other projects to enhance the efficacy of the justice sector.

The Divisional Police officer (DPO) of Lion Building, Mrs. Uche Anya, who represented the Lagos State Commisioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Manko, was appreciative to the UNODC for organising the workshop aimed at reforming the justice sector, describing it as most appropriate.

“Since the inception of the administration of the current Inspector General of Police, it has been the practice to ensure that all offenders are prosecuted. The outcome of this workshop will improve service delivery of the police and all the agencies involved in criminal justice administration”, she added.

Also the Controller of Prisons, Lagos State Command, Mrs. Catherine Nkolika Ononye, said all efforts aimed at improving the justice sector is very welcomed because the Prison Service, which is the third arm of the criminal justice administration, is the ‘final Bus-Stop’ and at the receiving end of all the activities in the criminal justice sector.

To her, there is need to do all possible to decongest the prision.

She said: “Often times, we hear of the Police, the Army, the Civil Defence Corps and others arresting people; and that most of their actions in that direction end in the Prisons, which according to her, is the ‘final Bus-Stop’. This plan on how to improve the justice sector is a very welcome development.

Here in Lagos, we have prison

Participant, Mrs. Eliana Martins (left) Director, Directorate of Public Prosecution Lagos State (DPP), Mrs. Olabisi Odugbesan, National Project Coordinator, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Mrs. Ugonna Ezekwen, Lagos State Attorney General. Mr. Ade Ipaye, Child Justice expert, Vernice Guthrie; Lagos coordinator of “NGA V18 and Director, DPP, Mrs. Idowu Alakija; participant, Mrs. Funmi Owuye and member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Lagos, Mrs. Phil Nneji at the workshop. inmate capacity of 3,000, but the inmates are well over 5,000 prisoners; ‘you can imagine what the situation would be’, she added.

The Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, noted that the state has continued to make giant strides in the justice sector reform programmes.

Speaking through Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, the Chief Judge said Lagos has been the forerunner of effective justice delivery system in the country and, therefore, deserved special status as the ‘Centre of Excellence’.

Justice Phillips called for more action on the parts of all stakeholders to sustain reform in justice sector Child Justice expert and representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Vernice Guthrie, speaking on juvenile delinquency in Nigeria and other problems associated with young people, pointed out that Nigeria has the highest number of young people with recurring juvenile offences.

She called for the establishment of specialised Children’s Units at Police Stations in furtherance to the Child Rights Act/Child Rights Law .

UNODC’s National Project Coordinator, Mrs. Ugonna Ezekwen, who identified three major results of the programme to include improve-

ment of justice delivery, fundamental human rights, working on information collection and distribution, said the agency has succeeded in establishing a forum for solicitorsgeneral to fashion out policies that would enhance justice delivery.

According to her, the agency’s publications in Criminal Procedure and Civil Litigation would soon be made public documents.

“UNODC is looking forward to an enlarged conference in the area of mediatory justice , enhanced capacity building of stakeholders through further training of judges, magistrates and lawyers and respect for human rights.

Director, Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Lagos State (DPP), Mrs. Olabisi Odugbesan, noted that the state government has put in place a lot of allied programmes towards effective justice delivery in the state.

For example, the Criminal Justice Committee, composed of the Chief Judge of Lagos State, the AttorneyGeneral and herself.

According to her, some members of the staff who are non-lawyers, have beeen engaged by the Ministry of Justice to assist witnesses standing trial in court or with legal issues

to resolve, adding that the Ministry of Justice has put in place new measures to address the problems of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

For the Secretary to the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee , Mr. Felix Ota-Okojie, the Lagos State government has taken a pioneering role in the area of sustainable justice sector reforms.

He noted that the state is leading the country in terms of necessary judicial infrastructure, while the others are trailing behind it.

He pointed out that it is necessary to put in place an ad hoc committee to realise the set goals of a workable justice sector reform in the state with all stakeholders working in tandem, rather than every institution in the criminal justice sector striving on its own. He then urged that all concerned must sustain the collaborative effort of both the Federal and state governments in the criminal justice sector, so as to make the desired impact on justice reform/delivery.

Speaking on the workshop, Lagos coordinator of the programme, Idowu Alakija, said it was a very fruitful deliberation.

According to her, a lot of hard work

had been put in place for the action plan with many people, who were stakeholders in justice reform sector in attendance.

“We had the Police, the Prisons, the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice and members of the Bar, that is the NBA at the three-day workshop.

Basically, these are the stakeholders when you talk of justice reforms.

“We looked at different areas where we had challenges in the justice sector; reviewed them to see areas that required specific attention and within this three days, we’ve been able to work very hard to develop an action plan to determine the areas that have problems.

“We all know that usually, there is a problem with the police when we are going to prosecute cases.

“We found out that may be we don’t have the case file; with prisons, we found out that when we are in court, we are looking for the defendants - the defendants don’t come to court.

And with the judiciary, the judiciary is divided into many parts: we have the judges, we have the magistrates, and we have the customary courts.

There are challenges everywhere and we have been able to deal with every sector. Even the Ministry of Justice has challenges as well. All these were put on the table, we were able to deliberate on all these problems and we have come out with an action plan for solving them and improving the justice system.

On the challenges in the Justice Ministry, she said it has now divided the prosecution department into two, the advisory section and the court going section, which are in small units.

“In the advisory, we have a problem before like the Police not sending the files in time. Generally, the complaints had been that the advice are not coming out in time. But now, we have been able to adopt a system whereby people who are in the advisory unit don’t go to court. So that way, advice is coming out faster and in the workshop, we identified that legal advice is now going faster because the unit does not need to go to court.

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The Bar in defence of democracy

By Funke Adekoya HE Bar Association is the sentinel of democracy, especially in nascent democracies such as Nigeria’s.

Lawyers and the Bar Association must be at the forefront of efforts at democratic consolidation. As Oko observes, there is no greater challenge facing the legal profession, leadership of democratic societies, adding that “His skill in solving disputes among people can be turned to the solution of disputes among groups.”

It was Robert Dahl who said that achieving stable democracy isn't just fair-weather sailing; “it also means sailing sometimes in foul and dangerous weather." In Africa, democracy has proven to be a treacherous slope, a minefield of sorts, to be approached with the greatest caution. The reasons are rooted in the antecedents of democratic experiment. That it took the sweat, blood and tears of many patriots to reclaim the political space from military adventurists is a testament to our ungainly democratic experience.

As we roll out the drums to celebrate “Democracy Day,” it is imperative that we pause to reflect on the quality of our democratic experiment and the role of lawyers and the Nigerian Bar in fostering democracy. A pointer to the fact that it is not yet uhuru was graphically depicted by renowned political commentator, Larry Diamond, when he argues that Nigeria occupies ‘an ambiguous or disputed space between democracy and overt authoritarianism.

They have a multiparty electoral system, with significant opposition. They have some space for civil society and intellectual dissent. However, individual and associational freedoms are under such mounting pressure, or elections are so riddled with fraud, or the arenas of political opposition and competition are so constrained and intimidated by the domineering power of the incumbent, that it is difficult to call the systems democratic, even in the minimal sense.’

This sobering verdict is consistent with scenarios in fragile democracies and developing countries. Instructively, lawyers are compelled to practise within this milieu. As Okechukwu Oko succinctly puts it, while lawyers in

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Director, Business Law Academy (BLA), Oba Fabunmi (left), Director, Mott Mac Donald, John Seeds, Speaker, Bayelsa State House f Assembly, Benson Konbowei and Director, Commonwealth Association for Infrastructure Development at BLA’s Legislative Retreat on PPP at the University of Cambridge, David Wright…recently

Don advocates indepth research in judicial practice

By Yetunde Ayobami Ojo PROFESSOR of Law, University of Lagos, Prof A Ayo Atsenuwa, has urged the Lagos State Judiciary to strengthen its research organs and encourage an independent research into its practice.

Prof. Atsenuwa disclosed this at the weekend during a training workshop organised by rights group, Access to Justice (AJ) in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Justice for Lagos’ magistrates, with the theme: "Effective Implementation of Justice Reforms in Lagos State."

Atsenuwa said what needed to be done was direct institutional action, which could focus on research and documentation.

According to her: "Knowledge about practice and impact can only be elicited through a process of deliberate investigation. “There is a need to undertake periodic analysis of rulings to pick out emerging trends and patterns.

"It is the data elicited from such studies that will enable the magistrate to ascertain the rationale and objective of the process beyond the letter of law. It is pertinent for the judiciary to take keen interest in its own practice.

"There are strong reasons to be interested in identifying patterns in the exercise of judicial discretion or trends in the overall use of bail. " My observation is that magistrates generally comply with the legal provision relating to bail. While the fact that there is a preponderance of Awaiting Trial Inmates (ATIs) among prisoners and that

this singular problem of a high number of ATIs account for the serious problem of prison congestion that calls for urgent action, there is much less to be done by individual judges than by the judiciary as a whole.

Earlier in his opening address, Managing Director of Access to Justice, Mr. Joseph Otteh said the workshop was organised to expand capacity of skills of judicial officers to apply the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJ Law) faithfully to realise the lofty goals of the Law. Otteh said based on the research done by the group on implementation of ACJ Law Reforms, that there are gaps that still exist and challenges to achieve the goals, are still so huge.

"Our research on the enforcement of the ACJ law shows that there are still concerns with implementing the reforms even by the judiciary.

On the part of Police, brutality is still routinely practised, even extra -judicial executions. On the part of the courts, magistrates are reluctant to actually exercise the supervisory oversight over the police.

"Some magistrates said they were reluctant because they did not want to foster the impression that they had released suspect charged with serious crimes because they had been compromised."

He, therefore, called for developing the 'Judicial Will ' of the judiciary to enforce the reforms.

However, Dispute Resolution consultant and former Director, Academics, Nigerian Law School, Kelvin Nwosu said “Alternative Dispute

Resolution (ADR) processes could be adopted in criminal justice administration through various provision of the law.

He said that judicial basis for use of Mediation and ADR in criminal cases was more in tune with restorative justice principles than retributive justice.

Nwosu added that magistrates needed to be wellappraised with the principles of restorative justice, which emphasizes creative problem-solving in dealing with criminal conduct.

"The foregoing clearly indicates the huge potentials of mediation and ADR in crime management; criminal caseload reduction and prison decongestion in Lagos State.

"Apart from deliberate shift towards a restorative justice regime, systematic and structures infusion of mediation and ADR principles and practice into the existing criminal justice system could be achieved with the current statutory provisions enabling the use of mediation and ADR in civil and criminal justice in Lagos. " Maximizing the benefits of Mediation and ADR in justice delivery in accordance with the existing legal framework requires a sincere commitment of all stakeholders to the challenge of re-tooling themselves by the acquisition of requisite knowledge and skills.

"With the right attitude and capacity, mediation and ADR could be used by magistrates in Lagos to substantially, improve the state of justice delivery in the state," he said.

advanced democracies generally practise within politically-stable and economically viable societies with fairly well-developed legal systems, their counterparts in developing countries “work in a difficult and increasingly unstable environment surfeited by political instability, depressed economies, ethnic and religious tensions, inefficient legal systems, corrupt judiciaries that have been unable to insulate themselves from partisan and ethnic pressures, and by a cynical, even distrustful civil society highly ambivalent about involving lawyers in its affairs.”

It has also been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. This throws up the critical role of lawyers and the Bar Association in consolidating democracy in a developing country like Nigeria. Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) underscored this primal role when he said: “In an oppressed society like Nigeria, it is the duty of lawyers to defend the defenceless, protect the rights of the people, guard against all forms of oppression and inhuman treatment. The lawyer as an individual or body of lawyers in any nation must live up to his or its responsibilities as a dogged fighter of the oppressed, as a beacon of light that will penetrate the darkness of the environment, as a courageous voice of the hopeless and heartless and, perhaps, the sane and lonely voice that will bring powers and principalities to the path of rectitude whenever they go wrong.”

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) validated this point when he said at his inauguration as NBA president that "Our profession constitutes the most important vessel in the sustenance of our present democratic experiment, nay in the enthronement of democratic cultures in our land. If Nigeria is to stand tall in the comity of nations or if she is to express a respected opinion within the civilised countries of the world, our democracy must be anchored on the rule of law. In this wise, the legal profession must live by examples, purify itself, get rid of the bad eggs within it and use its vintage and vantage position to instill order and restore discipline in our national life.”

It is in the enlightened selfinterest of lawyers in particular to ensure that democracy thrives. It is only in such a sta-

Group seeks implementation of UN’s report on human rights

By Yetunde Ayobami Ojo NON-PROFIT organisaA tion, Partnership for Justice (PJ), has expressed worries over the Federal Government’s non-implementation of recommendations formulated by observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, during the Universal Periodic Review of Nigeria in October 2013.

The group noted that the government’s unwillingness to implement the recommendations, especially as it affects the children and women nearly a year of accepting the recommendations, smacks of gov-

ernment’s irresponsibility on the plights of the future generation. In a media briefing jointly addressed by PJ’s Managing Partner, Mrs. Itoro Eze-Anaba; Programme Director, Development Dynamics, Mr. Jude Ohanele; Senior Partner, PJ, Mr. Eshiet Eshiet and Programme Officer, PJ, Mrs. Ivy Basil-Ofili, the group called on government to put in place mechanism to implement those recommendations accepted by the government in Geneva.

The call, the group said, was necessary because the Federal Government's delegation led by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr.

Bello Adoke (SAN), had, at the interactive dialogue on presentation of Nigeria's human rights situation report in Geneva, made commitments to implements these recommendations, which include promotion and protection of women's, children's, economic and social rights.

According to PJ, many countries had raised concerns about the lack of domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and urged the government to fast-track the process of domestication of CEDAW. Other recommendations, which enjoyed the support of Nigeria at

meeting, the group stated, included ratifying the human rights instruments to which Nigeria is not yet a state party; step up efforts at pursuing the ratification of other relevant international human rights instruments and consider the ratification of International Labour Organisation Convention No. 169. PJ stated that Nigeria's delegation, led by former Minster for foreign Affairs, Mr. Ojo Madueke, had made same commitments to implement these recommendations at the 2009 meeting in Geneva but nothing was done. The group said the only way the Federal Government can guarantee

stability in the country is to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights are justiciable. “We urge the government to start without delay the process of fulfilling all the commitments made at the review with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of women's rights. “In particular, the government should ensure the speedy passage of the Bill on the Domestication of CEDAW and the provision of a better legal framework to protect women from violence, especially domestic violence and harmful traditional practices”, the group added.

ble environment underpinned by law and order that lawyers can practise their trade without let or hindrance. It has been said that lawyers reach their fullest potential when the society’s legal and institutional framework is allowed to blossom.

As Okechukwu Oko has rightly observed, lawyers cannot thrive as effective agents for democratic reform when they live and practise in a cultural milieu dominated by violence and anomie.

Accordingly, it is perhaps a natural expectation by other stakeholders that lawyers will be at the forefront of efforts to defend democracy and the rule of law. Indeed, it is this expectation that has earned the legal profession and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) several sobriquets, including the “bulwark of our nascent democracy,” “voice of the voiceless,” “defender of rights and protector of liberties,” and “conscience of the nation.”

While the NBA has had a rich history of activism in defence of democracy, its role in this regard has been dotted by several pockets of potholes on the road to Nirvana.

Reflecting on the golden years of the Bar, Falana said: “Alao Aka-Bashorun, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and a few other lawyers were in the forefront of the titanic battle against military dictatorship in Nigeria. I have mentioned these lawyers to demonstrate that the legal profession has contributed positively to the development of many societies.”

To be continued

Imo names structure after Justice Oputa From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri HE Imo State Government has named the gigantic judiciary complex under construction after the late jurist, Chukwudifu Oputa. It also stated its readiness to give the late legal icon befitting burial.

Governor Rochas Okorocha stated this when he paid a condolence visit on the Chief Judge of Imo State, Benjamin Njemanze, in Owerri, adding that the entire state government and people of the state and beyond, were devastated by the death of the legal icon.

Okorocha urged the Chief Judge to set up a committee from the judiciary to ensure Justice Oputa’s smooth funeral rites, recalling his enviable achievements while on the Bench and outside the Bench.

He used the opportunity to disclose that the new judiciary complex under construction would be completed by September, noting the achievements of his administration since inception in 2011.

Njemanze urged the governor to computerise the judiciary as the entire world was going digital.

He regretted that the judiciary was lagging behind in several facilities of the modern judicial process as required in the world today and expressed the willingness of the judiciary to work toward Oputa’s successful burial.

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INTERVIEW

‘Why Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction remains a puzzle’ Chief Moses Efe Odeh (JP) is a Delta State business mogul, security analyst and philanthropist. In this interview with CHIDO OKAFOR at his country home in Otibio-Owhe, Isoko North Local Council, he spoke on several issues. He also has a poser over the suspicious manner that the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

The nation just celebrated yet another democracy day.

Beyond this democratic experience being the longest we’ve had as a nation, is there anything worth celebrating?

ES, we have something to celebrate as a nation. In the first place, we are still in our teething period. And Rome was not built in a day; practice they say, makes perfection. If democracy is allowed to strive in Nigeria, Nigeria will be one of the best countries to reckon with as far as democracy is concerned.

The only problem with Nigerians and politicians is impatience. They want elected politicians or individuals to perform magic and see how they do it over night, which is not possible in democratic practice. Gradually, with patience, I assure Nigerians we will get there.

What do you think can be done to strengthen democratic rule in Nigeria?

I will advise those who go to Channel TV, AIT and other news media to criticize government’s performance negatively, to stop such negative criticism, criticism is good if they are not political but positive. And if they must do, they should do it with high level of moderation and maturity. In fact, make some of those who criticise government officials – Ministers, Governor or President negatively, you will be marveled at their performance if given a chance to serve the nation, so, those who have personal interest or ambition should give peace a chance to allow the government of the day to succeed if democracy must be strengthened. Everybody can’t be President, Governor or Local Government chairman at the same time, because some of the critics sound like paid agents.

To strengthen the Nigerian democracy, there should be only one law making body.

Our democratic structure should not be so large because of economic reasons and should be structured to suit our peculiar purpose.

Our armed forces and police should be expanded to absorb our teeming jobless graduates into it, there should be agricultural divisions to massively produce food enough for the country’s consumption and for export; there should also be division responsible for pharmaceuticals, arms and ammunition, etc.

Sir, how will you assess President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, economically, socially, politically and otherwise, as he has just a year to go?

Excellent, very very well, in fact, I will score him 85% in performance. You know it is not easy to pilot the affairs of a big and complex country like Nigeria because Nigeria, being a terribly corrupt

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country, Jonathan came and won election to rule wolfs, Tigers, Lions and even Cobras that are difficult to lead or governed. He is trying; in the past, NEPA has been in existence for decades and they have not done well as there is nothing to reckon with as regards electricity for over 50 years. The man, Jonathan Goodluck came in yesterday as president of this country and has privatized the power sector. This is a major achievement and it’s highly commendable; it’s a bold and positive step, and God will bless him for that. He should do more to privatize refineries and some Federal highways and others to improve the standard of living in Nigeria.

You see, some people think that, those who bought over and now manage the power sector can bring electricity to every one over night which is not possible; it’s a total madness of their thinking.

The stability of the power sector will take place gradually now that it has been taken over by private firms and it will take some time for them to put things in order. Maybe, five to 10 years.

Economically, he has done very well. Nigerians always talk of corruption in Government which has eaten deep into the fabric of this nation. It’s now, a common knowledge that, the quickest way to make big wealth is government.

Nigeria is one of the few countries where a pauper can catapult himself to government either by crook or hook and by shedding people’s blood; after winning elections, he goes to the church to read sermon and do thanksgiving. Sooner or later he becomes a multibillionaire to the public glare and with impunity.

Where are we going to start from in this country? The young man, Goodluck Jonathan is trying his best to fight corruption for the betterment of the Nigerian society; besides, he is not the one who introduced corruption in governance.

He needs to be applauded and encouraged in fighting corruption.

Jonathan has in his economic team, a renowned financial expert in person of Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi OkonjoIweala who rose to the pinnacle of her career in the World Bank and now, she is trying her best to improve on the economic standard of the nation. But, as I talk to you now, people do not want her to succeed as a result of bad eggs in the system.

During the days of military dictatorship, not that they were not corrupt, they were corrupt; but, their official cars and quarters were not

Odeh as expensive as they are today. Something should be done here to save money for the development of our country only the President, Senate President, Governors and elected leaders of Houses of Assemblies should move in bullet proof expensive cars.

Critics say the present Nigerian governance sys-

tem is too expensive. Do you share this view?

I laugh, because, we have no reason copying the American style of governance which is quite expensive especially as Nigeria is a developing country. As a matter of fact, I will suggest that, there should be only one National Assembly; all should be on part-time

basis, the offices of the Ministers of State should be scrapped to save money.

Looking at the huge amount of allowances given to Legislature for constituency projects and payment of their too many aides, it means a waste of public funds and it is not going well with the Nigerian economy. Come to think of it, in some cases, there is duplicity of government projects; wherein the same project that has been sponsored by the Federal Government, will still be sponsored by the state and other government intervention agencies like NDDC and others.

Goodluck Jonathan cannot kill corruption overnight and I believe he is tackling it. When he comes on board in his second term, he will do better, mind you, he is only three years in office.

Do you think Jonathan deserves another tenure considering the current state of insecurity in the nation, especially the Boko Haram and cattle-rearers menace?

Boko Haram or no Boko Haram, Jonathan’s second term is non-negotiable; he

has been elected once as President and the constitution says, two terms of four years each. Jonathan’s children are not the one involved in Boko Haram activities; nor his people from Bayelsa State or SouthSouth people. He has since ordered military action against Boko Haram and serious effort is being made to bring back our girls. I sympathise with the young man, people are trying to make Nigeria ungovernable for him, but that cannot stop his second term. I am calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his intention for a second term bid without further delay. The SouthSouth people and other sister geo-political zone will vote for him en-mass, even our northern brother; because this is the first time a Southern minority is given the chance to rule this country through an act of God, we all know that we produce the oil that feeds the nation for over 50 years and we have never been given a fair share of it. I strongly believe that

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Tuesday, June 3, 2014 NEWS

INTERVIEW

‘Why Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction remains a puzzle’ Continued from Page 83 Jonathan will win convincingly. People should allow God to finish His work through Jonathan.

Whether he talks slowly or like an American what matters is result.

On the Chibok Girls, what is your view on the assistance of foreign nations towards their release?

The state of emergency in some parts of the North is what I don’t understand. Talking about the Chibok girls, if I may ask, were these girls numbering over 200 taken away through a secrete tunnel in Borno State?

Were they conjured away from Borno State by magic means? Were they transported by road? And if so, in how many buses or trailers? Was everybody in that Local Government unconscious or given sleeping pills? How is it that nobody took notice of these mass evacuations of these girls? And we have the state government functionaries scattered all over this state, the police and other security operatives and the general public within Borno State. So, why are we crying to Aso Rock in Abuja? Jonathan is just one man, and he cannot be everywhere physically at the same time. How are we sure that, the girls are not within Borno State? I am sure the Government of Borno State must be working hard with the Federal authorities to bring back our girls and permanent peace to that state or else my candid suggestion will be that, the democratic structures in Borno State be set aside temporarily and allow a military administrator to run the affairs of the state until peace returns.

Though the assistance of foreign nations on the Chibok girls is a welcome development, the Federal Government should give room for dialogue to chat the way forward between the government and Boko Haram with their sponsors to pave way for lasting peace in the country.

Looking at the National Conference, do you think it’s going to be a fruitful exercise that Nigerians can rely on following the extension of another four weeks?

I hope so, it will be a success. Our representatives at the National Conference should do something about the issue of immunity clause. They should recommend the removal of immunity clause and it should be made clear that, the law is not a respecter of any man irrespective of the position he or she occupies in government.

There should be a stiff penalty on any public official who enriches himself at the expense of the governed. If the president, governor and even the local government chairman knows that he can be arrested while on seat if he is involved in any fraudulent act, they will then sit tight to avoid embarrassment and serve the people better.

If this war against indiscipline at all levels in the country is introduced and approved, it will go down to the private sector, because, private investors are suffering in the hands of workers who will not value their job if there are no loop holes for them to steal. And as a result, make life unbearable for investors and this in turn discourages foreign investors as they cannot trust Nigerians to be in control of their finances.

Anyway, I trust the calibre of men and women in the conference. I believe they will come out with good recommendations.

Chief, back home in Delta your own state, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration slogan in recent time is “Finishing Strong.” Do you see any sign of government determination to finish strong?

Well, I am not in a position to judge the Delta State Government slogan of finishing strong. But before any State Government can say that he has achieved anything, one must look at the total amount of money collected from the Federation Account by that state, total money collected as revenue from such state, all the money borrowed on behalf of that state, be it foreign or internal loan and other sources of income in that state. Then add these to total amount of money such government met in the state treasury. Then we have to talk of loans obtained by previous governments and how much he has paid out of such loans, how many contractors were owed by past

administrations and how much have been paid, and how many uncompleted projects inherited by such government and how many of them have been fully completed and paid for; and, finally, the value of all new projects initiated and completed by any outgoing administration of any state – before one can determine whether the government of that state has finished strong or not.

As in the case of Delta State, I leave that for you who are journalists to judge and score him, putting into consideration infrastructural development in major cities of the state like Warri, Asaba, Sapele, Agbor and others because, I remember when I called for the release of former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, sometime ago, people said a lot of things against me contrary to what I meant. So, I don’t want to say anything on Governor Uduaghan’s performance for now, I don’t know what people will say if I commend or criticize him this time around.

Are you comfortable with the recent release of LGA election time table scheduled to hold on October 25 in Delta State?

Of course, yes, I do. But I want to say here also that, the National Conference should not be silent over the issue of local government funding. The local government should collect their allocation directly from the Federation Account not via the state because most of the local government areas have nothing to write home about. The local governments are finding it difficult to pay their workers’ salaries and this is not helping matters at the grassroots level.

Sir, what is your advice to Nigerians in general and Deltans in particular as regards the 2015 general election?

My advice to Nigerians towards the 2015 elections is for them to vote en mass for Goodluck Jonathan in order for him to complete his transformational agenda.

Nigerians should see themselves as one entity and to be their brothers’ keeper. There should be politics void of bitterness.

Opposition parties should have the spirit of sportsmanship to plan with the ruling party so as to achieve a common goal for the betterment of all.

I am also advising the past heads of state and former presidents of Nigeria to always offer to any incumbent president useful advice. They should use their elderly wisdom with their wealth of experience to join hands with whoever becomes president to move the country forward.

On the other hand, I appeal to Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, one of the governors I admire, to go and reconcile with his boss (Goodluck Jonathan), to retrace his steps. He should not be the one to fight his own brother no matter what. Remember, blood is thicker than water! I love Governor Amaechi so much.

And to the good people of Delta State, I call on them to work for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan and to also vote for a credible candidate come 2015 for the governor of Delta State.

As in the case of Delta State, I leave that for you who are journalists to judge and score him, putting into consideration infrastructural development in major cities of the state like Warri, Asaba, Sapele, Agbor and others because, I remember when I called for the release of former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, sometime ago, people said a lot of things against me contrary to what I meant. So, I don’t want to say anything on Governor Uduaghan’s performance for now, I don’t know what people will say if I commend or criticize him this time around.

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OSUN GUBER POLL 2014

Aregbesola inaugurates campaign committee From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo OVERNOR Rauf G Aregebsola of Osun State yesterday inaugurated the campaign committee for his re-election with a charge to committee to work assiduously to ensure the party ensure victorious at the August 9, 2014 governorship election.

Inaugurating of the committee headed by Senator Sola

Adeyeye, representing Osun Central Senatorial District of Osun State, Aregbesola urged members of the 20- man committee to evolve good campaign strategies to enable the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) get the best results at the August 9 polls.

He advised the committee not take any chances adding that “what we are facing requires much more than in-

toxication. It is not because we are doubting the political choice of our people, but the practice of what happened in 1956, 1959, 1979 and 1983 when the election were manipulated by the power that be was a big event to learn from.”

He noted that the emergence of the progressives in 1999, which was aborted in 2003 led to total “disruption of our state and matches to

progress and growth till November 27, 2010 through our confidence and doggedness with commitment to justice.”

“The experience of our people have shown that every time that true political preference of Yoruba is by whatever way manipulated and thwarted, our people have terrible experience under them. “By this we shall not take this election

that the victory of Aregbesola and APC in the August election.

He expressed optimism that the opposition would be defeated and disgraced that they would not bother to seek any political office again.

Adeyeye said that the southwest region would never go back to the tradition of conservative adding that Osun would become a model for Yorubaland and Nigeria to copy from.

PDP candidate. Iyiola Omisore

Aregbesola

Prof Attairu Jega, INEC chairman

with levity. We must take every election process with seriousness and take history of our people and their historic duty to lead the black race t promise land,” he said.

In his response, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adeyeye expressed appreciation to Governor Aregebesola for given members the opportunity to serve adding that the committee would work hard to ensure

Police read riot act to parties From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo HEAD of the August 9 govA ernorship election, Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu has asked political parties to conduct their electioneering campaign with decorum in order not to run foul of the law.

Maishanu also cautioned politicians against acting contrary to the electoral acts, stressing that all the security chiefs in the state have agreed to take the issue of security strictly.

Emerging from a state security meeting with other law enforcement agents in Osogbo, the state capital, he urged politicians and their supporters to conduct their

activities under the ambit of the law or be prepared to face sanction.

The Police boss, who read relevant sections of the electoral acts to the politicians warned against maiming, arson, killing and other violent conducts before, during and after the election.

He urged the leadership of all political parties in the state to always take police permit before embarking on any political activity in the state, stressing that any political activity held without Police knowledge would amount to illegal gathering.

Also, the Police boss warned politicians in the state to desist from peddling false rumour and making un-

founded allegations saying such action might affect peace of the society.

He said the use of siren by unauthorised persons or groups in the state is not allowed adding that no individual in the state is also allowed to drive vehicle with tinted glass.

While making case for a violent free campaigns and rallies, the Police boss enjoined Politicians to exhibit high level tolerance and perseverance in the interest of peace.

He declared that the state Police command would not hesitate to deal with any individual or group of people that attempt to foment trouble in the state before, during and after the election.

Abubakar

NEWSEXTRA

Rivers dismisses NJC’s appointment of Daisy Okocha as administrative judge of state HE Rivers State AtttorneyT General and Commissioner for Justice, Wogu Boms has dismissed the story making the rounds that a High Court Judge in the Rivers State Judiciary, Hon. Justice Daisy Okocha has been appointed as Administrative Judge of Rivers State by the National Judicial Service Commission, (NJC).

Boms disclosed this Monday shortly after a meeting of the State Judicial Service Commission at the State High Court Complex in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Boms stated that NJC and the Rivers State Judiciary are inca-

• Warns of disciplinary measures against judiciary staff, who deals with her in that capacity pable of making such appointment and urged the general public to disregard such rumours, and equally warned those peddling the rumours to desist forthwith, or be ready to face the wrath of the law.

According to him, “the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission, is a body established by the constitution, which is equivalent to the NJC at the national level, while the NJC takes care of federal judges, the state judiciary takes care of the state judges and staff of the judiciary. We

are not aware of such development that Justice Daisy Okocha has been appointed administrative judge in the state. And our attention has not been drawn to such development, either by the Chief Registrar, who is like the secretary of the judiciary or anybody at the NJC level.”

“It remains a rumour.

However, the State JSC attention has been drawn to a publication by the Rivers State government that they are aware of such possible development by the NJC. This is because NJC met last week, and

it may be possible that they are working on such issues, but, right now, there is no official report or communication to that effect by the NJC to anybody in that matter.

“The NJC do not have the powers to make such appointment in Rivers State for the Judiciary, whether they call it chief judge or acting chief judge or administrative judge, however described. It is illegal and the NJC is practically incapable of making such appointment.”

The State Chief Law Officer

maintained that it is only Governor Amaechi that is constitutionally recognised to appoint a judge or chief judge, and not any other body or commission, as widely speculated.

“The only authority recognised by the constitution to appoint a Judge or a Chief Judge is the Governor of the State and not any other body or commission, and that such body will be acting absolutely illegal to do so, and cannot do so, if they are led by anybody to do so,” Boms stated.

Boms said pursuant to the is-

sues at stake, the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission in its Monday meeting has passed a resolution directing the Chief Registrar to inform all staff of the judiciary that disciplinary measures, including dismissal awaits any staff that deals with any judge as chief judge or acting chief judge or administrative judge not duly appointed by the governor of Rivers State.

“That is the decision of the JSC and we shall carry it out to the letter. They are staff of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission and not of the NJC. There is no law authorizing anybody to act illegally.”

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Sports Onazi clarifies position on alleged match-fixing plot uPEr Eagles’ Onazi STwitter Ogenyi has taken to following match-fixing claims.

Agent Henry Chukwuma Okoroji was caught on camera telling an undercover reporter that he could fix the outcome of matches at this summer’s World Cup. Lazio midfielder Onazi was present at the meeting, as Okoroji reportedly offered to ensure a yellow card for over £40,000 and a penalty for more than £80,000.

But the 21-year-old has now taken to his social media account to clarify his position and reiterate his opposition to any such activity.

“My attention has been drawn to a publication relating to issues about match fixing,” he tweeted.

“First, let me state unequivocally that I have no link whatsoever to any individual or group with ties to the corrupt issues of match fixing.

“A certain Mr. Okoroji was mentioned in the publication. My previous contact with Mr. Okoroji was based on the fact that we are both Nigerians.

“As a matter of fact, I am surprised to learn that Mr. Okoroji is a FIFA licensed agent.

“On the day of this meeting, he had earlier told me that his associates had an

endorsement proposition for my consideration.

“I duly informed my friend and who manages my affairs.

“When I got to the meeting, I found out it was all about fixing matches. I told them a resounding NO and left.

These allegations come fresh on the heels of the news that the Super Eagles’ clash with Scotland last week was being investigated after allegedly being targeted by criminal syndicates.

But Onazi has insisted both he and his teammates are ready to take all the talk on the chin and move forward.

“I thank my family, friends, fans and colleagues who have shown a sense of understanding and displayed love and support to me.

“Finally, let me reassure you all that I remain competitive and will never accede to any plan to bring the game of football to disrepute.

“My loyalty towards Nigerians and to the mantra of Fair play remains unwavering.

“I and my colleagues remain resolute and focused. We will take this on the chin and move on,” he added.

Four athletes in contention for AFN N2m Golden League jackpot •Ogba seeks financial support HE chase for the Athletics T Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Golden League jackpot has been reduced to four contenders who will each battle for a share of the N2million at stake in the final of the league slated to hold in Benin City this weekend.

Top on the list is Chime Nkechi Leticia who competes for Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the women’s Shot Put. The 21-year old has extended her dominance to all four legs of her event and will be seeking for a fifth consecutive win in the Edo-State capital on Saturday.

Chime had a throw of 14.14m in the first leg in Abuja and further improved on her performance with 14.62m in Ilorin a fortnight later. The third leg in Akure proved to be a turning point as she hit a mark of 14.86m, and then finally concluded with 14.17m and 40 points in tow in the fourth leg of the competition, which was also hosted by Akure.

Another contender for a slice

of N2million is Martins Ogieriakhi in the 110 hurdles.

Ogieriakhi who competes for the Nigeria Police Force kicked off his campaign with 14.01secs in Abuja and 14.09secs in Ilorin. He further extended his lead with 13.99secs in Akure and would be aiming for the perfect climax in Benin.

Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea fight over Nigerian youngster K DONS are preparing M themselves for an onslaught of bids from

Super Eagles’ star, Sunday Mba.

Abia Warriors’ striker targets 25 goals this season BIA Warriors of umuahia A in-form striker, Onyekachi Peter, says his target this season is to emerge as top scorer in the Glo Premier League, thereby helping his team to pick a continental ticket.

Speaking to newsmen at the umuahia Township Stadium shortly after Abia Warriors beat visiting Gombe united 2-1 in a week 18 encounter, Peter, who scored one of his side’s goals, said his target is to score at least 25 goals at the end of the season to break Jude Aneke’s 20-goal record in Nigeria’s top flight.

The red hot striker, who is currently Abia Warriors’ top scorer with five goals, commended his team mates for their oneness on the pitch, which has seen him score four goals in as many games and assured his fans that his best is yet to come. “Without them, I can’t do it alone”, he said.

He also had some good words for the technical Crew led by Issa Ladan Bosso, noting that the experienced tactician has made him a better striker through his pep talks and fatherly advice.

Like any other footballer in

NSC Director General, Gbenga Elegbeleye (middle) addressing members of Team Nigeria on arrival from Botswana… yesterday.

Nigeria, Peter said he hopes to take his skills abroad to continue his career while expressing optimism that national team handlers will spot him one day to enable him fulfill one of his hearts desires of playing for the country.

some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs for Nigerian youngster, Dele Alli.

Arsenal, Manchester united and Chelsea have all been linked with the 18year-old, after he capped off another impressive season with the League One side.

New reports have linked the Premier League giants with bids worth around £5m, but the price is likely to spiral if a bidding war ensues.

And Dons boss Karl robinson has admitted that that he knew Alli’s talent was always going to attract the top teams and is ready to try and hold on to the midfielder.

“I am desperate to keep him if I am honest as I want to build a team around him and, if we keep him, we will undoubtedly be a better side with him than without him,” robinson said.

“The boy is a very gifted individual and I think that has been proven in what he has done so far.

“There’s been a lot of interest in him and a few things have come up, but it would be unfair of me to talk about the clubs who want him.

“Everyone knows his talent and I have no doubt he will be a fantastic player for a top club when he fulfills his potential.

“I work with him every day and he is the best youngster I have ever worked with and, if some Premier League clubs want him, they will have to meet our value of Dele.”

NSC to take AYG gold medalists to Youth Olympics HE National Sports T Commission (NSC) has assured athletes that won gold medals for Nigeria at the just concluded Africa Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana, that they would represent the country at the forthcoming Youth Olympics Games (YOG) in China.

NSC Director General, Gbenga Elegbeleye, made these assurances when receiving the athletes at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on Sunday.

Team Nigeria emerged the third best at the just concluded AYG in Botswana, having won a total 41 medals, including 19 gold, eight silver and 18 bronze medals.

The NSC top official showered encomiums on the athletes for representing the

country well and winning more medals of 41 compared with 10 won in the first edition held in Morocco. ‘’Every Nigerian is proud of you, starting from President Goodluck Jonathan, because you went there, conquered and came back. ‘’The last outing in Morocco in 2010, we had 10 medals but right now, we surpassed that feat, that means that you are all golden athletes. ‘’But, I promise you that those of you that won gold at the AYG will be at the YOG later in the year, even if your federations are not going, we will get you there,’’ Elegbeleye said.

The NSC chief said that all the athletes should see the AYG as a stepping stone to greater heights.

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My World Cup story…Keshi

The list is out, the real journey begins

By Mitchel Obi HERE is always a second T chance. And when it comes and one gets it right, the first chance lost hardly matters.

That’s why goal poachers are excited when they are well fed with passes notwithstanding their conversion rate.

One bad miss can help propel a celebration kiss when the goal comes. It is all part of the game and the philosophy for any player is to accept and believe that there will always be another opportunity.

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi came close to making the glorious 1980 African Nations Cup Green Eagles. Alongside Henry Nwosu, who became at 18 the youngest Nigerian player of the competition, Keshi blossomed in the Eagles camp. But when it came to selecting the team for the contest he had to give way to the more experienced and tested defenders, led by “chairman” Christian Chukwu.

Two years later the opening came and Keshi squeezed in to cement his place as the new toast of defenders. “That is what you learn in the game.

You win some and lose some.

We were together in St. Finbarrs and myself and Henry both made the national team. But the competition then was tough. Who will I displace in the defence. My brother it was not easy, “Keshi recalled with a happy tone.

Only yesterday at lunchtime in Philadelphia, United States he had the unenviable task of talking to the seven players dropped from the provisional list of 30.

Memories of his playing days came flooding and he remembered the sleepless night at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos when as captain of the team going to the 1994 World Cup in USA he and coach Clemens Westerhof went through inexplicable stress in deciding who should be dropped between Victor Ikpeba, then the goal scoring Prince Of Monaco and the fleet-footed Tijani Babaginda.

It was jokingly stretched as a north versus south impasse but at the end fair play prevailed.

‘

Eagles celebrating a goal in a recent match. The team will meet Greece in an international friendly today.

Ikpeba made the team but Babaginda made the journey.

The spirit of the team was thus strengthened and like one happy family they stormed and shook America with a captivating play that won many hearts.

One of the teams that suffered the firepower of the Eagles was Greece. The boys from the home of the Olympics were virtually blown into smithereens and interestingly that was the only match in the World Cup Keshi started.

For the rest of the competition he became the voice of the sidelines, a garb he will be

Indeed, Keshi has kept faith with the boys he knows and the boys who have given him joy.

For some, it is a second chance. For a few, it is a last chance. But for Nigerians his choice of a team signals his readiness to accept that this is his golden chance to shine on and remain a legend.

’

wearing tonight when his team confronts Greece in one of the two friendlies lined up for the Eagles on their way to Brazil.

“That was the only match I played and I started as captain. You know I had a knee problem and could not feature in the other games. I was on the bench making noise and moving about encouraging the boys,” he remembered with a long smile.

One player who scored against Greece was Daniel “the Bull” Amokachi. Tonight Amokachi will be busy as an assistant coach and along with team psychologist, Robinson Okosun, they will strive to maintain the team spirit and unity of purpose, particularly with the presence of the dropped players who will still be around to watch the game against Greece before leaving for their respective homes tomorrow, same day the team leaves for Miami.

“The boys are all good and in great shape. They are giving their best. But they need to be

professional. We had to drop seven. That’s the rule by FIFA. At lunchtime, I told them the 23 players who will be featuring against Greece.

“Hopefully there will be no injuries. The mood is good and they are showing understanding. It is not easy. These boys have worked hard to be here and I will still count on them,” he echoed as he prepared for the only training session yesterday.

Always at ease supporting his players and ready to defend their interest, Keshi talked of his choice of three goalkeepers for the World Cup. “I think it is easy to predict my keepers if you have been following our games and my selection. I can’t change keepers now. All of them are good and they have been tested.

Like us, they have a right to make mistakes and we must not condemn them for mistakes.

“It is a learning curve. The three keepers are in shape. I can’t go to Germany looking for Schumacher when I have them here. Except in extreme

‘

PHOTO: AFP

Memories of his playing days came flooding and he remembered the sleepless night at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos when, as captain of the team going to the 1994 World Cup in USA, he and coach Clemens Westerhof went through inexplicable stress in deciding who should be dropped between Victor Ikpeba, then the goal scoring Prince of Monaco and the fleet-footed Tijani Babaginda. It was jokingly stretched as a north versus south impasse but at the end fair play prevailed. Ikpeba made the team but Babaginda made the journey. The spirit of the team was thus strengthened and like one happy family they stormed and shook America with a captivating play that won many hearts.

bad condition that you can change keepers.”

Indeed, Keshi has kept faith with the boys he knows and the boys who have given him joy. For some, it is a second chance. For a few, it is a last

’

chance. But for Nigerians his choice of a team signals his readiness to accept that this is his golden chance to shine on and remain a legend.

• A Mastersports presentation C2014.

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SPOrTS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Nigerian players confident ahead Lagos International Badminton Classics ESPITE not being impresD sive at the just concluded 2014 Li-Ning BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals held in India, Nigerian players listed for the Lagos International Badminton Classics believe they will not be pushovers when the tournament kicks off tomorrow.

The players, from the highest ranked Nigerian male player in the world, Abah Enejoh to Jimkan Bulus, as well as Victor Makanjuola, believe the foreigners will not have it easy when they come for the competition.

Enejoh, who is seeded 168 in the world, believes the Nigerian contingent would give their best against their foreign counterparts.

“I have been training for this tournament for the last one month in Abuja and I am hopeful that we will not dis-

appoint our people, especially now that we are hosting.

“I hope to make it far in the singles while I am hoping for the titles in the doubles and mixed doubles,” he said.

Bulus, who was part of the team to India, believes the experience garnered in India would be handy when the competition.

“I want to really appreciate the organisers for staging the competition and for us as players, this is a good development. Being the second international tournament I will attend this year, I am hopeful that we will do well, especially with the quality of players we have,” Bulus said.

Despite ruling himself out of the championship due to academic commitment, Makanjuola is optimistic that his colleagues would

Nigeria’s 4x400m World Relay Bronze-winning team (L-R), Sade Abugan, Patience Okon George, Omolara Omotosho, Regina George.

‘Calabar Stadium track ready for Commonwealth Games trials’

By Gowon Akpodonor (Lagos) and Anietie Akpan, Calabar

• AFN boss inaugurates MOC

rOSS river State governC ment says the tartan track of the U.J. Esuene Stadium,

said the upgrading of facilities in the stadium is according to international standard.

He said the ultra-modern indoor sports hall will cost N2.2 billion, the tartan track N124 million, regrassing of six football pitches within and without the stadium N74 million, while the swimming and training pools cost N433 million.

According to him, the tartan track is already completed, while the Olympic size swimming pool within the stadium would be ready before September.

“We had an eight-lane swimming pool here before, which has been expanded to a 10-lane pool,” he said, adding, “we are also increasing the depth of this pool from one metre to two metres.

“This is the new

which has been undergoing renovation for this year’s National Sports festival, is fully ready for the AFN/CrS All Nigeria Athletics Championship.

The All Nigeria Athletics Open championship slated for June 19 to 21 will serve as trials for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as the Africa Athletics Championships slated for Marrakech, Morocco later in the year.

The stadium with eight lane will also host the 19th National Sports Festival tagged “Centenary Games, in November. The U.J. Esuene stadium is being renovated at the cost N2.831 billion.

Cross river Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Patrick Ugbe,

International Swimming Federation standards for pool design and the technology we are using is the Myrtha Pool Technology as specified by the Swimming Federation.

This is the most modern pool in Africa when it is completed and its sitting capacity is over 500.”

At the 1,680 capacity indoor sports hall under construction at the cost of N2.2 billion, he said the project which includes a gymnasium, VIP stand, the press stand, broadcast stands, two squash courts, basketball, hand ball, combat sports and others would be delivered by September this year.

It will be recalled that the U.J Esuene hosted the Super Eagles and the Golden Eaglets in their respective qualifying matches for the African Nations Cup and World Cup. Meanwhile, the President of

the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, has inaugurated the Main Organizing Committee (MOC) for the 2014 AFN/CrS All Nigeria Athletics Championship slated for Calabar, Cross river from June 19 to 21 at the Calabar Township Stadium.

The MOC is headed by AFN Vice-President, Tunde Abdulkareem, with Scribe of the Federation, Olumide Bamiduro, serving as Director of Organization.

Other members of the committee are Olukayode Thomas, Falilat OgunkjoyaOmotayo and Commodore Omotseye Nesiama. The President of NATO, Henry Amike and President of NUGA, Ken Anugweje, are also members of the MOC. Ogba also announced the appointment of Yusuf Alli as the Meet Director for the Championship.

Access Bank International Charity Polo 2014

Fifth Chukker wins Access Bank Cup ATE comers, Fifth Chukker, Lfavourites at the weekend upstaged and defending champions, rTC, to win the Access Bank Cup at the second stage of the on-going Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield International Polo tournament.

Fifth Chukkers victory, though, did not come easy as they only managed to dethrone rTC on goals difference.

The Adamu Atta powered Chukkers, who joined the Access Bank Cup title chase hours before the race galloped off, jumped into the lead from the starting bell, winning two of their three games and drawing one in the round robin format that pitched four ambitious teams.

With two wins over Max Air and Huwaei and a handsome six goals advantage, the Chukkers were home and dry, but their victory dance was delayed till the final game between rTC and Max Air, who needed a victory and

a seven goals advantage to win the title.

The Access Bank Cup final was one the most competitive in years, as the two teams went neck-to neck till the fourth chukka of the five chukkas clash, went Max Air went ahead 7-5 with a chukka to spare.

Watched by a capacity crowd that included members of the National Assembly, traditional rulers and thousands of polo enthusiasts, rTC dug deep in the final chukka, but were only able to pull back a goal as the final ended 7-6 in favour of Max Air, thus surrendering the title to Fifth Chukkers on goals.

“This is unbelievable. As late comers nobody gave us a chance, but by cheer determination and the overwhelming support of our fans, we make it to the final and produced a stunning performance that over haul the defending champions and secured us the glittering Access Bank Cup,” declared Fifth Chukker

Captain, Ibrahim Mohammed.

Mohammed thanked Access Bank for bring out the best in his squad, the fans for their support and dedicated their first Access Bank Cup title to their teeming fans and the less privileged children across the country, whose support, he says, fired Fifth Chukkers throughout their victorious campaign.

The Zonal Head Commercial Banking Division of Access Bank, Joseph Ikpaanyam, who cheered every moment of the exciting Access Bank Cup final, presented the glittering Access Bank Cup to the winners.

He was assisted by the CEO of Base Oil & Gas, Kayode Thomas, who decorated the Max Air that finished runners-up.

Ikpaanyam, who expressed delight at the huge turnout for the Access Bank Cup final, congratulates the winners and the runners-up, Max Air and urged others who could

not make it to final to redouble their efforts prepare well ahead of 2015 edition.

FMCG Games: Dufil, PZ Cussons set to defend titles EGISTrATION of teams r from Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries for the FMCG Games tagged Nigeria FMCG Games 2014 has commenced with a number of high profile teams confirming their participation.

The games is organized by MediaVision Limited, the leading industry games organizers in Nigeria with a portfolio of such prestigious events like the annual Nigeria Bankers Games with a history dating back to 1990 and also the Telecommunication Games as well as the Insurance Games.

Defending football event champions, Dufil Prima tops

the list of teams that have been preparing for the event and the others are overall champions of the first edition, PZ Cussons that won the most medals last year. Nestle PLC, Unilever are also in the mix to contest as is Promasidor and GlaxoSmithKline.

Jimmy Sogbesan, Group Director Projects and Activations at MediaVision Limited disclosed in a statement that the tournament, which will last for six weekends will hold at the Agege Stadium for the football event. Competitions of all industry games organized by the company are held on weekends only.

TAN’s promo winners commend government for backing Eagles INNErS of the ‘Fly me to W Brazil’ Promo organised by Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) have said that travelling to cheer the Super Eagles to victory is a dream come true.

Adeleke Ige Taoheed, who described himself as a passionate Super Eagles fans, thanked TAN for making his dream come true. He said the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has witnessed unprecedented achievement in sports. He noted that the achievement was possible because of the grassroots development programme of the present administration. “There is no

Oyebanji, one of TAN’s fly me to Brazil winners promo

doubt that the government is using sports to transform the country.

“It has invested heavily in the development of the youths by providing sporting infrastructures that are used for training and developing talented youths. That is why Nigerian sportsmen and women are doing well at international competitions.”

Tsarba Porgu also stated that the Super Eagles victory at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) IN 2013 was due to the fact that the presidency gave its unflinching support to the team.

He stated that he would be happy to be in Brazil to cheer the team to victory. “Its clear that a lot of sporting achievement has taken place under this dispensation. The Eagles won the AFCON 2013 in South Africa, while the Golden Eaglets also won the FIFA Under 17 World Cup at the United Arab Emirate, while the home-based Eagles picked bronze at the CHAN early this year also in South Africa. ” Porgu stated that all this wouldn’t have been possible if the government had not given its full support to teams competing at international competitions.

Oyeronke Oyebanji, who expressed excitement at winning a trip to Brazil, said it wouldn’t have been possible, if the government had not given the Super Eagles the backing to qualify for the World Cup. She urged the government to continue supporting the team so that it would do well in Brazil.

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Countdown To Brazil 2014 World Cup

Deep in the Brazilian jungle, villagers host their own World Cup EVER mind the World N Cup. In this off-the-grid corner of Brazil’s Amazon, villagers are already engrossed in a soccer tournament they take just as seriously: the Active Forest Cup. The tournament, which began in April, decides soccer bragging rights among dozens of small villages at the confluence of the Tapajós and Arapiuns rivers in Brazil’s remote rain forest.

Games on fields of river silt play out under the broiling Amazon sun. In Amazon ball, players with shoes tend to dominate players without.

Brazil, which hosts the World Cup starting June 12, calls itself “the country of soccer.” And the depth of soccer-mania on this Amazon frontier illustrates the point. For generations, small villages like Suruacá have traveled by boat for away-games that stoke intense inter-village rivalries.

Afterward, rollicking postgame parties produce actual inter-village marriages.

“Soccer for us is a way to show people from the outside that here in the Amazon it’s not just monkeys, jaguars, pacas and turkeys, snakes and alligators. There’s also human beings here who like to have fun, cheer, score, see goals get scored,” says Djalma Lima, a wiry, wisecracking 50-year-old who coaches Suruacá’s men’s and women’s teams.

A sandy village up a slippery staircase from the Tapajós River, Suruacá is a tranquil place where people wake with the roosters, work small farm plots and snack on tree fruits like the uxi, which tastes like a potato. The village of 470 people is also home to a fierce crosstown rivalry between its two soccer clubs, Norte Brasil and Santos.

“When Norte Brasil and Santos play, it’s like Argentina and Brazil,” says Mr. Lima’s wife, Margarete Lima, a 52-year-old mother of eight and veteran of Norte Brasil’s women’s

Members of the men’s and women’s teams climbed off the river boat that took them to Anumã for a round in the tournament. team.

Soccer has been a way of life here for as long as anyone can remember. Radio broadcasts of games reached the Amazon by the 1940s. Still lacking electricity today, Suruacá locals now fire up a diesel generator to watch key soccer matches on TV. The Norte Brasil soccer club was founded around 1950; its rival Santos, some time later.

“Before Norte Brasil, we had pickup soccer. And before that, it was the Indians who lived here,” says Nacio Francisco de Souza Filho, an 86-year-old former rubber tapper walking barechested down a Suruacá path. Mr. de Souza Filho once played midfield for Norte Brasil.

Inspired by the coming World Cup, villages here decided to stage a regional championship—their first since 2001. It runs through

September. It takes that long to organize when some teams communicate with the outside world by sending messages via boats.

In early April, Suruacá was preparing for a playoff round downriver in the village of Anumã.

Before a practice, Mr. Lima gave his 14-year-old grandson, Lucas, a foot rub with oil saved from frying piranhas. “World Cup players have everything—medicine, hydro-massage. All I’ve got is piranha oil,” he remarked.

Making do is his specialty.

As town health officer, he cleans cuts with a solution of seeds steeped in Cachaça, Brazil’s answer to rum.

When that isn’t enough, he calls the “ambu-launch” boat from the nearest city, Santarém. In March he needed it for a heart attack, two snake bites, a scorpion bite and a bad case of dysentery.

The real deal: The Brazilian national team is among the favourites for the 2014 World Cup title.

The heart-attack victim was Domingos Pimentel, a 74-year-old known as Pimenta, or pepper, still revered for his play for Santos, and fighting for his life in a Santarém hospital.

Suruacá players were thinking of him as they took the field for practice.

Everyone in Suruacá seems to play. At one point the ball careered out-of-bounds toward a barefoot woman walking with a little child.

Without breaking stride, the woman sent the ball back into play with an elegant behind-the-back heel kick.

Suruacá gives the term soccer-mom new meaning.

When the women’s goalie noticed a group of toddlers needing a snack, she grabbed a 10-foot pole from the grass and ran over to a jambu tree. She shook its branches with the pole and bright red fruit rained down. Presto, the toddlers

PHOTO: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

were munching on jambu.

She raced back to the net and finished practice.

In the evening, plumes of smoke from cooking-fires gather over the field. After the last practice before the Anumã playoff, the Lima family gathered for a meal of cutia, a rodent resembling a large squirrel. Night fell; the town generator powered down. Suruacá was ready.

Then, tragedy struck. Mr. Pimentel had died in the hospital. Someone rang the town bell. Town leaders met and concluded they should quit the cup in respect.

By morning, another view prevailed: Suruacá should try to win the cup for old Pimenta.

That sent off a scramble to find a new boat. The boat they hired to go to the cup had been sent instead to retrieve Mr. Pimentel’s body. Luckily, an area nonprofit organization, Saúde e Alegria, arranged a replacement.

On board, Mr. Lima gave out more leg massages.

Players rested in hammocks. Coach Lima did a barefoot dance that made everyone laugh.

Arriving in Anumã, members of the team splashed off the boat and laced up their knockoff Nike cleats on a driftwood log. They walked past a wood-slat saloon. At least one team was inside getting a pregame buzz. Nearby, a slaughtered cow hung in the broiling sun. Cooks later made it into stew.

The field was ugly, even by Amazon standards. It slanted so much that each team played uphill half the match, and torrents of rain added gullies and mounds to the terrain. Occasionally, the ball bounced off the

field and into the jungle. A barefoot ball-boy was on hand to go look for it.

Suruacá’s women won their first game easily, advancing to the finals since only two other female teams had showed up.

The hopes of Suruacá’s men rested with Mr. Lima’s nephew, the 17-year-old goalie Jailson Bentes Oliveira. He left Suruacá at 13 to play for a minor-league professional team in Santarém. He quit two years later when a load of bricks fell on his foot at his construction day job and severed his Achilles tendon.

This was his comeback, he said.

The Suruacá men were tied in an elimination-final against rival Vila Franca, with time running out. A Vila Franca striker blasted a shot toward the upper right corner.

Mr. Oliveira launched his body in a skyward arch and deflected the ball. He had saved the game, sending it to a decisive penalty round.

The normally stoic Mr. Oliveira adopted a flamboyant goal-line approach. He jumped, waved his gloved hand and pounded his chest, seeking to unnerve the shooters.

Suruacá players helped the strategy by chanting “Miss, miss, miss!” as Vila Franca players lined up to shoot.

It worked. The final Vila Franca shot sailed high.

Suruacá players ran the field. One did a flip. They gathered in a prayer circle to thank the late Mr. Pimentel, whom they credited with helping them clinch a berth in the September final.

Mr. Oliveira was the MVP. He was last seen with one of Suruacá’s beauties disappearing into the throng of dancers in the wood-slat saloon.

94

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SPORTS Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Countdown to Brazil 2014 World Cup Low releases Germany’s World Cup squad

We’ll sing national anthem with passion, Hodgson assures OY Hodgson has promR ised that his England players will be singing the national anthem loud and proud in Brazil.

For years, England’s footballers have been criticised for not singing God Save The Queen with as much passion as their compatriots in other sports, most notably rugby.

Some other footballing nations have always been keener on belting out their respective national anthems than England too.

Wayne Rooney did not sing the national anthem at the start of his England career while Gary Neville, now an England coach, refused to join in as he said he preferred “focusing on the match” instead.

But Hodgson, who is two years into his reign as England boss, is adamant that his England team should sing prior to kick-off.

“You very rarely play an international match against opponents and they haven’t got their hands on their hearts and singing their anthem as loud as they can, and we’ve made a decision that that’s what we’re going to do, too because we are proud, we are happy to be wearing that England shirt,” the England manager said.

“We have been doing it for

two years. We are proud to be England players, and in my case, England manager, so when the national anthem comes up it’s an obvious one for me that we sing it.”

Given that Hodgson’s 23man World Cup squad contains 12 players who were not part of Euro 2012, the England manager will issue a reminder to his party for Brazil that they must sing the song this summer.

“Perhaps we need to remind them as the squad has changed so much,” the 66year-old said.

“I hope they will.

“I think we’re great until the second verse comes along because we don’t really know that,” he added with a smile.

After warm-up games against Ecuador and Honduras in Miami, England will take on Italy in their World Cup opener in Manaus on June 14.

They could come up against a familiar face in the Amazon - that of Italy striker Mario Balotelli, who spent two and a half eventful years at Manchester City before departing for AC Milan in January 2013.

The controversial 23-yearold is on the fringes of Cesare Prandelli’s team, but Hodgson is unsure whether

OACHIM Low has made the JGermany final three cuts to his World Cup squad with Shkodran Mustafi, Marcel Schmelzer and Kevin Volland missing out.

There is only one striker veteran Miroslav Klose - listed in the final group of 23, although the likes of Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle and Thomas Muller provide a significant attacking threat from midfield.

As their training camp wrapped up, Low told the German football federation’s website: “I was amazed at how all the players presented themselves in South Tyrol.

“Each individual has worked excellently. Players have done what I ask for. It is very hard to make this decision and Shkodran, Marcel and Kevin are naturally very disappointed. I understand that as they had every right to hope to be going to Brazil.

“Of all the players selected I have 100 per cent confidence. We have the right mix of youth and talent and players with lots of experience. Our squad is balanced, with two players in every position. Our players have character, this team has character, and we will go to

Brazil with confidence and with big goals.”

The players were taking a day off on Monday before meeting in Mainz on Friday to play Armenia. They are due to head to Brazil on Saturday.

Germany squad: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), RonRobert Zieler (Hannover); Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (FC Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Christoph Kramer ( B o r u s s i a Monchengladbach), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Lazio).

Hodgson Balotelli - whom he likes will play against England.

“He’s obviously a very good player, a very skillfull player,

but it’s Prandelli’s decision,” the Three Lions boss added.

“We admire him as a player and respect his talent.”

Rossi out of Italian squad IUSEPPE Rossi has again G missed out on the chance to feature for Italy at the World Cup as he was left out of Cesare Prandelli’s 23-man squad.

The 27-year-old, controversially omitted by Marcello Lippi four years ago, has not fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered in January.

The Fiorentina striker was given a last-ditch opportunity to play his way into Prandelli’s squad in the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.

But he failed to make an impact in his 71-minute runout, and the Italy coach is taking no risks over his fitness for the showpiece in Brazil.

Rossi was the leading scorer in Serie A until picking up a knee injury, which sidelined him for four months.

Prandelli has instead opted to include Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne alongside Mario Balotelli and Ciro Immobile, who finished the season as Serie A’s top scorer with 22 goals.

Parma’s veteran striker

Rossi

Cameroun unveils squad ETERAN striker V Mohammadou Idrissou has been left out of Cameroon’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup by coach Volker Finke.

Maccadbi Haifi forward Idrissou, 34, was one of five departures as Finke whittled down his group to make the trip to Brazil.

Also missing out were Olympiakos defender Gaeteng Bong, Rennes defender Jean-Armel Kana-

Biyik, Guingamp goalkeeper Ndy Assembe and Osasuna midfielder Cedric Loe. Cameroun squad: Charles Itandje (Konyaspor), Sammy Ndjock (Fetihespor), Loic Feudjou (Coton Sport); Allan Nyom (Granada), Dany Nounkeu (Besiktas), Cedric Djeugoue (Coton Sport), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille), Henri Bedimo

(Lyon), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur); Eyong Enoh (Antalyaspor), Jean Makoun (Rennes), Joel Matip (Schalke), Stephane Mbia (QPR), Landry Nguemo (Bordeaux), Alex Song (Barcelona), Edgar Salli (Lens); Samuel Eto’o (unattached), Eric Choupo Moting (Mainz), Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Vincent Aboubakar (Lorient), Pierre Webo (Fenerbahce), Fabrice Olinga (Zulte-Waregem).

Antonio Cassano will at last make his World Cup debut at the age of 31, while Torino forward Alessio Cerci is another attacking option.

AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Monolivo misses out after it was confirmed he suffered a broken leg in the goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland, and his place goes to former Liverpool flop Alberto Aquilani.

Roma’s Daniele De Rossi and Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo will spearhead a formidable midfield along with Paris Saint-Germain duo Marco Verratti and Thiago Mott.

Juventus provide most of the defence with Andrea Bazagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini all likely to start in front of club captain Gianluigi Buffon.

Torino right-back Matteo Darmian impressed on his debut against Ireland and has been preferred to Cristian Maggio, who endured an injury-ravaged season for Napoli.

Italy take on England in their Group D opener in Manaus on June 14.

Italy squad: Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon, Salvatore Sirigu, Mattia Perin.

Defenders: Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Matteo Darmian, Mattia De Sciglio, Gabriel Paletta.

Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani, Antonio Candreva, Daniele De Rossi, Claudio Marchisio, Thiago Motta, Marco Parolo, Andrea Pirlo, Marco Verratti.

Forwards: Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano, Alessio Cerci, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne.

Low

Cheryshev out of Russian team USSIA coach Fabio Capello R has confirmed his 23-man squad for the World Cup, with Denis Cheryshev and Pavel Mogilevets the players to miss out.

Capello had already whittled down his provisional list to 25 players last month and the former England, Real Madrid and AC Milan boss has now confirmed his final group for Brazil.

Forward Cheryshev, who was on loan at Sevilla from Real Madrid last season, was the only non-Russia based player in contention but he has missed the cut along with Mogilevets, who is on loan at Rubin Kazan from Zenit St Petersburg.

Russia are in Group H at the World Cup alongside Belgium, Algeria and South Korea, who they open their campaign against on June 17.

Russia squad: Igor Akinfeev,

Yury Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan); Vasiliy Berezutskiy, Sergey Ignashevich, Georgiy Schennikov (all CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat, Alexey Kozlov (both Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eschenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny); Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Viktor Faizulin, Oleg Shatov (both Zenit St Petersburg); Yury Zhirkov, Alexey Ionov, Alexander Kokorin (all Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow).

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 SPOrTS 95

THE GUArDIAn www.ngrguardiannews.com

French Open: Nadal to face Ferrer AFAEL nadal continued r his quest for a record fifth consecutive French Open title, reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-2 6-1 win over Dusan Lajovic.

The 27-year-old took only 93 minutes to oust the Serb, losing just 33 points.

In the last eight tomorrow, there will be a repeat of last year’s final as nadal plays David Ferrer, who beat Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.

Fourth seed Simona Halep, the highest-ranked player left in the women’s singles, beat Sloane Stephens 6-4 63.

“I’m relieved but also happy,” said Petkovic. “It was super tough, because I didn’t know her at all. I just stalked her on YouTube yesterday the whole day, and I was already impressed.”

“I’m happy with the way I played,” said nadal. “I was able to control the points

Malcolm not giving up on Glasgow 2014 HrISTIAn Malcolm still 20.50 seconds or two B efforts C hopes to compete for of 20.85secs.

Wales at the 2014 He failed to reach the 200m Commonwealth Games in Glasgow despite failing to make the selection criteria.

Malcolm’s hopes of competing at a fifth Games have been disrupted by injuries.

The 34-year-old admits his chances are slim but hopes Welsh selectors will allow him special dispensation.

“They’ve put a selection policy in place and they want to stick to that and that’s all I’m up against at the moment,” he said.

“To go to the Games and possibly captain my country would be fantastic for me” Christian Malcolm “I heard the head coach [Scott Simpson] could overlook certain things, but I don’t think that’s what they want to do.

“They want to look forward and realise when we put something down on paper we’ve got to stick to it no matter who it is.”

The 34-year-old needed to post an A standard time of

final at the Welsh Athletics Championships in Cardiff after finishing third in the heats in a time of 21.96secs. newport sprinter Malcolm has been troubled by an Achilles tendon problem which saw him miss the whole of last season, including the World Championship in Moscow.

He ran 22.17 seconds in the 200m in the riga Cup in Latvia last Thursday, his first race since 2012.

Malcolm has competed at four previous Commonwealth Games, winning 200m silver at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur and a bronze in the same event in Delhi four years ago, and wants to end his career in Glasgow.

“The only thing in my career which is missing is an Olympic medal,” he added.

“To go to the Commonwealth Games and possibly have the opportunity to maybe captain my country would be fantastic for me.

Johnson-Thompson wins heptathlon at Hypo-Meeting Johnson-Thompson had rITAIn’S Katarina B Johnson-Thompson set a been second overnight at the personal best of 6,682 points event, the annual IAAF World as she won the heptathlon at the prestigious HypoMeeting in Gotzis, Austria.

The 21-year-old won by 41 points from Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, likely to be one of her main rivals at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Johnson-Thompson’s previous best of 6,449 saw her finish fifth at last summer’s World Championships in Moscow.

British teen Morgan Lake was 17th as she also broke the 6,000-points mark.

The 17-year-old set a javelin personal best on the way to a total of 6,018 points.

Johnson-Thompson

Combined Events Challenge, which boasts a far stronger field than that expected at the Commonwealths.

The Liverpudlian moved into the lead by winning the long jump in the first of Sunday’s events, and set a 41.44m javelin personal best before victory in the closing 800m saw her hold off Theisen-Eaton’s challenge.

In March, JohnsonThompson won her first major medal as she took silver in the long jump at the World Indoor Championships, having failed to qualify for the multidiscipline event because of illness.

from the baseline, which is important for me.”

S Halep (rom) (4) beat S Stephens (USA) (15) 6-4 6-3 “I’m really happy to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for the first time in my life,” said Halep, who awaits the winner of the Svetlana Kuznetsova-Lucie Safarova match in the last eight. “I feel confident and I like the clay but I want to go further even if I know it’s going to be very tough in the next round.”

D Ferrer (Spa) (5) beat K Anderson (SA) (19) 6-3 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 “I will try to do my best,” said Ferrer of facing nadal. “I will try to play aggressively with my forehand and try to finish the points on the net.

But of course it’s going to be difficult with rafael on a clay court.”

S Errani (Ita) (10) beat J Jankovic (Ser) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 “It was not easy to stay focused on the match but I am really happy,” Errani said. “There were a lot of Italians supporting me and also a lot of French and I thank them for helping me

Nadal

Hayatou threatens legal action over bribe allegations on Qatar 2022 World Cup HE President of the T Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) and Vice President of FIFA, Issa Hayatou has denied categorically the allegations of corruption publishedby the UK Sunday Times in its edition of 1st June 2014.

Before publication of the article, Mr Issa Hayatou received an email on May 30, 2014 at 18:21 from one of the Sunday Times’ representatives, Heidi Blake, summoning the CAF President to respond to questions sent by e-mail before the next day, 31 May 2014, at 16:00.

The email expressed fanciful allegations that Mr. Hayatou would have received valuable gifts from Mr. Bin Hammam and would have also been greatly pampered during a tour in Doha in December 2009.

The CAF President never attended events from invitations of Mr. Bin Hammam either in Doha or Kuala Lumpur.

The Sunday Times representative also carried a number of serious accusations against Mr Hayatou, which included allegations

that Mr. Bin Hammam, as President at the time of the committee of the FIFA Goal Project would have favoured the Cameroonian federation with a project worth US$400 000 in exchange of support and votes for Qatar. Yet the allegation “demonstrated cruel ignorance” of the functions of FIFA bodies.

In FIFA Committees, decisions are not taken by presidents of the Committees unilaterally but are collective decisions.

As current president of the FIFA Development Committee, Mr Hayatou understands how any such Committee programmes are planned and decided.

The Sunday Times claimed just before 2 December 2010, Mr Hayatou received (60) World Cup match tickets from Mr. Bin Hammam.

But there is no mention of which World Cup is being referred to; whether it was 2010 or the 2014?

As Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 2010 World Cup and vice-president of FIFA, does Mr Hayatou need anybody to offer him match tickets for the World Cup as gifts? Is he not justified and entitled in his positions to receive match tickets?

Despite the ridiculous allegations, the CAF president has decided to answer to those accusations through this statement.

On one hand, Mr. Hayatou has never received any money from Mr Bin Hammam, the Emir of Qatar or any member of the Qatar 2022 Bidding Committee; on the other hand the Sunday Times asked Mr. Hayatou what the subject of the meeting was between the Emir of Qatar and President of Cameroon.

Mr Hayatou questioned the level of professionalism

and the allegations as there was no such meeting between Emir of Qatar and President of Cameroon.

To Heide Blakes’ allegation that Mr. Bin Hammam arranged for medical treatment for Hayatou at a private clinic after he voted for Qatar 2022, no such arrangement was made and is a pure invention.

The only treatment Mr Hayatou received in Qatar related to a dialysis session in Doha in early January 2011 during the AFC Congress, for which as usual, he was invited.

After that the Sunday Times asked if Mr. Hayatou was aware of payments made by Mr. Bin Hammam to some presidents of African football federations and if any such payments influenced his vote, Mr Hayatou said he was not aware.

On accusations of being offered luxury accommodation

Hayatou

and business class flight tickets and others, Mr Hayatou said the allegation was a lie meant to manipulate public opinion. Mr Hayatou has never accepted any flight tickets or any privileges from Qatar2022.

In January 2011, he was accommodated in Doha for two nights by the AFC during the AFC Congress, a principal applied worldwide during confederations’ congress.

Mr. Hayatou will not allow journalists once again to attack his integrity and reputation.

Such allegations are meant to discredit not only him as a person but the whole continent.

Like in 2011, the CAF president is waiting for the famous evidence from the Sunday Times and reserves the right to take legal action against any of those responsible for the smear campaign against him.

TheGuardian

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Ajibiye Samuel and Osasona Adeniyi Continued from yesterday (Monday, 02/06/2014) AM persuaded to submit that our polytechnics and colleges of education need urgent and aggressive interventions, not a mocking silence. The ill-advised threat of ‘No-Work-NoPay’ policy and the proclivity of silence from the government only make a mockery of technology education and teachers institutions in Nigeria. The world is watching, and waiting.

Silence may be golden, but I am unaware of any problems that have been solved through silence or folding of arms. This silence is an illogical approach to matters that require urgency.

The reaction of the police on the day of the peaceful mass demonstration in the Federal Capital further reinforces my growing conviction that educational policy makers are consumed by their obsession to control and subjugate unionism in the polytechnics and colleges of education system. Unionism, that serves the purposes of humanity, is an integral part of the history of any great nations today.

Unlike the underdeveloped nations, the relative difference lies in the corporate systems instituted and systemic approaches adopted in addressing the demands of the unionists.

The questions, therefore, are: If others have gone through similar experiences and could possibly humble the ferocious Goliath of abysmal technology education – the prologue of their present-day development story, why not us? Why should Nigerians be made, without dissimulation, to sacrifice their dream of advanced nationhood at the crippled altar of mental conditioning of some few individuals to polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria? Are the vigorous demands of the striking teachers not reflective of their collective will and aspiration to revive the slowlydying technology education, and enhance teachers’ training skills? They wear the shoes; they know where they pinch them. Should they not be listened to for their propriety?

Why should the agitating teachers’ desire to improve the quality of technology education and teachers training become a battle ground, or a contestation, in which the winners take all? Unionism, anywhere in the world, is the product of progressive minds.

This continued strike only opens an old wound on the hearts and minds of the helpless, poor parents whose children have been waiting endlessly at home to see when the strike will be over. Some of these hapless students, who have been adversely affected, may be, in some years down the line, unfairly denied quality employment after graduation for the simple reason of age. One unbroken academic year at home? What does this situation portend for the future of the young people who are made to school and acquire needed skills in an insecure atmosphere coupled with parlous learning facilities when compared with their colleagues abroad, who they desire to share experiences with? What is the implication of these incessant strikes on the intelligence quotient and character development of these students? How much value has been placed on technology education and training skills of teachers by the government?

Why should the police at Abuja hurriedly disperse the protesting teachers on the day of non-violent protestation with tear gas? Do these aggrieved teachers look like thugs, who can undermine social security? For what reason would this industrial action be considered a cheap mission to blackmail the government? Who unleashed those police officers against the harmless teachers? Why has the government not come out openly to condemn the uncivilized action of the police? From the government’s prevailing silence, these questions are difficult to answer.

The transformation agenda of the present

I

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ASUP: A mocking silence (2)

Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike Administration, I think, should begin with the education system because education is the bedrock of civilisation. Let me paraphrase Nelson Mandela’s quote, education is the weapon that can transform our society.

Countries that are peopled with enlightened minds, creative thinkers and competent hands enjoy huge economic success and some appreciable measure of social freedom and justice in the 21st century. Illiteracy, inequities, injustices, poverty, insecurity and inept leadership have no place in such nations. Education is the surest path to freedom of the conscience and productive mindset. Mahatma Gandhi argues that, if all we do is superimpose technolo-

gy on the same old problems, nothing basic changes. We may see an evolution, an occasional “revolution” in science, but without humanity we see precious little real human advancement.

Thus, Nigeria is in dire need of technology/teachers education that drives purposeful humanity.

But how is this achievable in a hostile atmosphere? Hostile is the best word I purposely choose in describing the context in which those, who seek the transformation of technology education and teachers trainings, were unfairly tear-gassed and hotly dispersed by, according to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Mr. Omar Mohammed, “the

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OLOJA

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ABC (ISSN NO 0189-5125)

Countries that are peopled with enlightened minds, creative thinkers and competent hands enjoy huge economic success and some appreciable measure of social freedom and justice in the 21st century. Illiteracy, inequities, injustices, poverty, insecurity and inept leadership have no place in such nations.

Education is the surest path to freedom of the conscience and productive mindset importation into Abuja”. This ‘imported product’ – insulated by a power base - may serve to gratify the disguised wishes of the Mighty One, but such attitude of condescension would adversely undermine the progress of education, and truncate the course of progressive humanity. Besides, what is in his timorous action that can promote peace and social stability? This sudden, brutal response from the police only confirms, without guises, the deliberate inactions of the government towards the transformation of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in our country.

Recently, I read an editorial titled - Education Budget: Still Scratching the Surface in a national newspaper published on May 5, 2014, which states in clear terms, that the ongoing ASUP/COEASU strike is ‘buoyed by the gains Academic Staff Union of Universities made from its own trade dispute’. Far from it. The job action should not be commercialised or politicised. It was never and, as a matter of fact, would not be inspired by profit making as implied by the phrase - ‘trade dispute’. Besides, ASUP/COEASU began its protestation a month earlier before ASUU, but the latter received more national attention and international publicity at the expense of the former. This is a clear practical example of the unfair discrimination against students and lecturers in the polytechnics in this country. To assume that ASUP/COEASU strike was ‘buoyed by’ ASUU gains is erroneous, misleading, false, and above all, contemptuous. Could the head be sick while other parts of the body enjoy wellness? The impossibility is incontestable.

Permit me to say that the overriding motivation for this industrial action is undoubtedly to ensure the holistic transformation of the education system in Nigeria such that would make the sector an enduring national pride, and gain international recognition. Thus, the strike is never in the interest of the striking lecturers, but the future education of our dear country.

We hope that we are not consumed, or perhaps, have become victims of our rationalisation and justification by resting against a selfassuring, weak wall. The wall, that remotely serves as a defence for our covert displeasure against any actions in sharp contrast to our self-will and gratification, on which thorns suddenly appear. The silence, we mean, the mocking silence and unambiguous inactions from the government may eventually undo our education system.

This silence, we may have to cite the motto of the International Rotary Club that says: Is it fair? Does it serve the interest of everyone concerned? Does it promote goodwill after all?

• Concluded.

• Samuel and Adeniyi are lecturers at the Department of Languages, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos.